<p>Hey, I'm in the beginning of my Junior year but I'm really worried about admission into a school such as Tulane, and although I have yet to visit the campus, I am planning on doing so this year and if I love it I don't want to feel too heartbroken if I get denied. There is a compilation thread of results of applications in the Chance's forum, but I don't want to surf through all of them for results on Tulane :P</p>
<p>Anyways, what I really want is feedback on your acceptance (or denial, but I don't think many people who have been denied will post here :). Just the sort of typical applicant at Tulane. There is always the people who have played an instrument since they were 5 years of age and are ranked nationally in all sorts of things, but I want to know the stats of an AVERAGE student at Tulane. I highly respect anyone who has the discipline and ingenuity to be the VERY top caliber, but I know that I am not "standout" - meaning I want feedback from the "above average" sort of kid. Sorry if this sounds a bit condescending but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from.</p>
<p>The average stats are posted on many sites. But FYI, 25th-75th percentile SAT/ACT: 630-720 CR, 630-700 M, 630-720 W, 28-31 ACT Composite. About 61% in the top 10% of high school class, average UW GPA is about 3.55-3.6. Not a stat, but Tulane students are probably drawn to commmunity service more than at most schools, given the emphasis both applicants and the school have placed on it. Not sure what else you want to know.</p>
<p>There’s no “average” kid, really. You’re correct. There are people with a list of extracurricular activities, and then people who (might) have been accepted to Tulane on pity alone, as they don’t seem terribly unique. </p>
<p>I was one of the kids who struggled with the “how many things have you crammed into your high school schedule” sheet. I was very much a quiet person, and preferred musical instruments, languages, and creative arts in my spare time, as opposed to the debate team, political science society, or cheer-leading squad. Imagine filling up your extracurricular list with things like “I studied Yiddish this summer and translated some poetry” or “I write compulsively. It’s important to me.” For many schools, it doesn’t have the same ring as, “I’ve been in speech since the 6th grade.” (Which I think is regrettable.) </p>
<p>As long as you can demonstrate you are passionate about something, which ideally sets you apart from the average Joe, Tulane respects that. In my humble opinion, after test scores, this is what is most important to Tulane. I’ve heard they occasionally accept people on the merit of passion alone.</p>
<p>Yeah, but Fallen those are just numbers, which don’t really tell people much. I realize the general response to how to get into good schools is, “Be passionate about something.” I don’t know for fact, but I haven’t really found a passion yet, and if I have found one (I’m starting to think Writing is my forte) then that doesn’t necessarily mean I can’t get accepted anywhere. 99.9% of the kids at my school are pretty disinterested when it comes to college so I have to come here to understand the admissions process better, and the problem with that is some people on here are overly interested in it. So I need to get a feel of my chances at the school and I don’t have SAT scores or my total GPA yet but I’m still allowed to worry about college now, in fact I’m sorry I didn’t worry first day of Freshman year, then I might be thinking about any college I want rather than giving myself a ceiling</p>
<p>So I kinda went off on a tangent, but point is… not everyone that gets accepted is passionate about something yet, but I feel like there are a lot of kids out there like me going to good schools, and I just want to see if I can find some to give myself an idea of what to strive for in my last 2 years of high school. pretty typical thread then, I just got too wordy over a simple concept, sorry</p>
<p>But just as a marker, my Average Weighted GPS is ~92, but I’m working so much harder this year and expect a 95 or above. Half my classes are honors, seeing as I need to take Religion and my math skills aren’t good enough for honors/Ap pre-calc/calc. Usually I get 90%+ on standardized tests too but I’ve got like no EC’s so that’s where I’m getting freaked out about all this ‘passion’ stuff. I’m in newspaper and yearbook, got a job, and do community service but I didn’t have anything freshmen year and I dont have unique ones like formed a charity event that raises 10k or anything, I’m not really a true leader, although i do have ambition and good ideas its just a natural introverted type of thing :p</p>
<p>Galitzin - I think you are over-thinking this a bit. You can’t change who you are, but you can embrace the positives about you and put them in the best light. All schools, Tulane included, realize that a good class requires a mix of personalities and strengths. If writing is your thing, then do it the best you can. There are lots of really good schools where you will fit in, and you will definitely get into one of them. It might be Tulane and it might not.</p>
<p>My D was a quiet type in high school, whose passion also was writing. Now to be fair, her stats were quite a bit higher than yours so far, but the point is she was able to parlay her strengths by learning about the publishing industry and submitting stories for publication. BTW, she has gotten involved in a ton of things at Tulane and has become more outgoing. Maybe Tulane saw this in her, I suspect admissions people get pretty good at spotting potential in many cases.</p>
