Show us on the doll where Tulane hurt you.
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Dare I make the analogy of the elite college system and the tax code? Both systems created by those in the know, manipulated by those in the know, and used to keep the system just as it is ( I am getting cynical as I age)…my DS’s essay addressed and acknowledged his white privilege, and along with his strong demonstrated interest, might have just gotten him accepted. He took at risk for certain. We are all participating in the system itself. DS got rejected from his EDI school (it might have been the school ranked #1 in the above NYT article), as this is the first year they are need blind, and I am sure they need to make a vocal statement with the acceptances to back up the change. What is the responsibility of elite schools to actually change? Will dropping test scores be a start?
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Following this thread with interest. My daughter applied to Tulane EA this fall and was deferred. She’s a high-stats student, 36 ACT and unweighted 4.0, good ECs and rigor, blah blah. Two other kids from her small private high school got in, one ED I and and one EA. Both decent students but not comparable stats to my kid’s.
We cared nothing about the elite factor – she chose Tulane because it offers the major she wants, one that isn’t commonly offered at smallish schools. We toured as soon as they opened up after Ida (I know they’re big on demonstrated interest), and she liked the vibe. The warm weather and fun foodie city were a plus. The school seemed to have decent academics without a cutthroat competitive culture, which appealed to her. We were also impressed with their hurricane planning and management during Ida. And they do offer some merit, unlike other schools. (She applied separately to two of their scholarships as well.)
So my kid is decently interested, but admittedly, Tulane is maybe 5th on her list – her top four choices are all reaches (more so than Tulane, despite their admit rates), and if she gets into one of those, she would mostly likely choose that over Tulane.
So I guess Tulane is right to defer her for yield protection, but it’s still annoying. Less than a week after deferring her, she did indeed get the email asking her to convert to ED II. (Apparently they haven’t dropped it!)
I haven’t quite decided if these are necessary and smart tactics on the part of the school, or if they’re shady and manipulative.
I mean, I wouldn’t say it is ranked “low” but it isn’t too well known compared to a typical college with a 11% acceptance rate. I would say so probably because of the unconventional admissions practices that they use. High importance on demonstrated interest, pushing applicants to ED after EA deferrals, making the application free to increase the number of applicants so they can reject more which decreases their acceptance rate…meh. Seems really greedy and self-centered to me. It’s one of the reasons why a lot of people don’t prefer it and also why it isn’t ranked “too high” on ranking pages. Plus, it’s a school that is highly inclined to partying.
I’d personally say that its a solid school for sure but definitely not in the level as other 11% acceptance rate schools.
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Tulane appears to be telling your daughter that they want her, but she has to commit. They don’t want to be seen as a safety. Other schools offer big merit- maybe they will make that offer too…eventually?
Your daughter, however, is saying she’s not ready to commit until she hears back from “better” schools. She learned that Tulane can be a difficult admit for high stats students.
It seems to me that both parties are doing what is best for them.
Tulane is an excellent school, but I assume it’s not ranked as high due to reasons stated above.
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Just wanted to share that one of my twin Ds just finished her first semester at Tulane. She could not be any happier. Even with Ida and covid, she has had a phenomenal experience, and there is no place she would rather be. She finished the semester with a 4.0 in spite of a challenging course load, and she managed to have an incredible amount of fun and work-life balance. She loves her roommates and describes the environment as full of really smart people who are relatively chill and not cutthroat competitive like the kids in her high school were. Her confidence is way up, and we can’t wait to see what the next 3.5 years bring. For her, it is the perfect fit.
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My younger s went to Tulane on a very nice scholarship. He got an excellent education, made a great group of friends, met his now wife there and has a fabulous job with one of the big tech companies in Silicon Valley. I don’t agree with their admission strategy (it was more reasonable IMO before Earl Retif retired, and is now wonky) but I don’t question the excellent education and experiences he got.
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My daughter had similar stats 4.0uw and a 4.6 weighted. 8 APs, 7 honors very rigorous schedule and didn’t show any demonstrated interest. She applied EA, and was accepted. It was a total shock to us.
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Congratulations!
What about the grad schools drag down the school?
They don’t have any graduate programs at the national level. They are “competing” with universities that have internationally ranked programs.
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Due to no activity for nearly a year and the original post being over two years old, I am closing this thread. If someone feels the need to start a new thread on the topic, please do so.