You applied to Tulane because you fell in love with this school and knew that it was the place for you. Starting in the spring is an opportunity to hit the ground running once you come to Tulane. During the fall, you can take classes and explore the subjects you are interested in studying, do the traveling you have always wanted to do (and might not have had time to do if you started at Tulane in the fall), pick up an internship and start building your résumé before your classmates do, or get a job and start Tulane with some extra savings in your pocket.
The Spring Scholar experience is a nontraditional transition into college. However, Tulane will host a number of events in January to get you better acquainted to the campus and other Spring Scholars so that you have some familiar faces as soon as you get here.
While it is true that you will miss out on some of the initial freshmen activities like move-in day and convocation, there will be orientation events for incoming January admits to welcome you to the Tulane community, as well as other events for you to meet other students throughout the spring semester.
Once you come to campus in the spring, we guarantee that you will have housing on Tulane’s campus for your first three semesters. You will not be guaranteed a freshman roommate, but living with sophomores or upperclassmen could be a major opportunity to learn from some seasoned students.
During the beginning of the fall and spring semester, Tulane has a clubs and activities expo to recruit new members. The same clubs and activities recruit at each expo and they are always looking for new members to join their ranks.
You can! Most students graduate from Tulane after completing eight semesters of coursework. To be considered full-time, students must take 12 hours, however most students maintain 15 hours per semester in order to easily graduate in eight semesters.
There are several ways to aim toward a May graduation:
- If you opt to take classes in the fall elsewhere and they transfer to Tulane
- If you come in with accepted AP, IB, or dual enrollment credits
You might want to earn credit in summer and/or the fall. You can earn credit in a variety of ways, but in order to maximize the possibility that your credits will transfer successfully, we have provided some guidelines for you:
Earning Credit During Summer at Tulane
If you wish to earn credit during the summer at Tulane, there are different sessions of classes you can enroll in through The Summer School. You are limited to taking two courses during Summer School. For complete information about The Summer School at Tulane, please the Summer School website.
Earning Credit During Summer Outside Tulane
If you want to earn credit at another college during the summer, please keep in mind that we cannot guarantee that the credit you earn will transfer to Tulane. We suggest that as soon as you register for a course/courses at another college, you email proof of enrollment in the course(s) by sending an unofficial transcript and course syllabi to crediteval@tulane.edu for evaluation. Before you register, we recommend that you consult our guidelines for selecting transfer-eligible courses below.
There is no maximum number of credits you can earn from another college during the summer.
Earning Credit During the Fall
To earn credit during the fall, you must enroll at another regionally accredited college, as a non-degree seeking student. As in the summer, we suggest that as soon as you register for a course/courses, you email proof of enrollment in the course(s) by sending an unofficial transcript and course syllabi to crediteval@tulane.edu for evaluation. Before you register, we also recommend that you consult our guidelines for selecting transfer-eligible courses below.
Only courses completed at a regionally accredited college or university, with a grade of C or better, will be considered for transfer credit. We do not transfer pass/fail courses.
If you do indeed enroll elsewhere for the fall semester AND receive federal student aid for that semester, adjustments to our original offer of federal student aid may be warranted, so let your Tulane financial aid counselor know as soon as you can that you received federal aid.
Learn more about transferring coursesThe only domestic credits we can guarantee that will transfer are those earned from Tulane in The Summer School. While we cannot pre-screen credit earned at another domestic college for transfer approval, if you provide us with proof of enrollment in the course(s) by sending an unofficial transcript and course syllabi to crediteval@tulane.edu, we will be able to tell you if it is likely the credit will transfer.
*Any student participating in one of our study abroad programs will choose classes from a pre-approved course list from each of the universities.
Please do not submit syllabi for multiple colleges or universities. Once you select your choice school, send syllabi over for that one school as our evaluation team would otherwise be overwhelmed and unable to review in a timely manner. You should only send syllabi for the courses that you are enrolled in and listed on your unofficial transcript. Our team will only review additional courses once they become part of a student's finalized schedule.
Transfer credits are evaluated by each department. While we can’t guarantee that all classes will transfer, we recommend you consider taking courses in one of the following subjects.
