Tulane vs. Wisconsin vs. Indiana

I have been admitted to the following three schools and although I have not heard back from everywhere yet, I have a feeling this is the choice I will be making. I’m from New York so I’m OOS for all three. I’m into Tulane’s honors program with $30,000 per year. At Indiana, I petitioned for Kelley and have a decent shot of being accepted with a 34 ACT, and have also been admitted to the Hutton Honors College with $11,000 per year. I have been admitted to the College of Letters and Sciences at Wisconsin with no money. All of that considered, I’ll have a very hard time deciding. I very much like the warm weather at Tulane and am not a fan of the cold, but I will deal with it if I have to. I like college sports and cheering for a team, but I feel that the festivals at Tulane kind of make up for it as I like food and music. I love a good college town, but I also love New Orleans. Money fortunately is not an issue, so the merit aid is nice but not needed. I love my school to have prestige, am interested in studying business, econ, or poli sci, and want to have the overall best college experience that I can get. All of this being considered, where do you think I should go?

hmmm… the better deal here is tulane because of the money, but if you want to go into business and can get into kelley, i say you should go to iu. bloomington is a fantastic college town.

Tulane sounds like the best fit. You’ll get an excellent education, excellent networks, and with the comfort that comes with a private education.
Indiana would be my second choice only if you get confirmation you got direct admit to Kelley but it’s huge and a public university so you’ll be more on your own.

Costs being equal or not important, Tulane is a fraction of the size of either Wisconsin or Indiana, and you will have smaller classes, better access to advisors and support, and a better chance to know a variety of your classmates. All 3 schools have good reputations, but don’t let a rankings survey tell you that the difference between IU Kelley and Tulane is really so great, especially when you consider how many more competitors you will have at Kelley for top job opportunities (the bigger the school, the more students you are competing against for interview slots). Of these 3, go with the one you like the most as a school and location and you will be fine.

It sounds like you prefer Tulane, so that should control.

I wouldn’t consider IU unless you were in Kelley, plus Kelley is really known for its IB program – which is tremendously competitive to get into (we live in Indiana and know many IU and Kelley kids). As the parent of a UW kid, I know it is a fabulous undergrad experience, with a highly ranked Poli Sci dept, great football, basketball and hockey (most years), and is located in the capital so politics and government internships during the school year are readily accessible. Many kids at UW from both coasts, so a New Yorker has plenty of company. A big school, such as IU or UW, can become much smaller if you take affirmative steps to get to know your professors (my kid had close relationships with a number of faculty, and was invited onto a research project after taking two classes with a prof in his freshman year). But it does require a willingness to be proactive.

But it sounds like you love New Orleans and the opportunities there – so don’t beat yourself up about passing on IU or UW. Congrats on your great options!

Assuming you’ve visited all of them and could see yourself at any of them, I don’t think you could go wrong (as long as the decision includes IU Kelley and not just IU). Can’t imagine IU wouldn’t accept you into Kelley with your stats.

I’ve done a lot of research on this forum and was very impressed with Tulane’s academics. If you have specific questions pertaining to Tulane’s business program or honors, search the forum as Tulane is one of the more active forums and there’s a ton of detailed info.

If they all feel about equal to you, I recently read someone suggesting to flip a coin. Seems kind of silly, but again, don’t think you can go wrong with your options. Good luck.