<p>OK, taking this out of the specific and making it more general (precisely because we don’t know morgsmom or her D), I feel pretty comfortable in saying that most 18 year-olds, even those that are very smart academically, don’t have a firm grasp on what that kind of debt really means. It is very common at that age (and even much older) to want what you want and minimize what you know will be the effects down the road. In other words, to let emotion rule over reason. No one here is trying to make the decision for anyone, we are simply presenting points of view that might be more objective since we are not the ones having the screaming/crying/sad/whatever child in the house. Besides, I don’t see why someone wouldn’t have said the same thing (“I have a feeling that ABC’s child is probably very smart and knows a little about what he/she is doing”) about the thousands of twenty somethings that are now in debt up to their eyeballs after making the decision to go to the pricey school. They even get their 15 minutes of fame in the New York Times, but I suspect that isn’t how they hoped to get it. I would also say we are co-captains if we are paying. I don’t think we should dictate exactly which school and what major they pick or things like that (although I have had some pretty strong arguments with parents who think exactly that), but I certainly say we are not relegated to just gently guiding either. $34,000 would have been a fair amount of money to mull over, $133,000 is a clearly a huge sum to most families.</p>
<p>As far as residency, I am no expert and maybe Texas makes it easy. But I know in most states if your parent continues to claim you as a dependent, which you have to do to continue to get the deduction and cover them through your insurance and things like that, you cannot claim residency in that state. Perhaps someone more versed than I in this area can comment on that.</p>
<p>My cousin’s dau, who had a combined merit and CSS to equal a full tuition scholarship at TU, transferred out after her freshman year. She was not happy at TU for a variety of reasons, visited my older S at Rice (and also looked at other schools she considered transferring to that had her major) and fell in love with Rice. She is graduating from Rice this year, and was as happy as she can be. She is off to grad school. Her parents paid her tuition at Rice so there is no debt. Her younger bro will be going to Rice next year. Don’t know if he was awarded any merit $. </p>
<p>Bottom line-- we do not know the financial situations of other families. If they can, and will pay for their child’s college education, whether it be $10K or $50K/yr, that is their choice. I agree that going into serious debt for undergrad is not worth it no matter what school it is, but if parents are willing/able to pay for undergrad and their child has a strong feeling about a particular school for legit reasons, that is their call.</p>
<p>As a current Tulane student, I feel bad for your son who wants to transfer because he has yet to attend a Tulane baseball game! Easily our best sport, we’re ranked in the Top 25 in the NCAA pre-season, and have the athletes to support this confident assertion. A combination of beautiful February weather at the new Turchin stadium and a winning baseball team is enough for me… As for football, go check out a Saints game then you’ll see city spirit that trumps school spirit. </p>
<p>Morgsmom, tell your daughter to come visit again with the mentality that she can see herself here. I was hesitant but after my Destination Tulane visit, well, here I am blogging about how much I love where I go to school. </p>
<p>As for school spirit, everyone at this school loves Tulane! You won’t find another school of this size that has so many students walking around everyday wearing Tulane gear.</p>
LOL, thats for sure-- no other school will have as many wearing Tulane gear!! </p>
<p>I have given my cousin’s dau’s experience as an example. To the contrary, my DS LOVES Tulane, goes to sports events and is very active on some of the club teams (is an officer of one of them). I agre that spending some time on campus is a great idea!</p>
<p>The students at Tulane all wear Tulane gear because you can’t step off the sidewalk without being given a free t-shirt! I’d swear that half the tuition money we pay goes to clothe the student body…I do think it’s neat, though, seeing so many kids around campus wearing shirts. If there’s no school spirit, they sure give the impression there is.</p>
<p>that said, to OP, perhaps you allow your son to apply for a transfer but also encourage him to go to a baseball game? maybe spring fever in New Orleans will change his mind. Could be that he gets a few acceptances but after spending another semester in NOLA he’d turn them down. Isn’t the transfer acceptance deadline slightly later than the freshman class deadline?</p>
<p>morgsmom, your posts are a bit of deja vu. We went through this last year with my d. She was very certain she wanted a school that had a tremendous amount of spirit, where tons of kids attended games, dyed their hair, etc. Money was also a factor (as she is a twin) and the big name, big sports program schools gave her nothing, while Tulane did. When I tried to pin her down on what “spirit” meant to her, she wanted a campus where the students clearly loved their school and showed it. She didn’t like campuses where lots of students wore other college clothing.</p>
<p>When we visited in April for Destination Tulane, we saw tons of that kind of spirit and more! Students saw us walking around with our “potential new student folders” and shouted across the quad to come to Tulane and told her she’d absolutely love it. Many stopped us to see if we wanted to ask them any questions or gave us private tours of their dorms and/or directions. There was an extremely friendly vibe and she immediately fell in love. </p>
