It is certainly clear following this discussion that one’s opinion regarding how Tulane does admissions is certainly colored by whether they or their child has been admitted.
My daughter was one of the many that were deferred EA, then waitlisted for RD. It was expected, despite her qualifications and demonstrated interest, and frankly, it was annoying. The constant barrage of emails leading up to the EA decisions was annoying. It was spam. But we learned last autumn how ED works and how Tulane uses it, and the relative admittance rates for the different categories. We just couldn’t risk getting stuck with a $75K college bill.
I will say this, if she had been accepted EA or yesterday, I would still find their applications process distasteful in comparison to other schools she applied to.
The chatter on CC yesterday afternoon at 4:30 pm EST as decisions came in was unfortunate, but these were disappointed teenagers who knew the odds for RD were lower than acceptance at Ivies. They were finding a little solace with each other, but if the unscientific poll has any validity, they knew what they were talking about. It was an interesting contrast to, e.g., the USC boards the day before. Plenty of rejections, but far less vitriol.
A final comment: why would anyone compare the number of applications that Tulane receives with an undergraduate population of 7000 to the number UCLA receives - a world renowned, flagship institution of our largest state with an undergrad population of 32,000? By that comparison, Pomona, with their 10,000 applications must not be a very good school at all.
My daughter applied to several school (11 or 12?), many of comparable quality, a few better, many of a slightly lower status than Tulane. I’ve read the comments above, and I don’t feel my daughter was unfairly treated at all (EA deferred, then waitlisted) - but I did want to point out the two differences from Tulane and other schools she applied to:
I felt like there was a big push to apply ED (especially after being deferred); I don’t feel like any other school pushed ED like Tulane. Is this an attempt to get kids committed at full price? I obviously don’t know, but I have to admit it kind of felt that way. We don’t have the financial means to make a ED commitment and, rightly or wrongly, I do feel like that counted against us; and
The demonstrated interest angle is over the top (in my opinion); these kids are trying to look at a lot of schools, and there simply isn’t enough time in the day to attend every virtual event for every school you’re interested in (or even the top schools). I feel like this is a bit of a “game” – I’m certain there were students that attended every Tulane event just for the sheer purpose of doing so, not because they genuinely wanted to or had any interest in the topic. Demonstrated interest is, in my opinion, a flawed methodology and one that can be gamed by parents/students.
Just my two cents. I’m posting not to try and pile on Tulane at all, but simply to make a post for parents or students who may contemplate applying to Tulane in the future. Also, I could probably make a list of unique complaints (if you want to call it that) for every school my daughter applied to.
Deferred EA and then waitlisted I have a 3.98 GPA and am the president of 3 clubs and an honor society, founded a diversity initiative at my PW Catholic school, and did a bunch of activities related to my intended major. I’m a frontline healthcare worker and am on my state’s COVID Response Team, I showed so much demonstrated interest, I interviewed, went to every virtual session that I could, and wrote a LOCI, but I guess all that wasn’t good enough for them. Emory it is I guess.
I absolutely agree with you. Having gone through this process for a first time the best advice I can give anyone is find a true safety you can afford and will be happy to go to if things don’t go as planned, college admissions process is a crapshoot and even more so at Tulane.
This is why my son didn’t opt in after deferral. He was like “You know, they are right. I’m not going there and have other options at higher ranked schools”. But again, I think Tulane was pretty transparent about their process albeit the ridiculously low number of RD applicants accepted. That could have been a little more transparent. But when a school literally is “courting” kids and pushing them to fall in love with the school only to be a game, that is unkind. We were told early on don’t fall in love with any school at this level because you just don’t know what puzzle piece they are looking for. You could have perfect stats but if they already have that piece of their class, they don’t need you. Unfortunately, my son fell in love with a school and thank God he got in because it would have been brutal otherwise. But like any of it, it could have gone either way. At the end of the day, schools will fill their classes, kids will get educations, hopefully love where they land and if not transfer to a different university. And next year it will all repeat and we all will be ok.
