<p>Took over an hour at the FedEx office & about 30 tries on their fax machine to get the Paul Tulane essays submitted last night - I guess we weren’t the only ones cutting it close!</p>
<p>had the same problems the night before, so we expect heavy competition. i think my DW finally scanned it and submitted it via email.</p>
<p>Is this supposed to be post marked 12/15 or received on 12/15?</p>
<p>Accepted about a month ago! 2170 SAT, 4.3 GPA. Great recs and extracurriculars, wrote the Why Tulane? essay.</p>
<p>fallenchemist - I just wanted to establish contact, and I basically told her about my deferral and asked if she can give me an idea as to why I have been deferred and what I should do next. I’ll send her another email after winter break if she still hasn’t responded by then.</p>
<p>4beardolls - postmarked</p>
<p>Sounds good, ewtoast. Unfortunately as I said they are (were) working like 80 hour weeks to get things wrapped up for the deadline, and they get a lot of emails like yours. My suggestion would be to not focus on why you were deferred. I am not sure you will get a really satisfactory answer to that to be honest. Not that they will be evasive, it is just that the answer will probably be something generic like “there are so many qualified applicants for a limited number of openings, we cannot immediately offer admission to everyone that probably deserves it”. It is true, but doesn’t help you much. If they do happen to mention a particular weakness, then of course you can try and address that.</p>
<p>But presuming they don’t, I would totally accentuate the positive, by which I mean your interest in Tulane remains strong, you are working hard your senior year, that kind of thing. Make it as personal and specific to you as you can. It gets pretty old to an admissions officer to hear “But why didn’t I get in?” all the time. Just like it gets old to hear “But why didn’t I get more scholarship money?” and similar complaints. It is a very competitive process. That is just how it is. But if you can make them know you really want Tulane and why you do, even if it is a bit repetitive from your essay, that’s key. Freshen it up if you can, but that is still the most important thing they need to know about you to give you the best shot at getting in this round.</p>
<p>Wanted to post that my son, too, was deferred. </p>
<p>A bit of history…he was accepted last year while still a senior in high school. He is taking a gap year now (doing the City Year program in Baton Rouge) and he elected not to defer, but rather, just re-apply this fall doing SCEA.</p>
<p>Well, it must be a really competitive year b.c. we would’ve thought he was an even stronger candidate with his year of volunteer service through the Americorps program.</p>
<p>A bit of his stats: 31 ACT, at least seven AP courses and AP exams with high scores, a 3.5 GPA and lots of volunteering, great recommendations. Answered Why Tulane question with gusto.</p>
<p>It just goes to show, each year is different and ever more competitive. Shout out to FallenChemist…I fell off this thread last spring and haven’t had much reason to be back onboard until recently. Glad to see you are still shining a light for many to see their way through a wacky process. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks kelijake - I remember your posting last year. That is a bummer he decided not to hold his spot via their gap year policy. Can you shed some light on his reasoning, if I am not being too nosy? Still, like you I am a bit surprised at the result. I guess it is true that it basically becomes like applying for the first time, and it does seem to indicate a very competitive class. I hope it works out for him. What are his alternative schools?</p>
<p>fallenchemist–I don’t mind sharing at all…especially if it helps anyone else out there in similar situation. </p>
<p>I tried to encourage son to just defer, but it would’ve required a hefty deposit to hold his spot and I guess he was just nervous enough that he might be so changed by his gap year experience that he might decide Tulane wasn’t his ideal school after all and then mom and dad would be out some $$$ for nothing.</p>
<p>Long story short–He is a changed person as a result of the gap year, but turns out, Tulane is still his top choice after all. The rest of the schools he applied to are flagship public schools and his super financial safety is Univ of New Orleans, another public school.</p>
<p>I’m assuming the admissions folks were a little thrown off by his decision to re-apply, rather than simply defer? After being hurt and angry last night, today I’m trying to be a little more philosophical. And seeing some of the stats on this board, I realize that, hey, at least he is competing against some of the best and brightest!</p>
<p>And, look, our son knew it was a risk he took. He could’ve been outright rejected. So it is hard to stay angry. (Maybe a little confused, still, but not angry).</p>
<p>I had forgotten about the deposit requirement, so that makes total sense. I think Tulane would realize that too, so I doubt they are thrown off by the decision. Personally, since a gap year like that makes a person more mature and aware of their options, I would think like you did, that it makes his interest in Tulane even more firm. I am sure he told them something similar already, but as he stays in touch with his admissions officer he should state it again. I think it is a strong point in his favor. Just an idea.</p>
