<p>^^This. Anyone know whether Admissions recalculates GPA, and, if so, how they account for level of course rigor? </p>
<p>Also, any insight on how one should approach the application in the case where therenhas been an improvement in GPA over time? My son struggled with managing ADHD (diagnosed at the end of freshman year) during his first two years of high school, but his marks have improved dramatically this year. Also, don't know whether it helps, but comparably high SATs (2250+) and likely National Merit Semifinalist (not finalist, though, given the three Cs on his transcript.</p>
<p>I think, but am not 100% sure, that they do recalculate GPA on a 4.0 scale to make it the same for everyone, then look at the transcript to see how many AP and honors courses were taken. Seems like a lot of work, but that is what I heard a few years ago, anyway. But this way they can more easily compare students as well as take into account students that attend schools that offer few AP courses.</p>
<p>They do look at improving grades, and coupled with that high SAT he has a very credible story to tell. Clearly he is quite bright and now has the ADHD under control so he can succeed in the classroom as well. Hopefully the guidance counselor from his high school will especially highlight all this. He might make finalist, even with the 3 C’s. Hard to say. but the vast majority of semi-finalists do become finalists.</p>
<p>All in all, with a strong “Why Tulane” essay and assuming decent EC’s and that positive write-up from his GC I mentioned, along with otherwise showing interest by attending local events and/or visiting campus, he seems like he should have a decent shot at admission.</p>
<p>Thanks, fallenchemist. Recognizing you don’t have a crystal ball, do you think he should apply early action, or wait until he has his first semester grades to show a (hopefully) sustained GPA improvement?</p>
<p>Definitely go ahead and apply EA or SCEA. Tulane almost never denies anyone in that round, they defer the vast majority that don’t get in to the RD round. In that sense it isn’t like ED at many schools, where many get rejected rather than deferred. So he really has nothing to lose going SCEA/EA. If he does get deferred they will see his first semester grades before making the RD decision, just as they would have had he applied RD to begin with.</p>
<p>BTW, where did your D end up going to school?</p>
<p>Thanks, FC. My daughter will be going to Tulane! She was fortunate to win one of the full tuition awards, and loved the school and New Orleans when we visited, so it was not a hard decision, despite many other excellent options. She is the type who could be happy almost anyplace, so she made a point of not getting attached to any one school, so as not to be disappointed. We’re full pay, so we’re particularly grateful for Tulane’s award – by my calculations, it will total close to $200K, accounting for tuition increases. She’s seriously considering a deferring for a year, though, to do a year of service – she has to decide in the next week or so.</p>
<p>It was during our visit to Tulane that I thought it may be a good fit for my son, given his love of music and cities, and his desire for a mid-sized school. I also felt Tulane is a school where he’s less likely to get lost in the crowd. I was impressed by the limits on class size – even typically large classes like macroeconomics top out around 120 students.</p>
<p>Given his propensity for disorganization and distraction, a small liberal arts school may be a better place for him, but he has zero interest in small colleges located out in the middle of nowhere (his words). At any rate, thanks for asking.</p>
<p>Fallenchemist,
Hopefully you see this post
I’m not able to send direct messages because of my low post count, and I didn’t feel that this question was important enough to create a thread for. But anyways, I was wondering about the SCEA application option for Tulane. How do the admissions officers at Tulane know that the scea applicant hasn’t applied early action elsewhere? Is it just a matter of ethics and good taste or can the admissions people tell if you’ve broken the unofficial contract, per say, by applying early to another school? Is Tulane on the common app.? </p>
<p>If you respond, thanks in advance. I’ve been reading over the Tulane message boards and you are extremely knowledgeable on the school and all the info and insight is very helpful and much appreciated.</p>
<p>HSJunior - You are welcome in advance, lol. Thanks for the nice comments. And actually a lot of people wonder about this question, so good that you posted.</p>
<p>SCEA, and ED at other schools for that matter, is strictly a matter of ethics. Of course, with ED there is the inherent problem if you get admitted to two or more schools! Anyway, there are exceptions to the prohibition on applying early to other schools, but in general you are expected to adhere to the terms. If you feel uncomfortable with that, apply EA. EA still shows interest, and combined with a strong “Why Tulane” statement and either a visit to the school or attendance at a local event (schedules will come out in the early fall), Tulane will know you are interested. But if you can “commit” to the extent of applying early only to Tulane, then by all means go ahead and do SCEA.</p>
<p>Tulane is on the Universal App, not the Common App. Unless they changed when I wasn’t looking. What do you think your stats will be at the end of your junior year? Have you taken the SAT or ACT yet?</p>
<p>Okay, thanks, that makes sense. My stats put me in decent standings, I have about a 3.6 uw but with a large upward trend. And I took the sat once and got a 1940 - 690 writing, 680 reading, 570 math. Didn’t do so great on the math section but I can bring that up easily, so I plan on at least breaking 2000. Btw I’m a Rhode Islander too.</p>
<p>Ah, great. Which high school, if you don’t mind sharing that?</p>
<p>Getting your math up over 600 and the overall over 2000 will certainly help. With strong interest you should have a decent shot, assuming the other aspects of your application are also strong. That includes EC’s as well as how many AP courses you have taken/will have taken.</p>