Ten Application Tips from the "Experts"

Our entire admission team is seaux excited for the application to be live! 

Our application is live! Starting today, you can begin applying to Tulane for the Class of 2022. Remember, we accept both the Common Application as well as our own application and don't have a preference between the two. There's also never an application fee here at Tulane. 

In this light, the blog today features my top ten tips for making yourself the strongest applicant you can be! First, check out my five reasons why you've got to apply to Tulane this fall in the video below. Oh and by the way, yesterday's Princeton Review rankings also had some great reasons to apply. Here's a few of the rankings we received this year. 

Best College City: #1
Most Engaged in Community Service: #1
Best-Run Colleges: #4
Happiest Students: #4
Best Quality of Life: #9
Most Active Student Government: #12

Now on to making yourself the strongest applicant you can be!

Jeff's Ten Application Tips 

1) Do the optional statement: If the application asks "Why are you applying to [insert school here]?," take the time to write a thoughtful, insightful answer. Show you have done a little research, and really make your case as to why you think said school would be a good fit for you. If there isn't a question like this on the application, then send in a short paragraph as if this question was asked. Tulane does have an optional statement that asks why you are applying—fill it out! You can read all about this in detail on my blog entry here. 

2) Explain everything! If you had a real tough semester in your personal life in your sophomore year and your grades suffered, let us know. If AP Calc wasn't your thing, but you got two tutors and worked every night for two months studying but still got a C, let us know. The more insight you can give into your grades the better. The best spot to do this is in the "additional information" section. 

3) Pick an essay topic you love to write about, no matter what it is. We're more likely to love reading something you loved writing. We read thousands and thousands of these things, so make sure you get us going right off the bat. And remember, sometimes the best essays are the simplest ones. No need to dig for a tragedy, over embellish anything or try to change the world. Just be yourself. And I hate to tell you all this, but I must have read a thousand essays about summer camp, Harry Potter, grandmas, and your service trip to Fiji last summer. Think outside the box! You can read all about my tips on the best college essays here. 

4) Make a ZeeMee page. There's been a shift in the world of college admission and Tulane is a part of that. We want to know your authentic story, beyond just your scores and your grades. We've partnered with ZeeMee this year so you guys can do just that: share your story. I bet you'll really love making your page—be sure to add it to the section that we ask for it on the Common App or on our application. You can see my ZeeMee page here. 

5) Avoid application redundancy. Take a 30,000 foot view of your application. If your activities section is all about tennis and your counselor letter of recommendation talks about tennis and your short answer is about tennis, what do you think your essay should be about? Anything but tennis! Decide where each "piece" of your application should fall and where your stories, passions and strengths will be shared. This might mean connecting with your school counselor (and it's a good time to get to know them better!) We read 38,000 applications a year, and as soon as we see something in your file that is repeated throughout, there's a chance we'll skip over the repeated parts. 

6) Be purposeful in your communication with colleges. Got questions? Let us know! Don't over do it, but research your top schools and meet with admission reps during their high school visits or regional receptions in your hometown. You can reach out to your Tulane admission counselor here. Want to know the best (and worst) questions to ask your admission counselor? Read all about it here. Also, don't forget that our ED and EA applicants this year can qualify for an alumni interview. My advice here is that if you want to set up an interview, consider submitting your application before the deadline. Apply in early October, for example, and that gives us way more time to take care of the interview process. The process of getting the interview set up, completed and into your application takes a while, so applying early will help ensure your interview is included as we review your file. Side note, you don't need your rec letters or transcripts submitted to set up the interview, so don't stress your school counselor out trying to get those in early. 

7) Visit a college or university nearby. This will give you a sense for what college campuses are like. I know it's hard to visit every school on your list, especially with a tight budget. Check out a school in your hometown or somewhere in driving distance to get a sense for what a college campus feels like. It will make you better prepared as you start filling out applications. You can read my top tips for visiting colleges here. 

8) Be professional. Get a college email address. Something professional. While the email I received a few years back from cupcakez or LaxStud6969 may sound cool to your friends, it looks silly to me. And I'm actually pretty cool, too. Just put your best foot forward. Same goes for Facebook, Snapchat, Insta, Twitter—we don't generally check your social media platforms here at Tulane, but keep make sure your picture is something you'd be okay with your grandma seeing. What usually happens each year is we'll get screenshots of dumb things students put on Snapchat or Twitter. Just be smart, nice, and treat your peers with some compassion. Sometimes, it can get your admission decision rescinded. Speaking of connecting with admission reps, here are five emails you should never send us. 

9) We like jobs. So if you have one, tell us about it. Working 15 hours a week at your local Subway as a Sandwich Artist carries just a much weight as playing a varsity sport. Whatever takes up your time, we want to know about it. I have some additional resume tips that you can read about here. 

10) Pick your passion. We don't care what you do, as long as you do it well and you love to do it. What makes you tick after the bell rings? Where do your strengths lie? What makes you... you? See tip #4, or send us a nice, clean, one-page resume with the above listed. Keep this resume simple. Just give me a quick description of those three or four big things. Do not send me a six page resume listing out every time you donated blood. I won't read it, and few colleges will. We don't need a list of everything, just the most important things to you. On the Common App, there's no need to fill in every single blank on the activities section. Less is more. I've got a blog that goes into more detail about the best ways to fill out the activities section here. 

