<p>I messed around with college applications and left everything last minute, so with acceptance letters piling up Im freaking out that I not only failed to really research any of the colleges I chose, but also that I have yet to visit any! I am curious wether current students could tell me if I would click withthe vibe on campus. The way I dress -kind of hippie/Music I listen-indie blends more with a small Wesleyan/Vassar liberal arts college but my drinking/smoking/big city interests need more to do than these sort of isolated campuses offer. Im looking for a school that mixes these two elements and Im afraid of ending up at a preppy Boston College sort of place that likes beer and Uggs? Im visiting Tulane in a few weeks, please give me some hope there is a place for me...</p>
<p>I am currently trying to decide between having a full ride to Tulane or to pay full tuition at WashU. In your opinion, do you feel that Tulane matches up to other higher ranked schools? And How does it prepare students for graduate programs in law and business?</p>
<p>Your choice is basically this: Washington U (I assume in St. Louis), 12th ranked on USNews list v. Tulane + $180,000 or so, 44th on the list (inferring from your note that this ranking is meaningful to you). You are fortunate you have the luxury of making such a choice - not many do. </p>
<p>Our D chose Tulane (honors program) with a 1/2 ride over a 'higher ranked' school where we would have had to pay full price, but we made it easy for her, offering to put the scholarship money aside as an investment (so she didn't feel that she had to burden us with the extra costs - net, we 'pay' the same): she can use the money as a start on her financial future, for grad school as well as (within limits) some personal spending - our feeling is she earned it. Similarly, the valedictorian of our D's HS class had a similar choice: pay full tuition at one of three Ivies or take a full ride scholarship in the honors program at the state university (lower ranked than Tulane...). He chose the latter - and will use the money for grad school. Both of these two will get fine educations (FYI, the head of one of the world's leading consulting firms went to a local community college and then transferred to the local branch of the state university). In both cases, the parents would have paid the full ride - if that is what our children had chosen.</p>
<p>If you're looking for grad school, both are good 'feeder' schools (assuming you keep your grades up). The real question is, what do you want for your college experience? Only you can answer that. Some things to think about:</p>
<p>Does one of the schools have a stronger department in the major you will pursue? If you're interested in finance (our D plans to major in business), take a close look at two of Tulane's opportunities for seniors: FINE 461 the chance to manage a portion of the endowment and FINE 416 the Birkenroad reports (more detail here: <a href="http://www.freeman.tulane.edu/burkenroad/)%5B/url%5D">http://www.freeman.tulane.edu/burkenroad/)</a>. </p>
<p>What about opportunities for community service? </p>
<p>Have you visited both schools? If not, do so. If so, where did you feel most comfortable? The visit is what did it for our D - she never really felt like the 'higher ranked' schools she was accepted to were a fit.</p>
<p>I think most parents on this site would agree that, with a couple of decades of hindsight, your college experience will largely depend on you - you will get out of it what you put into it. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>i had that choice and without question still would have chosen tulane...there is not a large enough difference in the two schools to go into debt 180k...if you were comparing wustl and a public school then i may say choose wustl..i would most likely choose harvard,stanford,yale, or princeton, over tulane even though it would cause me to go into debt but in that case it would be worth it because i would most likely get an advanced spot in a large corporation and have the ability to pay the loans back in a shorter amount of time...however take this into consideration tulane is without a doubt the most prestigious school in louisiana and one of the best in the south, tulane graduates often get advanced employment in louisiana and have great connections with other alum throughout louisiana and the south...but to answer your question, you have to be out of your mind to not choose tulane in this case unless money is no concern at all. i mean look at the test scores this year wustl had act's ranging from 30-33 and tulanes are 29-33 so they both have very smart students there. if you had a scholarship to tulane you are obviously very bright and i am sure you will succeed either way as long as you work hard...let me know if you have any other questions</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your insigt. I am from NOLA and I had always thought that I would go out of state for college. I know that if tulane was located anywhere else it would be a no brainer. But i guess i could always study abroad or do internships in other cities.</p>
