DHS awards sent late March?

fallenchemist
Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:00:50 +0000

@TNmom15‌

It seems as a DHS or PTA there is a lot of attention but how are the opportunities for the rest of the student body?

A very fair question and an excellent one. The discussions on these particular threads no doubt seem skewed because these threads are about the top academic awards, and therefore the top academic students who tend to be most interested in these kinds of opportunities before even starting at college. But I can absolutely and honestly say that the opportunities at Tulane for all students are wide open and plentiful. In fact I feel quite confident that the majority of students doing research are not winners of the DHS or PTA. On a day-to-day basis, neither the profs nor the other students know who is in the Honors Program and who isn’t. There obviously isn’t some bright green H on their foreheads, nor is there any kind of asterisk or other indication on the class rolls the profs get. And the Tulane Scholars program is brand new, and actually is not limited to students in the Honors Program. At least that is my understanding from a direct communication from Tom Luongo, the head to the Honors Program. Now I fully expect that the vast majority interested in the program will be honors students, but that is probably irrelevant.

I was a solid B student coming out of high school, who happened to do very well on the SAT. I am completely convinced it is the only reason I got in. I was the first in my family to go to college and was completely clueless as to this admissions process, and of course no CC back then!! I had more opportunities at Tulane than I could possibly act on. That has not changed. If anything, there are probably more choices than ever. Your D will be fine. Like I said, if you only read these couple of threads you would think the honors presence is stronger than it really is. In reality it is more subtle, and while I am excited about programs like Tulane Scholars because of the focus they bring to students that want to get a stronger experience in the world of academia, there is not an a priori segregation or prejudice of opportunity between the honors students and the rest. Far from it. No worries. Now I will say, and this is even true for the award winners, that it is up to the student to take the initiative and seek out these opportunities. The profs don’t just randomly go up to students and say “Hey, want to work in my lab?” And I even think the number of times they target the student that shows exceptional promise in the classroom is probably small. No, generally speaking just like in “real life”, those kinds of opportunities tend to come to those who take the initiative.

Hope that helped address your question.