2011-2012 Tulane Application Thread

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theMan2012 said:
So according to this thread, if I received my complete email 9/9 and haven't heard anything yet (past 30days), that's a good sign? Should I call and ask my status? Would really love to interview here.
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I'm hoping it means good because I was complete 9/9. I noticed a rejection for 9/9 so maybe the rejection wave has passed :xf:
 
For those waiting for complete emails, I think they've just been really backed up since interviews started. I submitted and was timestamped on 8/29 and received the complete email today. Good luck to all those who find out decisions on Saturday/Monday!
 
Rejection today 🙁 5th in a row. Really thought my application was a good fit. I'm really starting to get down.
 
Received the interview invite e-mail today!

EDIT: I was complete 8/11.
 
Called Admissions today and moved up my interview date to this upcoming Monday! To anyone that has interviewed here, would it be a smart idea to rent a car? I don't like carrying a bunch of things to the interview but I'm not sure if New Orleans has good public transportation/cabs. Really psyched to get to travel to NOLA!
 
crazyasian said:
Rejection today 🙁 5th in a row. Really thought my application was a good fit. I'm really starting to get down.
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Yeah, this cycle can be painful especially places you think are the best fit to you but all it takes is one; it's not like we need to go 10 for 20 on this cycle. Being a re-applicant, I definitely can vouch to that.
 
New Orleans has plenty of cabs, plus there's some shuttle that your interview confirmation email or something along those lines will probably talk about. I don't suggest renting a car, there's a lot of one way streets and you will probably have to pay anywhere you park.
robertch8 said:
Called Admissions today and moved up my interview date to this upcoming Monday! To anyone that has interviewed here, would it be a smart idea to rent a car? I don't like carrying a bunch of things to the interview but I'm not sure if New Orleans has good public transportation/cabs. Really psyched to get to travel to NOLA!
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Anyone interviewing the 21st and planning on staying the night (Friday) in New Oreleans? WELLLLLLL If you are and want to share a hotel/have a tour buddy please feel free to PM me. I'm a male if that helps and I don't care if you are female or male (just please don't be socially awkward 🙂 ).
 
HandBanana1 said:
I cannot tell if you are an angry Tulane alum, an LSU student/alumnus who has an axe to grind, or just a troll. You’re post is highly inaccurate; shame on you. If you were a Tulane student, you would have graduated anywhere between 2006 and 2008, and I’m assuming part of you bad experience was a result of Katrina and its aftermath. I’m a T3, and in 2011, there are no lingering Katrina problems (nor were there any when I enrolled in 2009).




Tufts is actually more expensive. Most Tulane students are from states like Connecticut, California, Illinois, Washington State, Washington D.C., Oregon, etc, i.e. states that only have a few medical spots relative to their relatively large populations. Conversely, LSU (up until this year) only accepted Louisiana residents, and they have over 300 spots for a state with only a population of only 4.5 million! Most of my classmates were accepted at other private universities or at expensive state schools, and for one reason or another, we chose Tulane.


In my case, I’m a California native by way of Illinois, with my small Tulane scholarship and with New Orlean’s lower cost of living, Tulane is costing 15k more over four years than if I had attended University of Illinois as an in-state resident. I ultimately chose Tulane over Rush, Albert Einstein, and St Louis University, and if I had to do it all over again, I would still choose Tulane.




This is BS. The education is not poor (students due well on the Steps and on shelf exams), and there are decent research opportunities: according to NIH report, Tulane had more NIH research dollars than LSU-NO and LSU-S. With the new dean in 2006, Tulane’s research funding in 2011 is higher than it had ever been before the storm. Furthermore, under the new dean, Tulane’s admissions standards are increasing every year: the class of 2014 had a mean MCAT of 32, and the class of 2015 had a mean MCAT just below 33.




Tulane is not in the top-100 because it does not participate in USNWR (nor do the LSUs). Based on research dollars alone in NIH report, Tulane would easily be in the top-100.


Yeah, compared to an LSU grad, yes, you have a lot of debt. Compared to students at other private med school, you're numbers aren't that unreasonable




Tulane hospital lost money in the years directly after the storm. Like everything else in the city, the hospital has taken time to adjust to the post-Katrina NOLA. A merger or operation of the hospital by Ochsner would not change educational opportunities, especially when you consider that Tulane med students already do some rotations at Ochsner and several residencies programs are shared between Ochsner and Tulane. Regardless, Tulane still owns a stake in the hospital, and as long as it does, it will continue to be Tulane University hospital, and it will continue to train Tulane students, residents, and fellows.


