The Tulane Hullabaloo recently conducted a survey among Tulane University students to assess student demographics, attitudes and values across a number of metrics. Respondents were asked about their families’ household income, application type and their financial aid status. The survey received 228 responses from Tulane students, of which 216 were valid.
An analysis of the intersections between application type, household income and financial aid suggests a socioeconomic divide in Tulane University’s admissions process, particularly among early decision applicants. The data show that students from households earning over $400,000 annually are more likely to have applied early decision — a binding admissions route that limits financial aid comparison and requires students to withdraw their applications to other schools.
Tulane does release students from early decision commitments for financial reasons — those who determine that even with Tulane’s financial aid offer, they still could not afford to attend. Over 50 students were released from early decision for financial reasons in the last application cycle.
According to The Hullabaloo’s survey, 60% of respondents — current Tulane undergraduate students — from families earning over a million dollars annually had applied by the early decision deadline to get into Tulane, compared to roughly 30% of students from households earning less than $60,000.
The trend continues across income brackets, with 48.4% of students from families earning $400,000 to $1 million also choosing early decision, while lower-income students overwhelmingly favored early action, which allows more flexibility in comparing financial aid offers. Students in the lowest income bracket were substantially more likely to have applied through regular decision — 32%, compared to 18% in the next income bracket.
The majority of Tulane student respondents applied early action, followed by early decision.
For the class of 2029, Tulane accepted about half of the class early decision — about 1,100 students. This is a decrease from the class of 2026, where Tulane accepted about two-thirds of the class early decision — around 1,300 students.
Additionally, the majority of respondents fell into the $60,000 to $120,000 income range. Twenty-eight of the respondents were unsure of their family’s financial status.
These findings arrive amid national scrutiny of early decision policies. A recent New York Times article reported that Tulane imposed a one-year early decision ban on Colorado Academy, a private college preparatory day school based in Denver, after a student backed out of their ED commitment. The move reignited debate over the ethics of binding admissions, especially when wealthier students dominate the ED applicant pool.
The proportion of respondents who were accepted through early decision is greatest among those who indicated that their families contribute to funding their education.
Among respondents who indicated that their families contributed to funding their education, 39% applied through early decision. Early decision applicants constituted 30% of those who indicated scholarships or grants funded their education. Among respondents who indicated they used student loans or personal savings, 25% and 33% applied through early decision, respectively.