<p>Hello all. CC has been a very helpful community to me throughout the college and now comes the final part: picking a school. I'm currently on the waitlist at Rice and I know I will go there if I get in but I'm not counting on it. </p>
<p>Basically, I'm down to Tulane, SMU, and Oxford of Emory (somewhat considering Indiana because of direct admit to Kelley but not sure I want to go to a large public especially not out of state). I want to study business (specifically finance) and go into investment banking. I was offered similar merit aid at Tulane and SMU and none from Oxford (although didn't apply for need-based and my parents say they don't care too much about this because an Emory degree will take me farther than one from Tulane or SMU they think).</p>
<p>SMU has offered me direct admission to the Cox School of Business and participation in both Business Honors and another living-learning scholar program, and they obviously have a lot of connections in the Dallas business world. My issue is with the social life and emphasis on frat scene (I'm a South Asian male and while I go to a very SMU-like high school, we sent 11 kids last year, I don't want to go to high school for four years again) but my sister went there and seemed to like it. </p>
<p>Tulane seems like it'd be a lot of fun but their business school isn't as well regarded (although they have good placement in NYC and Houston, especially for finance) and their reputation is still damaged from Katrina even though I believe and the evidence shows that they have recovered. Same problem with SMU as in not a lot of diversity but I felt comfortable on campus (SMU and Oxford have much nicer buildings though) and don't think that would matter too much. </p>
<p>Oxford seems like a really small place with a ton of kids from Georgia who weren't good enough to get into Emory. Sorry to be blunt but it seems true (I was denied from main campus). I've heard that it gets pretty boring and that its harder because professors know you really well (although this could obviously be a good thing). I will have to apply to the Goizueta BBA program after sophomore year and there are no guarantees although this business program is the most well regarded and recruited of the three. I would probably be fine living here but would feel stuck although I do have some friends at main campus and could visit/crash the night with them if I wanted to check out Atlanta. </p>
<p>Any ideas? I'm also appealing being CAPed at the University of Texas but even if I get in I'm not sure I want to go to that big a school. </p>
<p>That is easy. Pick SMU over Tulane. Tulane is unsafe. They have high crime and drinking is a huge problem there. SMU is a better place. My son applied to SMU and we researched Tulane and didn’t apply because of the above. Our private consultant told us to stay away from Tulane. I don’t know anything about Oxford. However, I would recommend staying away from UT because of the size. Every class there is a weed out class and they grade on a huge curve to push students out. It is a shame but true. UT would be great for graduate school. I am usually not on this site so just IM me if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>Oxford at Emory is considerably more diverse than your other choices and the feeder system into the main campus, particularly into the business school, is very attractive.
You’ll get lots of individualized attention from your professors, given the size of the school. Oxford is NOT necessarily a school for those who didn’t make the cut at Emory – some just want to start out at a smaller campus. Have you visited?</p>
<p>@newjersey17, not true at all. Tulane’s in the richest part of New Orleans and just as safe as any other city campus, and partying is just as bad as it would be at any other college…schools like Penn State in rural towns with nothing else to do are probably a lot, lot worse. OP, visit the schools. It’ll give you a better idea.</p>
<p>I have visited all three and yeah Tulane’s crime rate is very similar to all other schools in the country and it isn’t close to where the violent crime in New Orleans happens so I wouldn’t be too worried. SMU probably has the best business connections but at Oxford I’m confident that I could get into Goizueta although if I don’t I’m screwed. I don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>“Tulane is unsafe. Drinking is a huge problem there.” </p>
<p>It is to laugh. Tulane is quite literally across the street from a couple of gated communities filled with multi-million dollar mansions. Obviously, rich people love to live in unsafe areas of town. </p>
<p>As far as drinking goes, It’s college, miss. I guarantee you the kids at SMU drink just like the kids at Tulane or the kids at Baylor or the kids at anywhere else. </p>
<p>Picking SMU over Tulane is not something most kids do, but everyone has their own opinions.</p>
<p>newjersey17: Your consultant owes you a refund. That is the absolutely biggest crock I have ever heard. My D is there 2 years now and walks two miles down St. Charles every Saturday to book sales at the local public library. She walk 10 blocks the other direction to Walgreen’s and other stores from time to time. Now she isn’t stupid, she doesn’t do this alone at night, but that would be the same at SMU or anywhere. BTW, the drinking thing is garbage too. It is no worse, and might even be better, than many other schools because it is not a big deal and there is so much else to do in New Orleans. I don’t mean to make it sound like it is a lot less, if less at all, but certainly no worse. Like I said, get your money back. Your consultant has less than no clue.</p>
<p>SMU is your best option. Tulane has not fully recovered from Katrina, it hurts from being in the poor city of NOLA which is fun but offers no finance field, its campus is unappealing, and its sports are terrible. SMU’s business programs are much more well regarded and they benefit from the ability to place their students in the economic hub of Dallas. Further, SMU’s campus and facilities are far superior to the others listed. It is also situated in a safe affluent section of Dallas. Sports at SMU are also incredibly spirited and engaging. Tulane is NOT safe. Granted, by NOLA standards it IS safe. By the American standard, however, NOLA is lacking in safe areas. As for Oxford, it places mostly in Atlanta which is simply a smaller and more slowly growing version of Dallas. Dallas-Fort Worth is the fastest growing city in the country which makes it a very exciting place to go to college. SMU is also experiencing tremendous growth. (Which neither of the other two schools can attest). Apps to SMU have increased by 75% this year which has risen the average ACT to a 33. SMU is currently ranked 56 and Tulane is 51. That being so, SMU rose 12 spots in the rankings last year and is projected to be at at least 48 when the new rankings are released in August. New buildings are also sprouting up all around campus. (of course staying consistent with SMU georgian architecture). When I visited Tulane I was unimpressed with the campus- it seemed dirty and unorganized. SMU will also soon complete the George W Bush presidential library which will bring a lot of fantastic speakers and other opportunities to SMU students. Congrats to you for getting into SMU!</p>
<p>Tulane’s endowment is higher than it was before Katrina.