Besides, Tulane med students also rotate at University, the VA, and Ochsner; there is also the new Baton Rouge track at Baton Rouge general




Yeah, you don’t read the news. Construction on the new VA began last winter, and the new Charity had it’s grown breaking two months ago. As part of the new University, Tulane was recently awarded 28 more residency spots: 10 will be at TUMC and 18 will be to expand Tulane’s other residencies at Baton Rouge General


University Hospital treats all the patients that Charity used to receive. The ability to come to Tulane (or LSU-NO) to see crazy stuff still exists; the only difference is the building (i.e. you’re at University instead of Charity).




This is the paragraph that makes me think that you never attended Tulane. Tulane does NOT push primary care. In fact, administrators routinely make jokes about how Tulane students avoid primary care like the plague. Hell, we don’t even have a family practice residency! Even if you graduate from Tulane with a lot of loans, we still have students who have chosen to go into primary care (last year was the first year in a long time that more than a handful of students wanted to go into family practice). Regardless if you go to Tulane, BU, USC, Creighton, Tufts, Loyola, etc, when you go to a private med school, you know you will most likely have a lot of debt, and if that’s a scenario you are not comfortable with, there is always the military/NHSC, or just don’t go to med school.




Tulane gives scholarships. How do I know? I received one




This is 110% BS. This does not happen because if a student does not match, they meet with the deans to scramble. Besides, you had to have graduated in 2008 or 2006, (i.e. 4 to 6 years ago), thus you are implying you have classmates who have not been able to match for 4 to 6 years.




Again, this is 110% B.S. Last year there were a few students who had to scramble, but everyone matched. In 2008 or 2006 when you graduated, there were fewer applicants and almost the same number of residency spots: i.e. no US allopathic students would fail to gain a residency spot. BTW, for those of you reading this, here is last year’s match list (http://tulane.edu/som/StudentAffairs/upload/MATCH-RESULTS-2011.pdf)




More BS: the pharm and anatomy masters are SMP masters: no medical students enters those programs. Any student who wants to earn a research degree is given the opportunity to enter the MD, PhD program. Many students do combined MPH degrees, and the School of Public Helath is ranked 13th by US News (i.e. it’s not a bad program) The University also provides scholarships to most students who enter the MD/MPH program.




Retention rate in the 60’s to 70’s? This is BS X 1,000,000. Tulane has an excellent retention rate, and when Tulane says they will make sure you graduate, they really mean it. I have never heard of any student failing out of Tulane. Seriously, you would have to punch the dean in the face and run naked through the hospital to get expelled from here, and even then, I have my doubts.




I agree with you on the LSU point: LSU is not a bad school, and if you are an LA resident, the difference in cost is huge. That being said, several of my classmates did chose Tulane over LSU, however it was for ‘social’ reasons and not academic reasons: i.e. they did not want to spend the next four years with a bunch of uber-Christian Republicans who have never set foot outside the state of Louisiana.


Tulane may not be Vanderbilt of Duke, but it’s also not Dr. Nick’s Upstairs Osteopathic Hollywood Medical College. The medical school is expensive, but in the end, you get an excellent education. In the 1920’s through 1960’s, Tulane was one of the best medical schools in the country, but since then, Tulane has fallen to a rather mediocre status. However, Hurricane Katrina was one of the best things that ever happened to Tulane (and New Orleans). With a new dean, new faculty, and new ideas, since 2006, the med school is expanding its research facilities and funding, it is increasing the quality of its students, and it is increasing the number and quality of its residencies.
If you actually even attended Tulane, there is no doubt that your tenure was greatly affected by Katrina, but the reality is that most of what you stated is not--nor was ever--true, and in 2011, Tulane’s school of medicine is vastly different than what it was when you were a student.
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I'm very sorry for having upset you on this subject. I am not a troll. I am indeed a graduate of Tulane SOM. I'm actually more than that -- i'm a legacy at Tulane.

My education was interrupted by Katrina, however I was able to see the before and the after. Yes New Orleans is a beautiful and exciting city, probably even more so than prior to Katrina because of all the funding that poured in. But Tulane is much worse off than it was prior to Katrina. Does it make sense for a school who was at one time 140 students/class to go up to >200/class and dramatically increase the tuition of the school all in the year following Katrina when none of the hospitals were running anywhere near full capacity?

