Can you help me "sell" Tulane to child?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>D has been admitted to Tulane. </p>

<p>She feels that only "dumb" people from her high school go to Tulane - from all the posts I'm reading that's certainly NOT the case! Still waiting to hear from first choice school but between now and then I'd really like her to feel good about going to Tulane a) as an option that may be better than her first choice school and b) in case she doesn't get admitted to first choice school. </p>

<p>Seems that many of you have lots of first hand knowledge of Tulane (I'm looking at you fallenchemist! and others...). I'd like to convince her that there would be good interaction with professors, reasonable sized classes, good social life, etc. I've also heard Tulane has one of the happiest student bodies in the country. Any facts/stories you can tell me will be GREATLY appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>lol. Friend of mine’s son whose kid goes to high school in C’Ville, va. said only the smart kids from his school got into Tulane. Such a matter of perspective.</p>

<p>I don’t know what to tell you, except go visit. It’s hard not to really like Tulane after visiting it. </p>

<p>On a side note regarding this thread – I’d like for Tulane’s recruiting office to note that passing out free personal apps willy-nilly gives the appearance that Tulane is really easy to get into and I think it cheapens the Tulane “brand” for what that’s worth. That’s probably where OP’s daughter is getting the impression that it’s a school for dumb kids</p>

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<p>The best way, bar none, to convince your daughter to come to Tulane is to bring her to one of the accepted student events. We are here this weekend for Honors Weekend and I think my son has finally come to the conclusion that this is where he needs to be. It’s not anything he heard in the presentations as much as it was in his soaking up the atmosphere. Students were everywhere - playing and studying outside. The weather has been fabulous and the students were clearly happy - even those doing their best to be diligent despite the distractions of a gorgeous weekend. </p>

<p>The stats for accepted students are supposedly higher than they have ever been. My son has a 34 ACT and a 4.45 GPA. He was caught up in the prestige of the school that his sister attends versus Tulane until this weekend. Bring your daughter to campus and pray for a beautiful day. It will make it very hard for her to resist.</p>

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<p>Love that difference in perspective! Agree with you about the freebie application - Tulane didn’t let up on her for a moment for months. It’s the adage about “any club that would want me as a member…!” LOL</p>

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<p>Thanks - we are planning a visit … I have this strong sense that she will love the environment especially because she is huge into music and I know the music scene in New Orleans is fantastic. </p>

<p>I’ve loved these two replies I’ve gotten. Keep 'em coming, I’m feeling better already!</p>

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<p>Tulane has a near perfect mix of social life and academics. From what I observe the social scene is open and more welcoming than I have noticed elsewhere, but this is observation at a distance. S2 has loves his courses, he is working hard and doing quite well. He often calls to talk about something that happened in class. It’s a dad’s dream. To be fair, it is not the intensely intellectual experience S1 had at UChicago, but there is much to be said for balance.</p>

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<p>i think i remember seeing where Fallenchemist said the Tulane ranked #29 in the country on SAT/ACT scores. That’s not very dumb!</p>

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<p>My D would love a place with balance rather than complete academic intensity - definitely intellectually curious but has many other interests. Thanks for your reply!</p>

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<p>MominMaryland - You have gotten great replies, there is only a bit I can add and emphasize (which of course still means my usual long answer).</p>

<p>It is a bit odd that students sometimes think that about Tulane, in terms of intellectual/academic quality. I think you just need to point out to her that with average SAT scores of almost 700 per section and about 70% of the incoming class in the top 10% of their high school class, Tulane cannot be a place for “dumb” kids. I would also point out that Tulane had two Presidential Scholar winners in this year’s class, and one the year before along with at least one finalist (my D, which is the only way one can know where non-winners attended school, lol). In case you are not familiar with that program, it is administered by the Dept. of Educ. and there are only 2 winners per state, plus some American students that study abroad. In Tulane’s case, I think one was from Louisiana but the other was from Pennsylvania. There are a few separate artistic awards, but for the academic side there are only about 130 winners in total. That’s out of about 3.5 million high school students! I don’t think I need to elaborate on how prestigious that is. There are much higher ranked schools that did not get that many winners, if any at all. There are lots of students that turned down Ivies and other higher ranked schools for Tulane. I could go on, but you put all that together and I think the picture is clear.</p>

