From a student’s first day at Tulane University, they’ll discover that they’ve entered into an institute of higher education that does things differently from the rest.
Students begin their time at Tulane in the TIDES class—a class of no more than 15 students that exclusively seeks to aid students in both immersing themselves in the city of New Orleans and engaging with multidisciplinary academics.
Through these classes, students explore New Orleans, Tulane, and develop connections across subject matters.
Consequently, students will be prepared to engage with the full breadth of brilliant scholars attending university at Tulane, but they’ll be prepared to explore what might be the cultural capital of the U.S.—New Orleans.
Tulane values this exploratory intellectual spirit so much that an acceptance into Tulane is not only an acceptance into your college of choice but to the entire university. As such, the whole school is open to exploration.
And it’s not only exploration and academics Tulane values, but public service as well. In fact, Tulane was the first university in the nation to introduce a public service requirement for graduation.
This commitment to service makes a difference: U.S. News and World Report ranked Tulane as the 4th best university in the nation for the quality of their service-learning.
Not only does Tulane excel at academics and public service, but it also provides one of the best college experiences in the nation.
The fact that Tulane is one of the nation’s most prestigious universities doesn’t take away from the fact that its students have a blast while there. Tulane was ranked as the second most fun university in the nation to attend by Business Insider.
But all of this does come with something of a caveat. Tulane is an excellent school, and as such, it is one of the hardest schools in the nation to be accepted into, according to CBS News.
And because of this, students are likely to take every opportunity available to them to help them stand out from the competition.
And one of the best, and perhaps one of the easiest, ways in which a student set on attending Tulane University can increase their chances of acceptance is by taking advantage of the early decision application option.
The early decision application, data shows, is likely to increase one’s chances of acceptance substantially.
And as such, this article will break down everything you will need to know to begin the process of taking advantage of the early decision application.
Read on to learn the vital information—admissions statistics, deadlines, deferment information, and more—that you’ll need to know to take advantage of the early decision application’s leg-up.
Tulane Early Decision Acceptance Rate
The early decision acceptance rate at Tulane University sits at around 15%.
This is a significant increase when compared to the standard Tulane acceptance rate, which is 11%.
Part of the reason that an early decision applicant may be more likely to be admitted at Tulane is the binding nature of the early decision application.
Those who submit an early decision application must sign an agreement stating that if they are to receive an offer of admission from Tulane, then they must reject all other offers from other colleges, withdraw all other applications, and accept Tulane’s offer.
As such, early decision both demonstrates to Tulane that one is particularly committed to attending school there, thus making the applicant more attractive, and it guarantees that Tulane will not propose an offer and be rejected.
Students who apply under the early decision option will almost automatically give themselves a 5% better chance of being admitted.
However, it is essential to note that admissions statistics never tell the whole story.
For example, students who apply under early decision are potentially more likely to dedicate special effort to their Tulane application when compared to the available pool of students, thus making early decision applicants a more finely-crafted application pool compared to regular decision applicants.
Nevertheless, it is still safe to say that an early decision does increase one’s likelihood of admittance significantly if one is ready to commit to Tulane.
Tulane Early Decision Decision Date
Early decision applicants will hear back regarding their admissions decision by December 15th.
That being said, Tulane releases early admissions decisions when they are available, rather than on one set date, and as such, many students will hear back sooner than this.
This is important to keep in mind because it is very likely that one Tulane applicant will hear back before another.
If this happens, it does not mean that those who have not heard back yet have been denied, but merely that a decision one way or the other is yet to have been made.
While waiting for a decision, Tulane encourages students to submit supplemental materials which may aid in their admissions decision.
They list these as examples of supplemental application materials: “art supplements, short films, blogs, audio recordings, dance videos, writing samples, or supplemental academic work.”
Tulane Early Decision Deadline
The deadline to submit an early decision application to Tulane University is November 1st. On this date, students must submit their application, the early decision agreement form, one’s secondary school report, certification of finances (international applicants only), and an optional portfolio/audition.
On November 15th, students will need to finish their financial aid applications for need-based aid. This will include submitting the FAFSA and completing one’s CSS profile.
Alongside need-based aid, students will have the option to apply to three major Tulane scholarships: the Deans’ Honor Scholarship, the Paul Tulane Award, and the Community Service Fellowship. All three of these major scholarships have applications that are due on December 5th.
Does Tulane Have Early Decision 2?
Tulane does have an early decision 2 deadline of January 12th.
This application follows a very similar process as early decision 1, but simply has a later due date.
Students will fill out the same early decision agreement form for this application, which assures that if a student is offered an acceptance from Tulane, they are guaranteed to choose Tulane over any other university.
The early action application is not to be confused with the early decision 2 deadline.
The chief difference between early decision 1 and 2, and early action, is that early action is not binding. One can submit an early action application and still choose to attend another university.
The early action application is due before early decision 2.
Early action applicants will have to submit their applications before November 15th.
Students will not have to sign an agreement for early action. Instead, they will merely turn in their application under early action before the due date.
Those who apply via early action will hear back from Tulane by January 15th.
Tulane ED Deferral Rate
Tulane, unfortunately, is relatively secretive regarding how many students receive a deferral.
Although data regarding early decision acceptance and words of advice from Tulane admissions can be helpful in better constructing a picture of how early decision deferral operates at Tulane university, these resources do not help with understanding how many early decision students can expect to receive a deferral.
However, considering the 15% acceptance rate for early decision students, it is reasonable to assume that roughly 60% of students will be deferred for regular admission.
This figure is based on average deferral rates for universities that are of comparable competitiveness as Tulane.
When one is deferred, they are considered alongside those who applied for the regular decision deadline. Notably, a deferral is not a rejection but merely a notification that one’s application will be reconsidered at a later date.
The date upon which both regular decision and deferred early decision applicants will hear back regarding their admissions decision is April 1st.
How to Apply to Tulane for Early Decision
The process of applying for early decision at Tulane is relatively simple compared to most universities.
Rather than having to find a section of the application through which one will gain access to the early decision form through the Common App, Tulane makes its early decision agreement form freely available.
This form details the early decision agreement: if Tulane offers you admission to their university, you cannot accept an offer anywhere else.
One must fill out this form and then have it signed by the applicant, a parent or guardian, and a guidance counselor at one’s high school. Then, students will email the filled-out and signed document to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Then, the final step an early decision applicant must take before beginning their journey to Tulane is to submit the enrollment deposit by January 15th.
This is the deadline by which an early decision applicant must confirm their decision to enroll at Tulane.
Once this is done, students will be all set to begin their journey to New Orleans and to a university that provides rigorous academics & commitment to the public good.
