<p>On the college board website, the "at a glance" gives these stats for the avg. gpa,</p>
<p>"34% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
26% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
21% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
11% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
7% had h.s. GPA between 2.5 and 2.99
1% had h.s. GPA between 2.0 and 2.49"</p>
<p>however, under the admissions page, it states this</p>
<p>"Candidates should be in top third of graduating class with 3.5 GPA."</p>
<p>The SAT scores page is about average with all 3 sections being about a 600-700 range</p>
<p>Am i missing something here? Is it difficult to get into tulane or not...</p>
<p>Tulane accepted 26% of the people that applied last year. That is another stat to ponder.</p>
<p>I am not sure how to answer your question. It is difficult for some people and not as difficult for others. As national averages go, it is considered “highly selective”. It isn’t as difficult as Harvard and a relative handful of other schools, and it is more difficult than most other schools. But obviously it is relative to your accomplishments in high school.</p>
<p>I can’t figure out their admissions criteria either. Looking at their admissions statistics, I thought that my daughter had a good chance at admission and a possible scholarship. She was deferred in Dec, and it made her wonder if there was something bad in her application packet that we couldn’t see (poor recommendation, etc.) She was scared for her chances at other schools. Since then, however, she’s been accepted at Notre Dame and by Boston College’s honors program. So, she’s relieved. She’s still waiting to hear from Tulane. If you look at the stats of students they have accepted and deferred, the picture is pretty confusing!</p>
<p>LOL, most of CC consists of people talking about how confusing college admissions are everywhere. OK, maybe not most, but it is a hugely pervasive theme. It really isn’t a mystery in Tulane’s case though. They are trying very hard to keep the size of this incoming class at about 1400, and thus after admitting a certain number before the application deadline, they deferred almost everyone else until they could see how things were shaping up. I am sure she will hear back soon. Congrats on here acceptances so far! Those are obviously outstanding schools.</p>
<p>Anyway, it isn’t stats based criteria that is the reason for the seeming inconsistency, but a sheer numbers issue so that Tulane doesn’t end up with a class 10% bigger than they are equipped to house, like they were last year. They managed to house everyone, but another class of that size would be a huge problem.</p>
<p>FC: Thanks for the insights on the importance of an early application at Tulane…or perhaps many selective schools that offer rolling admissions. My son applied early, end of September/beginnning of October, and was happy with a quick, as promised, decision from Tulane. Early Action and early application submission to schools with rolling admissions certainly worked in my son’s favor for both admission and scholarship offers.</p>
<p>Yes, always a big plus to apply early at schools with rolling admissions, or in Tulane’s case quasi-rolling admissions. It just happened to be of magnified importance at Tulane this year.</p>
<p>My son was accepted for Fall 2011 and the guidance office told me that he shouldn’t bother to even apply. It’s a free application so if you think you’re in the ballpark why not try. But don’t treat it like you don’t care. My son put a lot of effort into the app, especially the optional essay</p>
<p>Because they want to keep the class at only 1400, instead of the usual 1500-1550. That’s because last year’s class (the freshmen this year) are 1630, and it puts a strain on housing. So being early (which implies interest) was a bigger plus than usual, I would think.</p>
<p>These students/parents are smart to garner all of the acceptances possible (early or RD), check ALL of the numbers, and then and only then, make a decision.</p>
<p>CoolRunning - Do you really have nothing better to do with your time? Or is writing obnoxious and pointless statements what you do for your entertainment?</p>