Chance Me For My Dream School: Tulane

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

<p>Tulane University is my dream school. I am obsessed with this school, its location, its traditions, just everything about it! However, I don't want to get my hopes up if I don't actually stand a chance. For this reason, I was wondering if you could chance me for Tulane University? Thank you!</p>

<p>My Stats:</p>

<p>I am a white male whose family's income is below $120,000. However, I do have one hook. I am a first generation college student.</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.91
Weighted GPA: 4.33
ACT Score: 28</p>

<p>Schedule:
Eighth Grade (High School Credit):
- Algebra I Honors
- History and Appreciation for the Arts and Humanities</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
- Geometry Honors
- English I Honors
- Biology
- Spanish I
- World Geography and US Government
- PE/ Health</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
- Algebra II Honors
- English II Honors
- Introduction to the Sciences
- Spanish II
- World History
- Art</p>

<p>Junior Year (All Taken at Western Kentucky University):
- Math 117 (Trigonometry)
- CS 180 (Honors Introduction to Java programming)
- Bio 120 (Biology Concepts: Cell Metabolism and Genetics)
- Bio 275
- Math 136 (Honors Calculus I)
- Eng 100 (Introduction to College Writing)
- Bio 312 (Bioinformatics)
- CS 371 (Honors Advanced Computational Problem Solving: Mathematica)
- Chem 116 (Introduction to College Chemistry)
- Bio 485 (Honors Costa Rican Biodiversity Studies)</p>

<p>Senior Year (All Taken at Western Kentucky University; Only registered for first semester right now):
- Chem 120 (College Chemistry)
- Chem 121 (Lab)
- Math 137 (Calculus II)
- Eng 200 (Introduction to Literature)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
- Conducted undergraduate research; discovered my own bacteriophage that I got to name and enter into an international database
- Research internship at Kentucky's only NCI designated cancer center where I was able to conduct my own research project using human tissue samples. This opportunity was supported by a grant I received.
- Conducted field research in Costa Rica; examined the relationship between the gunnera plant and cyanobacteria that lives in its roots
- Member of Beta club (3 years), Spanish club (2 years), Medical Exploration and Discovery Club (2 years and President), yearbook club (2 years), and WKU's microbiology club (2 years)
- Presented research about bacteriophages at the Louisville Regional Science and Engineering Fair (LRSEF), Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, WKU Student Research Conference, and the NCSSSMST student research conference
- Community Developer for my wing of the residence hall (Major leadership position)
- Founded a lawn care business that lasted two years</p>

<p>Awards:
- Perfect attendance freshman, sophomore, and junior year
- Highest average grade in algebra II, which was taken a year before my fellow classmates
- PGxl Laboratories Award (LRSEF)
- Sigma Xi Award (LRSEF)
- First place in microbiology category (LRSEF)
- Second place overall (LRSEF)
- Second place school (LRSEF)
- Best of session at WKU student research conference
- Research internship grant to financially support my cancer research
- Three scholarships totaling $850 to aid in paying for my study abroad trip to Costa Rica
- Dean's list first semester at WKU
- President's list second semester at WKU</p>

<p>Volunteer:
- Intensive Care Unit (4 hours a week for two months)
- Progressive Care Unit (4 hours a week for two months)
- Delivered and relocated the eggs of endangered leatherback turtles. I even released some baby sea turtles, which allowed me to save approximately fifty leatherback turtles from certain death (5 hours a night for five days)
- I tutored underprivileged juniors and seniors that were struggling with algebra II at my high school (2 hours a week for the whole school year)
- Aided in organizing a benefit dinner that raised money for a young child that was diagnosed with cancer (10+ hours)
- Served meals at the local soup kitchen (6+ hours)
- Served as a waiter for Hospice Tea (10+ hours)
- Miscellaneous volunteer hours (30+ hours)</p>

<p>Recommendations:
- Counselor will be amazing because she has truly seen me blossom both academically and just in my normal life
- Other two will come from professor and research mentor, both of which know me very personally and are very proud of me</p>

2

<p>I’m no one that knows anything about an individuals chance of being accepted, but I would encourage you to apply SCEA, make sure you do the optional "Why Tulane "essay and apply for the optional scholarships a well- Dean’s Honor and Paul Tulane. </p>

<p>From past reading it does seem that your ACT may be low, but I’m not an expert on that, so I could be wrong. </p>

<p>Good luck, Tulane is an amazing school. Have you visited yet? Attended any "Tulane in your Town " events. I would visit if there is any way possible. </p>

3

<p>Oh, I wish I could visit! I’ve been vicariously living what it would be like to visit campus by watching YouTube videos and looking up maps and images. To my knowledge there haven’t been any “Tulane in your Town” visits locally. Also, I definitely plan on applying early action, to the optional scholarships, and filling out the option essay. I’m in love with this university. </p>

4

<p>@AppleBoyFreak‌ - You stand a pretty reasonable chance, I think. The ACT is indeed on the lowish side, just below the 25th percentile for Tulane, but everything else looks strong. The fact that you are taking courses at WKU (I know the school, actually. One of my kids attend a summer program there when we were living in Louisville. 12 years later and they are still sending us mail.) should more than make up for the lack of AP courses, assuming you did well. Is that GPA inclusive of the WKU courses? How does this work, exactly? Does your high school simply put the WKU grades on your high school transcript and note that the courses were taken at WKU?</p>

