UCLA vs. Emory/Scripps/Tulane

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi guys,
So I'm looking at UCLA, Emory, Scripps and Tulane. I'm not sure what I want to do but probably want to go to business school eventually for an MBA.
My biggest issue in deciding in the finances. My parents are giving me a lump sum which will essentially cover most of private school tuition for 4 years (they'd have me take out "symbolic debt" of like 5-10k). However, if I went to UCLA/ or Tulane (where I got a large scholarship) I could pay for school (no debt) and use the leftover money for grad school. All of these schools are relatively similar in reputation, so if I chose a more expensive school it will be purely for my perceived comfort level (small class sizes, social atmosphere).
I am 18 years old. I have worked but I still don't feel I have a complete understanding of the value of the dollar. I don't know how to make a decision that could financially affect me in 10 years at the age of 18. Furthermore, with my limited life experience, I'm not sure how to compare my comfort at a smaller school vs. $ for grad school.
I've visited all the schools but UCLA (going next week) and here are my thoughts:
Tulane: I didn't love it. The upside is the cost and small class size. But my friends there said that a lot of people go for financial reasons and therefore enthusiasm is somewhat down.
UCLA: concerned about size and class size/attention
Emory: Expensive. Also feel like it might be too uptight socially (I'm from CA and not super preppy).
Scripps: Expensive. I love the Claremont schools, but I am concerned that Scripps has less name-brand value than the other schools.
Other schools I'm considering though not as much are : UCSB, Wake Forest, UVA (OOS), and Davidson. all at full tuition except for UCSB. </p>

<p>So basically, should I go to UCLA (a cheaper school) and keep the money. Or go to a private school that may offer me more academic attention?
Thanks so much for reading this. </p>

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<p>I apologize for the spelling mistakes:/</p>

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<p>Wait til you see UCLA. If you don’t like that and Tulane, savings will no longer be the issue unless you drag UCSB into the first tier of schools. Saving money in undergrad is always wise. It’s hard for you to understand this now, perhaps, but it’s ONLY undergrad we’re talking about: where you go matters very little compared to what you do there. If liking your school is important to your doing well (it isn’t for everyone), then take that into consideration.</p>

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<p>@smitty4 - I agree that you should see UCLA then come back here and let us know if you are still in doubt. I know the deadline is close, but you still have time.</p>

<p>I think your evaluation to this point is pretty good, though. I do have a question about one thing you said.

Tulane is really expensive, but as you clearly found out they are very generous with merit scholarships and other aid. Still, the line that people went there “for financial reasons” seems a bit odd. Some do, but I am not sure it is the majority. I think most go because Tulane is a very good school and it is in New Orleans. But that doesn’t mean everyone feels that way. I know one high school senior that decided to go elsewhere because she didn’t care for NOLA at all. It happens. Most feel the opposite way, but it is only important how you feel about it. I also don’t understand what your friends mean about enthusiasm being somewhat down. Down compared to what? The vast majority of people that visit Tulane say that the students seem happier to be at Tulane than almost any other school they visit. So that strikes me as a bit off, but of course it is an opinion so it isn’t wrong for your friend. I just don’t think most feel that way.</p>

<p>Between Tulane and UCLA you have two pretty stark choices. But it does make sense to save as much money during your undergrad as possible. Besides, it doesn’t sound like any of the other schools completely satisfied you either. I know you don’t want to feel like you settled for any school, but if you go into college with a positive attitude and really gt involved, you will almost undoubtedly do well.</p>

<p>We look forward to hearing what you think of UCLA. What part of Cali are you from?</p>

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<p>Like fallen chemist, I too have positive things to say about Tulane. When D applied there, they went out of their way to make her feel wanted. She liked the campus and the students there. Their science programs and their relp to the hospital were important to her. The city of New Orleans turned out not to be her favorite, but many people love the city Tulane is in. The food, the social life, the sports teams, the history, the people, the weather, etc. Turns out D isn’t a southern gal, but NOLA is and is not a southern city and Tulane is and is not a southern uni. Lots of very bright students who were drawn to Tulane because it was affordable and they were mature enough to see that it’s not where you go to school but what you do there. Tulane is plenty challenging enough for anyone.</p>

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<p>Thanks to everybody for the responses.
Does anyone think I should go to a more expensive school and not save the money? Does anyone feel small classes are worth another 25k/year?</p>

