In my search for affordable college, I’ve essentially surrendered that I’ll need a full-ride or a state-school education. I’ve been considering going to Tulane, but given that it’s somewhere in the ballpark of the 17th most expensive school in the nation, I really don’t plan on going without at least full-tuition. I’ve looked at the Dean’s Honor Scholarship, and I even have an idea of what I’d like to do for it, but I don’t know if my stats would drag me down. My current GPA is 3.66 (unweighted, electives not considered-- and I got this number wrong in a previous thread) and my current ACT score is 32. I did some full-time volunteer work for two of my summers (before Freshman year and before Sophomore year during those summers), and have two extracurriculars that I sink most of my time into (Choir and Theater). Would my stats hold me back as far as this scholarship goes?
If I were to have a solid project, what would my chances be for the Tulane Dean's Honor Scholarship?
Did you take he most rigorous curriculum your high school offered (mostly honors and APs)? If so, then your UW gpa looks okay but not stellar. Your ACT is probably borderline for consideration. But if your project is amazing I think your ACT is probably the minimum needed. Do you want to pursue theatre and choir (acapella) at Tulane? If so, and if you mention that as part of your essay then that will help strengthen your application. But remember, the DHS and Paul Tulane are extremely difficult to obtain and are subjective decisions that are made looking at mostly the tippy top of the applicant pool who apply for these scholarships. But it’s worth a try to apply. Just make sure you have other more realistic financial schools as backups.
@trackmbe3 I did take most Honors and AP, with honors chemistry and some honors math classes being the main contributors to the low GPA. I’m glad that the extracurriculars can help! I plan to apply to three or four state schools should worst case scenario come to shove.
@PFAnimals As long as you make it past the first cut (based on gpa/standardized test score and solid extracurricular activities, which are considered as part of a holistic review of each applicant) then it will come down to how great your project is. Given that you took mostly Honors and AP and have a 32 ACT, and if you can present your extracurriculars in a great light—not only what you did but how you expect to contribute to the Tulane community—then I think your success in the competition will largely be based on the quality of your project in comparison to the projects submitted by the other applicants.
@trackmbe3 Thank you for the help! I really plan to go all-out for this thing, so I’m really glad to hear that I might have a chance.
I know someone who got DHS this year with a 32 but don’t know his GPA. He made an outstanding DHS project.
I would say try to raise your ACT. I had about the same gpa as you did, but my ACT was a 34, and my essay was really strong. I would say my project was average, but I did get the DHS
I would also consider trying to raise your ACT. I know a young man you got it with a 34 ACT and a very creative project.
Since you have time, shoot for raising your ACT score to a 34. They offer roughly the same number of Paul Tulane and Dean’s Honor’s scholarships, so make sure you put a lot into the extra essays as well as the project. This school wants to see demonstrated interest, as well as an EC “passion” (vs. many ECs in a bunch of different areas). They are also very much into giving back to the community, so you want to slant whatever ECs you have into a community perspective, if you can. Make your Why Tulane essay very personal, and if possible, related to a visit there. They encourage you to talk about the city/community, rather than exclusively about the school. Your love of music via choir should tie into the city nicely.
@myoldest Thanks for the tips! Do you know any good ACT Prep courses? My individual scores for each subject were:
35- English
34- Reading
25- Math
32- Science
Do you know any good courses to help me boost Science and Math?
We used a very inexpensive local tutor for a short time (found through google search) primarily to work on the math score. My kids’ scores were already 34-36 in the other areas. I know his high school recommends Kaplan and Princeton for online tutoring/practice. Seems expensive, though. But honestly, the most helpful thing was taking practice test after practice test, and then reviewing the questions he got wrong to figure it out. The prep books are “relatively” inexpensive on Amazon. We ended up getting like 3 over time, for 7 or 8 practice tests. Focus on the areas you need to improve much more than the areas where you’re already getting great scores. And the key is to learn what you did wrong on the questions you missed. Just taking the test only helps a little if you don’t go back and learn from it. Also ask your school if they have practice tests available for you to add more of them. ACT.ORG has free practice online, but they might not provide great explanations of correct answers (can’t remember for sure). Good luck!
For Tulane (and lots of other schools too), extra ACT points are MONEY.
You should plan to use time over the summer to prep the ACT, especially your math. Then take the first ACT in the fall. You might even have time to take the ACT a second time in the fall and still be able to meet the early action deadlines.
You might even consider spending some $$$ for a tutor. That spend can produce huge savings in terms of what your next cost for college will be. It is surprising how much you can move the numbers with some focused work.
Agree that the most useful thing is to take practice tests. Most of what my kid’s tutor did was make sure my kids did 3 or 4 practice tests over the summer. You could probably just do the math and science sections over and over, since your reading and English are strong.