Should Tulane be on our radar?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>FallenChemist and other frequent Tulane posters:</p>

<p>My daughter is a junior in HS in NOLA, looking at schools like UVA, Duke, WUSTL, UNC and UGA. Her focus is very much out of state but I wonder if she is overlooking what Tulane may have to offer. In my day 25 years ago, Tulane did not have that strong an academic reputation locally. It had a better reputation out of town, in fact. But then, Vandy also was not nearly as well regarded then. She could likely qualify for some attractive scholarships at Tulane: will be National Merit Finalist, top 10% of her highly regarded HS, good EC, etc... She wants to focus on pre-med and theater, eventually going to med school. I think going away for college is important, but I wonder is she (and her parents) should look harder at Tulane. Please give me the case for a local student attending Tulane.</p>

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<p>@vistajay - Actually, I am also a big believer in going away to college, so usually I take that as a big factor in the decision making process. Having said that, I see no reason not to go through the application process for Tulane. It is indeed one of the more academically selective schools in the nation, and the other schools you mention (except for UGA) are no sure things for acceptances either. I would suggest several other schools that she look at that are academically strong but probably hold a higher chance for acceptance, but we can talk about that later. Just to clarify, not saying getting into UGA is a sure thing either, no school is. But it is more likely than the others you mention by a fair margin.</p>

<p>For now, I would say that Tulane clearly is of the caliber of most of her other schools she is looking at, and so should certainly be in the portfolio at least. Then when the time comes, she can compare the schools she actually got accepted to, the financial incentives each one offered, and balance the various factors, including being away from home.</p>

<p>Certainly by living on campus and having an agreement she wouldn’t come home except during holidays like students that are from OOS, she can replicate the experience of being at a far away school to some degree. She would have far more local knowledge obviously, but otherwise she would be on her own for getting herself up, to class, to get meals, do laundry, so on and so forth. But I would be disingenuous in arguing that I think it is still the same. Being a NOLA native and going to live in Boston, or Chicago, or LA, or in a small town in upstate NY does create a complete change of scenery that staying in NOLA just won’t. Even if she has lived in other places before coming to NOLA, doing this on your own is palpably different.</p>

<p>But, for example, if finances are an issue and Tulane is clearly more affordable than some of these other schools, then that would be important. That is the most obvious reason for staying close to home I can think of. Certainly given the makeup of the Tulane undergraduate students, it not like she would be going to school with mostly other New Orleanians, or even Louisianans.</p>

<p>That’s about the best I can come up with. If I think of more I will post, and of course others will probably have a different slant on it.</p>

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<p>I agree with FC, it certainly can’t hurt to add Tulane to the mix! Especially since it’s in your backyard, doing a visit, sitting in on a class, meeting with dept. professors/chairs would be so convenient. </p>

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<p>Vistajay - as the parent of a New Orleans kid who chose Tulane I can say he loves Tulane. He has adjusted well and made many friends. Lastly, I haven’t seen him often. The first semester he came home maybe twice. Even spent two weeks in Seattle for break. My wife was diagnosed with cancer between semesters and he now visits her once a week but he is not interested in moving home. He is currently looking for apartments uptown!</p>

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<p>A little off topic, but…Hi Jammer…I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I hope that she is feeling okay and that she has a speedy recovery. I’ll be thinking about you both (good, positive thoughts :"> </p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies. We will definitely check out Tulane. How do we make the most of our visit? Is there a particular person at Tulane admissions who handles Louisiana or New Orleans applicants? I noticed many options to sit in on a class… Any recommendations of classes that a potential pre-med student would find especially engaging?</p>

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<p>The admissions person for Louisiana residents is Valerie: <a href=“http://admission.tulane.edu/counselors/valerie_calenda.php”>http://admission.tulane.edu/counselors/valerie_calenda.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think which class to sit in on depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is when she will be on campus. But since you are local you have a lot more flexibility there. I would think sitting in on two classes makes sense, one science and one in a topic she likes outside of that. A lot of premeds sit in on biology classes. Are you thinking of doing this now or fall semester? Well, either way here is the schedule of classes: <a href=“Tulane University Schedule of Classes”>Tulane University Schedule of Classes; Just be sure you are looking at the correct semester in the upper right corner. It is also considered proper to email the professor a week or so ahead and let them know you are planning on doing this. It also prevents you from picking a class when they might be having an exam or when the prof might be out of town that day.</p>

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<p>Thanks, FallenChemist! I would like her to see it this spring and attend some classes, as I think her fall will be even busier and she may apply early to some schools. I need to look ahead at her schedule. Oh and I am fully aware her current list of schools is weighted towards the “reach” side, academically and financially. That’s why I am trying to add some more schools to her list. We don’t have a lot between Duke-type schools and safeties like LSU and Alabama.</p>

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<p>OK, then she should plan to go in the next couple of weeks, Finals are around the corner, so only a few weeks of classes left.</p>