To an international transfer student, tuitions are not big difference for me, so it is not a factor that really affects for me
Tulane: I always want to experience the education in a private university and Tulane is located at the city of new orleans, which is a big city in the south. Tulane and NOLA has some many crazy festivals and nice atmosphere
UMD: 30 mins away from the Capitol (Washington D.C.) It has one of the best football and basketball teams (being a sports fanatics, this really attracts me) and more Asian and Chinese food, which is my hometown cuisine.
They both have very nice academic standing in the nation. The only difference is that Tulane offers me to go to their business school. However, UMD did not offer me directly entering their business school. Instead, I have to take some lower devision business class and keep my GPA super good to enter business school and this is risky.
There is no much video for UMD on youtube which can helps me to know more about it. Tulane’s videos are super nice and appealing.
Both places are not super safe and my parents are worried about
Any alumni or students can give me some suggestion?
I have to make a decision by this week
HELP PLZ!!!
I guess it depends on what you mean by “super safe”. Very few high level schools in the USA are located in places that are nearly crime free. But it your parents are being distracted by the crime statistics regarding NOLA, that is extremely misleading. Tulane is located in the lowest crime area of NOLA and is actually safer than most other schools that are similar to it, such as Chicago, Duke, USC, Johns Hopkins, even Harvard and certainly Yale. My D was there for 4 years and never experienced anything bad in that regard (or pretty much anything bad at all!) and she was all over NOLA in her free time. I’m not saying nothing ever happens, of course, but it is actually pretty rare for anything above petty theft, relatively speaking, and common sense such as traveling in groups at night and taking public transportation/taxis when called for is needed, but that is true anywhere. I guess what I am saying, since you are looking for a school that is located in or near an urban area, Tulane is as safe as any of them and actually safer than many or even most.
Tulane does play Division I sports, same as Maryland. I admit they are probably not at Maryland’s level most years, although they are getting more competitive in many sports. The new football stadium is right on campus and I think the parties before the games are no doubt a lot of fun. I am very excited about the basketball team this year, the new players coming in are some of the best in years. So while I won’t claim Tulane rivals the atmosphere at a big school like Maryland in this regard, it is not all the way at the other end of the spectrum either, by any means.
Another thing you may not know is that NOLA has a significant Vietnamese community, and so there are a variety of restaurant offerings in this area. But of course most people love exploring the NOLA cuisine, and since I assume you like both spicy food and seafood, given your roots, you should fit right in. You really cannot beat the quality and variety of food in NOLA.
Finally, and perhaps most important, I find Tulane’s b-school to be both high quality and very dynamic, with a lot of innovative and unique offerings. They are in the process of building another addition to its already considerable presence. http://tulane.edu/projects/gw-complex.cfm
Good luck with your decision! Let us know what you decided and why.
@fallenchemist Thanks for those useful advice. I don’t have a decision now but I have to pay the deposit by tomorrow
is it possible for me to pay deposits to both of them and extend my time to consider??
Yes, that is possible and is done sometimes. I am not sure if it is considered ethical or not, I will leave that as an open question. But every year there are students, both freshmen and transfer students, that are scheduled to start classes in the fall and simply don’t show up, forfeiting their deposit. Some are what you are proposing to be, a person that made two (or more) deposits because they just couldn’t decide. Others have dramatic changes in their lives that prevent them from continuing with their original plans. But, for example, Tulane has nearly 1700 students saying they are coming this fall as freshmen. If history stays reasonably steady, probably 20-30 of those will simply not appear and not tell the school anything.
The last part actually bothers me more than making two deposits, even though I fully acknowledge that there is at the least an understanding that students are not supposed to make two or more deposits. But at the very least, if you do make two deposits and a month from now make your decision for one school over the other, let the other school know you are not coming. You don’t have to give them a detailed explanation, just say that your plans have changed and that you understand you are forfeiting your deposit, but that you will not be attending after all. Either Maryland or Tulane will appreciate that courtesy.
