Tulane seems to be a bit of a reach for my child, though she really has her heart set on it and cannot come up with any “acceptable” backups that would be similar - under 10,000 students, smaller campus, near a larger city. Any thoughts?? Thanks in advance!
what are her stats, and can you afford full pay?
There are many schools which fit that criteria. Are there any other factors—major field of study, geographic area, cost, academic requirements, programs…etc?
Clark University in Worcester, MA.
Interesting that you say Clark. My daughter applied to both Tulane and Clark. She got into both, and ended up having a very hard time choosing. Clark was one of her final two (ended up choosing Macalester in St. Paul, MN). We visited Clark 3 times - it is close to us - and really, really liked everyone there. There are some major differences, though. Worcester is in a grittier neighborhood than Tulane - it is safe, but some people are taken aback by the cheap stores and lots of signs in Spanish around campus. Tulane skews much more wealthy, which gave Clark the advantage for my daughter, but everyone’s view is different. There is almost no religious life on campus at Clark, unlike Tulane, where there are several active chaplaincies. There is no Greek life at Clark and much less of a party atmosphere than at Tulane.
Lots of outreach into the community at Clark, like Tulane now does with their first year programs. There is a good relationship between town and gown at Clark, and the school is a big proponent of the City of Worcester. You also have an option of a free 5th year/masters at Clark in certain subjects if you plan ahead and get good grades. The professors seemed more invested in the whole of student life than at Tulane. We found Clark admissions to be the most upfront and straight with us of any school we visited. Of course, they tried to show Clark in a positive light, but I really appreciated their honesty about what things may not work for a particular applicant.
Not my kiddo, but a classmate, who was definitely in their 25% -75% statistics range, and a legacy too boot, did not get in at Tulane. She ended up at UT-Austin.