Louisiana Junior thinking about applying...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Hi! I've been reading this forum for the past few days, and although it's definitely helped me more with my decision to apply to Tulane next year, I was wondering if I could get some advice on whether it will be the right school for me. :)</p>

<p>First of all, according to the Tulane website, since I'm a Louisiana resident, have a 28 ACT (this was taken my freshman year - I'm taking it again this year and next to try and get a 30 or above) and a 3.85 GPA, I'm guaranteed admission, so I'm not really worried about actually getting in to the school. Also I spent the first half of my sophomore year at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, so I'm used to a heavy workload. I left due to personal reasons that had nothing to do with the school itself. I actually loved the experience and my grades were perfectly fine. So adjusting to the challenge of extra work won't be much of a problem, since I've already kinda been through it before, lol.</p>

<p>Paying for college is a bit of an issue for me. I do qualify for the No Loan Tuition policy they recently added at Tulane (my EFC is 2500) but this only covers tuition. I'd have to find around $10,000 from somewhere else in order to pay for room/board/fees/other expenses. Everyone I've talked to seems to think that passing up what is basically a $40,000/year scholarship in order to avoid a few student loans is pretty silly, but I honestly don't know what to think. To anyone who has gone to Tulane or knows someone who has gone - would the extra cost be worth it? My second choice is LSU, but I've yet to find many good scholarships on their website, so it may end up being around the same cost for me either way.</p>

<p>I know I've rambled on for forevever already lol, but the main thing I'm worried about is actually fitting in to the lifestyle at Tulane. From the posts on this board I've gotten the impression that it's a major party school. Of course, most colleges are, but is it so bad to the point that it will bother me? I don't have a problem with others drinking, as long as they don't try to force me into it. Also, I'm far from rich, and though I expect a lot of the students to be the stereotypical 'rich white kids', will this stop me from finding a group to fit in with?</p>

<p>I just want to add that I LOVE the New Orleans environment. It's always been my favorite city in the state and I always enjoy my visits there, and it was probably the main draw for me in regards to attending Tulane.</p>

<p>Sorry for the huge ramble, but I appreciate any advice you guys are willing to share!</p>

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<p>Don’t worry about the length of the post, this is an important decision.</p>

<p>If you got no additional money and the tuition were waived as you say, you would be looking at about $45,000-$55,000 in loans at the end of four years. I am not sure if fees are waived also under their new policy, and fees at Tulane are rather high. Is that worth it for Tulane over LSU? No one can really answer that for you, but in MHO it is right at the borderline. Helpful, huh? LOL. But it really depends on how comfortable you are with debt and what your plans are for after undergrad. If grad school or professional school is likely, then saving the money makes sense to me. If not, then I would talk with a financial aid officer and have them help you calculate what your monthly payments would be after you get out. If it is a number you can live with, the go for it. Other factors include the fact that there are a number of scholarships for Louisiana residents only, so you might qualify for one of those. But since, as you say, it is possible that it would cost the same or even more at a school like LSU (you might have to pay tuition there, as well as room and board. I have no idea what their policies are), you might actually be better off at Tulane, financially. Certainly better off overall.</p>

<p>Tulane is definitely not such a huge party school that it would bother you. How do I know? My D is a freshman and she doesn’t drink at all, and she is loving it. There are tons of alternatives, and lots of people that do not drink or do so very moderately. There have been other posts in different threads from current students stating this also. Some dorms are certainly more classic party dorms (Monroe, Sharp) than others (Wall, Butler), and even though you probably won’t be invited to the Honors Program, you can still live in Butler (Honors Dorm) if your roommate is in the program.</p>

<p>I highly doubt that there is much status discrimination or even unintended slights from those that have money against those with less. It just isn’t part of the campus culture.</p>

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<p>Thank you for replying!</p>

<p>I’m actually not sure about graduate or professional school yet. I plan on majoring in psych, and the career possibilities are much more extensive with an extra level of education, but I’m just not sure if it would be a financial possibility no matter where I go to undergrad. I’ve looked at the costs of LSU, and it looks like I’d be paying close to $10,000 a year there, too. I have followed the TOPS curriculum and qualify for the highest level of aid, so that would take care of my tuition there, but room and board runs pretty high. I could still get the Pell Grant and other scholarships, but I’m not sure what the total value of that would be. I’ll definitely have to meet with financial aid officers, as you suggested.</p>

<p>Thank you for your input on the partying and money issues. I definitely feel better about it now. :)</p>

<p>I’m sure I won’t know anything for sure until next year, which I hate, because I’m looking forward to getting out of my small town and I’m not very patient, LOL.</p>

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<p>Since you live close by and it sounds like you visit NO frequently, why not make a point to visit the campus when you’re there? Not a formal visit but just drop by as often as you’re there - you’ll get a better feel for the campus.</p>

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<p>I agree that he (she?) should come to the campus whenever he can, but just visiting during the day wouldn’t answer the kinds of concerns he had. Even hanging around at night wouldn’t give one the inside feel, and might even give one a skewed view the other way. After all, it is easy to see someone that is drunk and making a fool of themselves, and therefore draw the wrong conclusion since you don’t “see” the 95+% that are behaving more maturely. I think the most effective way to deal with it is to arrange to come to campus, sit in on classes, be assigned to a host, and stay in the dorm overnight. While there, don’t be afraid to ask both the host and other students you meet at meals and the like about the partying, drugs, and the other concerns one might have. While there is no perfect way to get a complete picture, this will be as close as you can come, I think. That, coupled with reading anecdotal accounts on forums like CC, which mostly ring true I think.</p>

<p>Erbear: In the sciences, grad school is often tuition free and they pay a fairly nice stipend also because you help teach side sessions with undergrads, grade papers, supervise labs, etc. Even in the dark ages when I went to grad school (chem) at a top 10 program, they paid me something like $9,000 to teach and there was no tuition. Not sure what that is in today’s $, but it was enough to get a decent apartment and eat. And this is something that is 5-6 years off for you. So if that is your intended direction, I would say do what you have to do in order to get a solid undergrad education, based on the parameters you describe. Again you need to get the exact parameters from a financial aid person. For example, I don’t know if the loans today are structured in such a way that they are deferred as long as you are in grad school. They were for me. If that is still true, then taking on the debt so that you can have room/board/books is a wise thing, compared to not going at all. Certainly there is no question that your extra earnings will more than outpace the loan amount, and of course your quality of life is likely to be far higher as well. Hopefully other sources of funds will pop up, like the Pell Grants you mention. That will mitigate a fair amount of the debt. For 2009-2010, the grant is a maximum of $5,350, and will be higher by the time you go, most likely. So there is about half what you need right there, assuming you qualify for the top amount. And yes, I know it is hard to wait, but it will be here soon enough. Stay in touch.</p>

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<p>@HighlandMom: I live about three hours away from NO but we do go there at least once a year. I was planning on signing up for a tour in the spring, but I’ll also drop by if we go there some time next summer.</p>

<p>@fallenchemist I’m a girl and my name is Erin. :slight_smile: Finding a host student and staying overnight sounds like a great idea. I’ll definitely look into that. You also make a great point about the amount of my overall earnings outweighing the loans I’ll have to take out. I’m applying to quite a few schools, so I’ll just have to wait until spring of next year to compare all of them. Thanks once again, I’ll definitely come back here if I have any more questions!</p>