Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

Hey everyone, with Tulane’s application now going live at the beginning of the month, I am looking to get started on it! However, I would like to get some opinion’s on how my profile looks for admission chances at the college. Right now it is in my top 3 along with Boston U and University of Maryland. I look forward to your feedback!

cGPA: 3.5
wGPA: 4.01
SAT: 1330/1600: 720 on CR+W and 610 on M
ACT: 31: 34 on Reading, 34 on English, 27 on M, 30 on Science
I think my test scores reflect well on my career choices as I plan to go into Communications in college, more specifically Public Relations. I feel if a college sees how well I performed on the English sections of both tests and also sees me applying for their Communications school, it will reflect well.

My strength of schedule is probably considered pretty high, I took 3 years of Spanish in middle school and math all the way up to Geometry in middle school as well. In high school all of my classes have either been honors or AP, and after senior year I will have taken 7 APs(NSL, World, Psych, US, Stat, Lang, Lit), earning high marks in all classes, well besides Stat, Lit, and US as those are all senior classes but I am certain I won’t get below a B lol.

I have a good amount of extracurriculars as well:
2015-2016 Sports Editor of school newspaper
2016-2017 Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper
2015-2016 Vice President of Key Club
2016-2017 President of Key Club
2015-2016 Event Planner for Best Buddies Club
2016-2017 Vice President of Best Buddies
Member of 2016-2017 Gay-Straight Alliance Club
Member of 2016-2017 National English Honors Society
Member of 2016-2017 National Honors Society
Member of JV Baseball team in 2013-2014 & 2014-2015
Manager of Varsity Lacrosse team in 2015-2016
Member of Varsity Lacrosse team in 2016-2017
2016-2017 Leader of school’s student section, nicknamed the “Maroon Platoon”, work with AD and various others to ensure fun for all students at sporting events
Member of Co-Ed Varsity Bocce team in 2013-2014
Student Coach of Co-Ed Varsity Bocce team in 2014-2015, 2015-2016, & 2016-2017
-Just a little side note to clarify what exactly the co-ed bocce team is. It is a varsity level team comprised of general education students and special needs students in hopes to create a sense of accomplishment for students who couldn’t participate in regular varsity sports, as well as creating unity and friendship between the students. For the three years I was a student coach, I ran the practices, created lineups, coached during games, etc. as well as stayed after school with my players and cultivated a welcoming environment for anyone who wanted to join.

Along with those in school extracurriculars I have over 400 hours of documented student-service-learning hours, and countless more undocumented throughout various organizations and community service projects, including a mission trip to Alaska to help the homeless and clean the environment.

2

@mkat12

You look like a strong applicant to me. I think applying EA should be a given, unless it interferes with an ED application elsewhere. If you haven’t decided on an ED anywhere and you think Tulane is that strong a choice for you, I would consider using Tulane for your ED. It would enhance your chances, and it looks like you can still apply EA to other schools. In any case, you look like a very typical Tulane applicant, which is a compliment. It seems you would fit in well.

3

The only problem with ED is I don’t have the money to afford Tulane at its sticker price and if I don’t get enough aid I’d be stuck going to a school to expensive for my financial situation unfortunately.

4

@mkat12

Absolutely not. For any school, the one thing that allows a student to walk away from an ED commitment is if it is financially not affordable. Obviously I am not including extraordinary situations such as severe illness, family situations, etc. But applying ED means also getting your FA documents in early so Tulane can present a financial package early as well, if they accept you.

As an aside, that is the big reason, or one of them anyway, that people object to ED. It seemingly favors people that know they can afford a school, FA offers notwithstanding. But again, the reality is they can’t make you go to a school you can’t afford, and it isn’t unethical for such a student to walk away. The other reality is that no college has ever taken legal action against a student that reneged on an ED, even when it wasn’t for a good reason. But that, of course, is simply unethical on the part of the student.

But back to you, if Tulane ED seems attractive, don’t let finances hold you back. They will work hard to make it happen.

5

I just put my application in last week! Ended up applying EA as while Tulane is my number one right now, I wouldn’t feel comfortable being binded to the decision. Praying that I get in! Thank you for your help, would it be a good idea to email an admissions officer and tell them a little bit more about myself so they can sort of put a backstory to the name? I unfortunately didn’t have the chance to make the trip to NOLA, but I feel really strongly about coming to Tulane and wanting to be there and I hope I reflected that adequately in my Why Tulane? Answer. What really stood out is the dedication to community service, I would love to be surrounded by people who love to do community service like I do. I talked about that aspect heavily. Sorry for rambling one, thank you once again for your help, and hope to return with good news soon!

6

It is fine to contact your admissions person by email. But I would include a question you have that you can’t find online or want more in-depth information. If in asking the question you tell them a little more about yourself, OK. But unless it is something unusual they should know that had no place on the application for you to explain, the application information should be enough. But like I said, we often reveal a lot about ourselves by the questions we ask.

7

Okay thank you. Maybe I’ll just hold off then. Don’t want to overload haha. I’m very nervous but also excited about potentially being accepted. Only time will tell I guess.

8

Well, I think your chances are very good.

9

Hey fallenchemist,
I just completed the FAFSA today, my family’s EFC is 18,981. Do you think this will qualify me for some need-based aid from Tulane?

10

@mkat12 I would think it would have to, unless they give you enough merit to make up the remaining cost of attendance (not too likely, I think).

11

As long as it gets under 30K, we should be able to afford it. Is it realistic that I get offered in that area? I’m sorry for bombarding you with questions, btw.

12

Ask away, but in this case an answer other than “yes, it is realistic” is hard to give. Financial aid decisions have factors beyond the FAFSA calculations, especially in how the school decides to break it down in loans, grants and work-study. All you can do now is submit everything and wait.