<p>Hi college1457. Just one note: I know leaving your area is good for some people. My own son could have gone to Chapel Hill for the same money he's going to Tulane for--the scholarship they offered made it the same. But Chapel Hill was just too close to home for him. He somehow needed to be farther away mentally, not only geographically. HOWEVER, he is also studying this summer in Guadalajara, and he'll have credit for those classes. You can, too, if you choose Tuane, I'm sure. They have a very well supported study abroad program. </p>
<p>I'm very happy for you that you have such a great choice to make! Good luck whatever your decision!</p>
<p>just a random question ctymomteacher, but im transfering this year from wake forest, and can't decide between chapel hill and tulane. Was the fact that chapel hill was close to home the only real determining factor for your son?</p>
<p>Wow, tayshodd, two of my top choices a few years ago were Wake Forest and Chapel Hill. I didn't get into Chapel Hill (out of state) and Wake Forest was pretty much my top choice, but they fired the track and field coach right before I had to make my decision where to go, and that was pretty much the deciding factor for me (of course, Tulane cut the track team this year, so I went out for the football team, something I probably couldn't have done at Wake, but who knows).</p>
<p>I don't know what Chapel Hill has to offer that's better than Tulane, but having been here for two years now, I couldn't see myself anywhere else - this is the best place in the world. I think you do have to weigh the two, though, as they're both quite similar academically and I'm guessing that being in-state, Chapel Hill would be far less expensive for you and the networking you can receive at both schools will certainly help you later in life.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision, tayshodd.</p>
<p>You'll get a fine education at either UNCCH or TU, but they are two pretty different schools - take just size: UNC has about 17k undergrads, TU about 5500. </p>
<p>Have you visited both schools? If not, you need to. Our D had thought she really wanted to go to Chapel Hill (would have been out of state, legacy through her grand mother, a die-hard Tar Heel fan...) but found during the visit that it was just too big for her. Originally, she went to NOLA just to see the town, was only lukewarm on the idea of attending TU - but when she got there, it clicked (if you read my posts, I sound like a broken record on visits, but having spent a lot of time watching her decide, I can't emphasize enough the need to actually go there - and while many worry about the cost of the visits, my view is that it but a small % of what you're going to spend over the next couple of years).</p>
<p>What is your major? How do the course offerings of the two schools compare on that?</p>
<p>Are you planning on grad school? </p>
<p>Is cost a significant issue?</p>
<p>To ask questions directly of President Cowen, he is holding an online chat on April 5 at 6 p.m. central:</p>
<p>The transcript of his March 15 chat (which includes some facts and some opinions) is here: </p>
<p>Good luck on your decision</p>
<p>actually tulane has about 7500 undergrads not 5500</p>
<p>Hi Tayshodd2. CT2010dad gave you a great respnse and said some of what I would have, so focus on that. But to summarize an important contrast for my own son, Chapel Hill was a big school in a small town (think mentality as well as geography), and New Orleans was a small school with a very interesting culture and very friendly people in an even more interesting big town with a fascinating culture. The storm didn't change that, and he's been involved with the community as well as the social side of the school. </p>
<p>So no, it wasn't just a geographical thing. In fact, it was mostly more than that. He needed to get out of NC and into what he saw as a richer cultural context. (I'm not sure anyone could see it any other way, frankly, when you're going to NOLA!) He was also looking at a Cognitive Science major at the time, and Chapel Hill had only a minor. Tulane had the major and still does (though he's since switched to another major for premed).</p>
<p>The bottom line is that a visit will tell for you, as it did for him. Please go see. You'll know whether Tulane is right for you. I hope it is because if it is, you'll have a great time ahead. But Chapel Hill is a wonderful school, too, and, depending on the answers to CT2010DAD's questions, it may be the better choice for you.</p>
