Tulane Altman Scholar Program VS Ivy VS top 3 liberal arts colleges? Having a hard time deciding. Any advice?
Is Tulane the least expensive?
What do you want to study?
What kind of environment do you want?
Can you afford all of them without parental debt?
Can you calculate:
(tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarship, grant) =
for each college and list them below? (You can say Ivy 1, Ivy 2, LA1…)
As of now, with the very limited info above, Altman Scholars would win. Any reason it doesn’t?
A friend’s amazing kid is in the Altman program, and they LOVE it. It sounds incredible. Still, most of the world does not know about it. Most of the world in your life going forward, at least in the US, knows about the Ivies; most people also know about the top 3 liberal arts colleges.
I’d say you have to look at the costs, and what each school offers you, according to your particular interests. No one could possibly make an informed recommendation to you based upon the info you’ve provided.
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Do you believe name recognition really matters, when it comes to job opportunities and postgrad/professional school applications when comparing the more well known tier one schools with undergraduate studies in a program like Altman where students become proficient in a second language and get 2 degrees- A BA in Liberal Arts in something like political science and a BSM in Business and International relations in something like economics? Do you think the uniqueness of the program and the experiences like the two study abroad’s in a foreign language make it worth giving up the other caliber of schools? While Tulane is much cheaper to two merit aid, we’ve decided money won’t be a consideration. Our biggest consideration is assuming equally performance in each schools, which would be more likely to open up more opportunities. Would outcomes be similar regardless?
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As you know 50 to 75% of all undergraduate students change majors at least one time before earning a degree so it’s kind of hard to base any decisions on major. However student would like to study in the social sciences- Political Science/Government/International Relations/Law/Economics. The Altman Program allows you to pick two majors and a minor. Money is not a major consideration.
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Name recognition matters most in the early years. Once established, or with an advanced degree it’s just part of the package. The trick with specialized programs like the Altman is, do grad schools and companies know about it? IF yes, then take it. My kid was up for a similar thing and dug deeply regarding how well the scholarship/program was known. The two degree is less important than you might think ( others will have that). Likewise the second language ( fairly common).
You can’t see the future so I’d pick the program that’s best for you. Go with your gut. Small programs can offer special internships and connections which can be valuable. I also think Ivy degrees aren’t what they used to be with so many great schools out there (I hold multiple Ivy degrees and it’s older people who think it matters more than younger folks). It also depends on if you/your child plan to work globally. There name recognition matters more. But if he/she stays in the same region, it matters less.
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Honestly, the name value of the degree from the Ivy is worth just as much as two undergrad degrees from anywhere else. Having been on a study abroad program is worthless unless you actually become fluent in the language, which only happens if you have NOTHING to do with any other English speakers - not usually a feature of US schools’ study abroad programs! So if your study abroad program has you doing anything other than living with foreign language native speakers, and taking college classes in that language, together with other native speakers, you will come out with familiarity with the language, but not fluency in it.
But the fact is, once you get your first job, it’s not going to matter as much where you got your degree, and the Tulane degrees, with the Altman program, are nothing to sneeze at. Honestly, I think you SHOULD make this decision taking money into account, and possibly choose Tulane. I would imagine that overall, it’s going to cost you 100K less. Also, it may depend upon which Ivy. If it’s Wharton, and you want int’l business, maybe you should choose Wharton, and do a gap year in your target language’s country, living and studying only with native speakers. Just the name Brown on your diploma doesn’t necessarily give you access to better jobs than Tulane’s Altman program. If it’s Columbia, and you want to intern and work in NYC, maybe that’s a better choice than Tulane.
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Thank you.
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I appreciate the feedback.
Agree with @parentologist here. Which Ivy matters. Also, learning a language is difficult in a study abroad with other English speakers. Go learn in a village where no one speaks English. And learning a language takes time, often more than a year. Six months for good conversation and more if you want to work in a business setting. And don’t forget to learn to write in the language. Today, most work is done via email. That means you will need to write well in the second language.
A good way to learn a language is to do an intensive language program together with a homestay.
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IMO it matters a lot what direction the student anticipates heading. Yes, many students do change majors, and even those who don’t often change focal areas.
BUT: if your kid has a strong focus on international affairs / policy, and has had that for a while I have a question and possibly 2 contradictory pieces of advice:
The question: “money isn’t an issue”- for UG. What about grad school? What about subsidizing internships?
The advice:
- Unless you can (and will) pay for all of UG & Grad (most likely a 2 year MPP or 3 year JD), and subsidize making internships possible (so, donating the difference in cost of living between the internship stipend & the actual cost), go for the lowest cost.
BUT
- IF the “Ivies” include Harvard, go for that. For an international career, that is the brand name that will matter. Maybe Columbia. Otherwise, the “top LAC” name will be just as useful internationally.
For grad school, all of your choices- including Tulane- are just fine.
“…… the top LAC name will also be useful internationally”: Do you have reason to believe Swarthmore, Williams or Amherst are names that are recognized internationally?
You have less than two weeks to decide. “Ivy” and “three top LACs” is too generic. These schools are all different and it’s impossible to advise without knowing what they are.
Please be ruthless and eliminate schools of least interest and let us know what the remaining three are.
People know the top LACs.
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Depends with whom who you are interacting. In general, Harvard is going to have the most recognition across the most countries, most industries and most people. The next level down in my experience working internationally (Asia and Europe) are Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT. Wharton will give you a boost in finance circles, but there is a good separation between HYPMS and the next tier, in which I would put the remaining Ivies (but even for some of the Ivies, you will only get an approving nod by saying something like “Dartmouth, an Ivy League school”), Chicago and UC Berkeley. The LACs you mentioned will have limited recognition unless you talk to someone who is familiar with US schools.
Agree with the above that which Ivy matters. Also matters what industry you/your kid is interested in after college and where they want to work. Assuming equal academic outcomes, Tulane will likely be more limited in job opportunities, especially if you want to work for large well known companies in major metropolitan areas like NYC, LA, Chic, SV. Not to say Tulane is precluded, but the opportunities will be more and path easier at the other schools, including the LACs.
Would be interested to know what you chose. I have been off CC for surgery. My daughter is a sophomore in Altman and I would be happy to answer any questions.
For those downplaying language skills from study abroad due to being around other English speakers. The program does a good job of curating the program choices so the cohort students go to programs that maximize language. They also encourage students to do a semester abroad for each degree so also increases their experiences.
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I know this is an old post, but wondering how your daughter has liked Altman? Now that she is a Junior and has done some of the travelling, was she happy with her choice and think it is worth it?
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Not just yes, but hell yes? She loved the travel they did as a cohort between freshman and sophomore year. She did Santiago Chile for fall semester for her liberal arts semester, and is now in SĂŁo Paulo Brazil for her business semester. Has course work been occasionally challenging to ensure you have enough credits to get two separate degrees? Yes, but the people running the program do a ton to help them plan everything. Please feel free to ask more specific questions.
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In addition people above are wondering if Tulane would be able to get the student chess to opportunities. Daughter has a summer internship with Ernst and Young.
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Thank you so much! Will definitely have more questions as she learned a couple days ago she got into the program!
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Name recognition (aka prestige) definitely matters in the international arena.
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