The Curious Case of Tulane's Acceptance Rates

Tulane University was founded in 1834 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It consistently ranks in the top 50 of the US News and World Report ranking making it a popular safety school for many students. If you follow Business Insider, you might have seen a recent article about the unbelievably low acceptance rates of Tulane University. In the last round of Regular Decision admissions, Tulane received roughly 14,000 applications. Of those applicants, the university admitted 106 new students, averaging a 0.7% acceptance rate. This low rate can be explained by looking at the Early Decision model that Tulane has created. By filling the majority of their slots with students applying Early Decision, the university is able to guarantee a full class, and the money that comes with that, while ultimately not having to worry about their yield rate. It seems as though they have their system figured out. 

What does this mean for you?
The obvious answer is that if Tulane is your top-choice school, you should be prepared to apply in the Early Decision round (November 1st deadline). If not, it isn’t advisable to even apply. When it comes to safety schools, apply to places you know you will get in. With such low acceptance rates at Tulane, a Regular Decision application would be a waste of your time and money. 

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