Hi. D has been accepted to both, has done overnights at both and she loves both. With scholarships: (Tulane $30,000 yr and Emory 20,000 yr - (no FA ) Emory will be about 8,000 more a yr. than Tulane.
D will be studying Gender/Sexuality and likely going to law school.
Emory pros:
better academics?? maybe??
less greek??
Better reputation??
Emory cons:
3.2 GPA needed to maintain scholarship - D had 3.75 GPA w/ 9 APâs so I think sheâll be fine but we canât afford w/o scholarships
$8,000 more per yr.
Tulane Pros:
cheaper
warmer
Honors Program? benefits?
better city life
better food
2.75 GPA needed to maintain scholarships
Tulane Cons:
party reputation actual too wild parties??
sport infused atmosphere (a turn-off for D if it is too intense)
less serious academically?? maybe?? Might this be better for GPA/law school?
@gettingaclue I donât know if it matters for pre-law. They are both reasonably serious academically. And also, since she is pre-law, and even the social sciences tend to grade pretty leniently at every university, even elites (I suppose there are cases where certain polisci courses for example, end up being âweedoutsâ with the best instructors, but even then, getting an A is attainable. And that is at Emory BTWâŠand your daughter intends Gender/Sexuality which will of course be giving high grades. Hate to be blunt, but it is the state of the grading in the humanities perhaps because so many people are going to law school and at elite schools). Only if your child was pre-health would they have to worry about subtle differences in academic seriousness because science courses can grade on harsh curves/give harsh exams and thus the competition would be stiffer at the more âseriousâ school.
By âbetter city lifeâ- Do you mean Tulaneâs relative location?..then I guess so (some may prefer being even in vicinity of Atlanta for some of the things it offers and the wider array of opportunities). Warmer is not necessarily better and also âwarmâ in Louisiana vs. Georgia should not be a serious factor. I would do this based upon fit and in this case that should mainly come down to whether or not your daughter likes some of Emoryâs academic programs well enough She needs to start researching and figuring out what potential opps are available in her prospective major(s), and see if Emory is worth the money. In addition, if your child is much more interested in quality of life measures like food, city life, and weather, then I guess sheâll have to decide how much that is worth and if it is actually better at Tulane because something like âfoodâ is variable from venue to venue and even year to year (like Emory is getting a new dining venue, so who knows?). Also parties are not things that need to take over a campus, and your daughter need not participate all the time (or most, or at all) if she were to go to Tulane.
Thatâs a really great answer. I completely agree that the humanities tend to have a higher average grade. Generally speaking you either have to put in little effort or be a very poor writer to get a substandard grade in most of those courses, at pretty much all the selective schools.
BTW, in an interesting coincidence, Tulane is getting a new dining hall as well. But I suspect they were referring to the general reputation New Orleans has as a food city as compared to almost any other in the country. This is enhanced by the fact that, besides all the incredible and easily accessed restaurants, there are festivals celebrating some food or another, or some event that has amazing food, almost every weekend.
Where do the Emory kids go these days to have off-campus fun? In the old days there used to be a lot of places in Buckhead, but I am told that is no longer the âsceneâ, to use a similarly dated term. Is it more downtown now, or someplace else?
Iâll often let a member post in both schools when they have it narrowed down to two. I understand that Tulane people wonât be looking in the Emory forum or vice-versa most of the time. And most people donât do word searches just looking for every mention of a school, not even me. So it is either let them do that or they need to post in the âCollege Search and Selectionâ forum. Any more than two schools and I definitely merge and move their thread there, unless it is multiple Ivy schools or UC schools, where there are specialized forums that include all the schools.
Well, itâs going to be Emory. Bittersweet for her because she loved Tulane so much. She kept hoping for a sign and it came in an email from Emory. They announced a new course on Judith Butlerâs book Gender Troubles which is one her favorite books. She even referenced the book in her essay. D also really connected to her Tulane regional admission person and it will be sad to give her the final news. Thank you for your help in this decision and throughout this process.
To be clear @bernie12, she loves Emory, too. Thatâs why the decision was so difficult. Pro/con list, talking to as many people that she could, researching professors, programs, visiting twice or each, she was very torn. That Emory is offering a course on a fairly obscure author that was pivotal in her developing some of the ideas that have shaped her as a person seems a pretty good sign to me.
@gettingaclue : I actually kind of agree, she kind of let more personal/academic inclination guide her. Often students will choose one school over another for things like a slight (and I do mean slight, talking 1-5 places) edge in ranking or things like: âWell these students party more!ââŠas if that canât happen on any campus. When a student chooses a school for those 2 reasons combined, donât be surprised when they take a âjump through the hoopsâ approach to their education (which they could have done at schools that cost significantly less than 60 grand/year). Your daughter seems to have a good head on her shoulders.
@gettingaclue : I definitely empathize with your daughter, considering I am going to (likely) have to make a very similar decision in ten days (thatâs when Emoryâs transfer decisions come out)âwhether to go to the University of Miami or Emory. Thereâs very compelling reasons for both sides, as well as very significant cons on both sides. Perhaps a sign will come to me as it did her. Congratulations to her on acceptance to two great schools, and I hope she enjoys it there.
) Emory will be about 8,000 more a yr. than Tulane.