Hope this helps guys! Feel free to email us if you ever have any questions. Happy applying! 

Look at all these students cheering for these application tips. 

Look how happy these Tulane students are that they listened to my application advice.

Class of 2021

May 1st has come and gone, which means we finally have a good sense of how the class of 2021 will shape up here at Tulane. Things will shift a bit this summer and we'll have a final picture of the class before move-in day when I'll post a full profile of our incoming freshmen. For now, my boss, Satyajit Dattagupta, VP of Enrollment Management, is taking over the blog today to give you a quick synopsis of the class of 2021.

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The Class of 2021 is a tremendously talented and cosmopolitan group of students who come from homes all over the United States and the globe. In short, it is incredibly academically accomplished, truly diverse, and globally-oriented. It is one of the most extraordinary classes Tulane has ever welcomed to campus.

Tulane had more than 35,000 applications this year, but we were only able to accept 21% of applicants, making this the most selective class in history.

This is also the most academically strong class Tulane has enrolled. This promising group of well-rounded students will accomplish great things in the coming years, both during their time at Tulane and their lives beyond our campus. Our average SAT scores went up 14 points as well.

The Class of 2021 is also the most diverse group of students Tulane has ever enrolled. The incoming class has 22% students of color and 5% international students. This marks a change that Tulane University welcomes, as it is more representative of both our nation and the world. I am very confident the campus experience of students with such a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, and life experiences will be extraordinarily positive. The breadth and depth of the Class of 2021 is reflected not only in their academic successes but in the various ways they see and understand the world. Learning, working, sharing, and living with people unlike yourself is one of the ways we grow as human beings. This enriches our understanding of our differences and our strengths, builds strong bonds, and greatly benefits our community.

This class is also the most global in Tulane’s history. Bringing more international students to Tulane provides a unique dimension to the classroom and campus experience that is incredibly important. The world is getting smaller, and we are more connected to the people of all nations than ever before. An informed global outlook is so crucial to personal and professional success for international and domestic students alike.

We're also excited to welcome our first class of Spring Scholars in January of 2018. 77 students will be a part of this group. We had so many qualified students apply for admission this year, but sadly we could only offer a limited number of spots. Because of this, we will not be admitting students from the waitlist.

I look forward to welcoming the class of 2021 in just a few short months. Roll Wave!

Waitlist... Now what?

Well it is official; all of our decisions for the Class of 2021 will go out this week. If you have not heard from us yet, you will before April 1st. For those of you who were placed on the waitlist, here's a blog to answer all of the questions you may have.

What is the waitlist, anyway? Every year we have a group of students who are qualified to gain admission to Tulane and we feel are also interested in enrolling here. Due to an increase in the number of students who have already committed, we have decided to put a group of students on the waitlist.

So, who is on the waitlist? While Tulane does not release the exact number of students who have been waitlisted, I will tell you that the group is not huge, but there are a sizable number of students who make up this group. The number will get smaller as we ask students if they would like to remain on the waitlist over the course of the coming month or two. It is more of a moving target, so there is never really a finalized number as to the total number of students on the list.

Is the waitlist ranked? No, it is not. All students on the list are in the same boat, none are necessarily stronger than others.

So, will you go to the waitlist this year? That all depends on one main factor—space in the freshman class. We have a finite number of spaces in the class, and thus cannot admit every single student who is both qualified and interested in Tulane. As we get closer to May 1st, we compare our numbers to previous years and predict how large the class is going to end up. If we are seeing that our numbers are a bit lower than we would like, at that point we can admit a few students off the waitlist. If the numbers are up, it is less likely that we will be able to admit anyone from the list.

What has happened in previous years? Some years, we admit a group of students off the waitlist, some years it is zero. Last year, we were able to take only a handful. The year before, nearly 300 were offered spots in the class. The Class of 2020 was overenrolled last year, so we had to be more conservative with who we admitted this year. That could mean more movement from the waitlist, but time will tell. We'll let you know as soon as we can!

If I am admitted from the waitlist, will there be financial aid available? Yes, there will be, for students who qualify based on their application. You can also apply for need based aid through the Office of Financial Aid.

What can I do to strengthen my case? For the most part, the ball is in our court. It will come down to numbers with waitlist admits; this is why we need to wait a few weeks to see how many students have replied that they will indeed enroll. If Tulane is your top choice, email your admission representative and let them know. There is no need to send in additional documentation, but just let him or her know you remain highly interested. Also be sure to reply to every one of those emails we send out asking if you would like to remain on the list. If we don't hear from you, we will assume you are not interested. My personal tip? Only request to stay on the waitlist if you are pretty sure you'll enroll here if you are offered a spot.

Should I come down for a visit to campus? Only if it makes sense for your family to do so. It will not have any bearing on your admission decision. There is no need to meet with your rep on campus or come down for an interview. A simple email will do.

When will I know? We will give you a final update by June 1st at the very latest, but hope to do so sooner.

So... doesn't that mean I need to have a backup plan, in case I am not admitted from the waitlist? Yes.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. Feel free to email your admission counselor with any questions at all you may have. Best of luck!