S has been admitted to Tulane’s Altmam Program in International Relations and Business and is also part of the Honors College with a Presidential Scholarship. He is very excited about the challenge of earning a liberal arts degree and a business degree and two study abroad experiences as part of the Altman Program. His other main college choices are Davidson and Middlebury. Both of these schools would offer two of the best small liberal arts college experiences in the country. His primary passion has been liberal arts before he learned about the Altman Program’s attempt to provide best of all worlds with the important liberal arts degree combined with the separate practical business degree. I would love any feedback on Tulane versus Davidson versus Middlebury. Any specific thoughts on the benefits of Altman program from current students or other people familiar with it would be much appreciated. Our S has 3 great choices and trying to help him make tough decision on what is best fit for him.
First, to me it would come down to Tulane vs. Middlebury. Don’t get me wrong, Davidson is a fine school to which anyone should be thrilled to have been accepted. But generally speaking I think Middlebury just offers a bit more. Having said that, if he felt the atmosphere at Davidson was more suited to him, then that would be the choice. Academically there really isn’t that much difference in the two, unless he was planning on focusing on foreign languages. Middlebury might just be the best in the country for that area.
But frankly it is rather moot IMO because I would choose the Altman program hands down. It is fabulous. Not only will he end up with two degrees (not two majors but two full bachelors degrees), but as you mention he will be having a wide variety of experiences with a tight cohort of fellow Altman classmates. Not only will he be involved in service and experiences world-wide https://altmanscholarsabroad.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/, but also in NOLA, a fantastic place to go to school. Of course it depends on his preferences, but the other two schools are very rural.
The founding benefactor, Jeff Altman, stays involved and I know has worked with students on internships and job placements. Of course Tulane itself has extensive resources that are getting better all the time. http://tulane.edu/news/releases/tulane-alumnus-gives-millions-for-student-success.cfm
Tulane prides itself, and even describes itself, as having an LAC atmosphere while being a true and prestigious research university. That is because the focus is heavily on undergrads. In programs like Altman and the Honors Program (to clarify it is not a separate honors college, it is a program for students especially focused on advanced academics and research goals) that focus is turned up another notch. The Altman program is very challenging, there is no question about it. But the knowledge, achievement, and preparedness he will have at the end of the program for international business, diplomacy, top positions at global NGO’s or any of a number of other paths will be second to none. I am including Ivies in that. I am not aware of another program as comprehensive as the Altman. I don’t know how the costs for Middlebury and Davidson compare with that scholarship from Tulane, but unless he could go to one of the others for far less, and assuming money is a factor at all, I would say the opportunity at Tulane is the best one.
My son was also accepted to the Altman Program (and Honors with a scholarship). I expect him to make his final decision in the next couple of days, but he is absolutely leaning toward the Altman Program. He has been accepted at other great schools, but the opportunities in the Altman Program are unmatched. I’d be happy to connect with you offline as well.
To be fair, I don’t know enough about Altman to speak credibly about it. I do know Middlebury however. My knowledge of Altman comes from the posts above. I guess my biggest question is what is the advantage of having two Bachelors degrees? I’m not sure I see the benefit. I think you might be better off with a bachelors and a graduate degree. I believe Middlebury or Davidson might be more beneficial in terms of getting into top graduate programs. Congratulations to your son and best of luck to him.
Well, I vehemently disagree with the statement about top grad programs. Tulane has an outstanding record in that regard. I realize it is one anecdote, but my D was accepted to grad school at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Berkeley and Stanford, choosing the last because she was one of 4 out of 150 masters students in her area of study that received a full ride, and because it and Harvard are considered co-#1 in her area of study. She was also selected for 2 summers to work at the Dept. of State, which are highly competitive internships that often go to students at the Ivies and Georgetown and similar schools. Beyond her case, I follow Tulane closely enough to know she is hardly the only one to enjoy such success.
The advantage of two full degrees is that it demonstrates a commitment to an educational path that is more rigorous and in-depth than most others. At the vast majority of schools, getting a degree, even with a double major, requires 120 hours. To get two separate degrees requires 150. To accomplish this in 4 years tells potential employers that you are a very hard worker, organized, smart, and goal oriented. Combine all that with the unique opportunities packaged into the Altman, and I think it is one of the most outstanding programs offered to students interested in today’s world of international business, etc.
I have/had students at both Tulane and Davidson. I cannot imagine a student having both on their final lists as the student life could not be more different.
My Tulane student visited Davidson and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. My Davidson student visited Tulane and was a little overwhelmed.
Obviously, most on CC are high achieving students. But I know too many kids transferring because they didn’t look closely enough for “fit”.
Best of luck to your son.
Lol. I agree. My son is going to Tulane in the Altman Scholars program. When we toured Davidson, he went running the other direction. It’s a great school, but was just not for him.
Davidson is not rural. It is in the town of Davidson, about 25 minutes outside of Charlotte. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidson,_North_Carolina
Well, people tell me it feels very rural. Perhaps I have been misinformed.
I know nothing of Tulane, but my son had the Middlebury vs. Davidson choice. He chose Middlebury just because, I think, Davidson is and feels a lot smaller. It was smaller than his high school, and the course catalog seemed quite limited compared to Middlebury.