Anonymous wrote:St Olaf is an amazing school and nationally respected. It also might be described as a “calmer” environment then Tulane, and easier to navigate. I would choose st. Olaf! Also, it’s Tulane which is amazing but you aren’t deciding between st Olaf and MIT.

+1 I am a Tulane grad. I am not sure what it is like now, but when I went although most regions were represented it was largely Texas and NorthEast, and being a west coaster I was shocked by the amount of wealth. Like family jet wealth. It was a party hard/study hard school, which if you can’t do, you crash and burn. I suspect it has shifted over the past decade, but I assume the location and the reputAtion in the south keep it fairly the same. Also, they remain awful at dealing with hurricane risk (still). I had merit aid; I would not go without aid. Networking is definitely strongest in the south and to some degree mid-Atlantic, but it’s not an Ivy. I had a great time, it was the right fit for me, but I would evaluate carefully bc it’s ridiculously $$$

St Olaf is an amazing school and nationally respected. It also might be described as a “calmer” environment then Tulane, and easier to navigate. I would choose st. Olaf! Also, it’s Tulane which is amazing but you aren’t deciding between st Olaf and MIT.

We visited St Olaf this summer and liked it a lot. My DS preferred it to Macalaster and Lawrence which we visited on the same trip.

St Olaf seemed to have so much to offer. One thing I remember is that it is a dry campus which I imagine attracts a different type of person than Tulane.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most SLACs do not offer a business major, so if it were important to my DC to be able to major in business that would be a factor. Also, setting aside rankings (because likely the difference in rankings isnt very significant even if Tulane’s is technically higher), most likely a midwest SLAC and Tulane are going to have very different vibes, so that would be another factor of importance. Cost is yet another of course so not discounting that, but who knows if your dc will go to grad school vs a strong undergrad experience can shape one’s future career.

I am this poster. I admit I am east coast centric, having grown up outside of nyc, and lived in nyc post college then boston then dc. I have also been in hiring roles at various companies. I have never heard of St Olaf except on dcum. vs Tulane has a lot of name recognition in “my world.” That’s not to say I wouldn’t give a fair shot to anyone qualified but a resume from Tulane would catch my eye first of the two. Also, I have to think that most students at St Olaf will be from the general area. Which influences your child’s eye as to their post graduation plans, so will be more limiting than being among the students at Tulane. So I’ll dissent and say I’d likely pick Tulane in this instance, unless cost is important in which case I’d gladly send my kid to St Olaf.

And you'd be wrong: 47 states, 63 countries represented among the 755 students in the class of 2025.

Adding--though to be fair there 43% of students from Minnesota and Tulane has more geographic diversity (more kids want to go to New Orleans from diverse places than Minnesota! Go figure!). But St. Olaf has more geographic diversity than the average state school and is fairly typical in that terms as other SLACS.

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Anonymous wrote:Most SLACs do not offer a business major, so if it were important to my DC to be able to major in business that would be a factor. Also, setting aside rankings (because likely the difference in rankings isnt very significant even if Tulane’s is technically higher), most likely a midwest SLAC and Tulane are going to have very different vibes, so that would be another factor of importance. Cost is yet another of course so not discounting that, but who knows if your dc will go to grad school vs a strong undergrad experience can shape one’s future career.

I am this poster. I admit I am east coast centric, having grown up outside of nyc, and lived in nyc post college then boston then dc. I have also been in hiring roles at various companies. I have never heard of St Olaf except on dcum. vs Tulane has a lot of name recognition in “my world.” That’s not to say I wouldn’t give a fair shot to anyone qualified but a resume from Tulane would catch my eye first of the two. Also, I have to think that most students at St Olaf will be from the general area. Which influences your child’s eye as to their post graduation plans, so will be more limiting than being among the students at Tulane. So I’ll dissent and say I’d likely pick Tulane in this instance, unless cost is important in which case I’d gladly send my kid to St Olaf.

And you'd be wrong: 47 states, 63 countries represented among the 755 students in the class of 2025.

Unless you have money to burn, St Olaf.

But could you present the St Olaf offer to Tulane and try to get them to match or offer more merit aid?

A younger relative of mine went to the business school at Tulane. He opted to graduate early because he wasn’t that into it. Tons of drinking and partying and drug use. He is gainfully employed now, however. He got a 10k merit scholarship.

I am from the DC private school works and while I know Tulane’s rep has improved, I still see it and think party school. St Olaf is lesser known but from what I know if it, it’s nice kids with a good rep. I can’t stand cold weather though but that’s just me.

If you can swing it without hardship then don’t base decision on cost. If its tough then go for cheaper.

Very different schools. Definitely visit if possible. Both are known and respected. I’d go with better fit and financial savings.

I know of St. Olaf and think of it as a good school, but I would pay $150k not to live in Minnesota in winter.

Are there any other options? Any SLACs giving merit that are in more moderate climates? You are looking at two extremes.

I think this is more about the choice to stay somewhat close to home or move to an entirely different part of the country. Tulane is a wonderful school with kids from all over the country and New Orleans is one of America’s great cities. I know St. Olaf is also a great school! It is a nice choice to have to make. Congrats to your kid and Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Most SLACs do not offer a business major, so if it were important to my DC to be able to major in business that would be a factor. Also, setting aside rankings (because likely the difference in rankings isnt very significant even if Tulane’s is technically higher), most likely a midwest SLAC and Tulane are going to have very different vibes, so that would be another factor of importance. Cost is yet another of course so not discounting that, but who knows if your dc will go to grad school vs a strong undergrad experience can shape one’s future career.

I am this poster. I admit I am east coast centric, having grown up outside of nyc, and lived in nyc post college then boston then dc. I have also been in hiring roles at various companies. I have never heard of St Olaf except on dcum. vs Tulane has a lot of name recognition in “my world.” That’s not to say I wouldn’t give a fair shot to anyone qualified but a resume from Tulane would catch my eye first of the two. Also, I have to think that most students at St Olaf will be from the general area. Which influences your child’s eye as to their post graduation plans, so will be more limiting than being among the students at Tulane. So I’ll dissent and say I’d likely pick Tulane in this instance, unless cost is important in which case I’d gladly send my kid to St Olaf.

Anonymous wrote:St Olaf is a well-regarded national SLAC, not a regional SLAC. I would go there with merit over Tulane without merit.

+1

Personally I’d probably rather my kid go to St Olaf than Tulane even if the cost was equal but a lot of kids use college as a time to live somewhere new. I know UMD was at the bottom of my kid’s list for partly the same reasons.

That’s not to say cost isn’t a legit basis for picking one school over another but I think you should be concrete about it. Either say we can’t afford that or if you go here we’ll put the money aside for grad school/down payment etc

+100 Assuming he applied to St. Olaf because he was open to a LAC I would not want to pay a lot more for Tulane just because he thinks New Orelans would be fun.