Help me decide between Wash U and Tulane

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So It's down to these two unless I miraculously get into Brown which isn't likely considering I was waitlisted at Vanderbilt (why is everyone getting waitlisted from there anyways?) but that's besides the point. I really don't know which school to choose.</p>

<p>Tulane gave me 25,000 which is really nice and I absolutely looooove the campus and the surrounding city/area, but I worry that the curriculum may be limited which is not good considering I am undecided.</p>

<p>Wash. U. It's closer to where I live which means I wouldn't actually have to hop on a plane to see my family, plus the academics are clearly amazing there. The campus is gorgeous and I think I would fit in there, but they did give me a whole lot less money. It's just they have so many things you can study and there are so many opportunities. </p>

<p>Which one would you recommend and why?</p>

2

<p>Don’t know much about Wash U., but S2 is at Tulane and loves it. He has found the class size to be about 20, and the faculty excellent and very accessible. He chose Tulane over UCB and USC to name a few and has not regretted it for a minute. He finds NOLA to be magical.</p>

3

<p>OP</p>

<p>Who is paying for your education and what will having to pay the extra $100,000 over four years mean?</p>

<p>If you are financing your own education through student loans, I would be hard pressed to recommend taking on this extra burden given that Tulane provides an excellent educational opportunity.</p>

<p>If your parents are paying, then the question becomes how will paying the money impact on them. Some families can afford this, others either can’t, or can’t without incurring a major hardship. Given this choice, I would not recommend incurring a major hardship when choosing between these two schools.</p>

<p>The only way to resolve this question would be for you to have a serious-adult conversation with your parents about the cost of college.</p>

<p>Even if your family can afford Wash U, cost still may be a factor – Say you feel that when weighing what you perceive as Wash U’s better academics against Tulane’s ambience, you still view it as a close call. Well, $100,000 can still be a tie breaker. Personally, I would think that you would need an extremely strong preference for Wash U in order to incur the extra cost.</p>

<p>Now, the kicker – you are concerned that Tulane’s curriculum may be more limited. Tulane is a major university with a wide variety of courses. I don’t know what you’re planning on studying or why you think the curriculum is limited. But I assume you’ve done your research.</p>

<p>Reading this – it may sound like I’m recommending Tulane – actually, I’m not. We were faced with a similar choice with our D last year. Tulane with Scholarship. Several other schools (including Wash U) without. Ultimately, my D chose Northwestern without the scholarship – a major reason – she/we felt that in the Engineering Program, Tulane’s curriculum was limited. </p>

<p>Bottom line, you’re faced with a complicated decision and there is no clear ‘right answer’. Good luck with your decision.</p>