Top Scholars/Honors Weekend--March 2014

<p>The streetcar is having some maintenance work done. My daughter got the following info in an email:</p>

<p>"Greetings from New Orleans!</p>

<p>We are excited for your upcoming visit this Sunday. We are writing to inform you that travel time to campus might be impacted by maintenance work on the St. Charles Streetcar line. The line is currently closed from Louisiana Avenue to Jefferson Avenue. You will need to switch from the streetcar, to the shuttle, and then back onto the streetcar. Please allow at least an hour to travel to campus by streetcar. It should take about 20 minutes by cab at most. Check-in will begin at 9:30am outside of the Lavin-Bernick Center."</p>

<p>Also, I’m hoping there is some sort of organized activities. My daughter’s host hasn’t been responsive after an email that looked like it was a form letter. </p>

<p>I can’t wait to hear about everyone’s experiences this weekend! </p>

<p>Darn, I thought they had finished that streetcar work. It is a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience nonetheless.</p>

<p>I guess there is really no reason to start a new thread for reports about the weekend, as I had originally thought. Might as well continue to use this thread. I suggest at a minimum people let us know:</p>

<p>What did their student like best about the weekend? What was their biggest concern?</p>

<p>What was the students overall impression of Tulane? Of New Orleans? Same for the parents.</p>

<p>How did the Top Scholars event go overall? Was it well organized? Did it meet your expectations?</p>

<p>Where did you stay and how was it? Where did you eat and how was it?</p>

<p>What did you do besides visit Tulane?</p>

<p>Did the weekend result in your student deciding on Tulane? On another school? Still undecided?</p>

<p>Obviously those are just suggestions, just let us know what you thought.</p>

<p>AHHHH…@fallenchemist …HOMEWORK (LOL!)</p>

<p>I promise to take detailed notes! Can’t rely on memory if I indulge in a Hurricane (…or three!) :)</p>

<p>I like that list FC, I was hoping people would post that kind of information as well. </p>

<p>@cheermom20878 - That’s OK, slightly tipsy notes are not only welcome, but even somewhat expected, lol. After all, it is your child that is on the “business trip” For you, it’s vacation! OK, half vacation.</p>

<p>well, I can already report that D and DW were very impressed with NOLA night life. They got down to Bourbon to see the St. Joseph’s Italian American parade and were duly impressed and scored some booty from the float’s head poobah. Even on Canal Street it was noisy enough that they couldn’t hear much of what I had to say. A successful trip so far.</p>

<p>They caught throws from Lena Prima? She was the Grand Marshall this year! (Louis Prima’s daughter) That would be very cool! </p>

<p>The school did a great job with the program today - I’m exhausted! my son is doing his sleep over now and I can’t wait to see how it went. The highlight of the day was the lunch with the professors. My son finally decided what he wants to do with his life - thank you!!</p>

<p>Looking forward to hearing more @purple1968</p>

<p>dolphnlvr, if they knew it they didn’t mention it. Sounds like Louis Prima is as big in NOLA as Frank Sinatra was in South Philly. Do they have shrines to Louis the way the south philadelphians have shrines to Frank?</p>

<p>My wife did remark that one of Sunday’s administrators told the students and parents that Tulane held Honors Weekend so that students would understand that Tulane didn’t think of them as ivy-rejects but as students who especially would benefit from the qualities that Tulane and the Honors Program in particular had to offer them. I don’t know if I captured that correctly, but that is what I recall her saying. Last night was sleepover. Haven’t found out how that went, and my wife and D didn’t have a chance to compare Sunday’s notes yet.</p>

<p>Goodness, I hope the administrator didn’t actually phrase it that way. Many of those students get into Ivy League schools, but for various reasons choose Tulane. Great scholarships is certainly one of the reasons, but not the only one. As best I can recall, and of course this has been 5 years, I seem to remember them saying something to the effect of “We know many of you have been accepted to some other really great schools, and some of you are still hoping to be accepted to some of these schools.” And they went on from there to talk about being successful in the right environment, be that Tulane or elsewhere, and then talked about what Tulane offers the most academically accomplished students, as you mention.</p>

<p>If someone actually said that, I hope they get pulled aside and corrected before the next event. Not only is it not tactful, it is inaccurate for many.</p>

<p>My wife and son are in the air on their way back from NOLA to warm sunny CA. Brief report:</p>

<p>They arrived on Friday afternoon, and spent the first day and half getting to know New Orleans. In short, my son absolutely loved the city, a bit of a surprise to his parents. It set a very positive tone even before he set foot on campus. Both he and my wife thought the campus was wonderful, and their student tour guide was great (in the Honors program herself). She was professional, interesting, and presented the school favorably. The informations sessions were helpful, although one of the speakers whose talk they attended failed to show. My son’s overnight went well – he found the current and prospective students he met likeable and easygoing.
Unfortunately he woke up this morning sick (nausea/vomiting). He cowboy’d up and attended one class, but couldn’t make a go of it after that. He was unable to attend the session where he could register for classes (non-binding in terms of attending, but giving these kids a bit of a leg up in terms of access), but he was given a contact number so he could follow up and do this from home.</p>

<p>He’s still awaiting some decisions (both admissions and merit scholarship) over the next two weeks, but Tulane has risen way up the list. He feels that he would certainly be happy if that’s where he ends up. </p>

<p>@AsleepAtTheWheel - That is such a shame he got sick. I am glad he got the info about still being able to register early, my D ended up doing the same thing, but for different a reason. But it sounds like it was a very successful trip, illness notwithstanding.</p>