Tulane’s far more selective than it was before Katrina.
Tulane’s average SAT score has risen since Katrina.
Tulane has seen an exponential increase in applications since Katrina.</p>
<p>For a comparison: Acceptance rate at TU was ~25% this year. SMU’s was ~43%. </p>
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<p>You want to bring up rankings… How about you talk about how SMU’s business school fell 8 spots this year, while Tulane’s rose 13 spots…?</p>
<p>You just don’t make a lot of sense. </p>
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Tulane is quite literally across the street from a couple of gated communities filled with nothing but multi-million dollar homes.</p>
<p>You can talk about how SMU is in an affluent area of Dallas (which is true), but it’s just insanely idiotic to say Tulane is in a bad area of town. Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, Drew Brees, Jon Goodman, the Mannings all own homes within driving distance of Tulane… I’ll let that speak for itself, really…</p>
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<p>Can you even prove their average ACT score?</p>
<p>That average ACT score was probably for accepted students, not for enrolled students… </p>
<p>You’re really embarrassing SMU. It’s one thing to speak highly of your school; it’s an entirely different thing to bring down another. It’s entirely inaccurate to say Tulane hasn’t recovered. Tulane, statistically speaking, is on the rise and is already in many ways doing better than it was before the hurricane…</p>
<p>My daughter is pondering the same short list. She will apply this fall and is leaning toward early decision Tulane, based on our visit there this year. She likes the fact that Oxford is small and classes are small, with a close knit community, but honestly Tulane has such an incredibly warm, intelligent and inviting feeling on the campus, that I bet she puts Tulane ahead of Oxford or even Emory.</p>
<p>I am sure Tulane isn’t for everyone, but my daughter is a serious musician (orchestra violinist) who really loves music and the arts, and Tulane seems like a great fit for her. When we were there, we got to hear a talk by the president, who was very persuasive in citing the million-dollar homes in the neighborhood and other factors that have limited the crime rate around the campus. Audubon Park across the street is an amazing place to get away, jog, play frisbee, tennis or golf or even ride horses. Plus, there is just something about NOLA . . . </p>
<p>We haven’t visited Emory or Oxford yet, but plan to in the fall. I spent a lot of time on the Emory campus many years ago when my boyfriend at the time was there, and my main impression of it was that it was a pressure-cooker atmosphere of cut throat competition among the students. And I went to Cornell for law school and felt absolutely none of that. But I don’t know, Emory may have changed and may be totally different now.</p>
<p>Tulane is “history”. It is no longer even one of the top schools in the South, much less a college to be seriously considered by anyone interested in a degree with any level of prestige attached. (and if you think “prestige” does not matter, then don’t have your parents pay $40k+. Go to the local JC, then the state university). New Orleans has been dangerous for decades, with Tulane in a particularly bad area. But while dangerous, N.O. was both unique & special. Well, post-Katrina, all that’s left of N.O. in a dangerous dump. An ugly, dangerous city, WITHOUT the special and inimitable qualities it once had. And even within the new, dangerous N.O., Tulane is still in a dangerous area! Its not nearly a good enough school to make 4 yrs in N.O. wothwhile.</p>
<p>Oxford at Emory? If you don’t mind 2 yrs in Bugtussle, watching the dogs sleep on the RR tracks, AND don’t mind getting in Emory through the back-door, Oxford is a good choice. But make no mistake, people who got in Emory by normal means will never regard an Oxford person as being on their same level. And you know, they’re right.</p>
<p>SMU? If you’re a white, Christian, preferably from Texas, SMU is a very good school. It helps to be financially well-off, too. Its not as good as Emory, but better choice than Tulane. BUT, keep in mind that elitists don’t regard SMU as an “Elite” school. I base this conclusion on the various discussions when Bush tried to nominate a friend of his for the Supreme Court who went to SMU Law. There were several reasons the woman’s nomination was dumped, but it was clear to me from some of the discussion that having gone to SMU was not in her favor. I am not sure Emory or Tulane would have helped any more than SMU, but when asking mom & dad to spend the kind of $$ these schools costs, be realistic about the world.</p>
<p>Tulane is not in a bad area! Why do people keep repeating this nonsense? Tulane is in a well to do neighborhood. Tulane also draws nationally, unlike SMU which has very little meaning and presence outside Dallas.</p>
<p>SMU the best academically out of all those schools, at least until you get to sneak into the real Emory. Tulane is very unscrupulous when it comes to applications, mailing a free appilication to basically every HS senior so they can reject as many people as possible, making them appear very selective and thus, “prestigious”.</p>
<p>I still don’t think SMU has much of a name outside Dallas, except maybe historically as the football team that got their hands smacked in the mid 1980’s around the time of the Cotton Bowl. YMMV, of course, but that’s mine.</p>