I can’t speak to UMD business school but I can tell you that Tulane’s business school is set up that you can get multiple degrees within 4 or 5 years. My son just finished his first year in business and he is planning on graduating with a degree in Economics, Finance, Marketing, and a Masters in Accounting. The way the school is structured he will be able to do this without taking too many hours per semster (less than 20 per semester).
He will get his Masters because he is a DHS student and it is paid for with the scholarship - we didn’t know this going into the business program but he found this out last semester, therefore he will getting his “free” Masters also at Tulane.
I am sure you already know this, but just to make sure it is clear to all regarding the DHS. That scholarship is a 4 year (8 semester) scholarship that covers tuition and fees. The only exception is architecture where it covers 5 years (10 semesters) because that is designed as a 5 year program. So you are completely correct that Tulane in general, including the business school, is set up in such a way that it facilitates completing two or more majors in 4 years, especially if one comes in with a lot of AP credits (which most DHS winners do). If a student stays for a 5th year to complete a masters or a 4th major or whatever, that is not covered by the scholarship. Unless something has changed of which I am not aware. There is a discount in tuition for people that use a 5th year to get a masters in most fields, although I think the discount for accounting is not quite as steep as some other fields.
Also, and this is really delving into the rare occurrence but it does come up from time to time, there is sometimes confusion between getting 2 degrees (a BS and a BA for example) and getting a single BA or BS degree in 2+ majors. To earn 2 separate degrees in more than one major requires 150 hours be completed. To do this in 4 years usually takes a fair number of AP credits coming in and loading up on the credits a couple of semesters. I am not at all sure what the rules are for getting both a BA (or BS) and a masters in anything, although I assume that would require at least 150 hours as well. But that is just an assumption on my part, although I am nearly certain all the 4+1 programs at Tulane result in at least 150 hours of coursework by the time one is finished.
If you or he have a different understanding regarding any of this, by all means let me know, so I can update my knowledge bank.
The DHS covers the 5th year for Architecture and MACCT only - I verified with the school and also my son has verified with the counselors at the business school.
"The only approved 5 year program a student may receive the Dean’s scholarship is Architecture (Arch) and Masters of Accounting (MACCT). I hope this offers clarification.
Sincerely,
Financial Aid Counselor"
I too didn’t think it covered the 5th year but it does for this particular business degree (only MACCT). I asked if there was anything more he needed to do and she said nothing beyond the general renewal conditions for the DHS and getting accepted into the MACCT program. We were very happy that this is an option and he can get a masters with the DHS because at that time we would have 3 kids in college and we wouldn’t be able to pay for the Masters degree.
He has been talking with his counselor on the degrees (I am trying to stay out of the discussions and just offer support) so maybe he won’t get multiple degrees - maybe just minors in the other areas ?? - I will tell him to get clarification from his counselor before he takes the extra classes.
That’s so interesting!! Thank you very much for that info, I had never heard that the DHS would cover a MACCT. You are right, that is a fantastic blessing for him and your family. Tulane is an amazingly generous school.
As far as the last paragraph, he can get multiple majors, potentially, while fulfilling 120 hours. I was only pointing out that technically he isn’t getting 2 undergraduate degrees, but instead 2 (or 3) majors with one degree. Obviously I am not counting the MACCT. It isn’t a very important distinction to most people, but it does exist. Very few people complete 150 hours in order to actually get 2 individual bachelor’s degrees. But for sure his counselor/advisor will spell this out for him.
It sounds like he is doing extremely well at Tulane. That is always wonderful to hear.
After talking with my son he just going to go for the triple major. He was thinking dual degree (econ) with a dual major (fin & mktg) but triple major is much easier and he can get those in 4 years then easily move on to the MACCT program. His usage of degree and major confused me so that is why it was misleading in my original post.
I juust want to update that in case anyone else was wondering on the degree vs major aspect.