@jmk1998 @FriendofMax A student in another thread has actually already heard, but I’m guessing most students won’t hear anything for a few weeks, especially considering the increase in applications this year.
It will be like the rest of the process as Tulane does it. Starting about now people will hear in bits and pieces, all the way through the end of March when a slew of final decisions will hit.
My friend’s daughter was deferred. I’m guessing it was because of her stats. She is a hard worker but not a great test taker. At this point, does Tulane give decent need based aid or are there resources mainly targeting the students they want with merit scholarships? I don’t think they can swing it without substantial need based aid.
Tulane does give generous need based aid, but it is very case by case. I have seen people say they are shocked at how much Tulane gave them and that is was more than similar schools had offered, and others complain that Tulane did not give them nearly enough to make it work. I see the same for many other schools. One can only wait and see what happens.
I just sent in an additional why tulane essay last night even though I already sent one in when I applied EA( I got deferred). What are the chances that they will read the essay I just sent in before making a final decision on my app? Do you think it will reach them in time?(they said it takes two weeks for newly submitted documents to be processed)
When I heard from her daughter that she intended to apply to Tulane, I did caution them that it does not promise to meet demonstrated need. I was afraid that she would be deferred as her stats are not strong and now I’m thinking that even if accepted, they won’t be able to afford it unless they come through with an incredible need based package. And why would they offer that to someone who they deferred in EA? Wouldn’t they want to attract someone in EA with an incentive of some sort? It doesn’t sound promising to be deferred knowing that you will need lots of aid to attend. I don’t presume to know how admissions work though. She has already gotten an acceptance from a college albeit a much lower tier one with a scholarship.
It will definitely get read, in time unless they happened to make a decision about you on Friday.
Everything you said is logical, yet I have seen similar situations get great FA offers, and others not so much. Admissions is complicated with lots of variables, so you just never know. I think lately Tulane has been claiming they meet 98% of need, but that is need as calculated by Tulane. I wish there was a better answer than you just don’t know until you see the actual offer, but that is exactly the only answer.
Thank you. She was really excited about Tulane and I had advised them to visit to show interest so that was an expense for them. We are within driving distance though. She is URM and a solid student but not showing up on her test scores. I don’t know about her essay or how strong her recommendations were. She goes to a very large public school that has lots of competition from high stats kids. It’s hard to stand out in that kind of environment. Also when I read how high the test scores and that something like 60% of EA kids came from the top 10% of their class, I got worried for her. It is definitely a high reach for her.
Well, if they take her then the need based calculation should be fairly independent of her academic record. But in truth it isn’t entirely separate from that. I wish you all the best of luck!
I got deferred. (31 ACT, 3.6 GPA)
Is it acceptable to send Tulane 1-2 more short essays about my extracurriculars or academic interests? And is it okay to give them an update on my life (new internship that supports my intended major, new job, etc.)?
I REALLY want to get in. It is my dream. I regret not apply SCEA 
@caliapplicant -I would not recommend sending additional essays. Admission folks really don’t have the time or interest to deal with more essays than they’ve asked for. (EXCEPTION: I assume that you did write the optional “Why Tulane?” essay already. But, if not, you should definitely write it NOW!)
So what you SHOULD do instead is to send an Update letter. Here’s a sample from an old “Ask the Dean” column:
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/how-do-i-send-resume-updates-to-colleges/
The bulleted entries on the Update-letter list are faster and easier for the college folks to read than yet another essay but you can still use this sort of list to mention your internship (and how it meshes with your intended major), plus your new job, etc.
You should also begin your letter by saying that Tulane is your dream and that you will definitely enroll if accepted.
Good luck!
@jmk1998 My daughter checks her status daily lol. This is a hard process! lol As far as the financial aid, my daughter will likely have issues with her application since if your parents are divorced they require a non custodial parent form to be filled out. She has little to no contact with him and he has refused to fill it out or do anything to be involved in things so since her file will be incomplete she won’t receive anything need based I’m sure. We tried to do the calculator on the Tulane site, but it includes merit aid which I think was probably the entire award but it’s hard to say or predict since a big pop up window came up that said that form would be required so the estimator will probably not be accurate. Tulane does give a lot of merit scholarships though which is great if you are lucky enough to get one!
@fbhsmom-Did you write an unsolicited letter to the financial aid office (not just at Tulane but all all of your daughter’s other colleges) to explain that Dad didn’t cooperate? Granted, finaid folks can be pretty unsympathetic when they think that a student’s father has any dough at all and doesn’t want to fork it over. But if the divorce is long-standing and if the student claims limited or no contact with the uncooperative parent, they will sometimes discount the non-custodial parent entirely. It’s definitely worth sending an explanation, if you haven’t already.
Also, colleges can vary widely in the way that they treat the same set of circumstances. So even if some colleges don’t honor your daughter’s explanation about the AWOL dad, others may.
Thanks everyone. I’m going to send my update asap.
Does anyone know when admissions will start releasing final decisions for deferred students?
@goingnutsmom I was looking at the Collegeboard data on Tulane’s financial aid, and IIRC, Tulane met 100% of need for 69% of students in 2014. The rest were gapped. I think it’s pretty much impossible to tell what will happen until a student gets the package in the mail.
DD2, who has deferred, was admitted last week and just received her merit award today (Distinguished 27K), and invitation to Honors, and an invitation to one of the two Top Scholars weekends. After deferral, she wrote an email to her admission rep, expressing her honest interest in Tulane. Now we wait on the financial aid folks to see what they say. Her stats are 3.56UWGPA/4.1WGPA, 2210 SAT, Full IB schedule.
@Sally_Rubenstone Yes-- contacted a bunch of them and they all were pretty tough… one said she could try for a waiver and needed 2 letters of documentation etc. She had her guidance counselor and a longtime family friend who was involved to write letters about the situation, plus we have documentation of his constant contempt hearings and income deduction order just to get the legally required support before she was 18. Not optimistic but I do think it’s unfortunate that these schools allow these non custodial parents who are clearly not involved, to have such a significant impact on their future.
@fbhsmom I feel your pain. I had to send letters to all of my schools, have a counselor, as well as a clergy write a testament, and some schools still didn’t accept it. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
I applied RD back on November 3rd and have yet to hear anything back… any idea when I should expect anything at all?
@SnapApp I agree… who would lie about that stuff? My daughter hated asking for those letters and drawing attention to a sensitive situation that she was dealing with privately and now having to sjhare it with the world. I think the schools should be more sensitive and supportive.