<p>I really do not understand why. I applied early November and my stats were either on par or a little above the stats of others who were accepted.
So why am I deferred?
Someone please explain it to me because I am so irritated and I'm trying my hardest to act mature and not talk down on the school...</p>
<p>Tulane can’t possibly accept everyone who’s “on par or a little bit above the stats of others.” You have to set yourself apart with ECs, volunteer and community service, recommendations, good essays, and you also have to display an interest in going to Tulane. Simply applying is generally not good enough.</p>
<p>I understand how you’re feeling though. I received my deferral today, but it’s better than a rejection, so don’t see it as such. You now have an opportunity to give yourself an edge by sending in additional supporting materials and your midterm grades. Reaffirm your interests in attending Tulane and you’ll have a better chance when regular action comes around.</p>
<p>Well that’s the thing. My ECs, volunteer service, recommendations and essays were great. My essay showed my devotion to this school. Not only did I find myself qualified, I feel like I went beyond that.</p>
<p>I hate the idea of Regular Decision because my family’s financial situation is very unsteady and I needed a definite answer in order to gauge how much I needed to cut back, how much I wanted to save and how many more hours at work I should put in. I much rather would’ve preferred a firm “no” instead of this unsure business.</p>
<p>Why could the school not just read the applications in order of arrival instead of at random? It seriously irks me.</p>
<p>OK, I think it is time to post a rather long statement on this topic. I know people are disappointed about being deferred, but you have to look at it from Tulane’s point of view. Consider some of the following:</p>
<p>1) Tulane has had 2 freshman classes in a row that were far larger than they were targeting. Even the one from 3 years ago, my D’s class, was a bit larger than target, but nothing like these last two. Every school has a limit beyond which all resources are strained, such as housing, faculty resources, lab space, etc. etc. For Tulane about 1500 in each class is great. 1550 is pretty manageable. Last years class was about 1650, and this year’s class was 1757!! As can be seen by the issues involving registering for classes in the Spring semester, it isn’t so easy to just increase the number of professors, class sections, so on and so forth. That leads to…</p>
<p>2) With the number of students choosing Tulane exceeding historical rates, Tulane has to do anything they can to manage the enrollment. Think about it, that is a very hard job for all but the Harvards of the world. At Harvard they know that they will consistently get 80% yields, and that if they err a little bit on the low side, they also know they can get to their magic number of 2,000 by picking off from the wait list. People will almost always accept a spot off Harvard’s wait list, so they are pretty completely in control. Very few other schools have these luxuries of consistent yields and total wait list management. So Tulane instituted the “Why Tulane” question to try and get a better handle on who wanted to really attend, as well as continuing to look at factors such as visiting the school or attending local functions, communicating with the admissions office, etc. It’s a tough process.</p>
<p>3) By deferring students that are clearly historically qualified to succeed at Tulane but for whatever reason were not clearly ones that wanted to attend Tulane (and the admissions people are human, folks. Maybe you think you made it clear and maybe you did, but they just didn’t get it for some reason), they are giving you a chance to tell them “Hey, I really really want to attend your school and here is why”. There are around ten thousand applicants that meet Tulane standards every year. Maybe more, actually. They have to have some way of getting a handle on who is likely to really attend.</p>
<p>Tulane is such a great choice for the Ivy caliber student that is either looking for something different than the typical Ivy experience, or needs a great school in case they don’t get in to HYP even though they are potentially qualified (remember, Harvard also gets about 3 times as many students applying that are absolutely equal to the ones they end up enrolling, but they cannot take 6,000 students), or is enticed by the idea of attending an excellent school at a huge discount because of the merit money. But if Tulane actually accepted all these students based on stats alone, I promise you the class size would swell even more than it has. That is probably a bit how they got into these oversized classes already.</p>
<p>So cut them a little slack. I know from a purely self-interest point of view (and that is completely understandable given what is at stake) their problems are not your problem. Well, they are but you don’t want to have to consider them that way. I get it. Given the reality, however, you will just have to decide how important getting an acceptance from Tulane really is to you and if it is, then take steps to try and make it happen. They are leaving the door open, it is up to you if you want to walk through it.</p>
<p>Fallenchemist, I really do understand your rational reasoning. But I personally don’t think that it’s fair that I’m pretty much being forced to take the extra mile by submitting a midyear report, constantly contacting them, having to visit, submitting additional recs, etc. when some people who had almost identical stats did not have to. I’ve applied to only three colleges–all early action (Tulane, Texas A&M, and Austin College), because I wanted to get all of the applications out of the way so that I could focus on JUST scholarships between my busy work and school schedule. But now, I have to keep this on my mind too? Can you see where I’m coming from when I said that I’d prefer a definite answer? At least with a “no” I can just accept the fact that it was never meant to be and focus on my remaining two colleges.</p>
<p>I think that my “Why Tulane” essay made it crystal-clear that I loved this school. I enumerated my reasons, pointed out why I felt that an education at Tulane would not compare to any other, what programs, clubs and organizations I’d join, how I loved the school’s philanthropy and location…I even went so far as to specifically point out the graduate school and specific program that I planned on applying to and what I planned to do with degree that I earned. It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill essay that I could just copy and paste. It was specifically designed for Tulane and it was an essay that I poured my heart into.</p>
<p>I really want to go to this school; I dream of going to this school. But I’m not so dense as to ignore the fact that waiting until April (or whatever random time they choose) will be unfair to my parents.</p>
<p>Hi Nicole - I do understand, and you might be right that it isn’t fair. That but for a slightly different turn of timing or some other event you would be the one accepted and someone else would be deferred. I really don’t know, but I can see where the sheer numbers involved lead to situations where someone isn’t going to feel like they got the same treatment as someone else. I know from our other correspondence how much you made it clear to Tulane that they were the one you really wanted, assuming it was affordable and all that. Frankly I am quite surprised you were deferred, but unfortunately that doesn’t help you much either.</p>
<p>I am not quite sure, though, why having the decision later is unfair to your parents. Most schools don’t come out with need based financial aid packages until March sometime anyway, even if you got accepted in December. And you don’t have to let any school know of your decision until May 1. So there is at least a month to weigh all the options, no?</p>
<p>Anyway, chin up and absolutely send a positive note to your admissions person just reenforcing your strong desire for Tulane. I have a feeling that come May 1 this will all seem like just so much angst and you will be wearing your Tulane shirt to school.</p>
<p>I said that it’d be unfair to my parents because I don’t want to spring in on them late in my senior year “Oh hey, I got accepted into Tulane. It’ll cost so-and-so, which I know we haven’t completely planned out to fund but I still want to go!”</p>
<p>The thing is I already got accepted into Austin College which is about 40k/year and although it is only 10k less than Tulane, they’ve offered me a great scholarship that’ll really cut my fees down. And with A&M, the tuition is only 8k/year (extra fees excluded), which is absolutely no problem at all for my parents.</p>
<p>As I said before, my family’s financial situation is very unsteady and I needed a definite answer in order to gauge how much I needed to cut back, how much I wanted to save and how many more hours at work I should put in. …I guess we’ll just go ahead and save as if I am going to the school and I’ll just assume more hours at work just in case.</p>
<p>Well, thank for your encouragement. I’m much calmer now than I was before. Hahaha. I emailed my admissions counselor and explained everything to her and she pretty much told me everything that I already know. I just hope that I get any kind of response from the school very soon. I really do hope that this is an experience that I look back on and laugh at. :)</p>