<p>Though I am certain he would make a great Tulanian, I wish him the best of luck on the remaining decisions coming his way.</p>

<p>FC, I think it’s the latter part of your statement that the admin sought to convey. I was using shorthand when I said “ivy rejects” and assumed perhaps wrongly that a lot of people on this forum have children accepted into Honors and also into one or more more prestigious universities. And I didn’t say the rest of it very well, either. Mea culpa. </p>

<p>Here’s my attempt at a re-boot: The admin suggested that while many of the Honors students have been or will be admitted to more prestigious or higher-ranked universities, Tulane had chosen them because Tulane felt that each one of them had something unique to contribute to Tulane and that Tulane could help each one of them maximize their potential better even than some higher-ranked schools who might not have been as focused on the individual as Tulane was in its admissions policy. That sounds about accurate this time.</p>

<p>I’ll post more of the D’s review tomorrow. They’re spending an extra day on campus and in NO. </p>

<p>Thanks jkeil. That does sound very much like what I remember as well, and I think it is quite accurate besides.</p>

<p>That is nice they are spending the extra day in NOLA. I am sure they are having fun.</p>

<p>Just got back from Top Honors Weekend, My daughter loved it. Everyone is nice-southern hospitality. My D loved it. She is ready to start. Nice kids, bright kids. </p>

<p>Tell us more!
Reposting from FC’s earlier post:
I guess there is really no reason to start a new thread for reports about the weekend, as I had originally thought. Might as well continue to use this thread. I suggest at a minimum people let us know:</p>

<p>What did their student like best about the weekend? What was their biggest concern?</p>

<p>What was the students overall impression of Tulane? Of New Orleans? Same for the parents.</p>

<p>How did the Top Scholars event go overall? Was it well organized? Did it meet your expectations?</p>

<p>Where did you stay and how was it? Where did you eat and how was it?</p>

<p>What did you do besides visit Tulane?</p>

<p>Did the weekend result in your student deciding on Tulane? On another school? Still undecided?</p>

<p>Obviously those are just suggestions, just let us know what you thought. </p>

<p>Hi everybody, my mom usually uses this account, but I thought my report would be more accurate if I related it first hand, so this is “the D” speaking. My impressions…</p>

<p>There were so many things to love, but I gotta say, the music and the food were the best. I can’t remember the name, but we ate dinner one night at this cafe that served Lebanese food (mom here, cafe Mona on Frenchman) and it was amazing. I’m also a big jazz fan so I definitely appreciated all of the street musicians. We stayed in a shotgun style house/apartment which was unique and characteristic of New Orleans (in other words, really cool!). As for Tulane, my favorite part was eating with a professor. That may not sound fun, but he was so passionate about his work and you could tell that he really cared about his students. Just listening to him I realized what great opportunities are out there for the next four years. (Dr. Howard from Political Economy)</p>

<p>Over the weekend, I noticed that Tulane has a very distinct personality. Everyone was friendly and people seem to have a good sense of humor, which is important to me. I also like the emphasis on public service and getting involved in the community. That said, I don’t think it is the right school for everyone, but that’s hardly a disadvantage. No school is right for everyone. </p>

<p>Top Scholars weekend was well organized and very informative. My mom kept saying “They know how to do things right here” if that gives you a better idea. We’ve been on a ton of college tours/events and this one takes the cake for most impressive, so it definitely met my expectations.</p>

<p>As for my decision, well, I’ve decided that although Tulane is a good school for me, it isn’t the best one. My friends and family were surprised by my decision, but I’m confident about it. I’m choosing Georgia Tech for multiple reasons:

  • Attitude about academics: From what I observed, Tulane is less rigorous in coursework than GT is. I get this impression because they emphasize the learning outside the classroom as well as inside. They said 50-50? This makes Tulane more well-balanced, but my own preference is harder academics, otherwise I lose interest in my studies. The student panel assured us that the workload was not difficult. Also, setting up my classes for Tulane made me hesitant. I don’t know what I want to do and that made scheduling classes hard, and honestly, my academic adviser was not very helpful. She gave me more choices instead of information and guidance. Perhaps this is unfair since it really was only a preliminary meeting. Other than that, the system for picking classes is easy and convenient.<br>
    -Diversity: Walking around campus, I didn’t notice a lot of ethnic diversity. I value this in the classroom because people from different cultures have a different way of looking at things and of solving problems. Georgia Tech definitely has the advantage in this - people come from all over.
    -Liberal Arts: If you’ve been following my mom’s posts, she has probably told you the main reason I was hesitant about Georgia Tech: I don’t want to be an engineer. But I’ve been looking into the Ivan Allan college there and in my mind it’s liberal arts with a technological edge. I don’t view this as a disadvantage since job options tend to be less in the liberal arts department. They also have a good track record. If I were taking liberal arts at Tulane, however, I’d only have to take one semester of math and be done with it. I’ve been struggling with math for too long to give it up now.
    -Fit/Comfort: I think this characteristic is what decides which college for a lot of people, if money isn’t an issue. I feel more comfortable at Tech, which I can’t attribute to any one thing. It’s just the way it is.
    -Price: Not really a deciding factor, but more of an extra bonus. In state makes GT more affordable and a great option if I’m happy to go there. </p>

<p>Sorry for the long post, but I thought I’d throw in my two cents since everyone has been so helpful over the last few months! Thanks for all the advice and best of luck in your college searches/careers!</p>