<p>Bottom line, it really is true that the best thing you can do is make an assessment of what it is you really like and try to maximize that. The effort alone shows “passion”. That word can be overused, it isn’t like you really have to devote your life to something at your age. Just show that you can focus on something and work with it.</p>
<p>Also, just to point this out, you did ask for “stats” in your OP. What you seem to really want to know are not stats and is not quantifiable. Therefore there is no average and, in fact, the very nature of college admissions pretty much insures there is nothing you could even call typical, at least not at a school like Tulane.</p>
<p>If the general consensus is that I require a “passion” to get into a good college, then am I fated to go to a lower tier college because of maturity level? I realize UMD is a good school, but I wanted to set my goals higher and move out of state. And I was of the opinion that not everyone at Tulane was “passionate.” I apologize for saying passionate so much, but CC is chocked full of it that it has rubbed off onto me ;)</p>
<p>Edit: @Tulanechild, if you don’t think my post is readable, then don’t bother posting such a cynical response, they don’t let me edit it so sorry</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know what you expected to get out of this Galitzin. You cannot come to these things expecting people to only tell you what you want to hear, but then you sound like you are complaining that people are giving you their opinion. Besides, exactly what criteria do you think highly selective universities should use to choose people? If they cannot go by your academic track record and your record of other achievements, what is left? They don’t have crystal balls to know how you are going to turn out once you get there.</p>
<p>BTW, tulanechild didn’t say your post wasn’t readable, she is saying what I am saying. You ask for average stats, then you don’t want stats. It is hard to know what you want, but it seems to be for someone to tell you everything is going to be OK even though you don’t have the credentials that other students have. That just isn’t going to happen. I have made reasonable suggestions for you to think about, and actually so has she, if you read her posts carefully. I know this sounds harsh, but stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to do something about your situation.</p>
<p>Galitzin … as a parent of a child currently engaged in a very diligent search of which Tulane is one of her serious choices, I can tell you that if you’re looking for advice from open forums, you need to be prepared for the answers you receive. If it weren’t for “senior” posting members like FallenChemist, who invest so diligently to helping people out, like so many others representing other universities here on CC, we collectively would have a much harder time doing research on the colleges that we’re interested in having our children attend.</p>
<p>What you need to do is read the posts and be thankful of the thoughtful answers and time people are putting in to try and help you out … and yes … that’s even when the information is other than you would have wanted to hear. What I can tell you is that there are over 1000 fine institutions out there from which to choose … you will find one rest assured. However, you do need to do “something” to allow those people making the decision to admit you to judge whether or not you are a suitable candidate … period, end of story. If you can’t show the ECs / passion, then you AT LEAST need the grades and/or test scores to make up for it. If you have neither (at the standards set for the most selective schools), then you’ll need to lower your sights … this is just the brutal reality of how the system works. Is it perfect? Obviously not. However, it is such that it is … and that … is life. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Look to give you an answer you want to hear, the averages mean that some students get higher others get lower. Sure your chances increase but if your grades are around the average mark you should, show interest, apply SCEA, and write an essay that is different then 95% of typical essays. I can tell you this though, right your college essay with the mindset you have in this forum and colleges will see that you are not very confident with yourself. Just don’t worry about it. Apply and hope for the best.</p>
<p>P.S. Not that this statement has any backing, but in a recent visit i spoke to a few students who all told me that getting into Tulane is easier then everyone makes it out to be. It’s just that so many students who are qualified to go to ivy’s also apply to Tulane.</p>
<p>Well, over 75% of applicants don’t get in, and those that do have SATs that rank about 29th in the nation. So it probably isn’t that hard to get into if one has Ivy stats, but since many very good students have stats just below that, it becomes a challenge.</p>
<p>Here’s a thought–
Is there a department or specific major of interest to you? You might look into it indepth, research what they do, what the faculty do, what the graduates do, and express in your essays the “passion” you have for this field. You might even consider doing some research, finding and reaching out to a professor in the dept who is doing research or writing or whatever in that field and see if he has any room in a lab or need for an assistant to do research or whatever. Your passion doesn’t have to be for what you have done inthe past, but can be for what you want to do in the future. Make sense?</p>