<p>I applied to Tulane three years ago on a whim and received a large scholarship. I also recall not meeting a single person in my freshman class who didn't have a scholarship.</p>
<p>Have scholarships become very difficult to come by? I just learned from my roommate (a sophomore) that she didn't receive any scholarship and her family is paying for it out of pocket. As that's probably (with all expenses tallied in the end) a good $300,000, I'm shocked.</p>
<p>Has Tulane's policy's changed? I will say that the class caliber has grown since my freshman year.</p>
<p>Not from what I see and hear. The annual reports also indicate a fairly consistent ratio of tuition income to number of students. If anything I think the scholarships have gone up more than tuition, but it is pretty close. You are the same year as my D, and I know when I was talking to various parents during orientations, move-in, etc. a fair number were paying full freight. Also, unless the student is spending inordinate amounts of money on personal fun or whatever, the 4 year cost would be closer to $225,000 (not that this is not a huge number!). When Tulane talks about a $52,000 total cost of attendance, which is about what it was your freshman year, that includes money for transportation and outside activities, as well as the expected tuition, room, meals, and books/supplies. Even if they understate that a little, it takes a lot to get to $300,000.</p>
<p>I think you are right, though. The competition for merit scholarships probably has gotten a bit tighter, so the stats required for the scholarships may have gone up a bit also. But overall, having dealt with hundreds of students in this process over the last few years, I would say it is largely unchanged.</p>