<p>If you have been deferred then you have to take the Regular Decision route and read the board of Tulane in this College Confidential as there are lots of posting in there. For some reasons, Tulane is one of the favorite school in the south and they are very generous in giving merit aid, grants, scholarship, etc…when there is a strong will, you will find the way. Nothing is impossible.</p>
<p>@texaspg: All the numbers I’ve seen online suggest that UT Austin is an extremely reasonably priced institution. It seems to be similar in price to Georgia Tech and LSU.</p>
<p>People tend not to leave Louisiana for school because of TOPS. All you need is a decent GPA and a slightly above average ACT score, and the state will help you pay for school.</p>
<p>@OP: I also reccomend that he apply to all the schools he’s interested in, see where he gets in, and visit a few of the CS programs at the respective institutions before he graduates. My friend had a choice between UL and LSU, but chose UL because their engineering program tour was more thorough.</p>
<p>Ghostayame - UT Austin for out of state is quite expensive.</p>
<p>per semester - Engineering<br>
5,107 in 17,189 out
[Tuition</a> Costs : Tuition Dollars & Sense](<a href=“Cost & Tuition Rates - Texas One Stop - University of Texas at Austin”>Cost & Tuition Rates - Texas One Stop - University of Texas at Austin)</p>
<p>Georgia Tech</p>
<p>3859 in 13,511 out
<a href=“http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/student/tuition/Spring_2013/Spring13-all_fees.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/student/tuition/Spring_2013/Spring13-all_fees.pdf</a></p>
<p>So you are looking at 7k per year difference between UT and Georgia Tech (34.4k, 27k).</p>
<p>JustinLA - There are lots of different factors in play at each school. You are in state for Tulane and private schools tend to get a lot of instate students. SMU might have turned you down because 24 is too low compared to their average at 28.4. </p>
<p><a href=“https://smu.edu/ir/Publications/Trends_2011/First_Time_Admissions.pdf[/url]”>https://smu.edu/ir/Publications/Trends_2011/First_Time_Admissions.pdf</a></p>
<p>SMU is reasonably well known due to their one time football prowess in 80s. They are trying to promote their engineering program well and so irrespective of their rank, they might do well in recruitment.</p>
<p>Jan2013:
Thanks! I will try! :)</p>
<p>Ghostayame:
I know what to tell him. Thanks!</p>
<p>A student does not need a superhigh ACT score and GPA to get TOPS award.
TOPS opportunity (the regular one) only requires a student to have at least 20 in his/her ACT and 2.5 GPA. It is a very attractive program.</p>
<p>texaspg:
I know about their football scandal, but it is still a good school though. Maybe they have a good engineering program as well as recruitment because it is a big name school.
However, US News also shows the percentage of students major in different programs. If it is a school’s popular major, it should be good at recruitment as well.
[Southern</a> Methodist University | Best College | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/smu-3613]Southern”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/smu-3613)
I don’t see their percentage because it must be smaller than 6%. It would be stupid to go to a business school for engineering program, unless he would be working for a business company that has a computer department.
[Louisiana</a> State University–Baton Rouge | Best College | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lsu-baton-rouge-2010]Louisiana”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lsu-baton-rouge-2010)
There are 9% students studying engineering. So I think LSU would be better for him.</p>
<p>Yeah, they might be promoting their programs, but still it is a small major. So what do you think?</p>
<p>I don’t think many private schools try to get many instate students though, as Tulane has a high percentage of Northeastern students. I think it’s public schools that try to get many in state students.
[Tulane</a> Admission: Getting Into Tulane](<a href=“http://admission.tulane.edu/apply/gettinginto.php]Tulane”>http://admission.tulane.edu/apply/gettinginto.php)</p>
<p>The size of the department is not always the best indicator of the value of the program. Yale’s engineering school accepts 4% in engineering school each year but no one who goes there cares whether ECE is ranked. </p>
<p>What usually matters is who is recruiting in that school and whether you want to work for the type of employers recruiting in the department.</p>
<p>texaspg:
You shouldn’t use Yale as an example 
but I see what you are trying to say.
Should that becomes part of his research? Is there a way that he can find out?</p>
<p>(I thought I would shut up! :P)</p>
<p>^ Yale is a good example to show rank of a program is not always that important.</p>
<p>Yes he should do research. What I am suggesting is that he should not restrict himself to two schools in Louisiana and apply to a few others and see where it takes him. He has plenty of time to google, talk to the different schools to see what he might like about them and see if ECE is the major for him.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good idea. I know what to tell him. Thanks.</p>