How to Get Into Tulane: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

July 29, 2025

Oh, to be alive in 1998…we watched with childlike naiveté as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa launched home run after home run assisted by their “totally natural” superhero muscles, the dotcom bubble continued to balloon every time a new domain was registered, and Andrew Johnson was still the lone president ever to have been impeached. More apropos to our readers, it was an equally innocent time in the college admissions realm, where a school like Tulane still accepted nearly 80% of those who applied. After years of aggressive marketing aimed at encouraging just about every American teen to apply to their school, Tulane’s acceptance rate had dropped to 26% by 2016—a remarkable transformation in terms of selectivity, but not nearly the end of the story. This past admissions cycle, in 2024-25, the Tulane acceptance rate was once again under 15%.

To ensure that future Tulane applicants understand the admissions gauntlet ahead, we will touch on the following topics:

Where is Tulane University?
Tulane acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
Why is Tulane’s acceptance rate so low?
Tulane ED acceptance rate
SAT, ACT, GPA, and class rank of accepted Tulane University applicants
Admissions trends
The demographics of current Tulane undergraduates
Yield rate
How Tulane University’s admissions officers evaluate candidates
Tips for applying
Tulane essay prompts
How to assess whether applying to Tulane is worth your time

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Where is Tulane University?

Before we dive into all of that good ol’ admissions data, let’s first answer a very common question for those just starting their college search process: “Where is Tulane University?” Much to the delight of foodies and entertainment seekers, Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. More specifically, Tulane’s campus is situated in the Uptown section of New Orleans, very close to both the Garden District and Central Business District. It is also right across from Audubon Park, a 350-acre greenspace.

Tulane Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

For the Class of 2028, Tulane received 32,609 applications. Of these applicants, Tulane accepted 4,559 students. This gives Tulane an acceptance rate of just under 14%. As you can see below, Tulane’s overall acceptance rate has been inching upward over the past several years:

	Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	27,936	4,077	14.5%
Class of 2026	31,615	3,621	11.4%
Class of 2025	45,525	4,385	9.6%

Why is Tulane’s acceptance rate so low?

As we mentioned in our opening, Tulane’s aggressive marketing is a major contributor to the ridiculously low acceptance rates of the 2020s. The other factor is that Tulane GREATLY favors those who apply via Early Decision and rejects just about everyone who applies Regular Decision. Incredibly, last year’s class was made up of two-thirds ED applicants. For more on this topic, let’s dive into the Tulane ED acceptance rate.

Tulane ED Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

Tulane admits a large percentage of its freshman class via early decision, and applicants applying ED have a huge advantage in the process. The school offers two rounds of early decision—ED I has a November 1 deadline and ED II has a deadline around the second week of January. There is also a non-binding EA round with a November 15 deadline.

According to the most recent stats, the university admitted 1,156 of the 1,946 ED applicants. Therefore, the Tulane ED acceptance rate is 59.4%.

What GPA do you need to get into Tulane?

Tulane’s average GPA for enrolled Class of 2028 students was 3.7. Moreover, just over half of students had a GPA of 3.75+.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to Tulane?

For applicants whose schools ranked, 79% of students were in the top 25% of their high school class, and 53% were in the top decile.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Tulane?

Among those enrolled in the Class of 2028, the mid-50% SAT range was 1410-1500 and the mid-50% ACT range was 31-34. However, keep in mind that only about 40% of enrolled students submitted test scores, so interpret this data with that in mind as you think about Tulane’s acceptance rate.

Admissions Trends & Notes — Class of 2028

According to the university, they will be reducing the number of students admitted via early decision and accepting approximately 50% more students during the regular decision round.
17% of the Class of 2028 were Pell Grant eligible.
15% are from Louisiana.
14% of admitted freshmen are first-generation students, up from 10% the previous year.
8% are international students from over 55 countries

Who Actually Gets Into Tulane University?

Let’s look at the demographics of those enrolled in the Class of 2028. Geographically, the breakdown is as follows:

Louisiana: 14%
South Central: 10%
South Atlantic: 14%
Pacific West: 14%
Mountain West: 4%
Midwest: 9%
Northeast: 27%
International: 8%

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown of incoming Class of 2028 freshmen is as follows:

Asian American: 5%
White: 64%
Hispanic: 12%
Native American: <1%
Black or African American: 6%
Multiracial: 5%

In one recent class, the greatest percentage of international students hailed from the following countries:

China
Spain
Panama
India
Canada

The breakdown by gender of the Class of 2028 is quite lopsided in favor of women:

Male: 38%
Female: 62%

Moreover, 12% identify as LGBTQ+.

Yield Rate

Tulane University’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted—was 40% for the Class of 2028, eight percentage points lower than the previous year. For comparison, many other top private universities have superior yield rates, such as Notre Dame and Northwestern. Tulane lands closer to other elite private schools like Duke and Emory.

How Tulane University Rates Applicants

The school receives 30,000+ applications to fill a first-year class of approximately 1,800 students. Directly from the admissions office: “We review each applicant with an eye toward shaping Tulane and making it stronger and more vibrant each year, so it’s important that we look at each applicant as a whole. An admission decision will never be rendered based on a single piece of information but rather on the overall combination of attributes and aspects that make each applicant unique.” Keep this in mind as you consider Tulane’s acceptance rate.

Five factors are rated as being “very important” to the admissions process: the rigor of your secondary school record, academic GPA, class rank, extracurricular activities, and volunteer work. “Important” factors include recommendations, standardized test scores, essays, character/personal qualities, first-generation status, and demonstrated interest.

It definitely helps if you are recruited as an athlete to join one of Tulane University’s 14 Division I sports teams. Over 425 undergrads are varsity athletes. Those who excel in a given sport can gain an edge in the admissions process.

Tips for Applying

If you plan on joining the horde of Green Wave hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following when considering Tulane’s acceptance rate:

Firstly, the University offers Early Decision I and Early Decision II. As cited earlier in the blog, ED acceptance rates are much higher than during the Regular Decision round.
Tulane will remain test-optional for the 2025-26 cycle.
Tulane University does strongly consider “demonstrated interest” in the admissions process. Therefore, it is definitely worth taking the simple steps of following them on social media, signing up for a virtual tour, or emailing an admissions officer with any questions you may have.
Applying is free; Tulane dropped its fee back in 2008.
Lastly, make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the supplemental essays required/offered by Tulane. In the 2025-26 cycle, the prompt is as follows:

Describe why you are interested in joining the Tulane community. Consider your experiences, talents, and values to illustrate what you would contribute to the Tulane community if admitted.

(This statement should be 250 words at most; however, it is neither necessary nor expected that you reach this maximum length. We strongly encourage you to focus on content and efficiency rather than word count. While submitting this prompt is optional, we recommend that all applicants do so.)

For more information, visit our blog entitled Tulane University Essay Prompts and Tips.

Should I apply to Tulane University?

With overall acceptance rates nearing single digits, Tulane is a school that is looking for students who are at the 95th percentile or above on standardized tests and among the most accomplished students in their high school class.

Tulane Acceptance Rate — Final Thoughts

If Tulane University is your aim, make sure to also have multiple other schools on your list where you are more likely to gain acceptance. Further, all students need to make sure that they formulate an appropriate college list, containing a complement of “target” and “safety” schools. You’ll also definitely want to get your counselor’s input during this process and should strongly consider applying ED if you are serious about this university.

Ready to start crafting your applications? Consider reviewing the following blogs before you jump in:

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College Admissions

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).