I am a current HS senior and I applied EA to Tulane University, thinking I had a solid chance at getting in, but I got deferred. I know that ‘deferred’ and ‘denied’ are different, but being deferred still doesn’t feel like a win. I don’t feel the need to type out every single thing I have been involved in but here are the basics.
4.444 GPA (4.0 unweighted)
9 AP classes (three 5s, one 4, one 3, four in progress)
Ranked 2/321
36 ACT
1580 SAT
Hundreds of volunteer hours, biochemistry internship, National Merit Semi-Finalist, in National Honor Society, won a regional math competition, etc.
I considered myself a solid applicant for Tulane (possibly an arrogant thought) and now I am caught off guard after being deferred to RD. Any advice? I will be emailing my admissions counselor to show that I really am interested in Tulane, but does anyone have any other advice, wisdom, similar stories, or possibly an explanation for me? Anything would be appreciated!
Just make sure you have back up applications ready. You can still work your Tulane application by sending any new information (awards, test scores), but look for the good things about your other schools too.
Congratulations on your HS achievements.
I know the deferral is a let down, but the process isn’t over yet. Maybe Tulane deferred you for yield protection, but no one but the AOs really know.
Have you been demonstrating interest all along? Definitely send a short LOCI to your AO, and if you would attend if offered admission say that…but if you aren’t sure you’d attend, don’t say you will.
Make sure your GC sends your first semester transcript, and you could ask them to call the AO on a fact-finding mission and to also re-iterate your continued interest in Tulane.
Meanwhile, if admissions or financial aid runs any webinars sign-up for those. Visit if you can and haven’t already.
Good luck, I know the process is long and stressful, but believe that you will end up where you are meant to be. Many colleges would love to have a student with your stats/background, and you will succeed no matter where you go.
Tulane offers many deferred EA students the opportunity to switch to ED2. If they made that offer to you, I believe the deadline is tomorrow.
@Mwfan1921 thank you!
I am in a bit of a difficult situation. I come from a fairly well-off family, so I am looking heavily into merit aid for most of the schools I applied to since need based aid is mostly off the table. Tulane is one of those schools. Truth is, I don’t really have a “first choice” in the sense that there isn’t a school I would go to regardless of the amount of money they give me. So I wouldn’t consider Tulane a safety school seeing as I would really like to go there, but I don’t think I could say with certainty that I am sure I would attend, because it all comes down to the financial aid offers. Does that mean I shouldn’t contact my AO?
@Temperantia I did get that offer. Unfortunately it doesn’t make sense for me to apply ED because of how important merit aid is to me. As I stated in an above comment, there is no school that I would go to regardless of their financial aid offer. I wish ED II was a good option for me, but it doesn’t seem like that. Correct me if I am wrong though!
It’s not clear if you applied for FA or not…did you, or are you only hoping for merit? Note that Tulane is decreasing the amount of merit aid given out in lieu of more need-based aid.
I would still write a LOCI, if you have a good GC have them read it before sending.
Do you have an affordable safety option? Where else have you applied? Any other acceptances/deferrals/denials yet?
@Mwfan1921 I did apply for need based aid, however I am unlikely to get much out of it due to my parents’ finances. Thank you for the information regarding the amount of merit aid Tulane is giving out. I will definitely keep that in mind.
I have been accepted to Boise State University (in-state), Oregon State University, and Chapman University. I have a substantial merit aid offer from Chapman, but unfortunately it still leaves a significant amount of money left for my family to pay. I got accepted into BSU but haven’t received a financial aid offer yet (I’m assuming it won’t be great because it’s a public state school, but also it’s in state tuition so that should be fairly inexpensive). I have been accepted to OSU and received a merit scholarship, but nothing very exciting.
I have also applied to Stanford (top choice but unlikely for financial reasons), Rice, Baylor, Vanderbilt, University of Richmond, Duke, University of Washington, and University of Florida (my National Merit top choice where I can hopefully get offered a full ride).
Tulane would love to have you. But currently they don’t want to admit you because they doubt you will enroll. And since you have perfect test scores and apps pending at Stanford, Duke, Vandy, etc., Tulane is probably currently correct in thinking that. Right?
They do that to lots of high stat EA applicants these days. A few years back (before Tulane added ED) you likely would have been admitted EA with a decent merit award. Things are different today, as Tulane is now filling 25+% of its seats via ED.
