<p>I feel pretty sure it is a numbers issue. If you didn’t show strong interest Tulane is already anticipating a class of 1450-1475 based on current offers. That is the absolute maximum they can handle this year, apparently. Or at least what they want. So no, Tulane has never worried about “Tuft’s syndrome”, but they do have to worry about having enough space. Doesn’t mean they won’t offer a few more acceptances, I suspect, but only to those they are pretty sure will attend. If you want to call that Tuft’s syndrome, OK, but I don’t think the motivation is to make the stats look better. They just don’t have more dorm space because of the big class last year.</p>
<p>I think it is important to note for future years’ applicants that really researching a college, contacting your admissions rep., & thinking about & expressing why any school is a good fit for you in your application is valuable to the student & the school. It seems that rejections may occur with very qualified students when insufficient interest & effort is demonstrated in the application process. Often a school that starts in the middle or lower on the list of preferences moves up once a visit is made or additional info is acquired. To the extent possible, interacting with each college as though it is your first choice is wise; it may be at some point in the process.</p>
<p>Let me add, and I have no vested interest here, but have noticed with colleges at this level of selectivity, if there is an EA round and the school actually has a “rolling EA” process, it is going to be much more difficult to be accepted in RD especially when those EA acceptances do not necessarily have to respond until May 1st…</p>
<p>just reiterating and adding to what FC has explained above…</p>
<p>Just reconfirming the above comments. Apply early and demonstrate interest. Visiting campus is, IMO the best demonstration of interest, if at all possible to do. If you dont sign up for a scheduled tour or prospective students weekend, be SURE admissions knows you have been there to visit.</p>
<p>I have read several times that “interest” and the essay “why Tulane” are important in the decision making. Besides making me shudder each time I see it (I dont think my daughter ever wrote the essay), it also makes me wonder why they make the essay optional. They must know that is going to appeal to a lot of kids, not to have to write another essay. Also, they make the application free, another thing that would appeal to students. So, given the fact that they are TRYING to get students to apply that may have not otherwise done so, why would they penalise or hold it against them?</p>
<p>From my post in the B+/A- thread:</p>
<p>According to a recent article in the School paper, the essays are an important part of the decision process.
</p>
<p><a href=“Unavailable”>Unavailable;
<p>Well. LOL, this has been a point of discussion within Tulane as well, from what I have read. The free part is a tradition since before Katrina I think, certainly since Katrina. Who knows, maybe that will be the next thing to change. We will see, but obviously at first it was to get people applying again after such a disaster, and the results, most likely better than they could have thought, were such that they decided to keep it that way. It isn’t just because it is free though, because there are lots of schools with free apps that don’t get the interest Tulane does.</p>
<p>So after last year when the class size was considerably larger than target, they decided to try something to see which students were really focusing on Tulane as a top choice. They didn’t want to make it mandatory for exactly the reason that choosing to do it would show which students not only were interested enough to take the time to do it, but also how much they had really looked into the school. It could even be that doing the essay but giving a completely trivial answer would be a negative. Don’t know for sure, but I could see that happening. Anyway, that’s not to say they turned down students that didn’t fill it in (obviously, since your D did not) just because they didn’t. The student might have shown interest other ways or just been the kind of student Tulane wanted for other reasons. But, especially when the application is made later in the cycle of a school that has gotten a lot of interest from prospective students, having the school know you are putting them at or near the top of your list does improve your chances.</p>
<p>Having said all that, I was not convinced that the “Why Tulane” essay was the way to go, but if the class turns out the way President Cowen projected, then it would be hard to argue with the results.</p>
<p>Well I am a tad confused. The Hulaballo article says:
So is it possible that the personalized apps didnt require the extra essay but the regular app did?? </p>
<p>Personaly, I am still of the thought that the school should charge at least a nominal fee to apply. It would , IMO, weed out some of those who really arent interested in the school (just as those who might not want to write the essay would be weeded out, per the Hulabaloo article indicating a drop in applications this year). Of course, yes, I realize that some who applied because it was free and weren’t initially all that interested changed their tune when they visited campus or learned more about Tulane. However, if there was a small, even $10 fee, with fee waivers for extuating circumstances, the school would get at least $300K or more that could be used to hire more admissions staff or could be put towards a scholarship or something, and IMO, Tulane would stil get plenty, PLENTY of excellent applicants with high stats.</p>
<p>Jym, my daughter didn’t receive a personalized app and when she filled out the application online it clearly stated that the “Why Tulane” essay was optional.</p>
