@mrjsmom Yield fixation? Are you talking about Tulane wanting to accept the best class of students possible while not causing problems by over enrolling? Totally agree that’s very self serving of them. But if you really have all these other fantastic offers from perfect utopian schools then why would you spend another second of your life worrying about Tulane?
Brutal year, brutal process. Given the application numbers, I honestly think this is more a result of applying RD vs. earlier. They had kids with similar qualifications to those waitlisted RD apply ED and EA this year and understandably accepted many of them. Not all (including my D) have accepted or declined yet due to still finalizing their decision. There are only so many spots to go around…so until the EA applicants accept or decline, they cannot accept all of the similarly qualified RD applicants. Hence, the waitlist. Once the EA commitments firm up, they will be able to take action on the waitlisted applicants.
Good luck to everyone finding their place! This process is getting more and more competitive every year and to me this is an unfortunate example of the increasing importance of getting in line early.
Its times like this that I wish fallenchemist were still alive. He’d be able to address this stuff.
Often admissions offices are staffed by students doing a campus job. Cut them some slack. One of the worst admissions office experiences we had with DS#1 was the college he ended up going to and loved. No need to badmouth the school. Reminds me of the old Marx brothers line “any club that would accept me I wouldn’t want to be a member of”.
@jym626 what happened to fallenchemist?
@mrjsmom I am glad to hear you express gratitude towards the great offers your son received. It’s much better than focusing on what he didn’t receive.
I got waitlisted yesterday… I was very surprised considering my father, grandfather, uncles, and cousins attended Tulane.
@EDHAD Um…I’m glad you’re glad. I guess. Honestly, I didn’t even focus on Tulane because my son wasn’t admitted. The experience would have been what it was either way and I’d be capable of sharing my experience and empathizing with others, regardless. I feel for all the kids and parents on these forums.
I was deferred EA and then waitlisted yesterday. Emailed and called about continued interest. 1500 SAT, 33 ACT, 5.0 Weighted g.p.a. Two varsity sports and a good why tulane essay. @EDHAD im confused as to why you are defending tulane so much. I am not mad that I was waitlisted from Tulane, however I can tell you from all the schools that I have applied to that Tulane IS DIFFERENT. They are so hyperfocused on making a school visit, have very odd means of accepting students, wailtlisted RD applicants to the point of almost being disrespecful, and were very hard to communicate with. I could care less about what schools I get into, because I feel I will be successful at whichever schools accept me, but you are not thinking straight if you think all other schools are doing what Tulane has this year. Having applied also, to Emory, William and Mary, Lehigh, Pittsburgh, Allegheny and the University of Toronto, I can say without a doubt that Tulane has not been just “doing what other schools do”
@mrjsmom I feel for the kid’s who have parents who spend their time focused on what they didn’t get instead of what they did get.
I agree with @nickkraut. I never believed I was entitled to an acceptance from Tulane, far from it. My stats were just ok, 32 ACT and 3.8 uw gpa (school doesn’t weight). I completely agree, however, that there is something different about the way Tulane does admissions. I found it ironic that they made that post at the beginning of the admissions season about wanting to make the process as painless as possible, but I found their admissions process to be by far the most painful of the schools I applied to. That could be partly because Tulane was my #1, but there are certainly other reasons. I called the admissions office after being deferred EA to express my interest and did feel the person I spoke to was a bit condescending or simply uncaring. Not a big deal, but I’d never felt that way after speaking to student workers at other schools, who have always been incredibly friendly. I made multiple attempts to communicate with my adcom via email, and received no response to any of my emails, all of which included legitimate questions to be answered rather than a simple statement of interest. That frustrated me quite a bit. I felt unheard, irritating when trying desperately to show interest as it’s so important to Tulane, and as if I wasn’t valued by Tulane.
Of course I’m upset about getting waitlisted at Tulane, which is the same as a no for me because I need significant merit aid to attend, but I saw this coming. I am not only frustrated with Tulane’s admission’s process now that I’ve been waitlisted, but have been this entire time.
I think we all need to be a little kinder to each other. This is an extremely strenuous process and it seems that some on here are mistaking frustration for a sense of entitlement when that is clearly not the case.
And FWIW, if you have a suggestion for Tulane re: their admissions process, you can share it with them. That said, they are probably reading along…
This thread could use some positive vibes. Surely at least one high school senior got admitted to Tulane RD?.
Often when a school defers someone, they want to see something additional (maybe an additional honor or accomplishment, continued or improved strong grades, etc. as well as continued interest. Can’t say if this would have increased the chances of the deferred/waitlisted students here, but it’s a thought.
Tulane said they haven’t finished sending out all their RD notifications yet.
4.3W 35 ACT strong essays/leadership, waitlisted. Sometimes you just gotta laugh.
From my experience, the Tulane admission department is certainly not as friendly and helpful as other college offices. I believe that Tulane may find that it has lost a tremendous amount of good will and future donations from alumni. I know of several extremely qualified applicants who were wait listed and legacies. And I know of many applicants who were accepted with much lesser stats. They were accepted because they applied ED and Tulane wants to increase their yield.Tulane is trying to move up the ranks as a very selective and most desired college. There will be articles soon with Tulane bragging about the record number of applications and its corresponding record low acceptance rate.
This is all about them, not about you.
I think parents who feel that the admission office has been condescending and arrogant should write letters to the President of the Tulane, Michael Fitts and let him know. I believe that this new approach by Tulane will ultimately backfire on them.
I concur greatly with @WiscoRunner. While I knew I wasn’t entitled to admission, after discovering Tulane’s emphasis on interest, I made it a point to email my Admissions counselor on multiple occasions with fruitful information and/or questions affirming my interest, even calling the school to attempt to speak with someone personally on many occasions. I attempted to reach out for an interview, ask questions about departments, and provide updates, and all this even before I received an initial deferral in December. To have efforts like that essentially rebuffed in a school that heavily values applicants showing interest just does not seem as clear-cut to me, and unlike anything I encountered at other schools I applied to, where not email I sent went without a response and Admissions counselors were easily reached. It’s especially more disheartening when two classmate of mine who applied showing no interest at all received an acceptance letters, one with the initial EA group and another after a deferral, still not reaching out to Tulane.
@Pastpower That is exactly what I experienced!! Disheartening to say the least. I’m sure we will both do well at whatever schools we end up choosing; wishing you the best with the rest of the admissions process.
A lot of this is random and undefinable. Most great candidates get acceptances and rejections and it often makes little sense (accepted by a more competitive school, rejected by a less competitive one, etc). I think it’s important not to take it personally. My only issue with Tulane was the process and vibe of the whole experience. Doesn’t make it any less desirable of a school, just not as positive an application experience as the others we dealt with.
I guess they’re just not that into you 
@Pastpower (jk)
They took 35% of their freshman class ED and this is new for them. They have a new dean of enrollment management (new last year) so things may be different from past years.