<p>Tulane was my 2nd choice prior to the Hurricane but despite my reservations I decided to apply and was accepted in October. After hearing so many great things about how this semester is running there I may consider brining it back to the top 3 as oppossed to the top 5. Has anyone else who's been admitted or applied considering going? at least seriously</p>
<p>My d is very seriously considering Tulane. Top 3 for her.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my S will not be attending. Tulane was high on his list. However, with the engineering program being dropped just days after he received his acceptance, Tulane is no longer an option for my son. </p>
<p>After visiting Tulane last summer, we were both sold on it. Students who are pursuing other fields should definitely continue to consider Tulane. Adversity often breeds challenge and opportunity. Even though I am personally disappointed about Tulane dropping the bulk of its engineering program, I am convinced that for many students it is still a great choice.</p>
<p>I'm VERY sorry you and yours were affected by that sad decision, Gnu!</p>
<p>Same here, gnu</p>
<p>I feel a lot worse for the students and the employees at Tulane who are going to be displaced. We spoke with a professor in the engineering department who convinced me he loved it there and loved teaching his students. </p>
<p>My son and I met with Dr. Grubbs and after meeeting with him, both of us were convinced Tulane would be great for his college experience! Tulane is losing some extremely dedicated and passionate people.</p>
<p>However, for the University to deal with the blow its been dealt, they made a financial decision they were forced to live with. In spite of all this, I am convinced that the students who do attend Tulane will be richer for the experience. We already witnessed a can-do attitude at Tulane last July when we were there. I am sure that spirit has been strengthened by the hurricane experience! Students told us how Tulane administrators went out of their way to find an opponent for their girls field hockey team to go play against! Tulane is a place where they find a way to make things happen. For them to abandon the bulk of their engineering department must have been an incredibly difficult decision to make.</p>
<p>My kid has 7 other great colleges on his list, so we're just waiting for all the dust to settle to see where he ends up.</p>
<p>Footnote: While we were driving away from Tulane, we were listening to a talk show on WWL, and the subject of conversation was WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO NEW ORLEANS IF A MAJOR HURRICANE WERE TO STRIKE! This was in July, just a few weeks before Katrina. I remember many callers to this show saying they had survived Betsey and would stay in their homes.</p>
<p>Tulane made the claim of financial exigency to justify firing 200 professors many of whom were tenured and some of whom were actually holding endowed chairs. This was the largest mass firing of professors ever in the United States. There appear to be some questions about whether they followed AAUP guidelines many of which are official policy of the university. If that is the case the school may have to prove how exigent the exigency is to the satisfaction of the faculty or risk a serious blow to its academic reputation.</p>
<p>Cato, you are clearly perturbed by many of the events and responses surrounding the disaster in NOLA. However, it is sometimes difficult to see how your responses here are relevant to the subject of the thread, as in this case.</p>
<p>??</p>
<p>I just got my official acceptance letter today. I have turned them down however and have decided to go to Rice instead. I decided not to go for three major reasons
1. I applied in the middle of november using the personal application. I should have had a decision within four weeks not 2.5 months!!
2. Rice estimated a huge amount of fin aid for me.
3. They spelled my last name wrong on all of the mail they sent me including my official letter. Not a big deal but overall not very professional.</p>
<p>Pilebay, Rice is awesome, and the fin aid is a plus. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I believe from reading the papers and listening to the news that many people are discomfited by the events surrounding the disaster in NOLA. It doesn't seem to just be me. </p>
<p>The papers run editorials weekly bemoaning the inadequacy of the human response to the hurricane and suggesting that foolish or incompetent actions on the part of various leaders have actually aggravated the situation. I am not in a position to judge because as ctymomteacher has been wont to point out I don't have all the facts. I would like to get some of them though. Probably others feel the same way.</p>