Again, I don't have an axe to grind with the school. I have nothing to gain from this post other than to hopefully give applicants to Tulane some advice that was not given to me when I made my decision to go to Tulane. I was once that bright eyed kid who was so excited to be coming down to New Orleans to be at Tulane. I did well there, I enjoyed it and I am training in a competitive sub-specialty now. I have now been to many different medical institutions along the way for interviews, residency, and fellowship and I see how amazing a medical institution can be -- the facilities, the resources, the student support when your money is put in the hands of good leadership. I truly feel that Tulane lacks this good leadership. Power is in the hands of some greedy folks who really do not have any interest in supporting their students or even performing scientific research that will contribute to medicine.
Take Baylor college of medicine or even UTexas Houston SOM where an instate student pays $6500/yr in tuition or $19650/yr if you are out of state. Both institutions are part of the Texas Medical Center in Houston whose facilities are breathtaking. These schools pump out great doctors in specialties of their choice. This is what happens when your money is in the hands of good leadership. On the other hand Tulane charges $52,509/yr for tuition whether you are instate or not. Is Tulane even a top 100 school? No. Does it make sense for them to be charging almost 8X the cost of a top rated private medical school or even a mediocre state school? The answer is No.

These are important factors that applicants need to weigh in when you make your decision on medical schools. I didn't do it at the time and now of course hindsight is 20-20. Healthcare is changing and it is not the same lucrative field it once was where you can easily pay these debts off. If you're parents are paying the bill then good luck to them. I think you are doing them and yourself a disservice. If you think your happiness is more important than the cost I can assure you there are plenty of other excellent medical schools out there where people are super happy and have a blast and aren't leaving with empty wallets and a lifelong burden. I also do want to ask you as a current student -- you said you have received a scholarship from Tulane. Can you share the name of the scholarship and the amount you were awarded?
 
I cant' emphasize this enough. Guys, if you're interviewing, stay with a student host! 😎
 
ppappui said:
I cant' emphasize this enough. Guys, if you're interviewing, stay with a student host! 😎
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How does the student hosting work? I'm signed up for one but I'm not sure what the ins and outs of the student hosting program. I typically use hotels but I figured that since I've never been to Tulane or NOLA before that it might be better to use a student host to learn more about the place.
 
robertch8 said:
How does the student hosting work? I'm signed up for one but I'm not sure what the ins and outs of the student hosting program. I typically use hotels but I figured that since I've never been to Tulane or NOLA before that it might be better to use a student host to learn more about the place.
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it should all be in the letter attached to your interview email. you're responsible for your transportation to their residence and from tulane, it'd be nice to take them to dinner, don't expect them to show you around and be entertained since they've got busy schedules, but from what I hear they're more than happy to show you around anyway.
 
The interviewers are greatly interested on what you did in New Orleans, especially if it's your first visit. They "expect" you to do certain things, in order to see how interested in Tulane you are. Having a student host allows you to get a better perspective of the school, life of the students, and the town. Also, if you go out for a drink that night, you get to enjoy New Orleans, which is what the interviewers like to hear.
My interviewer picked me up at the airport, explained everything about the school, interview process, the town, etc etc, went out for dinner and drink with other med students, then took me to the school the next morning. So yes, it's a great deal to take. Not all will be like this, but mine and another interviewee's student host did this, and most are nice enough to do it.
 
Does anyone have an idea how many acceptances Tulane plans to send out each week?
 
As many qualified applicants who have completed their interviews. If all interviewed applicants scored 5 out of 5 after review by adcom, then all will be accepted, I believe. If you're in the acceptance range but not high enough, then they'll put you on hold.
 
Does anyone know if Tulane will be sending out the first batch of post interview results tomorrow (or Monday)?
 
lgreggy said:
Does anyone know if Tulane will be sending out the first batch of post interview results tomorrow (or Monday)?
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The lady on the phone didn't seem to know when I asked this. She said it should be 17th cuz 15th is a Saturday though. Don't know how sure she is about this though
 
ppappui said:
The lady on the phone didn't seem to know when I asked this. She said it should be 17th cuz 15th is a Saturday though. Don't know how sure she is about this though
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Thanks!
 
ppappui said:
The lady on the phone didn't seem to know when I asked this. She said it should be 17th cuz 15th is a Saturday though. Don't know how sure she is about this though
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do they call or email?
 