Go ahead and talk to your ad com, but understand they know how this game works. So I’d encourage you to be honest with them and yourself. What the ad com needs to know/hear is under what circumstances would you accept an offer from Tulane?
If you need a $32k merit award (currently Tulane’s top auto merit award) to accept, then tell them that. But would you really do that? Since that would still be more $$$ than UF (even at full price).
And if you need a bigger discount than $32k to enroll, did you apply for Tulane’s full tuition competitive schollies (PTA, DHS, CSF)? If not, why not? Have you visited campus yet? If not, why not? If you are so interested in Tulane, why did you decline to apply ED1 and ED2?
End of the day, Tulane (like most schools) doesn’t really care that much about who gets accepted. But they care – A LOT – about who they enroll. You need to help them understand why you’d enroll at Tulane vs. UF, Duke, Vandy, etc. etc. etc.
So even if you get into Tulane, you can only attend if you get a huge merit scholarship? I think that is unlikely to happen. Look at the scholarships students who did get in EA are reporting ($32k, 27k?) Will that be enough?
I think you are going to be deciding between UF and an Idaho school.
Honestly, yes that is probably accurate now that I realize the likelihood of me getting good merit scholarships from Tulane.
My problem with UF is that I won’t know if I’m a national merit scholar until later in the spring, which makes me nervous to not look deeper into other schools just in case I end up not being a NMS. But in answer to your question about whether I would go to Tulane even with a $32k merit award, probably not. I did, however, apply for the full tuition scholarships at Tulane (I am very aware how competitive they are though so I’m keeping expectations low). Answering your last questions, I haven’t toured Tulane because it is across the country from me and haven’t had a great opportunity to tour. I didn’t feel like ED was a good choice for me (for any school) because I will rely on merit scholarships and don’t want to be legally bound to a school I may not be able to afford. I guess my whole problem with this situation is that I don’t want to completely rule out Tulane just because it isn’t my first choice. While it’s very very slim, there is a chance of me winning a full tuition scholarship. So at this point I guess I don’t know how to keep Tulane an option while making sure I don’t mislead them into thinking they’re my top choice.
I totally get what you’re saying though. I have done a lot of college research, but there are so many things that I have yet to fully understand. I’ve been planning college based on my desire to go to medical school. While there is a high possibility that could change, I try to plan accordingly as far as the financial aspects go. That is mainly why I am so adamant about merit scholarships, since I know medical school is also super expensive. It might sound weird that I am relying on high scholarships that are few and far between, but that is just the reality of my situation. Thank you for the help! I definitely understand the thought process of Tulane admissions officers more now than I did when I read my deferral letter.
I agree, it is very unlikely. I totally understand that. I try to hold onto the fact that there is a miniscule chance of me winning one of the many big scholarships I applied for at various colleges. If those don’t work out, then chances are you’re right. My choice will likely be between UF and an Idaho school.
I guess my lapse in understanding is with the idea that my target schools might defer/deny me simply because there is a good chance I won’t go to their school. I want to still have the option to go to Tulane, even though it isn’t my #1 choice (unless I get one of those full tuition scholarships which is very unlikely). Not sure if I’m making any sense, but I guess I feel like it’s hard to keep my options open when schools like Tulane are wanting me to prove that their school is my top choice, when people go to schools that aren’t their top choice all the time. Thank you for helping me put everything in perspective though!
@knn0605 Agree with the above posters who have suggested that you reach out to your AO and be honest and transparent about your level of interest and what your financial circumstances require for you to attend. They understand that finances play a part in these decisions and they also know that they are competing for high stats kids with other schools. They really just want to know the likelihood that you would attend if they made their best offer…so let them know that. You have other options already in hand, so you can shoot your shot at some of these other schools. Good luck!
“I guess my lapse in understanding is with the idea that my target schools might defer/deny me simply because there is a good chance I won’t go to their school.”
It is called “yield protection” or colloquially “Tufts Syndrome.”
Schools care a lot about yield. Which is why most selective schools fill about half their seats through binding ED or SCEA – it protects their yield. If a school has non-binding unrestricted EA (like Tulane), then they need to do other things (like deferring high stat-ers) in order to protect yield.
If the bottom line is that you’d attend Tulane if you got a full tuition schollie, that’s totally fine. Because the reason Tulane offers those scholarships is to increase their chances of enrolling strong candidates who (if money were no object) would otherwise enroll at Stanford or Vandy or Duke.