<p>I do agree that I need to see UCLA (which I am doing this week along with CalPoly, UCSB, and Scripps).</p>

<p>To elaborate on my experience at Tulane: I went to a DestinationTulane day and it was really really well organized and executed. The campus is gorgeous and the city is nice. I’m sure most people go for the great academics, however my friend and the people I met there said that one of their deciding factors was financing. I met a girl who transferred to Tulane because of her family’s $ situation, and said that she prefers her old school. My other friend choose Tulane because they gave her the best financial aid package. In the case of both of these girls, Tulane was not their first choice. As such, they were somewhat less enthused about being there. I think that Tulane’s generosity is a double-edged sword in this way. It is great that they are generous and it attracts top students, however I think some who rely on aid choose Tulane even though they would rather be somewhere else. (Not to say that $ isn’t a valid reason for choosing a school). Another factor is the Greek life. Apparently 82% of freshman girls rushed this year. I’m interested in Greek life but I don’t want to go to a school where it dominates. I’m also worried that NOLA is out of the way for recruiters. Of course recruiters go there, but you can’t argue that it isn’t easier for them to hit a bunch of Boston schools than come all the way to NOLA just to see Tulane. Lastly, I was somewhat turned off by the lack of diversity I saw. I don’t know the official statistics but I come from an extremely diverse area so it was kind of weird to see mostly white people.
Again, on the whole Tulane was great and I really liked it otherwise I wouldn’t be considering it. These are just my reservations (which I have for every school on my list). </p>

<p>Thanks for the Tulane input…
Does anyone have any info/opinions on the other schools I mentioned?
And lastly, the $ question again. Should I save for grad school or spend for undergrad?
Thanks a ton.
PS. from NorCal fallenchemist</p>

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<p>@smitty4 - Well, as much as I love Tulane and as great a place as I think it is, if you were to truly put $25K a year in the bank instead of spending it on school that is pretty compelling. Or $100K all at once, since you said your parents are giving you a lump sum. But I am confused from your first post. You made it sound like UCLA and Tulane were of similar cost to you because of the scholarship from Tulane. Are you now saying that Tulane would still be $25K more a year than UCLA?</p>

<p>Putting that aside, I think the rest of what you said has a lot of truth to it. There are definitely people that choose Tulane because of the great deal Tulane frequently offers. My D was one of them, having gotten a full tuition scholarship from Tulane. Frankly if Washington University in St. Louis had given her the same deal, she most likely would have ended up there. It was a close call for her not considering money, but she was leaning WUSTL. Then when Tulane gave her the DHS and WUSTL did not give her the equivalent, it was easy. But she loved it at Tulane, did incredibly well and is now off to Stanford for grad school on another full scholarship, this one actually covering most of her food and housing as well. I would feel pretty safe in saying most of the students that initially went to Tulane because of the financial savings end up being very happy there. But no doubt some never give themselves a chance because they dwell on not being able to afford their first choice.</p>

<p>I am confused about the young woman that transferred to Tulane to save money?? Tulane is one of the most expensive schools in the country and they don’t offer nearly the merit dollars to transfers as they do to incoming freshmen. I am just having a tough time seeing how transferring to Tulane could be cheaper than being elsewhere. Maybe there were special circumstances in her case?</p>

<p>I also don’t understand those rush numbers. The percentage of students in sororities is way less than that. I am sure I am misunderstanding what you are saying. A lot of students go through rush just for the parties. In any case, up to this point at least Greek life at Tulane, while significant, is definitely not dominant. It does not define your life and opportunities at Tulane. In all my years following the school and talking with and working with students, there has been widespread agreement about that. I know sororities have grown some in the last few years, but not to that point. I believe frat participation has actually dropped some.</p>

<p>You are right about recruiting to some extent, but Tulane has made progress in holding recruiting fairs and attracting more companies. Still, there is no doubt that recruiting in Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc. is easier because of the number of colleges in the area. But Tulane does have some kind of deal where they take the students to some of these other cities. I know they go to New York and Houston. I don’t know details, but the business school could provide them Probably there is a story on the Tulane web site also. Perhaps you can find it by searching on the site. I would also point out that New Orleans is a very popular destination for conferences, and most conferences have an employment clearing house associated with them. So as a business major that might be willing to work in various sectors, keeping an eye on conferences in town is a useful strategy.</p>

<p>Anyway, if you could clear up that confusion about the cost for you at Tulane vs. UCLA that would help. I understand the others, except maybe UCSB, would definitely be more expensive.</p>