<p>My daughter applied because her GC had suggested the school and the application was free. She decided to apply on a lark, almost as practice for her other applications. In the process of learning more about Tulane and NOLA, she became convinced that it was perfect for her and, after being accepted EA and receiving a scholarship, decided she didn’t want to apply anywhere else. I’m not sure it would have gone down the same way if there had been an application fee. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what the yield ends up being this year.</p>
<p>Yes. I just looked through our old mail from Tulane dated 8/25 for a personal application. The first perk listed was no essay.</p>
<p>It just goes to show the Hullabaloo is a great newspaper, on a level of the NY Times and Washington Post. They all manage to get the facts wrong! I think it was optional at all levels, at least that is what Retiff said when they quoted him, assuming they got the quote right.</p>
<p>I submitted my tulane app in the middle of october, hoping to do single choice early action because i knew i didn’t want to do any early decision or yale/stanford SCEA either. when i still hadn’t received my decision by december, i called the tulanes admissions office and asked when i would get my decision and they said that on the personalized app, i had accidentally clicked “regular decision” instead of “single choice early action”. i asked them to make a note in my file that i had truly wanted SCEA and i asked if i could cancel my personalized app and use the common app instead since it wasn’t even going to be reviewed until regular decision time (and my friends and i edited each others essays so it was a later draft that was more personal, though the first draft was still pretty good). the admissions office said no. </p>
<p>so i will call tomorrow and see what the deal is, because i am pretty confused.</p>
<p>Tulane uses the universal app now, not the common app, IIRC. So its understandable why, especially at this late date, they probably could not accept any change in application materials. An I am guessing they told you you selected “regular decision”, and you are telling us you did that by accident, meaning to choose SCEA. </p>
<p>And surely all the apps are being read as we speak, since the final decision comes out very soon. Its just weeks away. You would not want to be making any changes in your file at this critical time. that could cause more problems than it solves, IMO. Good luck to you in the decision process.</p>
<p>just curious for next year’s applicants: were the “personalized” apps sent from the marketing company that Tulane hired? (discussed on another thread; can’t remember the name of the company)
My daughter dumped it when she decided not to apply so I can’t remember…</p>
<p>I am in the middle of helping some local students so I am clarifying all of this now (including this “optional”? Why Tulane essay issue)…</p>
<p>Forgot to mention, luckycharmz, it is spring break/mardi gras week, and the admissions office , while probably not closed, may be hard to reach. They mentioned this on the Tulane admission blog or twitter (one of the 2).</p>
<p>And Rodney-- IIRC, many of the personalized apps are sent via email. Some also via snail mail, but I believe (not 100% sure,though) they use both.</p>
<p>Just reread the admissions blog. The staff shoudl be sober, ummm, I mean back to business and in the office today, after the official “Fat Tuesday” celebrations are complete. NOLA had some weather issues yesterday/last night. Hoping all is fine and everyone is warm and dry.</p>
<p>Jym, see my earlier post on this thread. I submitted in October and asked to switch applications in December even though it wasn’t due for weeks and weeks. I was rejected. I’m calling them today. and yes-the regular decision was a total accident. I would not have submitted in the middle of October if I wanted regular decision.</p>
<p>Apologies, but I am confused. Are you asking them to reconsider your application? Sadly, it appears that you weren’t deferred to RD, you were rejected. So it looks like they did process your application earlier than you initially requested.</p>
<p>Tulane apparently thought your application did not qualify, so unless you have something new for them to consider that is really a game changer, it is highly unlikely they will change their decision. Admittedly, based on your stats post it is odd, but that is the way it is.</p>
<p>I can only suggest that if they accepted you you would put down a deposit on the spot, that you tell them this and see if your counselor can tell you why you were not admitted. This should be a live (telephone) conversation, not by e-mail. If you cannot say 100% you would go to Tulane over any other school you might be admitted to, then I do not think there is much you can do to change their decision. Even that may not, we don’t know why you were rejected.</p>
<p>sorry for all this confusion. here’s what happened.
october: i submitted my application with their personalized app and did both optional essays, fully intending to do single choice early action.
december: i still hadn’t gotten a decision from tulane (and a few of my friends had gotten their decisions with in three or four days of submission) so i called the admissions office asking what was going on. the receptionist said that i had clicked “regular decision” instead of SCEA, so my application wasn’t going to be reviewed until regular decision and i should expect my decision before april 1st.
two days ago: i looked on the gibson portal and it said that i was rejected and i got the letter that night.
today: i want to ask the admissions officer his thoughts on my application. maybe something horribly awful happened with my essay that i didnt even realize or something. i don’t want to be offered admission, i totally understand that i was rejected, but i am curious as to why i was rejected.</p>