<p>So why pick Tulane if you could go to Chicago or Northwestern or Duke or Dartmouth? Everyone probably has their own reasons, but idad really nails it for a lot of the students. At Tulane you just can have a great overall experience. Excellent academics, great fun in mostly good weather, the chance to really get involved in a city that is improving every day at a school that is “on a roll” in so many ways, and more. And it is very undergrad oriented. This sets it apart from some of those more famous names, where the profs can get very tied up with their research, grad students, consulting, grant writing, so on and so forth. Tulane obviously has some of that, but again it is far more balanced with the undergrad mission. My D has gotten to know her profs very well in a number of cases. With the size of the school and each department being what it is, I am very sure that every prof knows quite well who she is in one of her majors, and did so by the end of freshman year.</p>

<p>Finally, you are correct that Tulane is one of the happiest student bodies in the country, at least by the Princeton Review survey. I will personally say that, leaving comparative terms like “happier” or “happiest” aside, Tulane students have continually impressed me and numerous visitors as being helpful, friendly, enthusiastic about their school, and yes, happy.</p>

<p>If it is at all possible, visit. That may be the thing she needs. Now maybe she will decide it isn’t for her, that the vibe doesn’t work for her. That doesn’t happen often, I must say, It is almost always the other way around. But if that were to be the case, at least it would be based on something a little more solid than vague impressions and misinformation.</p>

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<p>Fallenchemist - Thank you so much for this great reply. Do you know if there’s somewhere to access those you mention? On Tulane’s website, the stats are from 2009 and suspect they’ve gone up since then.</p>

<p>We are planning a visit possibly within the next two weeks. I’ll search this site to make sure she has a great time both at Tulane and in New Orleans. </p>

<p>Best and thanks!</p>

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<p>I decided to visit Tulane on a whim. Nobody from my high school has ever gone or even applied to Tulane, to my knowledge. My mother was speaking to a colleague of hers who had just returned with his daughter and had nothing but great things to say about it. Having never been to New Orleans, we decided to go. I had visited about 15 (mostly “higher ranked”) schools and liked a few of them very much. But, after my visit, I knew Tulane had everything I wanted, both academically and socially. </p>

<p>I suggest that when you and your daughter visit, speak to anyone and everyone possible on campus. Prior to your arrival, have your daughter arrange to sit in on a class or two. I think after speaking to students and faculty she will no longer view Tulane as a school for “dumb” people.</p>

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<p>I’m surprised your D has this perspective. Look at the rankings, and grab the stats. Also the name recognition of the school is quite high. Let her look at the numbers in relation to her other choices. Because of the NOLA catastrophes, the schools and the cities are having issues now, but I have no doubt that in time that will resolve itself.</p>

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<p>They have gone up some, although those are still pretty good stats! But what I was referring to was what President Cowen said about this class coming in. They already have enough committed students that they know within a few points what the class is going to look like. Here is his statement: [Tulane</a> University - Class Acts](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/administration/president/tulane_talk/tt_021811.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/administration/president/tulane_talk/tt_021811.cfm)</p>

<p>Now I know that doesn’t give the SAT number I am sure I saw somewhere else. I just cannot find it now, but it said they expected the average SAT for CR + M for the incoming class, not just admitted students, to be around 1380 or something like that. Obviously that is just a projection in any case, but they have been doing this long enough I think they have a pretty good handle on it. But now I am concerned that I cannot find the exact number I saw and that I might be off a little. Not much for sure, but a little. In any case, numbers are nice, but Tulane is wayyyyy more than numbers. It really is one of those really special places for the right student. When it fits, it really fits, and it happens a lot.</p>

<p>I do hope she has a great visit, but more importantly I am sure she will pick the right school for her. I wish her luck for her remaining admits.</p>

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<p>I would only clarify what cptofthehouse is saying, at least what I think is a clarification. Tulane is not having issues from Katrina any longer, at least none worth mentioning. NOLA certainly still is, but that is actually part of the huge opportunity that comes with going to Tulane. Architecture students get to see their plans actually built, business students get to work with real businesses to help them in many ways, environmental studies students get to work on the gulf disaster as well as continuing post-Katrina issues, and obviously social work and other areas have a lot they can do. People that are thinking of law school can get completely involved in various issues. For many students, it is as “hands on” as it can possibly get.</p>

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<p>cptofthehouse: It’s her school - she attends one of these super-achieving high schools - and somehow Tulane has acquired that reputation. I agree with a previous writer that the freebie (and really easy) applications doesn’t send a great signal.</p>

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<p>MominMaryland,</p>

<p>My suggestion to you is to try and NOT convince her to come to Tulane. Her condescending attitude will not be received very well and she may find herself all alone. There are too many people (smart and well-rounded) who have been wait-listed who would be happy to be in this school full of “dummies”. Besides that, there are already too many girls at Tulane.</p>