I think last year's thread said it was email
 
Laforte said:
Take Baylor college of medicine or even UTexas Houston SOM where an instate student pays $6500/yr in tuition or $19650/yr if you are out of state. Both institutions are part of the Texas Medical Center in Houston whose facilities are breathtaking. These schools pump out great doctors in specialties of their choice. This is what happens when your money is in the hands of good leadership. On the other hand Tulane charges $52,509/yr for tuition whether you are instate or not. Is Tulane even a top 100 school? No. Does it make sense for them to be charging almost 8X the cost of a top rated private medical school or even a mediocre state school? The answer is No.
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While it is amusing to see you completely disregard all the refutations to your original post, you still lack objectivity. I think you are just bitter that when Tulane students were moved to Baylor after Katrina, you were still paying Tulane's tuition but getting a Baylor education. And yes, Baylor is much cheaper, but you did not mention that it is also least expensive private medical school in the country (http://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/report.cfm?select_control=PRI&year_of_study=2011).

Furthermore, you are not being fair by only mentioning tuition, since there are many other fees involved in the overall cost of attendance. For example, Baylor has $9,118 in fees/year compared to Tulane at $3,559. Therefore, compare schools on total cost unless you are intent on misleading people and making your argument appear stronger. If you loved Baylor so much then fine, come on to Tulane's board (or really any other private school) and convince them of not going and instead only apply to Baylor or your state school. At least then you would be correct in a way, though misguided.

In any case, people on this board are obviously smarter than you give them credit for and will ultimately ignore your efforts to detract them for wanting to attend Tulane or any other private school for that matter. Next time before you post (which will hopefully be helpful), do some actual research and try to contribute positively to this board rather than just venting your own opinions on Tulane.
 
Secondary submitted 9/25, 3 weeks into the estimated 5 week waiting period to completion...

Anyone have an estimate of what point they're at in evaluating secondaries? Was 9/9 the last check point?

I'm checking my e-mail eagerly for news.. :idea:
 
soccrwon said:
Secondary submitted 9/25, 3 weeks into the estimated 5 week waiting period to completion...

Anyone have an estimate of what point they're at in evaluating secondaries? Was 9/9 the last check point?

I'm checking my e-mail eagerly for news.. :idea:
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I submitted 9/7, and I have not heard anything yet. 🙁
 
Five weeks? I submitted mine 8/11 and was marked complete 8/25.

It will probably take longer for those submitted in September, though.
 
LaForte pretty obviously didn't go to Tulane, or any US school for that matter. You'd have to be pretty unfamiliar with the US healthcare system to think a school could have a 60-70% retention rate and stay accredited. LaForte, keep working hard, i'll sure you'll get the step 2 cs pass one day and get a nice surgery prelim spot at a hospital in the Bronx
 
A big FYI / heads up: there are a few interviewers that will not be easy on you. I really love this school and area and I was looking forward to my visit, but from everything I saw on SDN interview feedback and this thread, it seemed like there wasn't anything to stress over. I had done a mock interview, gone through standard reviews of ethical and health care issues, and felt pretty good overall about the interview going into it.

One person was super conversational and easy going, but the other hit me like a ton of bricks with question after question, barely leaving me time to answer. They were the least open-ended questions I have ever encountered, both as an interviewee and an interviewer. Even if my answer was technically correct, this individual was NOT interested unless I said precisely what (s)he was looking for. Was not at all interested in hearing about my interests in community health / NOLA / things that I thought Tulane was all about. Of all of the aspects of this interview that disappointed me, this part upset me the most. The interview is a two-way street, and while I understand the merits of the "stress" interview to see how individuals respond, I don't think my genuine passions for a career in medicine that coincide with said school's mission should be dismissed with a wave of the hand and a "sure, sure that's fine. but why/what is......?"

It was exhausting and a little discouraging. End of the story: I proceeded to console myself with 1000000000 beignets from CDM and Cafe Beignet (makes them fresh when you order and twice the size of CDM's!).

For those of you who are going to say I need to update interview feedback, I will. And fully. But I'm going to wait until I hear back from them one way or another before I do that. For now, I just wanted to share this general info so no one else gets blindsided like I was, especially if you <3 Tulane.

tl;dr: don't be surprised if you get a non-conversational interviewer at Tulane. They exist - beware.
 
