I know - super different! Accepted at UofR and have pending ED2 at Tulane. Debating whether to pull Tulane. Having sudden worries about the level of social/partying there. But otoh Richmond is obviously a totally different kind of school and maybe lesser-known/less prestigious? Or is it more?! But also I’d get the option value of finding out the outcome of other pending apps (WF, UNC, Middlebury, Colgate). Am a good student and have a shot at those but not a shoo-in by any means. (I know, who is?!)
They are both great schools. Honestly, I would assess which is a better fit for you personally. If Tulane- keep ED2. If Richmond, pull ED2. Tulane kids have fun but it isn’t all party all the time from what we learned.
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Despite the wording, OP is a parent, not the student. Please respond accordingly
Yes true, parent and kid sharing post and responses. It is actually the kid thinking about the partying tho, for real! 
Plenty of partying at both schools. I see them as peers, generally. What major is the student considering? Are you full pay?
If kid wants to see outcomes of pending apps and potentially have even more of a choice, then switch out of Tulane ED2.
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If you, or your child, would prefer these others schools over Tulane, that would be a reason to avoid applying ED2, or to convert ED2 to RD or EA if that is still an option.
If you are out of state for UNC, then it is a reach for nearly all students. Middlebury College has something like a 10% acceptance rate which makes it a reach for almost everyone. However, if you go through with ED2 and are accepted, then this does take away the opportunity to find out whether these schools are an option at all, and also takes away the opportunity of getting a full list of acceptances and seeing the financial results (such as whether any merit aid shows up) before making a decision.
I would not worry about “prestige” at all. You are comparing very good schools.
To me your post suggests far too much uncertainty for ED2 to be a good idea.
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This is the parent’s account. If the kid wants to post, they need their own account. Account sharing is prohibited under Terms of Service.
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True true. Thinking about the flip side too tho - changing T from ED2 to RD is most likely a rejection so will there be regret/second guessing if change or withdraw? Overall you are right - all good choices, a nice place to be. Ty!
Econ, full pay. Middlebury prob the best academic fit but as other respondent pointed out the biggest long shot most likely. And yes OOS for UNC so realize that prob not happening.
IMO ED is only valuable if the applicant has a 100% top choice school. If there will be any regrets or “what ifs” I’d move the application to RD – especially if Richmond would be a happy outcome.
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My D is a junior at Tulane who applied ED and couldn’t be happier. She goes out on the weekends but is by no means a partier and says the majority of students she knows are very similar to her. However, there will always be some who are there to keep the Tulane party reputation alive!
That said, your student should apply ED2 only if it is 100% where they want to be.
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I would pull it. Kids will get into Midd and not Tulane. It’s unknown.
You want to hear others answers.
Tulane and Richmond are different. I’d take prestige out. Both will place well but neither name is elite but both very good. Less people will know Midd but the people who need to know will know.
You want the chance to find the best fit of all these names. So you’re clearly not wise to ED, even if that means losing out on Tulane.
If you were the kid, that’s what I’d say - pull ED.
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For perspective on Richmond’s economics department in relation to those of other liberal arts colleges, this analysis may be of interest:
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The only wat to get into Tulane realistically is ED, which means that if you’re accepted, you’re committed to going there. If it’s not the first choice, then withdraw your application since you already have an acceptance that you’re happy with.
These two colleges both have fascinating options for an Economics major. But they’re different, so I suggest that you take a deep dive into what’s offered at each to see which is better aligned with your interests.
Tulane has a Business School, but Economics is not offered as either a major or a minor in the business school. On the other hand, Econ is available as a major toward either a B.A. or a B.S. in the School of Liberal Arts with the BS major really being Quantitative Economics. But there is a third option, which is to pursue a major in Political Economy, an interdisciplinary major with Econ in combination with various options. Here are the various combinations:
- Political Economy with a concentration in Economics & Public Polucy
- Political Economy with a concentration in International Perspectives
- Political Economy with a concentration in Law, Economics, & Policy
- Political Economy with a concentration in Moral & Historical Perspectives
Richmond takes a different approach. First, they are the rare Liberal Arts College which also has a Business School, and at the Robins School of Business, you can choose a major in Economics. There is also the option of pursuing a B.A. in Economics or a B.S. in Mathematical Economics, both in the School of Arts & Sciences. There are also Econ interdisciplinary majors available:
- Global Studies major with a concentration in International Economic Policy
- Philosophy, Politics, Economics, & Law
Happy hunting!
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Agree that if Tulane isn’t a strong first choice, then ED2 isn’t the best choice (and this is from the parent of a Tulane grad). If it matters to you, Richmond has had the reputation of having many wealthy, preppy-type students. Have you visited?
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Here’s how these 2 schools ranked on various characteristics on the Princeton Review student surveys.
Richmond
- #1 - Most Politically Moderate Students
- #3 - Best Campus Food
- #7 - Best Athletic Facilities
- #7 - Best Run
- #8 - Best Career Services
- #8 - Best Health Services
- #8 - Best Quality of Life
- #8 - Best Student Support & Counseling Servuces
- #9 - Best Classroom Experience
- #9 - Best Internships
- #13 - Most Accessible Professors
- #14 - Little Race/Class Interaction
- #21 - Lots of Greek Life
- #22 - Most Beautiful Campus
- #23 - College City Gets High Marks
- #23 - Happiest Students
- #25 - Best Science Lab Facilities
- #38 - Top 50 Green Colleges
Tulane
- #1 - Lots of Hard Liquor
- #11 - Happiest Studwnts
- #12 - Most Politically Active Studebts
- #13 - College City gets High Marks
- #24 - Lots of Greek Life
- #24 - Reefer Masness
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I’m going to push back on the only way to get into Tulane is ED. People misread those stats.
Now, I think to get in not ED, you need to express interest, etc. It’s a hard in - but I know kids turned down there into Vandy - so I think there are other requirements - money, interest, etc.
They have the 2025/6 CDS out - and 1858 enrolled. 1209 came in ED - so if we assume 100% of ED joined (it’s likely 95-99% but if we assume 100%, that means 649 came in non ED and that’s the # people say, oh, they hardly take anyone not ED.
But they admitted 4763 so if we take 1209 out of that, they admitted 3,554 non ED to get 649 kids.
So they admitted nearly 3 times the kids non ED as they did ED…..but their biggest part of their class is ED. Why admit so many?? Because it took 5.5 admits non ED to get a single student to commit.
Now a few things:
- If you change your status, is that the death knell? Maybe
- Should prestige in this situation count - hmmmm - no - and Richmond arguably will do better outcome wise if you’re looking at pure statss
- Admission in and of itself is great - but you have to spend four years somewhere, day after day. Is the student assured (as best as one can be in advance) that this is where they want to spend four years ? Because that’s a lot of days
#3 is why ED is not a good move for the kid who needs time to decide - not to mention if money is a factor - doesn’t assume merit aid with ED. Some get lucky but don’t assume.
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FWIW - my son was admitted EA for Tulane in December. OOS, 34 ACT, 3.95UW…and a TON of demonstrated interest. He toured in person last summer, signed up for (and actually participated in) numerous webinars, following/liking everything on social, and even reached out to his regional admissions officer to ask some questions and further communicate interest. The advice he got was to try for EA rather than ED for a better chance at merit, and that worked as well. Got a $30k annual merit scholarship.
So all of that is to say ED isn’t the only way for Tulane. But I would recommend a full-court press on demonstrating interest at this stage.
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Congrats to your son! I bet he is going to have a number of wonderful options!
Ty for this detail! PR surveys were not something we’d looked at before.