Why was I deferred from Tulane?

@turtle17 When you say “low yields”, in terms of what? Most of these kids are applying to anywhere from 12 to 20 schools. So schools like Tulane are still getting more than their fair share of kids. Beyond the ED, they really control yield with scholarships. They know that when they offer a high stat applicant admission with no merit aid that chances are they won’t attend. If what they cared at all about “yield percentage” then they would not do that. What they really care about is not the percentage of kids that they give offers to who accept, they care that the BEST kids that they give offers to accept.

I just checked CDS and if I read it right for the last year in there, 22% of students offered admission at Tulane enrolled. That is what I mean by low yield - when almost 4 out of 5 students offered admission choose to go elsewhere, I don’t think “demonstrated interest” is being determined very accurately. This isn’t just about Tulane. Pretty much every school with EA and not ED and not ranked in the top 20 has this. Most have ED to not go through the whole thing.

Tulane’s model, like most schools in the 25-50 range, is still primarily non-binding EA plus merit aid. They have been test driving ED for the past couple years, but ED at Tulane would logically function a bit differently than it would at the big ED schools.

Duke, Penn, Vandy, NW, etc. typically do not have much merit money as part of their formula. At these 10-25 schools, binding ED is the bread and butter part of their yield/admissions model. Typically filling half of their total seats through binding ED. Which is a great way for those schools to fill up a lot of seats with kids who would tend strongly to be full payors and who have average to slightly above average stats. And also a way to greatly increase their yield statistics as compared to the schools above them (HYPS), whose brands are soooo strong that they can eschew binding ED for non-binding SCEA but still post ultra high yields.

My guess is that Tulane has started to test drive ED as a way to lessen its historically heavy reliance on merit aid. But for now, Tulane probably fills a much smaller number of its seats via binding ED than the big ED schools upstream from them. My guess is that Tulane’s ED is the way to enroll more full payors who are eminently well-qualified but who have slightly below average stats (and who therefore wouldn’t be getting merit money anyway). Tulane’s ED probably shores up the stats at the 25th percentile at low aid cost, and also help the yield numbers. Tulane’s EA/merit money shores up the numbers at the 75th percentile, but with a significant merit aid cost.

It would also make sense for Tulane (which is as sophisticated on this stuff as any school I’m familiar with) to defer the super-admissible kids (who will go elsewhere and kill Tulane’s yield) unless/until they have some indication that such kid is a realistic enrollment candidate for Tulane. A campus visit might be one indication. A Tulane connection with a family member might be another indication. Applying for the bigger Tulane scholarships (PTA, DHS) would be another (since those require extra effort and also signal that the family is looking hard for merit money).

Bottom line, it is a market and each school uses its own recipe to ENROLL (not admit) a class that meets their institutional goals and budgets. All pretty logical once you view it from the school’s perspective.

@turtle17 22% Tulane’s yield is not low considering that students who apply there generally apply to 12 to 20 schools. It is comparable to other schools in it’s space. Compared to Duke, Penn, Vanderbilt, etc, yes Tulane’s yield is low. Those schools have a higher yield as a result of being in a totally different class in terms of selectivity and desireability . It’s not fair to compare yield results of those schools to Tulane anymore than you would compare those types of schools to Stanford or Harvard. But again my point is Turtle, I believe that Tulane ends up with a huge percentage of the kids they actually want. Believe it or not, that’s not always the highest stats kids(said by a father who successfully drove his son for years to get his high stats).

It wasn’t that long ago Northwestern and most of the others mentioned had EA and not ED. If I read their web site correctly Tufts can longer “Tufts” students since it is ED1 and ED2.
So yield protection in EA moves on to other schools. My point really is ED seems (to me) to be much preferable from the university’s perspective (given the large number that have moved that way this doesn’t seem crazy). The model of EA and trying to predict the small percentage who will actually come seems a much more challenging one. I agree a university will act in its own interest. My comment is really that I’m having trouble seeing the advantage to a university of EA over ED.

And one nit, I don’t think you can say Tulane ends up with a huge percentage of the kids they actually want when 22% offered admittance enroll. I do think you can say they feel that they achieved the best class for Tulane that they thought they could. I don’t mean to pick on Tulane here. My comment applies to all EA schools.

@turtle17 We are talking about Tulane but you are right we could be talking about any of the schools using EA. The problem with going to ED only is that the majority of kids won’t apply ED. ED is perceived as being attractive to some applicants because usually a higher percentage of applicants gain admission, and the overall stats from the admitted pool are lower. This is a false impression though because all of the athletes, band members, legacy students, etc are included in that ED admission pool percentage. This drives up the acceptance rate and drives down the stats. If you are not one of those types of special cases, it doesn’t help you to apply ED. Most students are not poor enough or rich enough to apply to a blind contract using ED. This really limits the pool for the universities that are not “elite”. As far as Tulane’s yield in particular, you are wrapped around the axle on the 22% yield(which would be only 5% to 8% yield left up to chance alone), the 22% that they end up with represents largely the students they wanted the most. They get them with the money they offer. The odds of a student that is admitted actually attending goes way up when they are given $30k per year merit aid. The odds of a student attending that is given only $15k or less goes way down. They offer the most money to the students that they want the most, and those people make up most of that 22%.

Tulane has only added ED for the last 2 years. Prior to that they had EA and EASC (ED Single Choice) both of which were non binding. ED has given the students a better way to show that Tulane is their absolute top choice since it is a binding acceptance. ED, however, presents the problem of a binding offer without knowing the merit aid.

