Tulane Class of 2023

I was deferred and reached out to my admissions counselor about demonstrated interest. He told me that not visiting the campus would never be a reason to defer or deny a worthy applicant. He said that Tulane realizes that many people across the country(world) cant fly in to see the school. They even mention in our deferred letter that it is not necessary to visit. So, where is everyone getting this information that tulane relies so heavily on visits? just curious because I cant come see the campus unless I get admitted

@happytimesforever I think you can use common sense that IF demonstrated interest is a factor in admissions than students who visit the campus are showing some pretty strong interest. Unfortunately college admissions is a competitive process and all things equal, the kid that does a campus tour will be deemed to have shown strong interest over another kid who didn’t visit. If you really want to go to Tulane I would try to find a way to get there for a variety of reasons and especially for a high stat kid to combat yield protection.

I don’t think you necessarily need to visit to demonstrate interest. We didn’t visit until after D was accepted. But we had attened a regional “Tulane Comes to You” event and made sure to spend some time with the adcom after. A couple of email communications later and it was clear that the adcom had remembered her from the visit event.

Three girls applied EA from D’s school last year with similar stats and ECs. Two were accepted and one was deferred and eventually rejected. Both who were accepted attended the regional visit event. The one who was not had no contact with her adcom prior to submitting the application.

@ Wallydad - I’d rather not share my son’s stats just because he’d prefer that I not get into his specifics, but I can tell you that his stats aren’t nearly as strong as the stats of those who were deferred. He did not show any interest, didn’t visit, and wrote only a so-so Why Tulane essay. He knew that if he was lucky enough to get in, cost was going to likely be a deal breaker unless he got a sizable scholarship, so his heart wasn’t really into it from the get go. And it wasn’t like he dreamed of going to Tulane like many kids of Tulane grads. Sure if the money worked out he would seriously consider attending, but even that wouldn’t have been a given because he isn’t emotionally attached to the school.

College is what one makes of it. As I’ve said in earlier posts, I’m very appreciative of the opportunity that Tulane gave me to attend, especially because I couldn’t have afforded attending but for the school’s generosity. But looking back on my career, I firmly believe that I would have been just as successful if I had attended just about any other college say in the top 100 in the US News rankings. Why? Because I’m driven, goal-oriented, and was blessed without a decent level of intelligence (although that last one is debatable). Just like the students who are attracted to Tulane. But Tulane didn’t magically transform me over 4 years into a new and improved version of me. I evolved because that’s what 18 to 21 year olds do naturally. Sure, classes were relatively smaller than say at LSU, but it wasn’t as if the survey classes at Tulane were high school-level small. Freshman chemistry and biology had over 100 students in them. Same with organic chemistry. Sure other classes were smaller, but I didn’t notice much difference between those and the bigger classes. I really think that if I had gone say to Loyola next door (where some of my siblings attended), I would have done just as well.

Just general stuff about the school, their law programs, travel abroad, student success in classroom…

We visited the campus and had the pleasure of hearing Jeff Schiffman, Director of Admissions, speak. He said that he trains his admission counselors to look for applicants with work experience. I have to wonder if a JOB may tip the scales? I haven’t seen many people mention work experience with their stats, so I am unsure. Best of luck to all!

Hi there! I’m new to this chat and was hoping to get some advice/input from people on this process. I got deferred EA from Tulane with a 29 ACT, 3.7 GPA, lots of EC’s and demonstrated interest including a tour that I traveled from NYC to do. I understand that my stats are a bit below the main amount of accepted applicants but I have demonstrated a large amount of interest as I am from NYC and Tulane has been my top choice for months. I visited the campus last spring and emailed with my tour guide and representatives to show my interest, as well as doing all the smaller things like clicking on emails, etc. I recently changed my application status to EDII in hopes it’ll boost my chances and to demonstrate my commitment to the school, but I was curious as to what the chances are for getting in during the EDII round? How competitive are they? Also, if anyone has this information, does anyone know if Tulane releases all EDII answers on one specific day or do they gradually update them throughout the month of January? Thanks!

@BBBBBB2 I posted my stats earlier but didn’t mention my work experience. Although I am well within range of the normal stats, I really think that my work helped tip the scales to make my application unique. I work two jobs during the school year of ~15 h/w and ~50 h/w over the summer. I wrote my essay on how I wanted to work despite not financially needing to because I value the lessons of patience and diligence that it taught me, along with how I think it’s important to see the world from other people’s points of view (this was retail… not always fun). Considering I want to go into business and public health, I think the fact that I was that motivated helped show that I was true to my interests and knew what I wanted to do. Even if the work isn’t in your intended major, you also have to look at it from the school’s point of view; they want successful graduates who can do a lot post graduation and give both intellectual and financial benefit to the university, a high school kid who can hold a job is a good indicator of future success.

Deferred but got an email if I wanted to ED so …

I’m so sorry… it is totally wrong and every year it gets harder. My son is a freshman and loves it there. We were told last year to apply ED otherwise, it would be tough getting in. He only had a 31 on his ACT. We knew he wouldn’t get any merit money if he applied Ed and we wouldn’t qualify for aid. This year was worse. It looks like if you don’t apply ED (and that’s for all schools that offer it, not just Tulane), you will get deferred. I have friends this year with similar score to yours that have been deferred from Tulane, Michigan and U of Chicago. they want people who are going to pay $70k/year

@cjohnston There are lots of kids who applied EA and were accepted. I don’t agree that if you don’t apply ED you get deferred from Tulane. Lots of kids who applied EA also received merit money

My question is are any kids getting merit who applied ED? Seems like a big risk for full pay families to play the ED game.

There are kids here who posted they received merit in ED

My daughter got merit and applied ED1. It wasn’t as much as some other kids who posted here but it still was given!

agree @collegemom9. My daughter was admitted EA, got merit money which she definitely needs in order to attend, she did demonstrate a lot of interest, visited from NYC during Preview TU. Great stats, but not the highest here. She does, however, have a passion for community service and demonstrated that. She also has a job, which stemmed from her community service hours, where she was offered paying work. It does probably stand out, although she didn’t know that it would when she applied. Very happy to be accepted!

@buddhamom @collegemom9 My son was admitted EA with merit money, which is very nice. He has good stats and has had a job for 2 summers, so maybe that was helpful. He is also very happy that he was accepted. We have scheduled our Destination Tulane visit already.

Congrats to all the accepted students and parents. Well done.

To all the extremely qualified super high stat deferrals. If you really want this university and can afford the estimated EFC, definitely apply ED II. It’s the best way to demonstrate interest.

You will get better news in the next round.

It’s how many schools try to get a handle on enrollment. It allows the university to enroll as many high stat and community service oriented superstars while managing yield. ED 2 locks you in and gives them comfort that the application matches the true interest level. Which is not just to boost rankings but manage enrollment and the admissions review process too.

If not your first choice or too pricey, wait till March and good luck at the other schools.

Congrats and chin up to everyone.

For deferred high stats kids, what’s the best way to show more demonstrated interest at this point (other than visiting/touring)?

@collegemom111111 - switch to ED II. Deadline is January 7th I think- better check though.

@CaptainRonnie Thank you, but ED II isn’t an option for us because of the uncertainty of merit aid. Any other ideas?