Tulane is #1: Chances?!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

<p>I have a 3.4 W, a higher unweighted that is closer to a 3.5/3.6 which I know Tulane looks at the unweighted, then the rigor. (At my school the GPA for college prep classes freshman year have kept my GPA lower than it should be but I have been switched to Honors and AP more and more each year so my GPA is going up each year). A-,B+ most common grades on transcript.</p>

<p>Tulane is my number one school. I have visited, went to an admissions meeting, attended classes with a friend that goes there, and have made email contact with admissions. I plan on applying either EA or SCEA depending on my chances.</p>

<p>Other Admission Factors?:
Top 25% of class
High Honor Roll Every Term of High School
Great Recommendations</p>

<p>Junior Year Classes:
Pre-Calc
Physics
Honors Psychology
Honors American Lit
Honors Spanish
AP US History</p>

<p>(I go to a competitive public high school in MA, and they only offer 1 AP for juniors because of the workload, so I am taking the only AP offered)</p>

<p>Senior Year Classes:
Honors Environmental Science
Honors New Orleans Literature/Honors Film Studies
Honors Spanish
Honors Economics
AP Euro
AP Stat</p>

<p>ECs:
SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions, most likely President or Vice President next year)
ADL (Anti-Defamation League, most likely President or Vice President next year)
Student Council
Freshman Chorus
Soccer Team (3 years)
Invited/Attended National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington DC </p>

<p>I have not taken the SATs or ACT's yet, but:
PSAT without prep was a 1720 (private tutor, big expected increase)
PACT without prep was a 30</p>

<p>I also have Cerebral Palsy, and plan on writing about that struggle for my essay.</p>

<p>What are my chances? EA? SCEA? RD?</p>

2

<p>Until you get your actual SAT or ACT, nothing on here means anything. I mean, it isn’t official of course anyway, but wait until you have your real scores. However, I wanted to point out that you seem to have weighted and unweighted confused. Unweighted GPA is always the same or lower than weighted.</p>

3

<p>You are totally right I’m Sorry- I suppose my real question is not what are my chances, but more am I on the right track for admission?. Also, with the GPA’s, my counselor said my unweighted would be higher. I’ll have to look into it, thanks for responding. If you could, what would you suggest for calculating unweighted GPA? My school doesn’t give us an unweighted.</p>

4

<p>Unweighted simply means that A=4.0, B=3.0, etc. Since your school does A-, B+, etc. you can take an A- as a 3.67, a B+ as 3.33, etc. Schools might vary a little as to how they count + and -, some say A-=3.6 and B+=3.3, for example, but it will be close enough. There is no extra for an A+, that still is a 4.0. That is in contrast to weighted, where an AP or honors course might count an A=5.0, B=4.0, etc. So you should be able to create an Excel spreadsheet where you can figure out your UW GPA.</p>

<p>As far as being on the right track, it is good that you have shown so much interest in Tulane. Your schedule looks fairly rigorous as far as Honors and AP courses, although a couple more AP’s senior year might help. But if your school limits those, then there is not much you can do about it. Your GPA is OK, possibly on the lower end for Tulane. 70% or so of this year’s entering class will be in the top 10%. You almost definitely will need to do better than a 1720 or a 30 to have a really good chance. However, hanging over all of this is the fact of your condition. I honestly have no idea how that might factor into the whole decision-making process.</p>

<p>I would think SCEA or EA would be best, at least that way you will more likely know one way or the other and it is consistent with showing interest on your part.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for all the advice! As far as the GPA information goes I think the reason why my stats are a little different than the norm is that in my school an A- is a 3.3, not a 3.67, unless the class is an honors course. So for my college prep freshman year classes an unweighted scale is more beneficial to me because I got all A-'s, which would be around a 3.67 UW gpa, but at my school a 3.3 W gpa, if that makes sense. As for the SATs I definitely plan on having a better score because I have been doing a lot of prep, but as you said I’ll have to see. Thanks for your help I appreciate it!</p>

6

<p>NP. I don’t understand your grading system though. What is a B+ then? Or is the grade an A-/B+=3.3? I haven’t seen that in a long time. You should look up Tulane’s grading system and figure your GPA based on that, with no extra for AP or honors, just to see but also to be able to make a point of it if you need to. In any case, the rank is also important, and top 25% is good for sure, but not a slam dunk sort of ranking.</p>

<p>You are clearly enthusiastic about Tulane, that will definitely help! Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Yeah, it is very uncommon I believe. An A- in a college prep course is a 3.3, and a B+ in a college prep course is a 3.0. Although I will have taken more honors/AP than college prep by application time, the GPA grading system for my school still seems to hold me back so that’s why I like the unweighted system of Tulane’s admission, with recognition of rigor as well. I know that 25% is not a slam dunk, neither is my GPA it seems. But these are also part of the reason why I plan on applying early. I hope it will further show my interest, and increase admission chances because there will be less EA applicants. I love Tulane and New Orleans, and want to attend so much, so I appreciate your help and “good luck”. Thanks again!</p>

8

<p>If you want to get in, I’d advice getting those SAT/ACT scores up and then demonstrating you are really interested in the school. I have a friend who has a 3.3, with not too many extracurricular activities, but he got a 2150 on his SATs and showed great interest in the school (talked to the Dean, applied early, went to a bunch of meet and greets). He was deferred at first, but got in later. Luckily for you, you appear to have better grades, a better story and a more well rounded application. However, Tulane seems to really like being liked and it also seems to value test scores highly, so you might want to study up.</p>

9

<p>Milesf11-Thanks for your advice. And yes I’ve been taking private tutoring so I’m expecting an increase. Also in response to the “like being liked” comment, I have also been in email contact with an admissions counselor for a few weeks now. I guess I’ll have to see how everything comes together in the summer and fall-thanks again!</p>