2014-2015 Tulane University Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I don't like posting stats, since II's are based on many factors. I will say that my MCAT was below their "average". I was complete in August.

Finally somebody gets it. This year the trend on the Tulane thread seems to be just posting LizzyM scores, which are all but meaningless at Tulane. Here MCAT matters more than your cGPA, and neither one will get you far unless you've also got good ECs or other unique things on your application. For comparison my LizzyM score was a 63, but I know that's not why I got accepted here.
 
Finally somebody gets it. This year the trend on the Tulane thread seems to be just posting LizzyM scores, which are all but meaningless at Tulane. Here MCAT matters more than your cGPA, and neither one will get you far unless you've also got good ECs or other unique things on your application. For comparison my LizzyM score was a 63, but I know that's not why I got accepted here.

I agree with you, but that's the easiest thing to compare between applicants. I know it isn't all about that, but it does matter.
 
I agree with you, but that's the easiest thing to compare between applicants. I know it isn't all about that, but it does matter.


We need to make a Tulane score. Do something like +5 for peace or americorps. +3 for significant other volunteer work. +1 for legit ties to nola. Minus point for missing those things. Also probably weigh mcat to gpa 60/40.

All of this is just spitballing and I have no idea what the actual criteria are the committee uses. But volunteer work (and meaningful volunteer work) really does make a difference.
 
Rejected a few minutes ago. GPA ~3.8, MCAT 34, OOS. Submitted the secondary very late (10/3!) so no big surprise here. It's the first news I've heard all cycle (earliest secondary complete 8/28 - I know, I failed big time!) but glad to finally have some news as strange as that sounds. Good luck to everyone else!
 
Rejected a few minutes ago. GPA ~3.8, MCAT 34, OOS. Submitted the secondary very late (10/3!) so no big surprise here. It's the first news I've heard all cycle (earliest secondary complete 8/28 - I know, I failed big time!) but glad to finally have some news as strange as that sounds. Good luck to everyone else!

@cosmicowl Did you get an email? I'm wondering since my status is listed as "rejected" on the secondary website, but I haven't gotten an official email.
 
I was wondering if @sazerac @fourhumours could give some input about Tulane's clerkships and the teaching hospitals where students spend 3rd and 4th years. How large are the hospitals, what are some perks specific to Tulane from that part of medical school?
 
Are there any current Tulane students on this forum that can comment on the timeline/process for the MPH application after being into the MD program? I have heard that many MD/MPH students start the summer prior to their 1st year.
 
I was wondering if @sazerac @fourhumours could give some input about Tulane's clerkships and the teaching hospitals where students spend 3rd and 4th years. How large are the hospitals, what are some perks specific to Tulane from that part of medical school?
Well there are a lot of hospitals in New Orleans proper, such as Tulane, LSU Interim, Ochsner, as well as in the surrounding areas (west bank, Metairie, Baton Rouge, etc). I'm not sure of any specific perks being from Tulane... outside of the Tulane hospital system we get to meet students from other schools in Louisiana, across the nation, and even other countries.

As a third year student I just kind of go where I'm told, all the while listening to my gut as to which kinds of activities and specialties I enjoy the most.
 
Some rotation sites are new and have very few students there (Baton Rouge rotation sites). If you go there you'll stand out, as you're typically the only student on the team. This may change when we get the new university hospital and the new VA, but probably not, as students seem to enjoy those sites.
 
Does anyone know the timeline on getting a username/password for the student portal?
 
@sazerac Do you know about the new hospital? http://www.umcno.org/
Do you know what rotations/opportunities will be there?
I don't really. Right now I'm just experiencing third year, not planning it. Maybe some other Tulane students can comment. I have heard that I could be rotating there in my senior (2015-2016) year if I wanted.

My takeaway is that with this new hospital complex appearing in New Orleans, there are going to be a lot of doctor jobs in NOLA in the future if I'm interested in staying. Which I am.
 
@sazerac Do you know about the new hospital? http://www.umcno.org/
Do you know what rotations/opportunities will be there?
I had an opportunity to talk to the Dean of the medical school and ask him about this. He was a bit evasive on the date of opening (though I have only ever heard it is still on schedule for May 2015). He did point out that the new split will be about 40-60 Tulane-LSU which is what it has been historically (it is not a 50-50 breakdown because of combination of Tulane having it's own hospital and Tulane not doing teaching residencies, like EM). People think it is LSU's hospital but it isn't. The moniker "University" hospital is because it serves BOTH universities. Other than that I don't know much about it. I am excited because I start third year next year and hopefully the new hospital will relieve some of the congestion that my class is going to experience during rotations.
 
Last edited:
Are there any current Tulane students on this forum that can comment on the timeline/process for the MPH application after being into the MD program? I have heard that many MD/MPH students start the summer prior to their 1st year.

Once you are accepted in around March/April you should get an email asking you to apply to the MPH program. It is basically a one sheet form. I have never heard of anyone not being accepted to the MPH. As for when to start, many do start the summer before but not all. I would recommend starting before T1 year (I did not) because it allows you to take your cores and get more classes out of the way. You want to avoid taking more than 1-2 MPH classes second year if possible. I did not start the summer before but through overloading spring of T1 (I took 3 MPH classes) I only have 2 classes second year (technically 3 but 2 are 1/2 semester courses) and will be done with my MPH coursework by the second week of Jan.
 
rejected here today as well (via email). not heartbroken about it - good luck and congrats to everyone else ;D
 
rejected here today as well (via email). not heartbroken about it - good luck and congrats to everyone else ;D

Sorry to hear. Please share your complete date with the rest of us.
 