<p>Fast forward to now, she tells me Tulane has a ton of spirit but “school spirit” not “sports spirit.” She absolutely loves her school and is excited she has been offered a spot as an orientation leader in the fall. I just got off the phone with her and she says if you’d like to pm me, I can give your her facebook info and you or your daughter can contact her and ask as many questions as you’d like about Tulane, her experience as a freshman, the school spirit, or whatever else you’d like to know. Sounds like the process your d is currently going through is very similar…</p>
<p>There really is no perfect school for any kid. My d and i met nj<em>mom and her d first on CC and then at various college tours. Her d was looking for the school spirit/team sport kind of school. My d wasn’t drawn to that but wanted a real city school, like NYU or GW. Tulane didn’t seem perfect for either kid. But, aside from the fact both kids felt Tulane was a really good bet, money was certainly a consideration. As NJ</em>mom said, visit, visit, visit. In the end, the place got into their blood. Both kids are incredibly happy there. NJ<em>Mom’s d found her school spirit, and my d found her city (even if she has to take a streetcar). For some spirit, see
[Tulane University - Super Saints Fans](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/122209”>http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/122209</a></em>saints.cfm)</p>
<p>BTW morgsmom, I noticed your comment about the classics department. Without once again getting into a discussion about how much the “reputation” of a classics department matters at the undergrad level, I am hoping you saw this thread that addressed exactly that department at Tulane. It is rather hard for me to believe that the experience in that area at just about any other school would be appreciably different than at Tulane.</p>
<p>Tulane has Division 1 sports! They are not on the same level as Michigan or Texas but they are decent programs. We are members of Conference USA.</p>
<p>hey, just an FYI, Michigan is better academically than Tulane so it is understandable that morgsmom’s D would want to go after she got in to LSA’s HONORS PROGRAM. The program is quite hard to get into and(being from Michigan) i know that her D would love the school and its atmosphere as well as get a top notch education at the #1 public school in the nation.</p>
<p>Well, I will challenge it anyway, especially the part about Michigan being better academically than Tulane. I would love to know exactly how that was determined by mjmay7. It’s a great school, with a number of very fine programs. But will one necessarily have a better academic experience (not to mention overall experience) at Michigan than Tulane? That is very much a doubtful proposition. And vice-versa? That is equally doubtful. Which means it is unpredictable.</p>
<p>Michigan no doubt has the better reputation based on its graduate programs, which are more extensive and very very good in many areas. That, however, does NOT translate into a better undergraduate education or experience. If it did, they should close down the LAC’s right now. OK, an exaggeration, but you get the point.</p>
<p>riroka, My son is also a freshman at Tulane looking at transferring. I am guessing that your son’s reasoning is way more complicated than just “I want Division 1 sports”, but that he is having a hard time putting into words just what it is he does want. Tulane is a very good school, but that doesn’t mean it is the best school for everyone. My son loves New Orleans, loves his classes, and has made a lot of friends, but hates the smallness of the campus. I know everyone raves about how close the kids all are, how it is like an LAC with all the advantages of a research University, how good the administration is at keeping in contact with the students, but that is all the stuff my son dislikes. Donuts on Newcomb College porch every Friday morning? Way to “touchy-feely” for my son. It doesn’t help that he and his roommate did not work out in anyway. </p>
<p>We have allowed him to explore other options, but we are requiring him to keep the Tulane option open. As he does those transfer applications they almost all ask the question “Why do you want to tranfer”. I think that is making him very reflective of his Tulane experience and I would not be surprised if he ended up staying at Tulane.</p>
<p>Don’t shut your son down. He may have very good reasons that he is just having a hard time articulating. Help him work through his reasoning and see where it leads him. In the end you want what is the best for him, not what looks good to someone else.</p>
<p>lolulu - thank you!! You hit the nail on the head, that is exactly the feeling my son has about campus. My son has a few friends looking to transfer, I wonder if your son is one of them? As it turns out my son has decided to give Tulane another year. He realized that jumping ship after one year and scrambling to apply to new schools at this point probably isn’t the best idea. If he decides to leave after his sophomore year, I think his decision will be one that has been well thought out, rather than rushed.</p>
<p>What dorm is your son in? Mine is in Sharp.</p>
<p>riroka - my son is in Butler. He has put in some transfer applications, but I am beginning to get the impression that he will most likely stay at Tulane. This semester is going better than last, including with his roommate.</p>
Sounds like the process your d is currently going through is very similar…</p>