College profile
Tulane University
Listed in federal data as “Tulane University of Louisiana”.
LA · Private nonprofit · Large city · 27,936 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Finance and Financial Management Services grads from here earn about $129,850 four years out; natural resources conservation and research grads about $47,709 — a 2.7× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- There is merit money here, but you compete for it. Every named award at this college is competitive — the published GPA and score figures describe who tends to win them, not a bar that guarantees anything. Worth applying for; not worth counting on when you budget.
- Almost everyone who starts here finishes. 86% graduate within six years — the standard federal measure. Nationally about a third of students who start a bachelor's never finish one, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision: the debt stays, the credential doesn't.
- The 4× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$87,004/yr. There's no income cutoff for need-based aid — whether you qualify depends on the gap between a school's price and your family's finances, so at a price like this even six-figure incomes often show need. Families who receive aid average ~$39,949/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~4× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
- Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
Parent/student verdict
Highly selectiveHighly selective reach for nearly every applicant.
Best for
- Strong academic profiles — students here cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
- Strong test/GPA students chasing merit aid — Stamps Scholarship or Paul Tulane Award on offer (see merit-scholarship tab below)
- Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Social Sciences (the two biggest majors)
- Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1390, or ACT below 31, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)
- With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
- High cost — full price is ~$87,004/yr without aid, and aid-receiving families still average ~$39,949/yr — verify the major's earnings track record before committing
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
14% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 31% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
The real cost
What Tulane University actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Tulane University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$285K ahead at full price +$473K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
What students study here
Most popular majors at Tulane University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Tulane University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Tulane University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | $129,850 |
| Computer Science. | $118,931 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | $112,914 |
| Marketing. | $98,503 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | $95,966 |
| Economics. | $79,957 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | $79,925 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | $77,300 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | $76,945 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | $71,325 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
Merit aidScholarship money awarded for grades or test scores, not financial need — at many colleges it's automatic at certain GPA/score levels.
What your test score unlocks at Tulane University
Score-or-merit-based scholarships published by the institution. Stackable in most cases — confirm with the financial aid office.
| Award | Annual award | Score gate |
|---|---|---|
|
Stamps Scholarship
Stamps (full COA + enrichment) · any
|
$90,000/yr as published, checked 2026-06-06 · source ↗ |
1500+ SAT |
|
Paul Tulane Award
Paul Tulane Award (full tuition) · any
|
$68,000/yr as published, checked 2026-06-06 · source ↗ |
1500+ SAT |
|
Dean's Honor Scholarship
Dean's Honor (full tuition) · any
|
$68,000/yr as published, checked 2026-06-06 · source ↗ |
1500+ SAT |
See all merit scholarships across colleges + 13 national awards on /merit-scholarships →
AI program signal
AI + computing education at Tulane University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Tulane University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
Or compare any college side-by-side
Deciding on Tulane University?
Get the full picture in one free report — your child's Reach / Competitive / Match / Likely odds and your real net price, for Tulane University and every other college on your list.
Get your child's odds at Tulane University →Feeder high schools
Which high schools send graduates to Tulane University?
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
151 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name Tulane University on it. Between them they printed 891 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at Tulane University, from each school's own published list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, so a one-year list and a five-year list can sit on the same page. A list whose class years we cannot read is not divided by a guess — it is listed below with its total instead.
and 140 more
Published, but not ranked — these schools name Tulane University on a list of where their graduates enrolled whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: The Lovett School (1, List as of 5/1/2026 (no class year printed on the list itself; page 2 header reads "College Acceptance and Matriculation" and links this file as the "Class of 2026 matriculation list")).
Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists
13 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name Tulane University on it. Between them they printed 72 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to Tulane University, from each school's own published acceptances list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. Admits are counted at each college a student was admitted to, the same way the UC Reach Score counts a student admitted to three UC campuses three times — so this is a count of admissions, not of students. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, and a list whose class years we cannot read is listed below with its total rather than divided by a guess.
and 3 more
All 162 feeder schools, ranked →
Counted from each school's own published document, linked on that school's page. A high school that is not here does not publish a numbered list we could read — that is all absence means, and it says nothing about its graduates. Where a school publishes both, the two lists are shown separately: an acceptances list is not a list of enrollments, and the two are never added together.
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantTulane University is a private nonprofit four-year college in LA. It admitted 15% of applicants (27,936 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1390–1510, ACT 31–33. 14% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 31% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Cost: about $39,949 a year on average with aid, $87,004 a year at full price.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $63,268 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $472,884 ahead with aid, $284,664 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Finance and Financial Management Services ($129,850); Computer Science ($118,931); Biomedical/Medical Engineering ($112,914).
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name Tulane University: 151, 891 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often Avenues New York (9.0 per class year, 9 over 1 class year, CLASSES OF 2023–2026, counted column "CLASS OF 2026"); Dwight-Englewood School (9.0 per class year, 9 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Ransom Everglades School (6.4 per class year, 32 over 5 class years, Classes of 2020-24). Each figure is the number that school printed divided by the class years its own list covers; the totals and years are shown. These are the schools that publish such a list, not every school that sends students; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/tulane-university-of-louisiana.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming Tulane University: 13, 72 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often St Andrews School Of Boca Raton Inc (7.0 per class year, 7 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); National Cathedral School (4.7 per class year, 14 over 3 class years, 2023-2025); The Altamont School (3.4 per class year, 17 over 5 class years, Classes of 2021-2025). Admits are counted at each college, so this counts admissions, not students. These are a different set of documents from the matriculation lists above and the two are never added together; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/tulane-university-of-louisiana.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/tulane-university-of-louisiana.json