<p>Hi. We visited Tulane last week and it is DD's #1 choice by far. She's on cloud 9. The $63,000 price tag is not doable for our family for a variety of reasons not on the EFC calculator. :)</p>
<p>I know Tulane's scholarships are a long shot for all but would a 3.71 likely disqualify her from the outset? She is top 7% in her class (website says top 5% are typical of recipients) and she will have 9 AP's. SAT 2's are 760 (Lit.) and 770 (history). EC's (intense ballet/competition team and director of her art school's theatre co, mock trial).</p>
<p>So...I am trying to temper her enthusiasm which is hard because she is a very logical, pragmatic person and unbridled enthusiasm isn't something that she often expresses so it hurts the mom part of my heart to bring her down to Earth - but if it needs to be done I will do it.</p>
<p>We can tighten our belts if she gets good merit aid, but again, the 3.71 might put her out of the running. Wondering if the challenge of taking AP math and science = lots of B's was a good move looking back on everything. She does not regret the rigorous classes, so neither must I.</p>
<p>My daughter received a $25,000 per year scholarship (she is a freshman) with a 3.7/4.1 and a 33 ACT. I’d say it is very possible depending on her SAT/ACT scores.</p>
<p>Title says 2300 SAT, @donnahead. So very similar situation to your D. And I agree with donnahead, @gettingaclue . I think a very good merit scholarship is likely, and she does have a long shot at one of the full tuition awards. True, top 5% is the guideline, but it isn’t absolute. She is certainly quite close to it. A really great fall semester now will help as well, since the awards are not decided until February. So if she were able to ace this semester, and submit a great project (DHS) and/or essays (PTA), she would seem to be in the running. Best of luck to her.</p>
<p>Also I wouldn’t “beat yourself up” about the B’s in AP courses vs. likely A’s in easier courses. Challenging schedules count for a lot, especially whren going for the full tuition scholarships. Quite possibly fewer AP courses, knowing that these were available to her, probably would have been a more detrimental situation to the awards committees. Not to mention that if she got 4 or 5 on those AP exams, she will love having those credits going into college.</p>
<p>Thanks @fallenchemist and @donnahead. She anticipates a 4.0 this semester. Just wondered if her app would be weeded out at first level automatically b/c of the 3.71 not top 5%. I guess I already know the answer: Who knows. Gotta buy a powerball ticket ASAP. ;)</p>
<p>Don’t you dare win my jackpot!! I don’t think she would get weeded out that quickly, she is too close. But to tell the truth I am not sure they seriously start going through them until after the New Year, so perhaps her improved GPA would be on file then anyway. I hope she gets that 4.0!</p>
<p>Well, we were the worst most unhelicopter-y parents ever - bordering on neglect. I thought A’s and B’s were good enough, and they are, of course, but, they aren’t really if you want money. She had major anxiety issues when she was in elementary school, so we really backed off on all pressure. I guess we backed waaaaay off b/c we should have been encouraging her more to get A’s. Most days of the week were filled with ballet classes, play recitals, and homework, likely in that order… Summers were always spent at her sleep away hippie camp, not on academic endeavors. She has learned a lot along the way so she is happy with who she is.</p>
<p>Often I hear that high scores + lower GPA = bright slacker. She’s not that person, at all.</p>
<p>I’ve crossed over to anxious rambling now…signing off.</p>
<p>It’s good to get it out sometimes. The looming specter of paying for a college education, especially when your child falls in love with a $63,000 school, would generate anxiety in anyone. But I think also in this hyper world of ours things can get exaggerated. A 3.7 with 9 AP’s is hardly slacking! I think we lose perspective of how good a 3.7 with tough courses really is. After all, she is in the top 7% of her class, so clearly her school also grades a bit more of the old fashioned way. I am speaking very off the cuff here since I really know nothing about you and your D beyond what you wrote, but it sounds to me like she has plenty of discipline and organizational ability if she has those grades, that record of course work, and all those activities.</p>
<p>Trust me, everything will work out. I know she is in love with Tulane, and things could well fall in place there. But there are many very fine schools and programs that would give her a nearly free education based on those stats alone. There are options that will give her a great education and keep you and her out of the poor house. But I like her chances of getting some excellent help from Tulane.</p>
<p>Thanks for listening @fallenchemist and thanks to all the other sympathetic lurkers/listeners out there who are trying to navigate this process and know the pain of a disappointed child. Positive thoughts to you all.</p>
Thought I’d update here in case future CC’ers search for stats and results related to Tulane merit scholarships. DD got a 30,000 yr merit scholarship and invite to honors.
Well, see? There ya go, we knew it all the time. LOL. Seriously, that is so great. Congrats to you all. And isn’t it nice that you didn’t have to helicopter to get those great results? She will do so well in college, I feel sure.
Thanks @fallenchemist. HUGE celebration. Your information has helped me and my family so very much! What a wonderful ambassador Tulane has in you! It was below 0 w/ wind chill here today - she can’t move to a warmer climate fast enough!
Here too. So tired of the cold and snow (more snow Sunday, they say). I saw that it was 63 in NOLA today. I miss it so much! I told my D that she was so smart to pick Stanford for grad school instead of Harvard!
I love that you all celebrated. I was there in spirit, anyway. Very happy to have been of a tiny bit of help.
P.S. I know a lot of you have followed my D’s academic career through my using her as a frequent example. OK, OK through my bragging, let’s call it what it is. Anyway, she has been selected by the Dept. of State to spend another summer with them, but instead of DC like last summer she is going to be posted to Taiwan (Taipei) this time. She is very excited. Should be an interesting contrast to Beijing, where she spent her 3rd year of undergrad. Anyway, seemed like as good an opportunity to update as any.
@gettingaclue I’m so glad you posted your daughter’s results, and that she did so well. We hear all of these stories on CC, and so rarely hear the endings. Are you going to TSW?
@fallenchemist Congrats to your daughter! That’s terrific! Is she planning to take the Foreign Service exam? It sounds as though she might be headed in that direction… It should be quite a contrast to Beijing!
@Arlmom2 - Yes, she is indeed. In fact she was just checking into whether the exam is given at Palo Alto or if she will have to go into SF or to Berkeley. I would think with Condy Rice on the faculty at Stanford she could pull some strings, LOL.
@dolphnlvr6 - Thanks! Hope you are having a good time. I do NOT feel sorry for you having a high of 56, since I think the high here was 14. I guess it was yesterday when I saw the temp in NOLA in the mid-60’s.
Well, the truth is that the main reason I post that kind of information is to demonstrate, with at least one example, that Tulane students and grads can compete for and obtain scholarships, admissions, jobs and awards with the best of them. The bragging/celebrating is a nice bonus. But sometimes you still hear people saying things like if you don’t graduate from an Ivy type school, a school ranked at least in the top 20 or so of the USNWR rankings, you are at a serious disadvantage. Clearly that is not necessarily the case.
Not too likely, but if the opportunity arises I certainly will. Although it is my understanding that summers in Taipei are virtually identical to summers in NOLA. Ugh.
Gotta buy a powerball ticket ASAP. ;)</p>
I thought A’s and B’s were good enough, and they are, of course, but, they aren’t really if you want money. She had major anxiety issues when she was in elementary school, so we really backed off on all pressure. I guess we backed waaaaay off b/c we should have been encouraging her more to get A’s. Most days of the week were filled with ballet classes, play recitals, and homework, likely in that order… Summers were always spent at her sleep away hippie camp, not on academic endeavors. She has learned a lot along the way so she is happy with who she is.</p>
She has a friend there who will show her around. Do you have someone attending the weekend?