If you’ve applied to Tulane for our Early Action or Single Choice Early Action round, chances are that you have gotten a decision from us by now. For many of you, that decision may have been “The Admission Committee has chosen to defer final action on your application until our regular review periods this spring.”</p>
<p>So, first off, what does that mean? In essence, being deferred means that we need a bit more time before making a final decision on whether or not to admit you. There are two major factors that will come into play from here on out; one is in your control and the other is not. Your application will come back to the admission committee in the spring and will go the same review it went through in Early Action, this time however you will be up against the Regular Decision pool of applicants.</p>
<p>The first factor, the one outside of your control, is the way the rest of the applicant pool shapes up. We will actually do a full re-review of your application with the regular decision pool. So depending on the competitiveness of that regular decision pool, we will make a new decision on your application before April 1st. If the regular pool is much larger and stronger than we expect, then it will be more of a challenge for deferred students to be admitted. However, it if is closer to what we saw with Early Action, we will be able to offer admission to a number of deferred students. Tulane is planning on enrolling a smaller class this year, (around 1500, as opposed to the 1650 that is has been the past few years), however it is still likely that we will admit a group of deferred students. We won’t know more about this till after the January 15th deadline.</p>
<p>That brings me to the second factor that comes into play now that you have been deferred, and this is the one that is within your sphere of influence. This has to do with what you do from here on out now that you have been deferred. There are a number of things that you can do to strengthen and ameliorate your application to Tulane, and a few things you should probably not do. Here are my Dos and Don’ts for you deferred students:</p>
<p>DO: Contact your admission counselor and let him or her know you are interested in Tulane. You can reach out to your admission counselor here. You’ll want to shoot him or her an e-mail in the coming weeks letting them know that you have been deferred and that you remain strongly interested in Tulane. Let your counselor know that you’ll send your first semester grades and also feel free to let him or her know that Tulane is very high on your list. Feel free to ask them what you can do to strengthen your application.</p>
<p>DON’T: Over-Contact your admission counselor. A few e-mails to your counselor over the course of the spring semester will help, especially if you have some bigger news for us (you re-took the SATs, a major (major) advancement in your extracurricular activity, etc) but do not send us a weekly e-mail update. It will not help your cause. Major profile in your local paper’s community section? Send it in. Promoted to secretary of the National Honor Society? No need to send; we already have a nice list of your extracurricular activities you sent us when you applied.</p>
<p>DO: Send us an essay about why you are interested in enrolling at Tulane, if you have not already done so. See the prompt on the application for admission. Tell us why you would be a great fit here, and why Tulane is a great fit for you. Do some research.</p>
<p>DON’T: Feel pressured to come down and visit. We know money is tight these days, and New Orleans is a big trip for many of our applicants. If you feel the need to come down to express your interest in Tulane in person, you are definitely welcome to do so, however if this is not possible (for financial or any other reasons) do not fret. We understand not everyone can make it down to visit, especially if you are not admitted yet. If you are interested in coming down, let your counselor know.</p>
<p>DO: Be patient. Understand you may not hear from us before April 1st. We are working to get a decision to you as quickly as possible, but in some cases it may not be till late March. We’re sifting through thousands of applicants and are giving each one the time they deserve.</p>
<p>DON’T: Compare yourself to others. Calling the admission office or e-mailing your counselor to inquire why Suzie and Johnny who have lower scores and lower grades and fewer extracurricular activities will never, ever help your cause to be admitted at Tulane. We don’t compare students to each other directly when they apply, and are always looking to build a diverse and well-rounded class of students. You may not be aware of what is in other student’s recommendations, essays, etc., or what we here at Tulane may specifically be looking for. It will not do you any good to mention other students. If there is a very specific question about this, your high school counselor can direct those questions to us. (This DON’T applies to scholarship requests as well, FYI)</p>
<p>DO: Send us some additional materials. You are welcome to send us a new recommendation, resume, essay, your first semester grades, a new SAT or ACT score, etc. While some of the smaller things may not make a big difference, an increase on your SATs, or a nice well-written essay all about your Tulane visit can go a long way. Mid year reports are recommended for deferred students.</p>
<p>DON’T: Be rude. We know this is a stressful time and we know that you may be very excited about Tulane and disappointed to not be admitted. But keep in mind that you still want to maintain your composure and maturity while communicating with the office of admission. Dramatic e-mails or calls will get you nowhere.</p>
<p>DO: Understand how competitive this all is. As of today, Tulane has admitted fewer than 25% of the students who have applied to Tulane. Application to schools like Tulane can be competitive, and we have far fewer spots in the class available than we have number of students who desire to be a part of the class. So keep your head up and know that, in the end, whatever is meant to be will be.</p>
<p>Hope this helps you deferred students out there. Best of luck!