<p>f you go see both, how about giving us a just a little bit of a contrastive trip report? It would be great for other students to see and also neat for us to know what you think!</p>
<p>Best to you in your choices!</p>
<p>yea for me both tulane and unc are out of state, as was Wake Forest. I had wanted to go tulane initially like as a freshman in high school, but a lot of things changed, katrina hit, etc. Tulane is a lot closer to home for me at like 3 hours so not TOO close, and my dad went to UNC, so Ive been there a few times, as I have with tulane.</p>
<p>I guess the problem is i cant really find things i dislike about either, so it may just come down to money (if I get any).</p>
<p>Well, you're up early!</p>
<p>So, you've already been to both? They're so different that I'm surprised that you don't have an opinion about which you prefer by how it feels and where it's located, then, if both otherwise meet your needs.</p>
<p>well i like them both for different reasons, and for how they contrast with wake. I like the aspect of tulane being in new orleans, and the fact that its slightly closer to home. However, i like the "collegy" feel that unc has, with the athletics, the college town, and I also like NC as a state, though I can't decide if I wanna spend my college years there. For me, wake was a letdown because there really wasnt much in the way of a social life beyond greek life and the limited amount of campus activities. It seems to me that people here tend to care about academics not because they really care, but because they were so bored they decided to study.</p>
<p>In my visits to both tulane and unc, the student body seemed to be very active as it almost seemed like they had too much on their plates at once, with academics only a small portion of that. I guess in that way i thought they were similar.</p>
<p>Also, im trying to decide which student body it would be easiest to aclimate to, as the student body as a whole is very different with what, something like 80 percent of unc from north carolina and tulane being a very (if not the most) geographically diverse school. Tulane takes like 150-200 transfers every year, while unc takes 900-1000 (or so ive been told). And I'm really trying to avoid the greek scene (probably because it just annoys me so much here) but I hear that that is the best way to quickly find a "group" as a transfer kid, especially at tulane.</p>
<p>so yea, I dunno i'm a very undecisive person i think, though I guess im fortunate in being able to have a choice, but i kinda wish there was a legit reason to choose one over the other like money, so we'll see.</p>
<p>oh and I was in class when i wrote that earlier post, I wouldnt be up that early by choice!</p>
<p>Thanks for the informative response! I understand better now. You are so lucky to have such great options----I have only one more comment to throw into the "pot," then. I know there's been some discussion here already about the "Greek scene" at Tulane, so I'll just tell you what I know to be my own son's experience. He's decidedly not an organization kind of guy. The "tightest" organization he's a member of is MENSA, and he's never been to a meeting. He did go to frat paerties his first year (what was left of it after the storm), but only for the free beer. BUT he has a busy, happy social life and more to do than he has time for, with or without drinking, by the way. </p>
<p>I still wish you could go and talk to some students on campus. They're very willing to talk, and it's much the best way to know how you'd feel there.</p>
<p>I'm really freaked out about making friends as a transfer. I do like to party, but not anything too wild. And I'm kinda shy at first. Any input anyone as to whether Tulane will work out?</p>
<p>I really wish more students were here to reassure you, but I hope we'll do.</p>
<p>Honestly, the people at Tulane are incredibly friendly and laid-back. Much more so than on the campus where I used to teach (UCF--Orlando). I'm sure that if you just involve yourself in one or two things that interest you outside the classroom, you'll find friends quickly.</p>
<p>There is a facebook group for accepted Tulane students - which was also mentioned in the NY Times a while back, where you can start making contacts. You'll probably find that most are as nervous as you are:</p>
<p>A lot is going to depend on the transfer orientation program Tulane has. Call and ask about it. Most of your friends will probably be transfers too, at least at first. There is usually a transfer community. </p>
<p>I'm a transfer too, at Brown from Tulane, and while it's hard to make friends, it's doable. It just takes a little time. So relax, and have confidence in yourself and you'll be just fine.</p>