So if you call your adm rep, I’d suggest talking to them about whether your deferral would have any impact your being considered for those schollies.
Sounds yield protection to me. My daughter, whose stats are similar to yours (except her ACT was slightly lower and GPA is slightly higher), did get in EA and got honors and merit money. The difference between you and her is probably her arts achievements and the fact she’s nonwhite (Tulane has struggled with diversity). However, she was deferred at another school we considered a safety – and one of her classmates with lower grades and scores got in to that school – so we are thinking they were thinking “not a chance” about my daughter.
Believe me, I sympathize on the money issue. Hubby and I are professionals with retirement savings and a 529, and our expected family contribution everywhere is laughable. Tulane gave our daughter generous merit aid, but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough. Darned shame, as Tulane is at the top of her list. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the full-tuition scholarships.
I also got deferred and accepted today just now. I have 93.5 out of 100 GPA. I got 1510 for SAT and 113 for Toefl with a lot of high-level achievements and activities such as Yau Award, AMC, AIME, NEC, and International Economics Olympiad. I believe Tulane University seeks the best fits and the one with interests towards their university but not ones with the highest academic achievements in the Early Action period as too many students got in didn’t go there. The good news is if you show your continued interests, they may soon accept you just like what I have experienced.
@Mamatodogs Congratulations to your daughter! It is interesting to hear about other people’s experiences with deferrals. I previously really only considered being accepted or denied, so being in the deferral limbo for a school that I considered a target school is an odd experience.
The money aspect is way more important than I thought it would be, and my family’s EFC is crazy. I totally get the struggle for enough merit money to make a school worth it, which is what makes this situation even trickier for me. I keep telling my dad that he should’ve quit his job in 2018 (joking of course). I’m glad other people are having or have had similar experiences so that I can better understand the whole process. This is also my first experience with yield protection that directly affects me, so this is very new to me. Thank you for sharing!
@Riboooooooo congrats on your acceptance! I wouldn’t have thought that you’d get a decision so soon after being deferred, but it’s great that you did. I am definitely planning to show continued interest since that seems to almost definitely be what the admissions office is looking for.
Thank you! From my point of view, deferral means admission officers need more context to review your application. If there are other students in your school applying to Tulane in Regular Decision, they can make more objective judgment like the rigor of your courses and so on. Here are some of the suggestions you may find useful:
- Believe in yourself that you’re qualified for higher-ranked schools. Deferral in Tulane doesn’t mean anything. Like there is another college called Case Western Reserve University, which deferred all 1500+ applicants in my school but admitted those 1450s.
- Complete Continued Interest Form, which can be found in your Green Wave Portal.
- Send love letters using spare time right after the winter holiday. Admission counselors may just right back, and a sincere love letter may show your intense interests.
- Send your mid-year transcript to admission counselor. My school counselor said since GPA is a cumulative and long-run work, so admission officers want to see a rise in GPA. My GPA rose from 90 from grade 9 to 97 now in grade 12, which may also help me get accepted after being deferred.
Hope you the best of luck in your college applications!
“Thank you! From my point of view, deferral means admission officers need more context to review your application.”
Not so much. What is more likely is that Tulane is going through its process to manage yield. They’ve always been quite sophisticated at this, and now are even more so with the addition of ED to EA.
So early on, they defer a lot of very high stat-ers who applied EA. That allows Tulane to wait and see if those kids will get picked off in the ED and SCEA round at fancier schools. Tulane is good at figuring out when it is being used as a safety.
Next, they’ll offer the deferred kids the ability to opt into ED2 and ask for continued interest indications. That’s a way to lock in yield and put off those safety applicants until later.
Now that the ED2 opt in deadline has passed, Tulane will now start working through the EA defers and ED2s and RDs. To encourage yield from non-ED high stat-ers, they sprinkle merit schollie money around selectively (although less than they did a few years back when my kids were applying/attending). Since yield in ED2 is guaranteed, they can enroll kids from that cohort without the need to dangle much merit money. And so on through the rest of the cycle.
It is quite a task for Tulane to go from 41,000 applications of various types (EA, ED1, ED2, RD) down to 1,800 enrolled frosh students who meet Tulane’s targets for selectivity, diversity, merit/need aid budget, etc. etc. They use a lot of different tools to manage that huge funnel.