My daughter has applied to Tulane. Her heart is really set on getting in. She got a 31 on her ACT, will graduate in May with not only her high school diploma but also her associates degree. (Dual credit, Collegiate program)
My only concern is the tuition. Even if she gets accepted and she receives merit aid, I don’t know how I will be able to come up with the rest. I know she will qualify for everything in terms of need based aid as I make less than 40k a year but I still don’t know if the need based aid will make a dent in what is remaining after the merit aid is given. Can someone please give me some insight???
Have you run the NPC? Does your child have a Non Custodial Parent? If so, does Tulane look at that?
The NPC may not show merit, so you can’t just add merit on. If the pkg shows grants, it may end up subbing some grants with merit.
In the meantime, you need to gently work on your DD. Explain what you can pay. How much can you pay? And tell her…I can pay XX. If the school expects me to pay more, we can’t afford it. NO, I cant take out loans.
Tulane was fairly generous to us. My daughter got merit, and then when our actual taxes came through and everything was updated, they upped the free money with a Tulane grant, plus a loan. So it’s possible you can afford it if she is willing to take on some loans. They did not expect us to take on a Parent Plus loan. My daughter had a 32 ACT. The tuition for us ended up being about the same as our state flagship–a little less, I think. For you I’d guess it will be better.
I didn’t expect D to get her financial need met at Tulane, because they do not guarantee it and their NPC suggested they would not. I allowed her to apply on the chance of getting one of the full tuition merit awards.
However, Tulane came through in a big way with a package second only to Amherst (which included Tulane’s largest not-full-tuition merit award). I was really surprised. Her ACT was 34/35ss. SO my advice is let her apply with the understanding that it may not work out and see if it does. And stay on top of the FA requirements…we got D’s package very late because something was missing and she wasn’t notified by email and the doc requirements checklist was very hard to find - I finally called to see why it hadn’t come in. If she’d known what they were offering earlier we might have visited and she might be there now.
I’m not sure what they think about the AA she’s already earned., if that makes her a freshman or if she’ll do 4 years or…?
redpoodles and OHMomof2 - did your daughters apply early action? Also did they apply for the full tuition scholarships?
EA, yes (not SCEA). And she didn’t wind up applying for the full tuition scholarships because she had so many supp essays to do for other schools she just ran out of time. But she had a very specific and relevant “Why Tulane” essay (public health/tropical medicine was her interest).
What does the Net Price Calculator show you for Tulane?
What financial safety will she apply to?
Thank you everyone for responding. I ran the NPC and it actually looks more affordable than I thought. After grants and scholarships it does leave a little bit but hoping if she gets accepted it can be slightly more bearable.
Good news! Will she try to graduate early?
No. She doesn’t want to graduate early.
Just a note…she applied SCEA to Tulane. Her fallbacks are Texas A&M and Bama.
Are you familiar with Tulane’s no loan assistance for families making less than 75k? http://tulane.edu/financialaid/grants/nola.cfm