Top Scholars Weekend -- April 2014

fallenchemist
Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:26:03 +0000

@almostdonehere - On the first paragraph, thanks for that clarification. It sounds like they have changed the program even more than I thought. I was aware of this new Top Scholars program for 75 students, but I didn’t know it was starting this fall. Can you confirm that is what you heard? It is my strong assumption that it is going to be similar to the already established Newcomb Scholars Program, but not just for women. https://tulane.edu/newcomb/scholars/ Has your daughter looked at that program? If not, she really should. It could be just the kind of thing she is looking for. In any case, it does sound like they have widened the net for a general Honors Program and created a more selective program within it for the most academically talented of the students. If it is similar to the Newcomb Scholars Program, then HS stats still play a big role because the selections are made pretty early in their Tulane career. Students get applications right after Labor Day and the process proceeds through the first semester. So while they no doubt do look at how the student is doing first semester, a large part of the selection is based on high school performance, for sure. Anyway, if after reading all this there is still any interest in Tulane, I would advise calling back to the Honors Program and seeing if the program is going to be similar to the Newcomb Scholars, except unrestricted by gender. If so, that would also be an advantage for your D since she would have two programs to have a shot at. As a DHS recipient, I would think her chances of being selected would be pretty good.

Regarding the second paragraph, I get where you are coming from now. I would frame it all differently, however. It isn’t the Honors Program that helps them develop outside of academics (although I could definitely see how this new Scholars program could, as the Newcomb Scholars program has for some of the participants), but instead it is Tulane itself. Not only do a lot of students blossom naturally once they are away from home for the first time, especially at a school like Tulane, but Tulane of course has two semesters of the service requirement, which gets the student involved in a community largely outside of academics. I can absolutely tell you that there are dozens of cases I know personally where this requirement either changed the student’s life goals completely or at least was a highly transforming experience. Not always, of course, but it is an exposure that students don’t get at most schools.

So if you have already moved on and this is all for naught, so be it. Others might benefit from the info. But if this makes you rethink the decision a bit, perhaps some follow up calls are in order. After all, it is a big decision and as you said, the DHS is worth a lot of money.