My son has received his acceptance and a very nice 27k merit scholarship!
I know that partial merit goes up to 32k,however. I’m wondering if the fact he wasn’t awarded the highest amount of partial merit $ means that he is not competitive for Paul Tulane $. His stats seem to put him in the ballpark (4.0, 1340 SAT, 34 ACT some decent extracurriculars) but I’m not sure I should encourage him to apply if the signal is that he’s not competitive at the highest level. Any thoughts?
Before I proffer my opinion, is that 4.0 weighted? I suspect it is, so do you know the unweighted? If not, how many AP courses has he taken? For that matter, do you have an indication of class rank?
Sure, the 4.0 is unweighted, class rank is 19/720 and he has 12 APs including 3 this year. Thanks for any input!
And obviously I do realize it would be best for him to apply, regardless of his competitiveness ( you can’t win if you don’t try) but he is a STEM kid and all of the essay questions are wearing him down so it’s my thought to try and put his best effort into the ones where he may be a stronger candidate.
Well, with the statement upfront that I have to make some assumptions because of course I cannot see his entire file…
With that record the $27K is a bit of a surprise. Normally those stats get $32K. So my operating assumption (and I know it sounds blunt) is that perhaps they were not impressed with his Why Tulane or something like that. So if he is really serious about Tulane should he get a full tuition scholarship, I would most definitely do both the PTA and the DHS and after those are in, strike up a conversation with his admissions person. He needs to make his reasons for wanting to attend Tulane clear. I can only assume he really does like Tulane or this wouldn’t even be worth discussing.
To be clear, I understand that there are situations where Tulane might be #2-4 on a list and in a world where money was not a factor, there might be a school or even several ahead of Tulane in his mind. That was true for my D who had one school she thought maybe she would have picked instead if she had also gotten full tuition from them. But she didn’t and that was fine because she really liked Tulane as well. And believe me, that was despite Dad having gone there. And if that is the case for your son (not the dad part of course), there is nothing wrong with that. Tulane understands these decisions are a mix of subjective factors and financial ones. It is fine to play up all the great reasons he would be happy at Tulane, but in the end making sure they understand that in a world of getting accepted at #1 but with less aid and Tulane with full aid, he would pick Tulane. But only if that is true.
Your assumption about his essay is probably correct, and although we visited the campus informally he has no record of having been there and no other demonstrated interest which could have been viewed negatively. He is pre med and wants a mid sized private with nice campus near a big city. So Tulane is a great option but he’s also interested in other similar universities and the final decision will most likely be made based on financial feasibility since he has lots of schooling ahead of him. The situation you described with your daughter is very similar to his, so thanks for the insight and advice.
Does it make sense to apply for Paul Tulane and DHS before hearing about acceptance or other merit aid?
My daughter doesn’t want to spend time working on the essays and DHS when she is already so busy, until she knows she has been accepted. Also if she gets little or no merit aid, it would seem her chances for DHS or Paul Tulane are so slim she would not want to waste her time. Thanks
I would compromise. By which I mean it is probably worth her time to just sketch out her thoughts on what she would write for the PTA and what she would focus on for her project for the DHS. No more than an hour or two tops, maybe as she is waiting someplace or trying to fall asleep. I have advised people in the past to keep a little notebook with them for when inspiration unexpectedly strikes. But this way if she hears rather close to the Dec. 5 deadline for these award applications, she won’t feel panicked.
Congratulations on your scholarship! I just submitted my application, and I was wondering if you find out your merit award at the same time/in the same place as your admission decision. Thanks!
There are only two places you can see your admission decision. Online through the Gibson portal, but this DOES NOT contain any information about partial merit scholarships or invitations to the Honors Program. Tulane also does NOT send out an email telling you to check Gibson.
The second way is through the traditional paper mail system, and it is in this letter that Tulane not only confirms your acceptance, but also informs you what your partial merit scholarship is, if any, and if you have been invited to the Honors Program, which leads to the Tulane Scholars Program.