My D is, at this juncture, is interested in International Studies and Biology. She is also eager to resume ballet after rowing throughout high school. She was accepted into both Tulane University and College of Charleston and received merit aid at each. Despite also receiving some need based aid at Tulane, she would need to take out more loans to fund Tulane and, as parents, so would we.
What are your thoughts? Is the program and opportunities at Tulane significantly better to warrant borrowing more money to attend? Will the pay-off after 4 years be worth the investment?
We live in the North and are not that familiar with the South. We don’t know anyone attending C of C, but plenty of kids from our area attend Tulane. We lean left and are not particularly religious. Would she be a fish out of water in Charleston?
CofC is not a conservative campus. New Orleans is in the Deep South . Both schools have students from the Northeast and all over the country. I don’t think the demographic is that different . CofC has excellent international studies and biology programs . It sounds like your heart and daughter’s heart is with Tulane and that you are looking for reasons to justify that decision . Only you can determine if it’s worth borrowing money to attend there. If you or your daughter will always feel like she settled , then you may want to choose Tulane.
Thank you, as always, for the information!!! College of Charleston is just not as well known in Philadelphia, for whatever reason, as Tulane. I am just trying to gather information as best I can.
Actually, my D has never visited Tulane nor New Orleans, but has friends who are attending Tulane and love it. She did attend the College of Charleston Admitted Students Visit by herself a couple weekends ago (I was unable to go with her because my younger daughter was hospitalized). She was very, very impressed by the Honors College but, unfortunately, did not get to know the other Honors College students as they were paired off with their parents. She has been on facebook with other admitted students but has not really gotten a sense of the other girls individuality. As a parent, I just want to make sure that she will be amongst students from many different walks of life with open hearts and minds. It is reassuring to learn that C of C is not a conservative campus. We are having a tough time right now at home with issues facing her sister, and I just want my daughter to be happy while attending a college that stimulates her intellectually, challenges her views, provides opportunities, and where she will also find her “peeps.” In addition, I am just trying to figure out why Tulane is considered more selective, is so much more expensive, yet stingy with aid.
My grandfather was born in Columbia, South Carolina and raised in Roanoke, Virginia; his mother was born in New Orleans and my godfather is from North Carolina. My parents lived on the Isle of Palms when my Dad served in the navy almost 60 years ago before he became a Lutheran minister. I have been to New Orleans and loved it but have not yet had the opportunity to visit Charleston. I was really hoping to go with my daughter and stay with a cousin who has lived in Charleston for over 30 years and loves it. I know Charleston is beautiful, is very proud of its history and culture, has great restaurants, is the American home of the Spoleto festival, and is near the beach but I really don’t have a “feel” for the place or the C of C student body. My heart is not with Tulane; it’s just that I am more familiar with New Orleans and my daughter has friends who love Tulane but doesn’t have friends at C of C.
Will your daughter have the opportunity to visit Tulane? A lot of things go into selectivity that have absolutely nothing to do with the strength of the program including popularity, location, in some situations , sports. Tulane is a private school , where as College of Charleston
Is public which contributes to the higher price tag. There is also the perception by many people that one receives a " better" education at a private school than a public true which is not necessarily true. I really don’t see where students at Tulane would necessarily be more forward thinking or diverse than students at Charleston. You may want to google clubs and activities at each school to
see what some of the interests of students are. You may also want to look at the Common Data Set for each school to look at demographics. Tulane and CofC are roughly the same size with Tulane having several thousand more students.
I agree with you. I agree that one can have an excellent education at a public university. We discovered College of Charleston in reading the Princeton Review’s “Colleges that Create Futures” that also highlighted the University of Pittsburgh, a popular choice amongst students from our area, as well as noting a few dozen other both public and private universities. She was impressed by Charleston’s International Scholars Program, so applied to C of C. I do not think she realized just how selective the International Scholars Program is. She was not selected to be interviewed for an Aikens Fellowship, therefore, not chosen to be an International Scholar. Fortunately, she was invited into the Honors College and was impressed by the close advising , mentorship, multidisciplinary curriculum, research opportunities plus she loves the idea of being part of a smaller liberal arts college within a larger research university. She is in the IB program at her high school and enjoys the sense of community she shares with the other IB students.
At this stage, she will not be visiting Tulane as I don’t think it makes sense for us to spend the money to fly her there when we know. Neither she nor we want her to leave college with a $50,000 debt ( it might be different if she knew she wanted to be a computer scientist); my husband and I would also have to borrow that much as well. It had been our perception that state schools generally were only affordable for in-state residents and that private schools had larger endowments so could afford to offer more aid so were more generous. However, while she did receive a similarly valued academic scholarship at Tulane, with the academic scholarships she was offered by both C of C and UVM (who also kicked in some need based aid) they are by far more affordable than any of the private schools to which she was accepted.
She was going to revisit UVM this week, which is Spring Break for our kids, and stay with a friend who is a freshman, at Vermont, but now I am not sure she will go; it seems that she has made up her mind and is choosing C of C for the Honors College. She also likes bring in a city and feels that Burlington is too small a city and feels remote despite the fact that she knows several kids from our area who attend UVM and love it.
I know the sizes of all three schools but will look at the Data Set for demographics. Thank you for the recommendation!
