Read my post re atmosphere at Tulane's engineering dept. for an idea of why. May I respectfully suggest that you dial it down in your semi-bashing of Tulane - your "facts" don't seem to jibe with the intensity of your tone. You are welcome to an opinion, of course, but the style of your anti-Tulane rhetoric is off-putting and I would not like to see any prospective student influenced by this type of attitude in making a choice between three schools which all have something to offer.</p>
<p>Wait a minute: I never said Tulane is a bad school! I was responding to the question of "why Miami or Syracuse over Tulane." Again, I never said Tulane is a bad school!</p>
<p>However, I just uncovered one more point in favor of Miami over Tulane, which is based on facts: in US News and World Report America's Best Colleges, page 64, they note "Great Schools, Great Prices." This report analyzes tuition cost after considering what the average grants were. Miami is number 49 on the list out of the top 50 schools. Tulane isn't mentioned.</p>
<p>Tulane is rated a bit higher in this book for its undergraduate school ([page 82) as number 43 among Best National Universities. Syracuse is number 52 and Miami is 58. The reasons seems to be Tulane has a slightly higher peer review rating (especially for engineering) ( which is important in my opinion) and is slightly harder to get admitted to. They have average SATs of at least 60 points more than either of the other two. Moreover, although I felt that Miami had a beautiful campus, I really liked the campus at Tulane. Syracuse, in my opinion, had the worst campus. Lots of construction and buildings didn't match in any way.</p>
<p>How's this for balanced? However, based on what I wrote above ( lower net cost for both Miami and Syracuse, potentially more school spirit due to strong sport's programs at both Miami and Syracuse, less party school reputation at the other schools then Tulane (although from what I have read, Syracuse is close in this area to Tulane), better weather in Miami, and stronger rated graduate programs other than law), I would still recommend to my kids that they attend Miami and maybe Syracuse ( if for communications or art related majors) over Tulane. Admittedly these are based on academic value judgments, which may be different from others.</p>
<p>I wanted to add one more thing after doing some research on "collegereviews.com." I was surprised to see most kids that have posted there really liked Tulane. Yes, they espoused the wonderful party nature of the school and city,but they also, to my chigrin, liked the academics. In fact, they had more positive comments than that of Miami or Syracuse. Miami did come close in the reviews. Syracuse, however, had a fair number of negative comments.</p>
<p>Admittedly, these reviews may not be statistically valid.</p>
<p>Also, JMMOM, your point that being one of the better students at Tulane might result in more opportunities over being in the middle of a top schools is quite correct. However, this doesn't address the original question of "why Miami or Syracuse over Tulane? I would assume that a top kid that goes to either Miami or Syracuse will also get opportunities offered that wouldn't be available to those in the middle or below at MIT.</p>
<p>Ah, taxguy, I now see you as being so balanced that I am teeter-tottering as I read your posts :) Thank you for the updates and further research.</p>
<p>Aha! So, taxguy now sees the benefits of tulane. I'm visiting miami next week. Hopefully i'll get everything straightened out! Thank you everyone for your input.</p>
<p>I picked Miami over Tulane. I liked them both, but I felt that Miami offered more in terms of possible internships and jobs. I also thought Tulane was a bit too small.</p>
<p>I'm going into engineering and I have looked at both Miami and Tulane. Each school gave me a nearly identical scholarship ($22,000 at Tulane compared with $21,300 at U. of Miami). So far I have only visited the Miami campus, which was gorgeous, to say the least. I loved the school and the atmosphere at Miami, but for me personally, I wasn't sure if their engineering department was strong enough. I'm visiting Tulane over the weekend, so I'll let you know which one I like better.</p>
<p>Thank ya! I'm going to UM this monday and tuesday. I wished they had a nightover program for prospective students, but i guess they don't. I really wanted to stay on campus! I'll be sure to post when i come back. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Re: overnight stays, each time my S visited a campus, he was easily able to arrange a dorm stay on his own. Contact the groups/depts. that interest you. For example, he emailed some lacrosse players after checking the school's website to get names and contact info for the captains, arranged to meet them, and invariably an offer to stay over was made. He did the same thing for a few frats he was interested in. While they weren't official hosts, they were happy to show him around, include him in social activities, take him to class, etc. Give it a try.</p>
<p>I just got back from Tulane and I really liked it. Although I don't know where I'm going just yet, I know I am choosing Tulane over Miami. You can't beat Miami's campus, but Tulane's was pretty nice too. I also think that Tulane has a stronger engineering department, which is more important to me than anything else. If you're trying to decide between the two, check out how the academics are for what you're interested in studying. Both are beautiful places. Miami would be a lot of fun, but so would Tulane. I also think that Tulane might be a more interesting place to go to college because of the culture down in New Orleans. Being from New York, i had never experienced anything quite like it. The people, the food, the music, the culture is different and might be a refreshing change, at least for a few years.</p>
<p>Arright guys!! So, i just got back from Miami. Wow, talk about an amazing campus. I could not believe that kids actually go to school there! It's like a resort. While walking from the dorms to the schools, the fountain in the lake brings a refreshing mist. It's great. Anyway, so the first day i was there, i went on the tour and info session. The tour guide was from bermuda, she was really sweet. (and not getting paid) She seemed to really enjoy everything about Miami. When asked about what kids don't like, she said the only thing she didn't like was the "no merit for internationals" or something. But anyways, after the tour, my mom and i ate ate one of the dining halls. The food was great, lotsa selection. I can see myself gaining the freshman 15 there. Everyone seemed to enjoy miami. The students seemed very happy. Haha, almost TOO perfect. The following day, I joined this "cane for a day" program. Basically, I met up with a sophomore and he took me to his accounting class. It was...well...i had no idea what was going on. But, the professor was cool and he seemed nice. The sophomore was nice and funny. He transferred from...i think UIF. He likes umiami much more. He invited me to go to his philosophy class, but i had to meet up with my friend from boca. We went to "the grove." It was pretty nice. I can only imagine what its like on sat. nights when its crowded with umiami students. My mom and I spoke with an admissions representative about my lack there of merit scholarship. She took a look over my app and decided that my class rank was probably the issue. (My high school is highly competitive) After showing her my senior year grades, gpa 4.6/5, she encouraged me to write an appeal. So, basically, this is how it's gunna work. If i get the scholarship, i'm going to umiami. If i don't....then....GOD I DONT KNOW. Some days i lean towards tulane, other days i lean towards miami. I feel like i'll be happy at either place, so its win win from here. Keep postin!</p>
<p>well, we went through this last year. My son went to play basketball two days before the deadline, walked into the house, and without saying a word, went to the Tulane website and accepted.</p>
<p>When I asked him how he finally made his mind up, he said it "just came" to him. So, maybe you should get a ball, find a hoop, and clear your mind.</p>