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<p>I meant to comment on the diversity issue. I will just quote myself from another thread, making tiny changes so it makes sense here.</p>

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<p>Also, there are various ways to define diversity. Clearly the VAST majority of UCLA (and UCSB) students come from California. Tulane students are the most geographically diverse in the country. Louisiana is actually 3rd behind New York and (hah hah) California. I don’t know why a Cajun from Lafayette isn’t as diverse to you as any other group. Tulane is about 10% African American, UCLA 3%. I hadn’t looked at the demographics of UCLA in a long time, and it surprised me a great deal. There are more Asians than whites, and the Latino percentage is quite high as well. I of course have no idea what group you fall into, but clearly the definition of diversity is changing in some places. Anyway, make of that what you will, but I bet I could make a case that you will actually be exposed to more new points of view at Tulane, given all the people from the Northeast for example, than at UCLA since you have been around those same people all your life, from what you describe.</p>

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<p>Are you saying that you will have 100,000 in your own bank account or 0 depending on which school you are goinb to attend? I’m not really clear on the money bottom line for each of these colleges. Interesting a CA kid picked a bunch of southern colleges. I would have a hard time turning down UCLA for the price and if you want to work in CA.</p>

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<p>@BrownParent - I am not sure Emory and Tulane are “a bunch”, but I imagine they were schools that fit his academic profile well and in the case of Tulane there are generous merit scholarships available, as came to pass for him. But I agree with you that the key question, and let’s make it simple, is "What will your personal bank account, if you started at $0 today, look like at the end of 4 years after attending UCLA, or attending Tulane. I think he has made it clear the others are far more expensive, except for UCSB I guess. But if UCSB and UCLA are about the same price, as I would guess they are, then UCLA would seem like the way to go. So basically it is the difference between UCLA and Tulane that seem key. </p>

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<p>@Brownparent: if I go to a cheaper school I will have (50-60k) after graduation (for grad school). Full price private school will be maybe 10k in debt and paying for grad school on my own.
I started looking at southern schools because I like the warmer weather and desired a change of pace when I started looking @ schools. I definitely want to live outside of ca at some point in my life so I want my degree to be valuable outside ca.</p>

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<p>@‌fallenchemist
I understand you love Tulane, but you are being too aggressive in defending it. As I said earlier, these are some of my issues with the school. Overall I really liked tulane, otherwise I wouldn’t be considering it.
I was told 82% of freshman girls rushed, although not all of them were offered sorority spots.
Geographic diversity was an issue for me at ucla. However if you look at the percentage of white students there are more at Tulane than ucla (by a lot).
I really appreciate your comments, but it seems like you see my concerns as attacks on the school which is not the case. I really like Tulane and the positives vastly outnumber the negatives.
To clear up questions
“Cheap” schools: ucsb, ucla, cal poly, Tulane (40k vs 30k but still cheaper)
Private schools: scripps, Emory, davidson, wake, uva ( public but 50k)</p>

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<p>@smitty4 - You are taking my comments in completely the wrong way. I know the internet is difficult sometimes because there is no tone or body language. I am not being aggressive or defensive in the least. I am simply telling you what I know about the school based on years of experience, so I am simply relaying information, plus trying to present alternate ways to look at things, especially since there are aspects that would be difficult or impossible for anyone in your situation to know until you actually get to Tulane. I think you can agree that being an alumnus and a parent of a Tulane student that just finished there in December, not to mention following what goes on there pretty closely, I might have more information about the school than most. How many times did I say in that post “you are right about X, but …” followed by a “did you know this” kind of statement? For example, did you know that Tulane actually takes students to New York and Houston (and maybe other places) to increase their exposure to companies? That is all I am trying to do is give you information so you can make as informed a decision as possible. I am sorry I cannot do the same for these other schools.</p>

<p>I didn’t dispute the racial makeup of Tulane in the least. I am simply pointing out that many Tulane students get very involved in the New Orleans community, which is heavily a majority black population. I thought you might want to consider that. I don’t know a lot about UCLA other than what I can read and my impressions from a couple of visits to their campus. So of course I am giving you information about Tulane.</p>

<p>You can believe me or not, but I only want students to go to the school that makes the most sense for them. I frequently recommend schools other than Tulane for students.</p>

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<p>@smitty4 - So just wondering if you made a decision yet.</p>