Just an aside. I’m a city girl who was raised in Baltimore City who who moved to My Pleasant ( a suburb of Charleston) in 1991 . I found that Charleston was a friendly , melting pot of people from all over the country and world . Many of my neighbors were from Pa, Md, NY, NJ, Ohio in addition to locals from SC. I find that to be the case even more so now. I understand , that not seeing a place and seeing your daughter on that campus in order to get a “feel” for how you daughter interacts on campus can be daunting . Having your child leave to go off to college is stressful enough without the additional things that you are dealing with with your daughter. My biggest concern with my son is that I will lose him to Charleston . It truly is a great place which is very hard to adequately describe , once you’re able to experience it , it will become clearer.
It seems as if Charleston offers a very nice quality of life. It certainly appears absolutely lovely from photos and impeccably maintained. My daughter was already encouraged at the Honors Experience Event to seek internships elsewhere because so many young people remain in Charleston after graduation that it is become hard to attain internships and (I think) good paying jobs. Is that what you mean?
My son has every intention of staying in Charleston . He has always loved Charleston and plans to stay there. With his major he should be able to stay.
Oh good, I am glad there are lots of opportunities for him locally in his field!
I am sorry, I must have misunderstood what you meant when you wrote, “My biggest concern is that I will lose him to Charleston?”
Hello,
I am currently in the same exact situation as you! I was admitted to Tulane and absolutely loved it when I visited. I was about to commit to Tulane last week then found out I was taken off of the waitlist at CofC’s honors college and received $4,000 a year in merit aid as well; whereas at Tulane I received no merit money. I just visited the campus and liked it a lot, but am still concerned with the reputation of CofC nationally, and am not convinced that being in the honors college will result in a better job, or gains you any sort of advantage when looking for a job. I know Tulane has a great reputation nationally, but don’t necessarily feel it is worth $70,000 a year. I am a business major by the way so I really want to make the right decision.
Where are you looking to work after graduation @cruchtime123 ?
Well i’m from New York so I am planning to work here but that could change.
Have you visited College of Charleston? Did you have the chance to visit their Admitted Student Weekend events? If so, what did you think of the opportunities offered at C of C Honors College and the city of Charleston compared to Tulane and New Orleans?
Yes I just visited the campus this past Thursday. I did not have a chance to visit their admitted student weekend event, however I was able to personally talk with some of the honors college staff. The impression I got is that if you are looking to work in South Carolina, CofC presents great opportunity especially being in the honors college. While i’m sure Tulane presents the same oppurtunities in its respective city, who really wants to live and work in New Orleans? However, I feel Tulane is much more recognized nationally, which presents job opportunities nation wide; which is something I believe CofC is unable to offer.
Then you just answered your question @cruchtime123 . You need to go to Tulane . I’m sure the very successful CofC alums that work all over the country and world have a different opinion, but if you feel like it won’t meet your needs , then you need to choose a different school. You may want to research notable CofC alums. You may be surprised to find quite a few all over the country including the president of Vineyard Vines, quite a few famous actors , the architect of the Washington Monument, the Medical Director at UC - Riverside, and quite a few professional athletes including Brett Gardner. Good luck in your college career and thereafter.
Can’t say where I would rather live and work. I spent a glorious weekend once in New Orleans 25 years ago and, unfortunately, have not yet been to Charleston. I sent my daughter to the Admitted Student’s weekend on her own. We live in Philadelphia, an increasingly diverse city. My grandfather was born in South Carolina and his mother was from New Orleans. She brought her children to Philadelphia during the Great Depression after she found work here. I have one cousin, an artist, who made his home in New Orleans and another, a navy man, has made his home In Charleston. While the same age, the two could not be more different and am not sure what there political and lifestyle differences represent in terms of the choices the residential choices they made.
I believe from what I have read and what my daughter learned at the Honors Experience at the College of Charleston that the Honors College does offer fantastic opportunities. I just hope that is the “right fit.” We do not have much disposable income, so my daughter will not be able afford hanging out on King Street. And like you, I am concerned that as a regional university it is not as well known and may not offer the alumni networking opportunities outside of South Carolina that Tulane claims to provide. Just trying to sort all this stuff out. It is hard to know what is real vs. reputation.
What did you decide, @LostatSea ?
Decision: Honors College at C of C
How did you make that decision? Your reasoning could help other students contemplating either university, or even, both.
Also, how is it going so far at CoC?
Thanks for asking. In truth, despite receiving merit and some financial aid, we could not afford Tulane and were not receptive to either she or us drowning in debt; so my daughter had the choice between 3 colleges that we could afford (UVM, Temple U, and the Honors College at College of Charleston) and she chose the Honors College at C of C. She wanted to be in a city but not her hometown so that eliminated 2 of the 3 affordable options. Furthermore, she had liked being in the International Baccalaureate Diploma program within her large high school, so I think the idea of being in the Honors College, a smaller very academically focused group of students within a larger university was very attractive.
I am so happy to report that thus far she seems quite happy. The Honors College provides much closer advising; greater preparation for and access to internship and research opportunities; offers conveniently located Honors College Living/Learning Community dorm floors; plus unique to the Honors College interdisciplinary courses. She has been making friends, is living in a suite with 6 other girls and everyone has been respectful of each other and getting along, is keeping up with the coursework and doing well, attending and enjoying campus events, and will soon be matched with an off-campus volunteer with a school / community organization in partnership with the Honors College. I am looking forward to learning more as time goes on. I would definitely encourage other students (and their parents) to consider the College of Charleston Honors College as they research places to apply.
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