Tulane or Wash U

I already put down a deposit at Tulane where i have a 20,000 per year scholarship. Love the social aspect of Tulane and the academics are good too. I then got off the waitlist at Wash U which was very unexpected and feel stupid to turn down the opportunity, but I just don’t get the social scene that I want from Wash U. I’m majoring in business, specifically legal studies in business at Tulane and Sports Business minor at Wash U.

For some reason Wash U is trending downward. I believe at one point the school was #12 on the US News chart.

Tulane seems to be on the upswing rankings wise although it ranks far below Wash U.

When it comes to business, I give Tulane’s Freeman School (founded 1914) the edge over Wash U largely because Freeman really seems focused on practical applications of business (Burkenroad Reports, state of the art simulated trading room, valuation courses, internships and job placement).

I would not look at the rankings and consider WashU on the downswing and Tulane on the upswing. There are some significant differences between the school which will become even more dramatic due to Covid.

Tulane seems to be on the upswing rankings wise although it ranks far below Wash U. A lot of the rankings are bogus and schools like Tulane have been playing games to move up in the rankings. For instance, they accept students with lower scores as guaranteed transfers so they don’t include them in the statistics. They also mostly admit students in ED1 and ED2 (and ask EA students to change to ED) to increase their yield. This does not necessarily translate into better students.

92% of students at WashU graduated in the top 10% of their high school class. Around 50% at Tulane. These are significantly different students on campus.

The first thing: Resources. WashU is among the largest endowments in the country with over $8bil in assets. Tulane is hovering around $1bil. With all of the uncertainty with Covid and recession, this will translate into significant resources between the campuses.

I would not consider Tulane in the same realm academically, especially in the business school.

If you are looking for a party vibe and more fun, I would consider Tulane.

If you are looking for an outstanding academic experience, I would consider WashU.

I’d recommend reaching out to current students and faculty and gather as much information as possible.

You can have an outstanding academic experience at either of these schools. If you have a fit preference, don’t get hung up on rankings. It’s not like they are ranked light years apart anyway.