<p>Just got my actual acceptance letter from Tulane-- 30,000 dollar scholarship a year!! I am over the moon excited. I have never visited campus, so now we’re definitely planning a trip to check it out. This came as absolutely amazing news as I just got deferred from one of my other top choice schools. I also applied for the Paul Tulane Award-- so now I have my fingers crossed for that. I cannot even believe it. Sorry to brag, I just can’t believe they are offering me a scholarship!</p>
<p>Taylorjacqueline - Way to go! That is fantastic news, but I am not too surprised. 34 ACT is a tremendous score, and your EC’s of class president, competitive skiing (won’t be any of that in New Orleans!), quiz bowl, etc. and your service record all are very strong. You don’t mention your GPA but I bet it is great as well. You sound like a great fit for Tulane. Good luck with the PTA.</p>
<p>I bet you will love the campus visit. You might want to consider one of the two Honors Students weekends in mid March and early April, I think they are. I saw on your Georgetown thread that is your #1 choice. Of course it is a great school in a great city, but I honestly don’t think you can do much better than Tulane for your intended major of Public Health. Tulane has strong ties around the world in this area, with special strengths in Latin America, Africa, and parts of India. At least those are the ones I know of, there might be more.</p>
<p>I am sure you have read up on the SPHTM at Tulane, which is probably why you applied in the first place. Some of our regular posters on here have children in that major currently attending. Let us know when you do decide to attend, perhaps one of them can show you around a little and take you in a class or two.</p>
<p>Oh, and you aren’t bragging, you are just relaying good news! Nothing wrong with that, especially on this thread.</p>
<p>Got my Letter today with a 30k scholarship!!! I’m so excited! I was wondering if someone could speak about the honors program and/or the honors program weekend thing in the spring. Congratulations to everyone!! Also, how long does it take to get into the fb group lol!</p>
<p>fallenchemist–</p>
<p>Thank you so much!
This has all come as wonderful news. I agree that you cannot get much better than Tulane’s SPHTM. I think I am going to head down to visit during one of the Honors Program weekends! I would love to speak with someone in the Undergraduate Public Health major.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your great posts!</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone who has received their acceptances! I know how exciting it is! Everyone who is deferred, good luck to you on the RD round!</p>
<p>SheepChopz - Awesome! The Honors Weekend is a great time to visit. The campus is always pretty (NOLA is considered semi-tropical), but that is one if its best times. You get to meet some of the other students that won Presidential and Distinguished Scholar awards, of course get the usual stuff like a tour, but you also hear from President Cowen (assuming he is in town), the head of the Honors Program Dr. Luongo, and you get to talk to advisors and register for classes ahead of everyone else while you are there. “But what if I haven’t decided to go to Tulane yet?” you ask. That’s OK, you register anyway and if you decide to go elsewhere they just wipe you out of the system. If you choose Tulane, you are all set. You also get to sit in on a class or two, and there is an overnight stay.</p>
<p>As far as the Honors Program itself, it has some perks like the early registration, preference for the honors dorms if you want, and extra advising for any number of issues related to the more academically ambitious student. That could mean wanting to try for prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes or Fulbright, extra assistance with research opportunities, help with how to write a proper thesis should you choose to do an honors thesis (no longer required to graduate with honors but a great thing to do if you are planning on grad school and/or one of those prestigious fellowships), etc.</p>
<p>As far as the honors dorm, it is usually quieter than the other dorms. Also, while the freshman one is one of the older buildings (right now all freshman dorms are the older ones), the sophomore one is pretty new, like 3 years I think, and very nice.</p>
<p>There are some honors level courses, but these are generally open to all students. Of course people in the program would get preference if they are getting full, and the sections are even smaller than other Tulane courses, usually 10-15 students. There are not a ton of these sections though. Since Tulane is already highly selective with lots of very bright students, it isn’t like an Honors College at a state school whose function is to provide much more delineation between those students and the rest of the university population. For the most part on a day to day basis you would hardly know the Honors Program exists, and actually that is a good thing when you think about it. But it is there for the students who need it.</p>
<p>I believe the Facebook approval is usually very quick.</p>
<p>taylorjacqueline - I saw your PM and responded there.</p>
<p>Wow that response was awesome! Thanks alot fallenchemist for answering my question so thoroughly. I’m definitely considering Tulane for next year and cant wait to meet some other accepted students!</p>
<p>So I’ve promised myself I would not join CC… but it’s been so helpful that I wanted to share.</p>
<p>Accepted EA about 3 weeks after I applied (applied the day of the EA deadline lol)
SAT 2110, GPA 3.85 with 4.00 since sophomore year, 7 ap’s (all my school offers haha)
Lots of extracurriculars/leadership.</p>
<p>I actually called my admissions counselor to talk with them a few days after I applied, and I wrote the “why tulane” essay, and it was pretty good.</p>