Last edited:
Nothing from Tulane, complete 8/27/14. I guess nothings better than a pre-interview rejection right? I should hear by email otherwise right? Fingers still crossed for an interview during Mardi Gras.

FWIW: 34 mcat, 3.9 c&sGPAs, traditional app. Family ties to LA and NOLA.
 
Nothing from Tulane, complete 8/27/14. I guess nothings better than a pre-interview rejection right? I should hear by email otherwise right? Fingers still crossed for an interview during Mardi Gras.

FWIW: 34 mcat, 3.9 c&sGPAs, traditional app. Family ties to LA and NOLA.

Same date and heard nothing as well. More nontraditional though (a traditional premed with 3 gap years, lol)
 
Last edited:
Anyone interviewing here on 11/14 that is staying that night and trying to go out? I want to experience new orleans nightlife but preferably not solo
 
*sigh* Rejected pre-interview, submitted mid-October

I know Tulane considers applicants beyond stats, but LizzyM= 72 OOS, no ties to LA

I'm honestly pretty disappointed. I was really pumped up about their 4 year MD/MPH program, and I worked hard on the secondary. I know Tulane doesn't give feedback, but does anyone know what core elements Tulane is looking for in an applicant?

On a more positive note, congratulations to everyone who received an acceptance! 🙂
 
Last edited:
*sigh* Rejected pre-interview, submitted mid-October

I know Tulane considers applicants beyond stats, but LizzyM= 72 OOS, no ties to LA

I'm honestly pretty disappointed. I was really pumped up about their 4 year MD/MPH program, and I worked hard on the secondary. I know Tulane doesn't give feedback, but does anyone know what core elements Tulane is looking for in an applicant?

On a more positive note, congratulations to everyone who received an acceptance! 🙂
What were your volunteering / service ECs like? Tulane as an institution (both undergrad and professional) emphasizes community service, a lot. Verifiable federal experiences like peace corps / americorps / teach for America are highly favored here.

I had no ties to LA at all, even poked fun at that on my secondary. But when I mentioned an Americorps project I did, Tulane was fawning all over me.
 
What were your volunteering / service ECs like? Tulane as an institution (both undergrad and professional) emphasizes community service, a lot. Verifiable federal experiences like peace corps / americorps / teach for America are highly favored here.

I had no ties to LA at all, even poked fun at that on my secondary. But when I mentioned an Americorps project I did, Tulane was fawning all over me.

I love community service and mentioned the volunteer experiences I'm pursuing during my gap year. However, I neglected to note my prior community service activities in my AMCAS. Oh well, thanks for letting me know 🙂
 
Does anyone know if there is a second look for tulane, and if so when it usually is? I'm planning my pre-med school backpacking trip, and want to see if I will be able to make another visit down to Nola.
 
I asked them on my interview day and the students on my tour said they weren't planning to have one. They said that in recent years more people have been matriculating there as opposed to other schools...maybe they thought it wasn't worth it?
 
Does anyone know if there is a second look for tulane, and if so when it usually is? I'm planning my pre-med school backpacking trip, and want to see if I will be able to make another visit down to Nola.
Since there is no second look, you have the freedom to come back to Nola whenever you like. In 2012, several SDNers came down in April for CrawFest ( http://crawfest.tulane.edu ) and had a blast. Informal second-looks also get organized on your class FB page the spring / summer before matriculation. As I'm sure you noticed, New Orleans is very amenable to visitors.

Where you going to go hiking?
 
Since there is no second look, you have the freedom to come back to Nola whenever you like. In 2012, several SDNers came down in April for CrawFest ( http://crawfest.tulane.edu ) and had a blast. Informal second-looks also get organized on your class FB page the spring / summer before matriculation. As I'm sure you noticed, New Orleans is very amenable to visitors.

Where you going to go hiking?

I'm heading down to South America for a couple months this winter/spring.
 
Anyone here interviewing in early December? Mine is scheduled for 12/4, but I'm staying from the 3rd to the 6th to experience (at least some of) New Orleans.
 
I believe there is a woodworking convention in town then that you may be interested in.

tumblr_mc3hg5VpQP1qcy0p7o1_500.gif
 
just withdrew from my interview spot. hope it goes to one of you all!
 
just withdrew from my interview spot. hope it goes to one of you all!

+1 withdrew from my interview scheduled for this Friday (12/5). I hope someone else can grab it! I was really excited about Tulane, but for personal reasons, will be matriculating at a school closer to family.
 
Has anyone else receive word about scholarships from Tulane? I'm really curious how they make their selection since I didn't fully expect to get into the school in the first place
 
Has anyone else receive word about scholarships from Tulane? I'm really curious how they make their selection since I didn't fully expect to get into the school in the first place
It would be easier to predict the simultaneous position and momentum of a subatomic particle than it would be to predict how the scholarships work at any medical school.

For what it's worth, I was offered a scholarship in June 2012. This was long after the May deadline. I had already committed to Tulane, dropped my other offers, and moved to New Orleans, so it wasn't like they were trying to draw me away from another school. Philosophically I think this approach is kind of cool - assemble a class of students who really want to be here (even at full retail price) and then hand out scholarships, not as bribes but as lagniappe.
 
Top