Historically, these courses have typically gained approval for transfer credit:
- Introduction to Psychology
- General introductory, overview courses likely transfer
- Typically does not transfer from a community college
- Freshman English
- Only offered as four credit hour courses at Tulane; aim to take a four credit hour course for higher likelihood of transfer
- Calculus
- Aim to take a four credit hour course for higher likelihood of transfer
- General Chemistry
- Aim to take a course that offers both lab and lecture
- Strong option for students intending on pursuing a major in Science and Engineering at Tulane
- Foreign language
- Intro level courses are only offered as four credit hour courses at Tulane, aim to take a four credit hour course for higher likelihood of transfer
- Philosophy course
- General introductory, overview courses likely to transfer
- Art History
- General introductory, overview courses likely to transfer
- Sociology
- Typically does not transfer from a community college
- Economics
- Classes likely to transfer are Intro to Microeconomics and Intro to Macroeconomics
- Political Science
- Classes likely to transfer include American Government and Intro to International Relations
Study abroad, work, or get involved with community service!
Spring Scholars have the unique opportunity to study abroad in Europe with one of many partnerships Tulane has at Richmond, The American International University in London, The American University of Paris, John Cabot University in Rome, or UIC in Barcelona for Architecture students. All are US-accredited, and the instruction is offered in English. If you choose to participate in one of these programs, during your fall semester you would register as a full-time student and pay that university’s tuition and fees. Housing and class registration will be handled through the abroad institutions. Spring Scholars in the abroad programs can develop bonds as a Tulane cohort which can lead to an established network of friends before arriving at Tulane in the fall.
Please note that your Tulane enrollment is contingent on your behavior during your semester abroad. Tulane reserves the right to rescind the admission for any student prior to their start at Tulane if the student is not in good standing at their selected abroad institution.
Yes! There will be a multi-day orientation in January designed to immerse you in New Orleans and Tulane life and prepare you for your first semester on campus. This will also be the time to meet fellow classmates, explore the campus, and get to know the city.
Yes, you may go through recruitment in the Spring! However, you must meet some criteria first. Tulane University requires students interested in joining a fraternity or sorority to have a minimum of a 2.5 GPA in at least 12 credit hours. Credits can be taken over the summer and fall or as AP credits. At least 6 of the credits must be from a college course—all credits for Greek Life cannot be AP/IB credits. If the courses are approved by academic advising and you attain the proper number of hours and GPA as approved by Fraternity & Sorority Programs you may participate in recruitment or membership intake.
We pride ourselves on the fact that Tulane fraternity and sorority members are not defined by their Greek affiliations. Our Greek students are involved in a multitude of campus activities before they join their fraternities and sororities. This provides a richer experience for all members of these groups, as they are exposed to the diversity of involvement Tulane opportunities Tulane offers. Current students and alums alike who have participated in Greek life value their sense of inclusion formed in the larger university setting before further expanding their network through affiliation with a sorority or fraternity.
Please note that Greek recruitment at Tulane is competitive. Not every student who rushes will get in a sorority or fraternity. Participating in 12 approved transferable credit hours and earning the required 2.5+ GPA does not guarantee that you will join a Greek organization, only that you can participate in recruitment.
No. With all of the amazing applicants we are receiving this year, Tulane could fill up several classes of qualified, deserving students. However, all of our committee's Spring Scholar decisions are final and none are going to be considered for re-review under any circumstances.
There is no offer to be “bumped” to the fall, defer to the next fall, join a waitlist, be considered for Early Decision II, or for Regular Decision. Your offer of admission is only applicable to the spring and cannot be reevaluated for another term as it is contingent on you enrolling and starting as a Tulane student in the spring.
If you applied Early Decision and were admitted as a Spring Scholar, you are released from your binding agreement and have until May 1st to make your decision.
Yes, but if students opt to take a gap year, the gap year would start at time of admission. Students who take a gap year would begin the following spring.
If you were offered the chance to be a Spring Scholar, you are fully accepted to Tulane! You just need to wait 4.5 months to start in January.
Students interested in joining Tulane as a Spring Scholar will be considered for all forms of need-based financial aid (including grants and scholarships) but merit scholarships are typically not available for students who begin in January. To be considered for need-based financial aid, students should complete and submit the CSS Profile, FAFSA (if a U.S. citizen or eligible resident), and tax returns by our financial aid deadlines.
