Tulane fan here, but I am biased because it’s where I got my undergraduate degree (pre-Katrina). We visited in early June; I hadn’t been back in years. It’s looking great! We couldn’t go inside any buildings, but D got a good feel for the size and ambiance of the campus - which is exactly what she needed to decide whether to apply.
They have a brand new dining hall (opened fall 2019), so I believe the food is MUCH improved. Other positives as far as what your daughter is looking for - beautiful campus, compact and walkable, but plenty of green space. You don’t have to apply into a major, classes are open to students in all schools even after applying to a major and Newcomb is strong in the arts. Greek rush is second semester, which is nice that the kids don’t need to make that decision before they ever step on campus. Airport is 20 -25 minutes from campus and southwest flies there direct from Midway. You can’t beat the city of New Orleans for food, culture and things to do; it’s an amazing place.
Possible negatives - most freshman dorms are hall baths and they aren’t large and lux like some schools. They have been refreshed, but with the exception of the Honors dorm, they are the same buildings that my friends and I lived in the early 90’s. They are building new housing (where the old dining hall was) and are tearing down some sophomore+ housing as well, so this situation is being improved. There is a mix of older and newer sophomore+ residence halls. And as far as weather - it rains, sometimes to the point of flooding (not indoors - just streets, etc). But once the rain is over, it recedes quickly. They look like they have a generous AP policy, but you can’t use AP credit for most core courses, and they have a pretty robust core. I have heard that there are some classes that might triple count for core credits though, so you just have to be smart about class selection. I think the AP credit does allow kids to finish double majors/multiple minors easily though.
Love the new football stadium (they played in the Superdome in my years, which was not great; hopefully the smaller digs make for a better atmosphere. It sounds like game days are fun, but the school spirit/pride seems more centered around Tulane as a school and not around the actual sports events themselves.
@evergreen5 – same here re: Rice. We’ve had one kid get into Rice over the last 5 or so years and we send tons of kids to top schools all over the country. I didn’t count but if I recall it was probably 15 or so kids who’ve applied according to Naviance.
I’m not sure what the secret sauce is for Rice but there must be something. I wonder if a majority of kids say that they will be STEM majors and maybe they need some humanities kids? Maybe more competitive for the STEM kids? Obviously can’t tell on Naviance. There’s no rhyme or reason on our Naviance for acceptances. Some kids with (comparatively) lower scores and GPA got in over super high scorers but who knows. Sometimes the fit is super important and a school can sniff it out.
Do any of you know what’s the best way to get a list (database?) of scholarships that are available? When I was in school, the counselor had a book and the library had a listing. I’m hoping it’s more digital now but haven’t had much luck searching on the internet.
Tulane is very comparable to Emory and U of Miami academically. Really strong private schools, in vibrant Southern cities. Tulane and probably Miami were slow to get on the gaming the rankings train, so they fell behind Emory. They’re trying to make up for lost time. Admissions number are part of the business now.
In my opinion it’s the best of the 3. Everyone in my family that attended Tulane ended up being a doctor, so it’s obviously strong academically. Beautiful campus right in the heart of New Orleans. Yeah there can be a party vibe, but there is also amazing food, music, architecture, etc. I bet a lot of students who visit end up applying.
fwiw, Rice, Vandy, and Duke were able to pull away over the last 50 years because of geographic advantages. They’re spread out just enough to not compete and there is plenty of money in each area.
We received an email yesterday from Reed saying they were going test blind for the next two years. I think they join Caltech as being the only schools to switch to test blind.
Tulane “proudly” plays the rankings game because the rankings game was incredibly unkind to Tulane after Katrina. The school closed for an entire semester and the closure drastically affected its 6 year graduation rate and peer rankings. At the time, 6 year graduation was worth 25% of the ranking. The school lived with that semester (and its fallout) being part of it’s 6 year graduation average for something like 8 years.
A formula is a formula - US News doesn’t perform “holistic” reviews of schools, and beyond freezing the ranking for the first year after Katrina, they gave no consideration for the situation. So, if you can’t beat 'em, join 'em.
I do like that they are up front about it though. Kind of refreshing, honestly.
In d’s Search for a private school (mentioned above- her list is OOS public heavy) Tulane and Miami both came up. But according to our Naviance, Tulane is a huge reach where Miami is almost a safety (I’d probably call it a likely). Tulane seems much more competitive. But their strategy seems to work - no app fee so D is tempted to throw it on as a reach. I think it’s a waste of time because I don’t see it as a fit for her, but she can make the call.
Does anyone have any info on American? S21 would like to apply to a school in DC and that one seems to be the only one that he has a slight interest in.
@Aguadecoco i’d Be interested in that as well. We had crossed it off bc the only thing i’ve Heard was bad merit/financial aid. D has GW on the list for a while but that seems to lack a defined campus vibe.
Same here! I really wanted to S21 to apply to American but after researching and hearing about the bad merit/financial aid it’s not going to be an option. I know we won’t be able to afford it with massive debt so why bother applying. I felt the same about GW…not having that defined campus is a drawback.
@mm5678 Can your child take a community college class this summer online to try to bump up that %? My son’s class only has 70 kids and he’s hoping to leapfrog someone with his online summer cc class. One person does make a difference. He did make the UC top 9% in spring, but it would be nice to advance.
After we lost our ACT spot in July, I asked if our school will host this year. The college counselor said she inquired and ACT was very receptive. She knew she should be doing it, as it is small and easily able to accommodate distancing.
@homerdog our small school has sent 1 to Rice over the last few years, but to few to show up on our scattergrams. Our friend does alumni interviews and he has mentions D21 would have a good odds because she is not interested in STEM, so I think you may be right. D21 is not interested in Rice, but I am still trying to convince her because I think it could be a good fit for her.
@coffeeat3 I am not sure what to think about Reed going test blind, I think it is very fair but D21 has a good ACT and I hope it does not mean more essays.
I finished the parent questionnaire for D21 college counselor, it was long and every question wanted an examples for each question. They even asked for a parent recommendation letter, to give a clearer picture of your child, you were asked not to include grades, test scores or activities. I know this helps them to write the counselor recommendation letter but it was a lot of work. The one I did for D19 was much shorter.
I am hoping my daughter will be an auto admit to Texas A&M and/or UT (Class rank 26/763). She is interested in Biomedical engineering. I know that you apply directly to the major at UT, but at A&M, you have to do the “Entry to a Major- ETAM” thing at the end of freshman year. This process is a little confusing. Especially considering there is an “auto admit” for people with GPA of 3.5 or higher and an application process for the rest. Can anyone help with how ETAM works and how difficult it is to maintain a 3.5 GPA during the freshman year?
@Aguadecoco@NJWrestlingmom@Momof3B We visited DC last summer and attended American’s info session and it was good: admission folks nice, lots of study abroad and internship opportunities, beautiful self contained campus with good access to transportation. The tour was self-guided so not much student interaction, and students were very heads down while we walked around. 4-5/10 kids have been accepted (on naviance) from our large public HS the last few years, maybe 1 or 2 actually attend due to high cost. Looks like a nice size at about 8500 students, if it was affordable, it might be on D21s list. Good luck!
Admissions number are part of the business now.