Just some perspective on how competitive this application cycle has been using the UCLA example cited throughout the thread…UCLA has 31,000 undergraduates. Tulane has 8,600. So for this cycle, UCLA received 4.5 applications for every undergraduate and Tulane received 5.1.
This is an already difficult process in an exceedingly difficult year. My heart goes out to those having to navigate it and understand the frustration so clearly displayed by both students and parents alike. For those admitted anywhere this year…find a place to love and love it. Focus on your options and the road ahead and leave the rear view mirror out of your line of sight. Good luck to all!
My D was waitlisted first round and rejected 3.9 GPA, one B in 4 years in 9th grade Science. She didn’t do the letter of continued interest. We never visited, etc. She thought it was a safety and if she got money we would consider it.
She is going to Michigan. Just curious, is Tulane that competitive of a school?
We won’t qualify for any financial aid. There are merit scholarships for Stamps and LSA that will be announced in April, but I am sure that they are very competitive.
Their application is free and they are carefully managing yield, so in general they make offers to those they believe will attend. That makes it difficult for applicants who really want to go there, but for whatever reason (e.g. full pay but not super wealthy) are unable to apply ED1 or ED2.
I got waitlisted at UCLA and Berkeley, and did not apply to USC. Something to consider is that most UCs are impacted. I visited Berkeley, and the campus is nice, but the area around it is not. Same with USC, plus the recent scandals and law suit ruling, is where some of the tuition is likely to go.
Daughter 1 last year applied EA (Yes we got the emails about switching to ED2 but she also got that from University of Miami), was accepted EA, but chose USC based on her major. I told Daughter 2 to not waste her time with Tulane because it was the same Admissions Officer and he probably would not recommend her seeing that her big sister just rejected Tulane. Daughter 2 applied anyway (IB student, great scores, leadership, blah, blah). She DID get in EA, excited to go, knew the school well after lots of research.Acceptance rates from last year were ED: 17.3%, EA: 17.3%, overall: 11% (based on their website data and our January tour). Sure they send a lot of emails and materials (lots after you get accepted, like SMU), but it our experience showed me that Daughter 2 wasn’t granted Admisiion based on likeliness of attending…after all, she didn’t switch to ED2 and they knew her sister loved it just as much and didn’t attend. The “Why Tulane” prompt has a much larger word count than most schools and it’s clear they would like to choose students who believe they have a compelling reason to be there.
Hi… I sat thru 2 virtual sessions, one was a tour and second a student panel. Spent a total of 1 hour and got admitted. I don’t think there is any formula, but like all schools they are looking at the total applicant.
The entitlement of parents - not kids - upset that DS or DD did not get into Tulane is too much. Insisting that it’s all good, that it was just the free app that drives numbers up, and there are better options is just the cherry on top.
Congrats to your kid on great acceptances.
But come on! They applied to Tulane for a reason. It did not work out. Sucks but it happens. So many hot schools have the luxury of shaping a class with interesting kids who they think are the right AND who have excellent high school careers.Maybe your darling just isn’t the right fit and the folks who spend years professionally evaluating 1000s of applications sensed that.
Thank them. Your kid will flourish somewhere else. But please! The sour grapes from your n=1 experience is relevant to no one outside of bubble. And I hope your kid doesn’t stumble across these messages. I would be embarrassed and irate if I saw my mom or dad going off like some of you here. Be better.
I have a 3.98 GPA and am the president of 3 clubs and an honor society, founded a diversity initiative at my PW Catholic school, and did a bunch of activities related to my intended major. I’m a frontline healthcare worker and am on my state’s COVID Response Team, I showed so much demonstrated interest, I interviewed, went to every virtual session that I could, and wrote a LOCI, but I guess all that wasn’t good enough for them. Emory it is I guess.