<p>I have a very similar problem as well. I am from Connecticut and my decision is coming down to Tulane and Michigan. I got a full ride from Uconn, but I really don't want to got there.</p>
<p>For Michigan I would be in Kinesiology and majoring in Sports Management (Although I might be looking to switch schools). I haven't yet received Aid from Michigan yet, but the Financial Aid office said at best I would still have to pay 30,000 a year.</p>
<p>For Tulane I got a 26,000 scholarship plus a lot of grants. Overall I received around 45,000 in aid. I would be coming in to Tulane undecided. </p>
<p>I visited Michigan a couple of weeks ago and loved it and I'm visiting Tulane in 2 weeks. After I come back from Tulane I have 2 days to make a deposit to one of the schools.</p>
<p>FA is an important factor for me since I can't afford to pay much. A lot of people are telling me that going to Michigan would make up the debt for me in the long run. Not sure which to chose.</p>
<p>We are from the NY/CT area and my D is a freshman at Tulane. She had similar situations with several schools – not Michigan, but BU, BC, Lehigh, Wake Forest. She loved the campus at TU etc, but was still not sold and actually mislead by many others who were not well informed about what a good school TU truly is. She wants to go to Law or Grad school so I made a deal with her that I would give her all the $$ we saved on her scholarship with Tulane for Grad school. She ultimately decided on TU and is so thrilled with her decision. Like most kids of 18, she really doesn’t know what she wants to major in – pre-law, business, psychology, etc. and TU has been good about exposing her to all of these yet showing her what her various 4 year paths may look like. The school is big and well known, but small and easy to navigate and actually do all the things they talk about on the tours and in the brochures. Bottom line for you is where you think you will do the best, because that is the most critical thing. Assuming you are still on the fence after your TU visit - I would recommend you look hard at the money situation given your circumstances and not listen to the Northeasterners who don’t know any better. Either way you can’t make a bad choice. </p>
<p>PS – I am in the financial business in NYC (which is littered with IVY Leaguers) and prior to my daughter attending TU didn’t focus much on the School. Now that I have my ear to the grindstone, I am shocked at how strong its reputation is and how many people when they ask where my daughter is going or see my TU cap go out of there way to say “what a great school… so and so went there and loved it”. Lastly, the caliber of kids in my D’s class is amazing so that rep will only get stronger. Good luck with your choice but you can’t go wrong with TU.</p>
<p>I am a student at Tulane and I too am from CT. I encountered the same thing as you did when I was deciding on which school to attend. Many people in my school didn’t know much about Tulane (including the registrar/guidance workers) and pushed me in the direction of northern schools. In my mother’s line of work, however, her co-workers were telling he to push me in the direction of Tulane and that it is a great school. I personally feel that Tulane is underrated in the northeast. I do not regret coming here at all.</p>
<p>Tulane is well respected in the PNW. I am wearing a Tulane cap in support of S2 and get great comments all the time about the school. What is fascinating is that I get comments from parents of kids who attended telling me how wonderful Tulane was for their kid. That just happened as recently as yesterday at a Starbucks.</p>
<p>hge - I am sure you have read my comments regarding this exact topic on the Michigan thread and elsewhere, so I won’t repeat those points. I will say, however, to be very aware that when you will be in New Orleans Tulane will be starting finals. Even if you are there right before they start, it won’t be an apples to apples comparison. Not much you can do about that, but just keep it in mind.</p>
<p>I would only add that if you can actually attend Tulane for about $8,000 out of pocket per year vs. $30,000 for Michigan, when as you say money is a major issue for you and your family, it should be a relatively easy decision to pick Tulane. Over the course of 4 years that is an $88,000 difference. Anyone that tells you that even Harvard is worth that difference is uninformed at best and disingenuous at worst. In loans that have to be paid back in 10 years at 6% interest that is just under $1,000 a month in payments! That is a lot to risk on getting a very high paying job just because you went to Michigan. Michigan is a great school, but it is not worth that.</p>