I have only one example, which is my D, who is now a freshman in honors at Tulane. She got into many schools, including the aforementioned Tufts RD, which had been her favorite at one time. One of the things that made Tulane and the other schools that gave her merit attractive (and that were either EA or rolling admissions) was that she felt “loved” by the schools that she had shown love to. She had months of receiving letters and brochures, little mementos (Pitt and Case Western sent the coolest), and she had time to visit and re-visit those schools. By the time she heard from Tufts at the end of March, she had “fallen out of love” in a sense. Meanwhile, she did not want to do ED at any schools because she was seeking merit and she wasn’t really sure where she wanted to go anyway. So Tulane EA really worked for us!

One last comment from me then. My prediction is that five years from now, Tulane will accept a larger fraction of its class ED than it does now, and perhaps will have completely switched. We’ll see if CC then is around to call me on it!

I agree with that, but only if Tulane is able to scale the ranks to becoming more elite. ED works better the more selective you are.

I’ve loved reading this thread. Lots of interesting pointers and opinions. Yes, schools use ED to fill seats that are fullpay.Fullpay students help fund and subsidize scholarship students. (I’m grateful for this!) EA is an effective tool that might help pull in students that may have had the school as a higher choice, and once “in” a student might lean in towards the school, in this case Tulane. It’s flexible for the student, too, allowing breathing room for considering all options. For example, my D dropped applying to three additional January-deadline schools (one safety, one reach and one match) since Tulane was a top choice. Once she was into a school she loves (with a nice merit scholarship), her interest in other schools dropped. Now we are waiting to hear from the schools she applied to (those with Nov & Dec deadlines) and will compare financial aid/merit packages. I suspect we are not the only family experiencing this (it’s a family investment!). So, it seems to me that ED and EA works if a school knows how to use them as useful and complementary admissions tools.

One more note on the ranking & status of Tulane (since it came up in previous posts). I’m sure schools might be sensitive to the next comment (because it implies being lower down), but I’ll use it: Tulane’s on the rise. I look at the schools that 30 years ago were considered lower on the ladder, and some of them are extrememly competitive and highly ranked now. There are schools from 30 years ago that were seen as equal to some of the more competitive LACs that you barely hear about now. Schools that refresh, innovate and move forward attract students that are interested in vibrant learning communities. Tulane has done remarkable things since Katrina – for New Orleans and for their institutioin of higher learning. As New Orleans has “come back,” Tulane has also risen. People are hearing about this more and more (from school visits, fairs, GCs and private advisors, students). I think it’s paying off now with highest levels of applicants and highest, most academic stats ever. I don’t like to look at rankings, but rather what the school offers. Rising, for me, implies a learning environment that is engaging students and providing learning experiences that reflect the topics and jobs of the future. They are creating the problem solvers of the future.

Tulane also tells an authentic story – “We’re not for everyone, but maybe we’re the right fit for you,” said the speaker in our Info session last summer. They take pride in NOT being an intense, stressed out school (they project a happy vibe). They believe in the symbiotic relationship between the culture and history of New Orleans and the school, especially since Katrina. They believe in giving back to the community and teaching their students (if not insisting their students) do the same. They have rigorous academics and have carved out a best-in-class for particular studies (Tropical diseases, biomed, Latin Amer studies to name a few – and I know there are more!). This combination of factors speaks to the next generation of young people in meaningful ways. That’s why I think Tulane is rising. Their yield will show this over the next few years. The Admissions team seems to understand the wave (pun intended) and also seems to understand the unique higher education proposition that Tulane offers. Something is clearly reasonating with the students – the application numbers are up, and last year’s yield was up (perhaps this year’s will also increase). Several kids from our little high school in the Pacific Northwest are applying to Tulane – it’s very popular for a specific kind of student (academic) and person (looking for more than just a intense academic environment). Perhaps the students that are most attracted to what Tulane offers (and what Tulane “is”) comes across in the application and maybe those that included Tulane on a long list of schools to apply to (but perhaps didn’t show as much heart behind their reason why they’re applying) came into play with admission, There are subtleties that show in an application. And perhaps they had so many applications that even if you showed your heart and soul, they unfortunately chose someone else. Just something to think about.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next few years with Tulane. It’s just my gut instinct, but i think the Green Wave is one to watch.

My heart goes out to you, glaze0430! You sound like an exceptional person and student. Sounds like you’ve done the right thing in reaching out to the school, following up and letting them know that Tulane is your #1 choice. From reading Jeff Schiffman’s blog (http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2017/12/spring-scholars.html) and seeing some of the communications online, this is one of the toughest, most competitive applicant pools this year; they say the median range for scores is 1440-1540. WOW! Keep the faith and know you did everything you could.

You asked what your chances are and what you can do to increase your chances. 1. Send them any award or recognition that you may get in the next six weeks. (Math student of the month, a photo club competition, Key club recognition, Employee of the month, etc.) 2. Keep your grades up for this semester – aim to get as many full A’s as possible (96 or higher?). If they check midyear grades,it might make the difference for you in the end. 3. Stay positive and balanced. Keep healthy, both body and mind, ok? Take care of your soul through all this. A year from now, you’ll be where you’re supposed to be. You have a chance – you got deferred, not rejected.

Hugs to you during this waiting time!