That is true. Some people in my interview day thought their interviewers were hard to read. Many are very open and engaging, while some others are not that encouraging to interview with.
 
idf27 said:
A big FYI / heads up: there are a few interviewers that will not be easy on you. I really love this school and area and I was looking forward to my visit, but from everything I saw on SDN interview feedback and this thread, it seemed like there wasn't anything to stress over. I had done a mock interview, gone through standard reviews of ethical and health care issues, and felt pretty good overall about the interview going into it.

One person was super conversational and easy going, but the other hit me like a ton of bricks with question after question, barely leaving me time to answer. They were the least open-ended questions I have ever encountered, both as an interviewee and an interviewer. Even if my answer was technically correct, this individual was NOT interested unless I said precisely what (s)he was looking for. Was not at all interested in hearing about my interests in community health / NOLA / things that I thought Tulane was all about. Of all of the aspects of this interview that disappointed me, this part upset me the most. The interview is a two-way street, and while I understand the merits of the "stress" interview to see how individuals respond, I don't think my genuine passions for a career in medicine that coincide with said school's mission should be dismissed with a wave of the hand and a "sure, sure that's fine. but why/what is......?"

It was exhausting and a little discouraging. End of the story: I proceeded to console myself with 1000000000 beignets from CDM and Cafe Beignet (makes them fresh when you order and twice the size of CDM's!).

For those of you who are going to say I need to update interview feedback, I will. And fully. But I'm going to wait until I hear back from them one way or another before I do that. For now, I just wanted to share this general info so no one else gets blindsided like I was, especially if you <3 Tulane.

tl;dr: don't be surprised if you get a non-conversational interviewer at Tulane. They exist - beware.
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Had a similar experience as well. Healthcare reform question after healthcare reform question for about 20 minutes. I gave pretty informed responses and was told that I "seemed prepared." That was my first medical school interview and left feeling like I bombed it. I tried to express my interest and he / she shrugged it off. Felt terrible the rest of the day.
 
It's alright Peter. You're in good shape after what happened last Friday 😎
 
anthrovagabond said:
I submitted 9/7, and I have not heard anything yet. 🙁
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The dates people are tracking on this thread in terms of rejections/interviews are completion dates. Your submission date is not what you should be looking at and comparing to other posters. 🙂
 
ppappui said:
It's alright Peter. You're in good shape after what happened last Friday 😎
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Yeah I'm not sweatin' it. Pretty sure they just wanted to see how you handled it. Good thing - for me at least - that the interviewer does not advocate on your behalf. He just merely writes a letter, which is taken into account by the committee.
 
PeterPesto said:
Yeah I'm not sweatin' it. Pretty sure they just wanted to see how you handled it.
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yeah, agreed. Just felt like it wasn't representative of the attitude of the school in general.

PS: Pete I'm starting to think we are amcas twins...first 6 iis, then same cms interview and acceptance days, now similar tulane experiences :laugh: here's hoping we get some love from this adcom! :xf:
 
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Anyone know when we should expect to hear from them today?
 
ppappui said:
The interviewers are greatly interested on what you did in New Orleans, especially if it's your first visit. They "expect" you to do certain things, in order to see how interested in Tulane you are. Having a student host allows you to get a better perspective of the school, life of the students, and the town. Also, if you go out for a drink that night, you get to enjoy New Orleans, which is what the interviewers like to hear.
My interviewer picked me up at the airport, explained everything about the school, interview process, the town, etc etc, went out for dinner and drink with other med students, then took me to the school the next morning. So yes, it's a great deal to take. Not all will be like this, but mine and another interviewee's student host did this, and most are nice enough to do it.
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Hey thanks for the tips ppappui. I'm still waiting for an II but definitely will heed your advice. If I get an interview, it'll be my first time visiting New Orleans, too 🙂
 
idf27 said:
yeah, agreed. Just felt like it wasn't representative of the attitude of the school in general.

PS: Pete I'm starting to think we are amcas twins...first 6 iis, then same cms interview and acceptance days, now similar tulane experiences :laugh: here's hoping we get some love from this adcom! :xf:
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I know right? Good luck today, I highly doubt our interviewer will keep us out. Since we had a similar experience, ADCOMS probably have a heads up.
 
Getting sooo nervous.
Also, I jump whenever I see this thread bumped up and nothing in my inbox, so I'll be doing that to you guys too, lol 😀
 
Wow - finally acknowledged that my secondary has been submitted.

Timestamped: 9/2
Officially submitted: 10/17

Looks like my 30 day clock for next decision starts now.

(Sorry for bumping the thread for those of you hoping to hear good news today).

Good luck!
 
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