Did you son decide? We are struggling with the same decision. UMiami or Tulane. Would love to hear any further insights to distinguish the two. Academics are very important for our daughter. She wants to double major in Econ and Chemistry (pre-law). She is somewhat shy but likes to be very active and social (not a parties, but loves to hang out with friends, enjoy restaurants,parks, beaches, clubs).
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I sent you a message.
If waitlisted is it too late to express an interest in spring admit?
I see no harm in reaching out to TU admissions, especially since itâs before 5/1 decision day. Also, if your student really wants to attend Tulane, have them consider enrolling in TUâs School of Professional Advancement Itâs one of the oldest ânight schoolsâ in the country (most classes start at 4:00PM or earlier these days) and they offer full BA & BSs without any professional experience or minimum age required. SOPA students have all the rights and privileges as TUâs Newcomb-Tulane College students except on-campus housing, which in NOLA is no big deal.
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Tulane was on my sonâs list from the beginning, and Tulane was very interactive with him. Ten times more than any other school. We did EA, got put into the RD pool, and are now on the waitlist. This was a stretch school for my son, but we did many of their events, interviewed, emailed the counselors, and visited the campus last summer. So being waitlisted when I read the caliber of students denied here seems like an accomplishment. After going through this college application process for the first time, I think Tulane is the one school that really takes the âHolistic reviewâ thing seriously. That is why so many kids with great stats get rejected. They really want kids who want to be at Tulane, which comes out in the visits, online contacts, and essays. Just my 2 cents.
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as a waitlisted applicant could i still send in a loci/updated resume and express interest in spring admit?
I know this thread is months old, but my daughter in CA has received more mail from Tulane than any other school. So I think this is the first step in âplaying games.â She is considering applying but after seeing this thread I am not so sureâŠKids getting accepted at Northeastern, Duke, etc, but rejected at Tulane? Surely thereâs a game at playâŠ
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Right, the game is yield protection. They appear to be rejecting the best applicants (who do not apply binding ED), because they know these folks will have far better options at other schools⊠The best way to get into Tulane it seems is to be a stellar applicant and apply EDâŠ
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HiâŠObserver33 is correct. They are quite serious about Yield Protection. My D did end up as part of the 2025 class. She actually applied EA but then paniced as she really really wanted Tulane. We tried to talk her off the cliff but she still ended up by switching to ED2 which sealed the deal as she is a great student and no doubt they would nab her ED2. I havenât fallen in love with Tulane yet but my D seems to like it okay. They had a rough start because of Huriicane IDA and having to leave New Orleans. There is talk of transfering but I would just as soon she stay and give Tulane a chance. Heading down for Parents Weekend soon and hopefully the school will start to grow on me too.
@Breagh - I hope your D sticks with it. My son is a junior and we werenât 100% at outset of this journey and are now 100% certain it was an excellent choice for him. Parentâs Weekend will hopefully seal the deal for you. Although it was a rough start to the year, theyâre now finally starting to have some fun and learn in balance.
Although i wasnât a huge fan of the fierce yield protection strategy, Iâve come to appreciate it for many more reasons than ever. There are TONS of really smart, driven, and enthusiastic kids at Tulane from ALL walks of life and regions. There are almost ZERO people there with a chip on their shoulder or attitude about "not getting into⊠", like you find at other schools (trust me, i have a kid at one of those schools), because the vast majority WANTED to be there more than any other place. It serves both the student and the institution, and I donât care who says (WSJ, US News, Forbes, etc). The bottom line is, there is no âgameâ that theyâre playing other than taking their prerogative to prioritize those students who know Tulane is their 1st choice.
And FWIW, to all those haters who havenât done their research to understand that Tulane is nearly 100% âneed-metâ (last numbers were 96%), there is no reason NOT to apply ED if you KNOW Tulane is your top choice (or ED2 for that matter if your 1st choice has changed or youâve been rejected somewhere else ED1). Your financial decisions and situations will be most likely more be met there more than anywhere else based on your NPC and FAFSA profile, and that is fact.
Tulane loves who loves them, and shouldnât be ashamed of it. Itâs good business.
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I suppose that you are going to classify me as one of the âhatersâ here. I donât think that the 96% number means what you say it means. US News says that only 61% of Tulane students had their full needs met. Applying ED means that you are willing to risk that you wonât end up in the 40% group where you are accepted but donât have your full need met. Tulane prioritizes families who are comfortable with this risk.
I believe that Tulane loves the students they accept, and that students attending at Tulane love Tulane back. But there are a lot of kids out there who love Tulane and just canât risk applying ED.
I agree that it is good business. But Tulane isnât a business. Itâs a not-for-profit college whose âpurpose is to create, communicate, and conserve knowledge in order to enrich the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities to think, to learn, and to act and lead with integrity and wisdom.â I personally question the integrity of Tulaneâs not-for-profit-business model. If Tulane agreed to meet 100% of the need of all ED candidates, Iâd be more comfortable with their model.