<p>If your parents make near $120K, then you probably won’t get a lot of financial aid based on need, although depending on particulars you still might get some. A merit scholarship in your case is hard to predict. If your ACT was higher it would be far more likely, but a 28 in combination with everything else might still get you one of the lower awards, That GPA is very strong, especially if it includes the WKU courses. I have to say, though, that with a 28 your chances of getting a full tuition scholarship are practically nil. Sorry to be so blunt, but those awards usually require a minimum ACT of 33 to be considered. I have very rarely seen a 32 squeak in there. Probably the most valuable (and profitable!) thing you could do would be to study for the ACT as hard as you can and take it again in September or October. If you already studied very hard for it and you think further studying won’t raise your score, perhaps you should study for the SAT and try that instead. Sometimes results vary by wide margins.</p>

<p>Finally, I am assuming you live in the Bowling Green area, so you should look for those Tulane local sessions in either Louisville or Nashville, and more likely the latter I would think. I couldn’t find last year’s schedule, but one from 2010 showed them in Louisville on September 20 and Nashville on September 27. Usually the list of cities doesn’t change much, but dates certainly might. Attendance at those goes a long way towards showing interest. But if everything else lines up as it appears from your summary of your record, you appear to be exactly the kind of student Tulane Tulane likes. Strong overall record, lots of potential. Really try to make one of those sessions. Tulane should be posting a schedule soon.</p>

5

<p>In addition to all that has been said, I would contact your admissions counselor. He/she might be able to let you know when they will be in your area. Contacting the counselor is also a way to show interest, one factor that Tulane takes into account. Good luck to you. </p>

6

<p>Thank you so much @fallenchemist‌ for the response! I actually live in Elizabethtown, but attend school in Bowling Green at the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. You may have actually been in my residence hall, Florence Schneider Hall, if your child attended VAMPY or SCATS. I will definitely study and retake the ACT because I didn’t take it seriously the last time I took it, I skipped ten questions in the reading section. Also, I am not allowed to drive once I go to school, school rules, but I will definitely try my best to attend the event in Nashville! Also, my WKU courses are reported on my transcript because of the way my school is set up and they are represented in my unweighted and weighted GPA’s. Once again, thank you for the response!</p>

7

<p>@AppleBoyFreak‌ - I think it was VAMPY. At least that seems to ring a bell. Hard to say since they keep sending literature as well, which I at least glance at. But I think that was it. Definitely cannot remember the residence hall, but you are probably right.</p>

<p>Yes, definitely take the ACT very seriously. It could be worth many, many thousands of $$. A full tuition/fees scholarship at Tulane represents approximately $175,000 over 4 years. If you can jump that to a 33, you at least put yourself in the mix. Chances for these awards are still slim, but that is just because there are over 1000 qualified applicants for 125 awards. However, the largest scholarship that requires no separate application is $30,000/year (last year, could go up this year) and a 31 or 32 would improve your chances for that immensely.</p>

<p>I would think that if you cannot get someone to drive you to Nashville, there must be fairly regular bus service from either Etown or BG. In fact, BG has a shuttle service that might even take you right to the talk. <a href=“http://www.bgshuttle.com/”>http://www.bgshuttle.com/&lt;/a&gt; In 2010 it was at an Embassy Suites near Vanderbilt. They usually keep the same location if they can. But a company like that might be willing to combine an airport run with taking you from door-to-door. Just a thought. Here is a site for transportation from Etown. <a href=“Buses and Trains from Nashville, TN | Schedules, Fares, Travel Times, Prices”>http://www.routefriend.com/cities/nashville-tn-to-elizabethtown-ky-bus-train&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Bump</p>

9

<p>You kind of let me down, @AppleBoyFreak. You have apparently posted this same thread many times, just changing the name of the school yet calling them all your “dream school” and talking about the traditions and all that. DIsingenuous at the very least. FWIW, I would advise you to learn the lesson now that people lose trust and stop listening entirely when they find out you do things like this.</p>

<p>There is absolutely nothing wrong with having several top choices. Just put together one chance thread that lists the half dozen or whatever schools you like and why you like each one, and post it in the What Are My Chances thread. That’s the best way to get comparative feedback as well. Then if you have specific questions about a certain school, you can post those questions on that school’s forum.</p>

10

<p>I did put all of my top choices in one post, but it received maybe three replies. I then decide to post on each of the colleges’ forums with the hopes that someone that understood the college’s admissions process could give me better feed back. While Tulane is indeed my number one choice, I chose a generic structure so that I could quickly and effortlessly post the same post in each of the colleges’ forum. I have realized that what I have done is very inconsiderate and childish and wish to remove all of my posts, except for the one in tHe Chance Me forum. However, I haven’t been able to find out how to delete my posts.</p>

11

<p>Well, you got responses so they won’t be deleted. I can close them all except the one in WAMC. People can find that at <a href=“Finalizing College List: Chance Me? - #12 by AppleBoyFreak - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>Finalizing College List: Chance Me? - #12 by AppleBoyFreak - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums;