What Is Tulane University Known For? Ranking and Acceptance Rate

What Is Tulane University Known For?

Tulane University officially known as the Tulane University of Louisiana is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana founded in 1834 as a public medical college and became a comprehensive university in 1847. The institution became private under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1884.

Tulane is the 9th oldest private university in the Association of American Universities, which includes major research universities in the United States and Canada. The Tulane University Law School and Tulane University Medical School are, respectively, the 12th oldest law school and 15th oldest medical school in the United States.

This prestigious institution has an urban setting with a campus size spanning 110 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Tulane University ranked 42nd in the 2022 edition of Best National Universities by US News. Tulane is one of the most flexible research universities in the country and it’s home to various research centers, including the Amistad Research Center. Tulane University has over 75 majors and minors in five different schools, including science and engineering, architecture, business, liberal arts, and public health.

Tulane University pairs the resources of a large research university with the benefits of a small liberal arts college. Small class sizes are the norm, and faculty members are both accessible and approachable. Tulane has 7,916 undergraduate students on campus, and 1,800 of those students are freshmen making an average class size of 21 students with a student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1.

Students are automatically admitted into any school or major when they are admitted to the university. There is no additional application or barrier required, and there is room in every major as students have two full years to pick a major. The 70+ majors at Tulane are dispersed between the School of Liberal Arts, School of Business, School of Architecture, the School of Public Health, and the School of Science and Engineering.

Tulane University Ranking

As a coveted institution of higher education, Tulane University has a series of excellent ranking positions in comparison to other universities. Tulane University is one of the top private universities in New Orleans, United States.

In a recent publication, Tulane University was listed as one of the nation’s top universities in the newly released rankings from U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. In the category of U.S. News Best Colleges 2022 edition, Tulane ranked No. 42 among the nation’s top National Universities list, No. 29 among national private universities, and No. 34 on the list of Most Innovative Schools.

The same publication also ranked Tulane No. 4 among the best schools for Service Learning, and Tulane’s undergraduate business program ranked 41st in the nation.

In the world ranking, Tulane is ranked #436 in the QS Global World Rankings 2022. Other ranking indices are:

• 10 Best Colleges with Automatic/Guaranteed Admissions – #1 · collegetransitions.com

• The 30 most fun colleges in America – #2 · businessinsider.com

• America’s Top Party Colleges Of 2021 – #2 · fa-mag.com

• Hardest colleges to get into in the US in 2022 – #31 · cbsnews.com

• College Magazine’s Top 10 Colleges for Sports Law for 2020 – #1 · collegemagazine.com

• Best Colleges For Pre Med – #17 · collegevine.com

• Best Master’s in Healthcare Administration Degrees 2020 – #7 · topmastersinhealthcare.com

Tulane University Acceptance Rate

Getting admitted into Tulane University is typically highly competitive, considering the pedigree of her alumni network and the overall prestige. Meeting their GPA requirements and SAT/ACT requirements is very important to getting past their first round of filters and proving your academic preparation.

As of 2022, Tulane University’s acceptance rate is 9.73%. Thus, it is clear that you need to dot your I’s and T’s in your application to have a chance at studying at the coveted Tulane University of Louisiana because the school is extremely selective.

To increase your chances of admission, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1490 SAT or a 33 ACT. You should also have a 3.56 GPA or higher. Tulane admits a large percentage of their freshman class via early decision, and prospective students applying through this process have a significant advantage in the process. The school offers two rounds of early decisions admission — ED I has a November 1 deadline and ED II has a deadline around the second week of January. There is also a non-binding EA round with a November 15 deadline.

Tulane University Admission Requirements

Getting admitted to Tulane University can be a herculean task for the faint-hearted. Apart from having a 9.73% acceptance rate, it also ranks #1 in Louisiana for the lowest rate of acceptance. Tulane University has in place, extremely high requirements for admission test scores, generally admitting students who score in the top 6 percent. Typically, Tulane accepts and attracts “B+” average high school students with the majority of the incoming freshmen graduating in the top quarter of their high school class.

ACT Scores Requirements

Available admission data indicates that Tulane regularly accepts students with ACT’s of 31 and above. Successful applicants typically send ACT scores in the top 5 percent nationally. It is estimated that the school accepts minimum ACT composite scores of around 30 in some instances. Candidates submitting an ACT composite of 32 or higher would be in the upper half of applicants, and students with a 33 and above have very competitive chances.

SAT Scores Requirements

Tulane University typically prefers applicants to be in the top 7 percent of SAT takers. The school consistently takes SAT composite scores down to 1360 on a 1600 scale, below which admission should be considered a reach. It is estimated that some students could be accepted with SAT’s as low as 1280. The estimated average SAT composite for admitted freshmen is 1440 out of 1600. The school ranks #1 in Louisiana for the highest average SAT composite score. 23 percent of applicants submit SAT scores to the school.

Curriculum Requirements

• Candidates for admission are expected to present strong high school programs of study consisting of 18 or more academic courses taken over the four years. For US Citizens/Residents, we recommend your secondary school program consist of the following minimum preparation for each subject area:
• Mathematics: 3 years
• English: 4 years, with extensive work in reading and writing
• Science: 3 years of a laboratory science
• Social Studies: 3 years, with an emphasis on history
• Foreign Language: At least 2 years—preferably 3—of a classical or modern language

Tulane University Location

Tulane University, located in New Orleans Louisiana (LA) is divided between the main uptown campus and the downtown campus. New Orleans ranked as one of the best places for a college is an iconic and consequential city with lots of research opportunities and internship options including working with the New Orleans Pelicans, National World War II Museum, Audobon Park, and the Audobon Zoo.

Tulane’s primary campus is located in Uptown New Orleans on St. Charles Avenue, directly opposite Audubon Park, and extends north to South Claiborne Avenue through Freret and Willow Street. The campus is known colloquially as the Uptown or St. Charles campus.

Tulane University Health Sciences campus is located in the downtown New Orleans Central Business District between the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Canal Street in 18 mid/high-rise buildings, which house the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and Tropical Medicine, and the main campus of the Tulane Medical Center. 

Tulane University Notable Alumni

Tulane University is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities(AAU), an elite group of 66 leading research universities in the United States and Canada with “preeminent programs of graduate and professional education and scholarly research.” Tulane has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1958 and is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity”. Below are some notable alumni from the Tulane University of Louisiana.

1. Newt Gingrich
   Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician and author who served as the 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1968, he graduated with a Master of Arts and In 1971, graduated with a Doctor of philosophy. In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
2. Jerry Springer
   Gerald Norman Springer is an English-born American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, and former lawyer and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show between September 30, 1991, and July 26, 2018 and debuted the Jerry Springer Podcast in 2015. Since September 2019, Springer has hosted the courtroom show, Judge Jerry.
3. Ashley Biden
   Ashley Blazer Biden is the daughter of U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. She studied at Tulane from 2000 to 2004. She served as the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice from 2014 to 2019.
4. Luther Strange
   Luther Johnson Strange III graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975 from Tulane University. He is an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Senator from Alabama from 2017 to 2018. He was appointed to fill that position after it was vacated by Sen. Jeff Sessions upon Sessions’ confirmation as U.S. Attorney General.
5. David Filo
   David Robert Filo is an American billionaire businessman and the co-founder of Yahoo! with Jerry Yang. His Filo Server Program, written in the C programming language, was the server-side software used to dynamically serve variable web pages, called Filo Server Pages, on visits to early versions of the Yahoo! website.
6. Douglas G. Hurley
   Douglas Gerald Hurley is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot, and current NASA astronaut. He launched into space for the third time as commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed spaceflight from American soil since STS-135, and became one of the first two astronauts, together with Bob Behnken, to launch aboard a commercial orbital spacecraft in spaceflight history.

Tulane University Undergraduate Tuition and Fees

In view of Tulane’s extensive merit-based and need-based scholarship programs, Tulane pays on average 40% of the actual cost of tuition and fees for each student. The combination of these aid programs makes Tulane education an affordable investment that never stops yielding returns.

Below is the 2021-2022 cost of attendance for undergraduate students enrolled full-time at Tulane University.

• Freshman Resident

Tuition & Fees- $60,814
Room- $9,606
Board- $7,212
Books- $1,200
Transportation- Variable
Miscellaneous- $1,400
TOTAL- $80,232 (including transportation)

• Continuing Resident

Tuition & Fees- $60,814
Room- $10,350
Board- $7,212
Books- $1,200
Transportation-Variable
Miscellaneous- $1,400
TOTAL- $80,976 ( including transportation)

Tulane University Scholarships

In line with the mission to provide quality education, Tulane University has several scholarship opportunities available. These scholarships cover partial tuition to the total cost of tuition. Tulane also awards several full-tuition, total-cost, service, and Louisiana resident scholarships that require separate applications. Most of the merit scholarships are renewable for 4 years (or 5 years for architecture students), provided the student maintains good standing with the university, a full-time course load, and a designated minimum GPA.

Tulane’s partial tuition scholarships, which range up to $32,000 per year, require no special application and are awarded by the admission office based on the strength of the admission application within the context of a given year’s applicant pool. Additionally, there are merit scholarships that require supplemental materials and have additional application procedures. Below are some of Tulane’s University merit scholarships to look out for:

• Deans’ Honor Scholarship (DHS)
• Paul Tulane Award
• Stamps Scholarship
• Sotomayor Full-Tuition Public Service Scholarship
• Community Service Fellowship
• Musicianship Scholarship
• Architecture Portfolio Award
• Louisiana Resident Scholarships
• Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB)

For international students, Tulane University offers various need and merit-based scholarship opportunities for international students. These scholarships range from partial to full-cost awards and are renewable for 4 years. Be sure to check out available scholarships for Tulane University international students.

If you are looking for a school with a flexible, service-oriented education in a vibrant city, the prestigious Tulane University with its notable alumni network, ranking, faculty, and research opportunities will no doubt be a perfect fit for you.