Youâre happy, and your kid is happy, and thatâs great. But you won the game, and you are very dismissive of families who arenât comfortable with that risk.
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Thank you for this vote of confidence. I really do hope we can sort this out and hopefully its just Freshman year jitters. Her Dad is enroute now to Parents Weekend and I will join them Friday. Hoping to have a great weekend!
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@lll1 you make a fair point on âfull needs metâ interpretation of that number, but what I was implying was that Tulane does meet almost all students/families demonstrated needs. In other words, if youâve filled out FAFSA/CSS and have arrived at an EFC before the submission of your application, you can expect Tulane to cover or meet most of the shortfall (assuming youâre student is qualified). If youâre hunting for more than that EFC (ie. merit scholarship), and not just demonstrated financial need, that is an entirely different conversation. I might also give you some credit in your interpretation of the â40% risk groupâ, but you must assume SOME risk to be rewarded. Itâs important to note that not meeting your demonstrated financial need releases you from your binding commitment, therefore ALL your risk is mitigated. I encourage you to confirm that with their financial aid office as Iâm 100% certain they will tell you that (as they did to me when my son applied). In fact, i see the only âriskâ to applying ED anywhere is simply the student not knowing itâs their first choice, and that is fair. If they know 100%, and you know your EFC from the FAFSA/CSS profile, there is no downside risk. I truly donât mean to be dismissive, only to educate as many as I can on the interpretation of risk.
As for the characterization of Tulane as a business, it was a euphemism. All schools are non-profits, but youâre naive to think Tulane is alone in that category or that yield management isnât a âbusiness modelâ that all schools practice. Every school that offers ED uses that as a lever to manage that and for good reason. Even schools that donât offer ED utilize the practice, otherwise thereâd be no such thing as waitlists.
I wish you well in the process.
Tulane is my D22âs top choice and we were considering ED. But the NPC came back above our EFC. So she is going EA as we were not willing to take the risk. I received the emails about meeting financial need. But of course they determine the need, and the delta between their determination and our reality was too large. Here is hoping for admission and a better FA offer.
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But that 96% number is for demonstrated need. Tulaneâs Common Data Set answers the question: âOn average, the percentage of need that was met of students who were awarded any need-based aidâ with 96%. That means that, on average, Tulane is calculating demonstrated need and only awarding 96% of that need. Some of those families (about 60%) are getting 100% of their EFC in their financial aid package. But for 40% of the families, Tulane offers less money than Tulane calculates as the EFC.
So, a kid loves Tulane, is 100% committed to Tulane as the top choice, and applies ED. Tulane says that we accept you but will only pay 90% of what we calculate your family can afford. I agree that Tulane will let you out of the binding ED agreement at this point, and it leaves everyone in that family feeling awful. You argue that there is no financial risk (and you are correct), but I am talking about a broader conception of risk that is there when applying ED and not being a full-pay family.
And all Iâm saying is that if you can find a school that your kid loves and is qualified for admission, knows itâs it their first choice, and has a 60% percent chance of getting 100% of demonstrated need, and a 40% chance of getting ~90% of demonstrated need (remember - if your EFC is 0, your demonstrated need is full tuition), thatâs a difference of around $6,000 a year for what youâve presumably earmarked for higher education. You strike me as an educated person, but that does not seem like a figure youâre willing to take a risk on?
I can think of only a few other peer schools in G14 that come close or better to the aid profile that Tulane presents (Emory, Vanderbilt, Tufts, and Notre Dame), otherwise theyâre very competitive financially
Tulane was very high on my D21 list. She was accepted EA with the second highest merit scholarship. She also applied to many 100% meets needs schools. Even with FA and her merit scholarship (plus add on $ Tulane awarded her as a finalist for the Paul Tulane award) Tulane was still 14k a year more than her other final 3 schools. That amount over 4 years was a huge financial difference. She loved it when we visited, but I had to advise her to choose from a school that was cheaper and did not include loans in their financial aid package. She had the hardest time clicking decline, but the financial difference was too substantial.
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I hope your D is enjoying where she did decide to go as I feel strongly you made the correct decision. Things are not as perfect at Tulane as my D thought and is now even considering Transfering. I really want her to give it some more time. Her academics have been spot on but the heavy party scene has been a bit scarey for her to navigate. We just returned from Parents Weekend and all felt good and more stable but only time will tell. I think its important to help our kids navigate their Freshman college choices as sometimes they do get pulled into all the excitement of one school and forget the economics. I totally applaud your decision even though it was painful to click Decline. Having to start life with huge college debt is not worth it. So many good schools out there where the numbers work out better. IMHO
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