I’m a senior in high school currently, with dreams of attending a college. In my case, Tulane is the goal. I’m mainly asking those who have been admitted to the school, but of course anyone is welcome to help in any way they’d like. Tulane is my #1 choice for college, and I want to get a good sense of if I’ll be admitted. Although this school is my most desired, I do not wish to apply guaranteed/early decision because I want to get a good idea of how much it will cost me to attend (I believe they tell you your awarded scholarships in the acceptance letter). I do plan to apply for the full tuition Deans’ Honor scholarship in hopes that that works out. If anyone has any ideas on what I could do for that scholarship, please, all advice is appreciated! Anyways, my stats:
31 composite ACT
34 English
31 Reading
30 English
28 Math
GPA 3.97 / 4.0
I admittedly don’t have any extracurriculars or service hours under my belt. I’m praying I can nail the essay to make me look more appealing. I do do things outside of school, though. I do magic and cardistry a lot with friends, and although I haven’t exactly won any awards with it, it’s a huge passion of mine and one I may write about in the essay. I’m undecided on that still. Anyways, all help is appreciated!
You should post in the Tulane forum, but TBH, unless you have a strong hook, the modest scores won’t put you I the running for DHS, and the lack of volunteer work (something very important to Tulane) is another ding.
DHS is unlikely with your ACT below what recent winners have had (website says >31). Have you been demonstrating interest at Tulane, such as joining the email list, opening and clicking on links in those emails, visiting the campus, completing an interview, attending road show presentation and/or high school session with AO? If not, you should do as many of these as you can ASAP.
Tulane has become a competitive admit, with just a 17.5% acceptance rate for class of 2022. Accordingly, make sure you have a list that includes match and safety schools. Good luck.
Tulane is a reach, because the admit rate has dropped below 20%. Your GPA is high, but we don’t know specific classes, number of core classes, rigor and quality of high school. ACT 31 is below last years admitted median of 32. ECs and community service are weaknesses but magic and cardistry are interesting hobbies that could lead to good essays. Tulane will review your app holistically, so the AOs will look at all of these components, including the aforementioned demonstrated interested. Make sure your app shows them what you will bring to the Tulane community. Read the Tulane admissions blog for insights into the process and what the AOs are looking for. Good luck!
If you Google “common data set, Tulane University” you will see that you do have a chance for admission. Your 31 ACT score is above the 25th percentile score of 30. Extracurriculars and volunteering are listed as “considered”, rather than “important”. You could start doing some volunteering now.
I’m always skeptical when someone says they have no ECs. Often people don’t realize that much of what they do really counts. You say that you do Magic. Tell us a little more. Do you do it only for yourself at home? Do you take classes? Perform? Do you ever share your love by teaching others?
Do you have any responsibilities at home that have kept you from being able to do more outside of school? Do you watch younger siblings so your parents can work? Do you have a part time job? What have you done with your summers?
Have you participated in any clubs at school? In not, why? Has there been a health concern or something keeping you from getting involved?
Unless you really do nothing but watch TV all the time, I bet you have some activities that really do count as ECs. Tell us more and maybe we can help.
For magic, I do often perform for others. I haven’t done anything professional thus far, but I do perform for friends or at family/friend gatherings. I used to teach my brother and occasionally my friends some tricks, but that’s the furthest I’ve gone with that.
I do indeed have a 6 year old sister that I watch while my parents work. And when I’m not watching her, I do have a part time job that has kept me busy. Over the summer I did take college classes on campus at another school. I don’t know if that would be inappropriate to include or not though.
I was inactive during most of my high school career due to a personal health issue, but I have been recovering. I may write about that in some way @gallentjill
Ok, that is a good start. Yes, taking care of your 6 year old sister counts and is important. It shows that you can step up to responsibility. It shows that you can be trusted with something important. Holding a job is impressive as well.
Colleges respect that. Make sure you include that as part of your ECs. You don’t need to be professional at something for it to be interesting to a college. Talk about performing and teaching magic.
If you have a health issue that you have recovered from and it prevented you from getting more involved, the guidence counselor can also make note of it as well. Its important that the schools understand why you have been less involved then you might have liked. You might want to use it for your essay if it is really a story of growth and triumph over adversity. But don’t use the essay portion just to explain something that might be an excuse. You can use the “extra information” section of the common app for that as well as the guidence counselor.
Most importantly, don’t sell yourself short. If need be ask someone to help you frame your experiences in the best light. I think you have a lot to offer.
Ditto what @gallentjill says about babysitting and a part time job. Those are ECs and do demonstrate responsibility and reliability. As you write your Tulane essays, think about how to demonstrate what you can contribute to the TU community. Where do you live? Do you have a hook? How rigorous has your coursework been?
As an aside, my DS#2 had the DHS at Tulane… This, and the subsequent top scholarships that have been created, are typically for the very top candidates. THe other scholarships are, as you say, going to be reported at or shortly after admission (except the CSS but thats not one you will pursue either).
1.) I’ve been reviewing past submissions that won the scholarship, and they have something to do with a box? I looked at the scholarship info on the site and everywhere else I could find info on it. I can’t seem to find anything in terms of an idea or prompt to center the project around. Is this “box” prompt still applicable? All I can see is that I need to submit a creative project.
2.) The site does indeed say that for the past 3 years, the winners of the DHS have had ACT scores higher than a 31. Do they base it partly on academics?
I don’t think you can see the scholarship application until you have submitted your EA or ED app. It is appropriate to discuss the process and ask questions about scholarships with your Tulane AO. That is another way to demonstrate interest as well. Jeff’s admission blog has a post on the DHS. YouTube has some videos of applicant’s past project submissions.