Congratulations to all! I have a question for those who did not though. It seems as a DHS or PTA there is a lot of attention but how are the opportunities for the rest of the student body? @fallenchemist My DD is trying to decide. I was a bit surprised by her scholarship offer given her stats but still thankful for what was offered. I believe her being the first ever applicant from her school probably had something to do with that… Not much history to go with.
@TNmom15
A very fair question and an excellent one. The discussions on these particular threads no doubt seem skewed because these threads are about the top academic awards, and therefore the top academic students who tend to be most interested in these kinds of opportunities before even starting at college. But I can absolutely and honestly say that the opportunities at Tulane for all students are wide open and plentiful. In fact I feel quite confident that the majority of students doing research are not winners of the DHS or PTA. On a day-to-day basis, neither the profs nor the other students know who is in the Honors Program and who isn’t. There obviously isn’t some bright green H on their foreheads, nor is there any kind of asterisk or other indication on the class rolls the profs get. And the Tulane Scholars program is brand new, and actually is not limited to students in the Honors Program. At least that is my understanding from a direct communication from Tom Luongo, the head to the Honors Program. Now I fully expect that the vast majority interested in the program will be honors students, but that is probably irrelevant.
I was a solid B student coming out of high school, who happened to do very well on the SAT. I am completely convinced it is the only reason I got in. I was the first in my family to go to college and was completely clueless as to this admissions process, and of course no CC back then!! I had more opportunities at Tulane than I could possibly act on. That has not changed. If anything, there are probably more choices than ever. Your D will be fine. Like I said, if you only read these couple of threads you would think the honors presence is stronger than it really is. In reality it is more subtle, and while I am excited about programs like Tulane Scholars because of the focus they bring to students that want to get a stronger experience in the world of academia, there is not an a priori segregation or prejudice of opportunity between the honors students and the rest. Far from it. No worries. Now I will say, and this is even true for the award winners, that it is up to the student to take the initiative and seek out these opportunities. The profs don’t just randomly go up to students and say “Hey, want to work in my lab?” And I even think the number of times they target the student that shows exceptional promise in the classroom is probably small. No, generally speaking just like in “real life”, those kinds of opportunities tend to come to those who take the initiative.
Hope that helped address your question.
@ht_sls fallenchemist
Thanks for the quick reply. My D is also a first gen student. She did apply for DHS and PTA but was not blessed with one. As you mention a lot, her stats are ivy level. She has a couple of great options. I keep telling her it will become apparent where she is meant to be. I will tell her your feeling on availability of research opportunities. That is very important to her as she has been doing research for a couple of years. Thank you again for all the great info you have brought to CC!
@TNmom15
You are welcome. I don’t know what kind of research she is interested in, but I should also add that research at Tulane Med are open to undergrads as well. Now that is downtown, about 4-5 miles from the main campus, but Tulane runs regular shuttles. Not as easy logistically, but kids do it if the research they want to pursue is happening down there.
@fallenchemist thanks for the reply and advise! I’ll call my counselor tomorrow to see if she can help me out.
@fallenchemist Thanks for the extra info! I think that’s definitely part of what drew me to Tulane- it kind of surprised my family and college/career counselor at school because it’s a bit different from the rest of the schools I applied to. However, I really loved the interconnections between the students and also the students and staff. I got more of a community feel from Tulane than from others- especially with all their traditions and festivals throughout the year. Their focus on undergrad research definitely caught my eye, and I even talked about that (and the Newcomb) in my why Tulane essay for EA. I love the parts where you talked about how your D was able to incorporate her interests into her studies- even though I’m pretty determined to become a pediatric oncologist and work with kids with cancer, I’m also big on writing and journalism in addition to an extensive music past (along with a background in Spanish and Korean). It’s not always easy finding a way to combine my interests, but Tulane definitely seems like a place where I could do that.Overall, I really, really like Tulane!! My parents have thankfully taken a completely hands off approach with the places I applied to unless I asked for their input or offered info, but Tulane is one of the very few places I immediately applied to without consulting them because I just had this gut feeling.
@Asdfjklepwu How is it possible to have 5.1 weighted and 3.9 unweighted? How is it even possible to get above 5.0? Congrats btw 
@Gummybearz 5.1 is based on weighted AP and dual enrollment courses.
How is it above 5.0 though? My high school weights AP classes out of 5.0 but college courses only out of 4.0. @Asdfjklepwu
Different schools use different scales. I have seen 6.0 systems, and I have seen schools that give no weighting for honors or AP courses and so use a strict 4.0 scale. I have even seen 5.0 systems that “cheat” in the sense that they give 5.0 for an A in AP courses but more for an A in a college course. That is why I always look at the UW GPA of a student and ask how many AP and similar courses they have taken. It puts everyone on the same scale. Most colleges do the same thing, recalculating your GPA to a 4.0 scale if the high school didn’t provide it.