<p>FYI, Honors weekend was incredible. President Scott Cowen is the GREATEST! When I asked the students who were undecided what they thought about everything, they would tell me, “what’s not to like?” My daughter was pleased that the honors students weren’t too geeky.
Anyway, to sum it up, Cowen says, “There are no bad schools, just bad fits.”</p>

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<p>Just to add a bit to FallenChemist’s last comments: there are virtually no signs of Katrina anywhere around Tulane’s campus or anywhere even close that we observed on our visit this weekend. As a matter of fact, my husband and I were observing how much cleaner New Orleans is post-Katrina and so many of the streets have finally been repaved which is a huge plus in my opinion! Now I am just hoping that my son will be able to find the “balance.” :)</p>

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<p>First - If Tulane Admissions reads this:
I strongly agree with others on this thread that the free applications need to be eliminated, except for those in financial need. I know of several private school counselors who have told our friends: Just apply to Tulane and see what happens, because it’s free. Kids who aren’t even interested apply and then potentially take spots from others who are really excited about Tulane. I think that the free applications probably lead to lower “yield” as well, which then hurts the almighty US News rankings. Students, like MominMaryland’s daughter, also get the perception that Tulane is not special, even though it is currently ranked as the #51 university in the USA by US News, out of how many thousands of colleges?? (Ironically, I think those US News rankings are a big cause so much of this anxiety for kids, parents, and colleges!)</p>

<p>Second - Hi MominMaryland:
My son is at a competitive public high school across the river in northern VA. With 450 kids in his class, of course they all don’t get into the Ivies or our top state colleges, in part because of sheer limits on numbers at those colleges. As you acknowledged, our kids are surrounded in their classes by so many other very intelligent students that, sadly, their perception is skewed. </p>

<p>The funny thing is that I am sure that it will be the same at Tulane. Some kids will be harder workers than others; some will have higher SATs than others; and some will be more adept at one subject or another; but, they will all be smart. (But, more importantly, hopefully they will all be happy and successful, with lots of close friends!!) </p>

<p>If you haven’t visited Tulane, go. We are heading down there for the first time this weekend, and I am really looking forward to it, Several graduates from our high school attend there, and everyone says how lovely it is. </p>

<p>If she visits and still is not interested, then I agree with DixieMom that it is not a good idea to try to convince your daughter to go somewhere that she is not excited about. Hopefully she will be enthusiastic about at least one of her options. Good luck!</p>

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<p>PS - Sorry the above post was so long - Promise to be shorter if I ever write one again!</p>

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<p>Momandboystwo - Oh, that wasn’t so long! LOL, you have no doubt seen some of my novels.</p>

<p>I rather disagree about eliminating the free app. It wouldn’t bother me if they eliminated it, but I don’t think they need to either. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, since when did we complain about anything being free, especially something that opens up possibilities for students that are getting nickeled and dimed to death with app fees and might be hard-pressed for the money. Sure they could ask for relief, but I suspect a lot of students are either embarrassed about that or just don’t do it, and so limit their applications. I view it more as making the application part of the process far more open and accessible. Yes, there is a cost involved in perception of prestige, but that brings up the second point.</p>

<p>Using this strategy, Tulane has actually raised the quality of the classes since Katrina by a fairly significant margin. So as I have pointed out a few times, they are in fact getting students at the highest level (along with others) to apply that wouldn’t have otherwise, enticing them to take a closer look with a quick acceptance and significant merit money, and then getting them hooked with a visit and/or more information. That strategy is diminished if Tulane starts charging, although this year they moved away from it a little bit in other ways because of the need to limit class size. Depending on what happens with admissions this year, I suspect they might make further moves to try and maintain as much control as possible over that. Whether charging an application fee is one of those moves is anyone’s guess. Just my 2 cents.</p>

<p>BTW, USNWR does not use yield in its calculations at this point, although they have talked about putting it back in the equation. They do use admission %, although that is only 1.5% of the total weight. So with regard to the ranking the free app might be a positive, however slight, although no question that the perception of the ~16% yield by the general population is not positive if they don’t understand Tulane’s strategy. But apparently this has not hurt Tulane either in the global scheme of things.</p>

<p>So to summarize, when Tulane was recovering from Katrina and raising its class quality, I was strongly in favor of the overall strategy, of which the first step was the free (and easy) application. Is it time to move on from that? I will leave that to far wiser and more informed professionals.</p>