Pitt or Tulane?

[Anonymous]

DS was accepted early action at Tulane and Pitt. He slightly prefers Tulane but am wondering if it is worth the extra cost. We can afford Tulane with a little bit of belt tightening but the difference between the two schools would be around $120k over 4 years. DS not sure what he wants to major in but likes the slightly smaller classes at Tulane. He is a bit on the shy side and would actively participate in intramural sports. Is Tulane worth the extra cost for the smaller classes and perhaps the opportunity to get a more well-rounded education?

[Anonymous]

yes if he is shy. Pitt is a great school and comparable academically but it is huge and also has more of a suitcase effect. Have you considered Davidson? They meet your needs financially with no loans and is similar in academics to Tulane and southern.

[Anonymous]

Tulane for sure.

[Anonymous]

Tulane 💯

[Anonymous]

The Dietrich school at Pitt has a student-teacher ratio of 11:1 (statistic given at admitted students day). Disagree Pitt being suitcase school at all.

That said, it will be colder and grayer. Student bodies will be a bit different - would he be more comfortable at one? About 20% of Pitt students go Greek - I think Tulane is much higher? Has he looked at Gen Ed requirements at each? Do they both have his club sports of choice?

Did you ever give him a budget? If you didn’t want to pay for Tulane’s price, I think ideally you would have told him many months ago.

[Anonymous]

I consider Pitt and Tulane to be roughly equal in educational quality with each having slightly different strengths.
So in my view, the question seems to be a) whether you are willing to pay more for something of similar quality that your kid prefers and b)whether the strength of your kid's preference for Tulane is worth its cost over Pitt.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We didn’t give him a budget - the theory being if he really liked one full pay school more we would pay for it. They both have intramural as for his sports. My one concern with Pitt is that it seems like he would have to decide earlier on his major, and it may be more difficult to change majors. But he did like the urban vibe at Pitt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We didn’t give him a budget - the theory being if he really liked one full pay school more we would pay for it. They both have intramural as for his sports. My one concern with Pitt is that it seems like he would have to decide earlier on his major, and it may be more difficult to change majors. But he did like the urban vibe at Pitt.

Tulane seems to have many well-heeled kids there. If pocket money will be an issue with the higher price tag, that is something to consider. That can be a refrain at Duke, Penn, Tulane, etc - students w/o much extra money thinking it may have been a better set up socially at a less costly school.

[Anonymous]

Pitt is not a suitcase school. Tons of activities on campus and most people stick around. The campus does not clear out on the weekends.

My introverted dd has thrived there. She has relationships with lots of professors and a nice group of friends.

[Anonymous]

Pitt is the better school and probably better for a shy kid. Tulane is a massive party school. Parties every night of the week. I don’t see a shy kid being happy there.

[Anonymous]

I had a kid at Pitt and a younger cousin (a little bit older than my kid) at Tulane. They both had good experiences. I'd say Pitt is a place where just about any kid could find their niche. There are some super smart kids there who are there for financial reasons, and otherwise a lot of bright kids there because of financial reasons, they liked Pittsburgh, they prepared Pitt to their own in-state options, etc. Tulane seemed a good bit more wealthy and more of a party school (though my cousin was gay and not a frat bro at all). He definitely loved New Orleans as it was a very different environment than where he'd grown up in the south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes if he is shy. Pitt is a great school and comparable academically but it is huge and also has more of a suitcase effect. Have you considered Davidson? They meet your needs financially with no loans and is similar in academics to Tulane and southern.

Pitt is not a suitcase school. I also would not say it is huge. It is certainly bigger than Tulane, but nothing like the size of other huge state schools. My kid is a current freshman at Pitt. He is a CS major and very happy there. Loves being in the city and has made many good friends first semester. He is not a partygoer or interested in Greek life. But he is social. It is a great balance for him between academics and having fun.

[Anonymous]

Tulane mostly UMC; Pitt LMC. Which are your people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tulane mostly UMC; Pitt LMC. Which are your people?

This is a good description.

Also, to the PP who said that Greek life is important to Tulane- I would say so but for girls only. With a g/b ratio of something like 60/40 at Tulane, guys there don’t have to have anything to do with Greek life in order to meet women and go to parties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a kid at Pitt and a younger cousin (a little bit older than my kid) at Tulane. They both had good experiences. I'd say Pitt is a place where just about any kid could find their niche. There are some super smart kids there who are there for financial reasons, and otherwise a lot of bright kids there because of financial reasons, they liked Pittsburgh, they prepared Pitt to their own in-state options, etc. Tulane seemed a good bit more wealthy and more of a party school (though my cousin was gay and not a frat bro at all). He definitely loved New Orleans as it was a very different environment than where he'd grown up in the south.

I can imagine that New Orleans must feel like heaven for a newly out gay kid from the south.