2023 TU entering class

[drboobay]

TU reports most National Merit scholars per capita for fall 2023

The University of Tulsa is preparing to welcome 151 National Merit scholars to campus as new students in August – more per capita than any other

utulsa.edu

Thoughts @chito_and_leon ?

 

['Cane-man]

I would be as I was then: Part of the graduating class that made the top half possible.

 

[HuffyCane]

You heard it from the Huff first, right here at ITS.

 

[chito_and_leon]

TU reports most National Merit scholars per capita for fall 2023

The University of Tulsa is preparing to welcome 151 National Merit scholars to campus as new students in August – more per capita than any other

utulsa.edu

Thoughts @chito_and_leon ?

It seems like really good news. But didn't we have an issue before where we "bought" a bunch of National Merit finalists and it didn't increase the number of other students paying full or near full tuition so we ended up with a bunch of people paying nothing and still struggled to get enough tuition from others? I guess that would be my only concern. Though I think Brad certainly has a plan for how all the pieces fit together to avoid that kind of problem.

We had Janet's "let's make TU a really bad school to get students to come" and Brad's "let's make TU a really good school to get students to come" and I'm thrilled with any indication that Brad's theory is working.

 

[chito_and_leon]

TU reports most National Merit scholars per capita for fall 2023

The University of Tulsa is preparing to welcome 151 National Merit scholars to campus as new students in August – more per capita than any other

utulsa.edu

Thoughts @chito_and_leon ?

On a different topic, I would like to discuss this paragraph:
“With a major in biology and a minor in neuroscience, I was delighted by the flexibility of the curriculum, particularly on the pre-med track. After a thorough evaluation of multiple factors, such as academic excellence, inclusivity, and career alignment, I confidently made the decision to join The University of Tulsa,” said National Merit Finalist Abhay Bindroo, 17, of Little Elm, Texas, who was accepted into TU’s Early Careers in Medicine program. “I eagerly anticipate becoming part of the TU family, and I am certain that the experiences I will gain in the coming years will pave the way for a successful and fulfilling future, both as an aspiring doctor and as a compassionate and knowledgeable individual.”

I see 3 options:
(a) kid actually talks this way (the most terrifying alternative and one that makes me doubt the strategy);
(b) kid is sucking up to the people writing him 4 years of big a$$ checks and was ok with the crap his friends would inevitably give him (I'm fine with this);
(c) kid is subtly making fun of old people who wouldn't even realize he was being ironic by like a corny old person (this would definitely be the case with my kids, and this would be my favorite answer).

 

[Gmoney4WW]

On a different topic, I would like to discuss this paragraph:
“With a major in biology and a minor in neuroscience, I was delighted by the flexibility of the curriculum, particularly on the pre-med track. After a thorough evaluation of multiple factors, such as academic excellence, inclusivity, and career alignment, I confidently made the decision to join The University of Tulsa,” said National Merit Finalist Abhay Bindroo, 17, of Little Elm, Texas, who was accepted into TU’s Early Careers in Medicine program. “I eagerly anticipate becoming part of the TU family, and I am certain that the experiences I will gain in the coming years will pave the way for a successful and fulfilling future, both as an aspiring doctor and as a compassionate and knowledgeable individual.”

I see 3 options:
(a) kid actually talks this way (the most terrifying alternative and one that makes me doubt the strategy);
(b) kid is sucking up to the people writing him 4 years of big a$$ checks and was ok with the crap his friends would inevitably give him (I'm fine with this);
(c) kid is subtly making fun of old people who wouldn't even realize he was being ironic by like a corny old person (this would definitely be the case with my kids, and this would be my favorite answer).

This definitely sounds like an AI chatbot wrote.

And C would definitely be my answer of choice.

 

[TU_BLA]

It seems like really good news. But didn't we have an issue before where we "bought" a bunch of National Merit finalists and it didn't increase the number of other students paying full or near full tuition so we ended up with a bunch of people paying nothing and still struggled to get enough tuition from others? I guess that would be my only concern. Though I think Brad certainly has a plan for how all the pieces fit together to avoid that kind of problem.

We had Janet's "let's make TU a really bad school to get students to come" and Brad's "let's make TU a really good school to get students to come" and I'm thrilled with any indication that Brad's theory is working.

A lot of schools have full ride scholarships for NM semifinalists and finalists. What I don't know at TU is if those scholarships are backed by real money or if they're more like a discount program. TU's biggest problem, like most schools nowadays, is their merit and need based scholarships are more the discount programs and they don't cover all of the tuition, room & board, etc. and that gap is traditionally made up by the parents paying the difference OR the student needing to take out large student loans to make up the difference. Some of the problems that necessitate this are the reformed immigration laws and how the number of student visas issued to students from certain countries are extremely limited or have been eliminated altogether. TU used to have a large Saudi and Chinese student population who were cash paying...this allowed TU to give more need and merit based scholarships domestically and locally. That well has sort of dried up in the past 10-12 years, and especially since 2016 when the Trump admin really locked down international students coming in from certain places.

It is encouraging that Carson is helping to increase the academic rep of TU (or maybe the correct word here is restore).

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

Have visa restrictions been reduced? That was the core of the issue with the international students, right?

 

[drboobay]

There you go

 

[lawpoke87]

Have visa restrictions been reduced? That was the core of the issue with the international students, right?

Last I saw the only restrictions being used by colleges were against those white kids

 

[HuffyCane]

I know people don’t want to believe it, but the visa restrictions, decline in our prestige, our reform of our entrance requirements to industry standards, pivot to focusing on local and Pell Grant students, and changes in geopolitics, all of which contributed to the decline in our international student population, all pre-dated Donald Trump.

Not to mention we didn’t have anyone working full time working to bring kids over here until Carson arrived, while for the last decade our competitors have armies living and traveling abroad recruiting.

Feel free to repeat that Bad Orange Man is Bad, but it has nothing to do with TU’s international student decline. It has everything to do with TU former incompetent leadership, limited resources and unpleaseable faculty with conflicting priorities and low awareness of the marketplace.

Carson wants a healthy international student population, he has a specific number in mind, the tuition yield for that number is specific and I’m told we are on track to reach that goal in 1-2 years.

 

[HuffyCane]

Have visa restrictions been reduced? That was the core of the issue with the international students, right?

The visa issue is an excuse used by every school losing in a competitive marketplace. We ain’t settling for losing any more.

 

[HuffyCane]

On a different topic, I would like to discuss this paragraph:
“With a major in biology and a minor in neuroscience, I was delighted by the flexibility of the curriculum, particularly on the pre-med track. After a thorough evaluation of multiple factors, such as academic excellence, inclusivity, and career alignment, I confidently made the decision to join The University of Tulsa,” said National Merit Finalist Abhay Bindroo, 17, of Little Elm, Texas, who was accepted into TU’s Early Careers in Medicine program. “I eagerly anticipate becoming part of the TU family, and I am certain that the experiences I will gain in the coming years will pave the way for a successful and fulfilling future, both as an aspiring doctor and as a compassionate and knowledgeable individual.”

I see 3 options:
(a) kid actually talks this way (the most terrifying alternative and one that makes me doubt the strategy);
(b) kid is sucking up to the people writing him 4 years of big a$$ checks and was ok with the crap his friends would inevitably give him (I'm fine with this);
(c) kid is subtly making fun of old people who wouldn't even realize he was being ironic by like a corny old person (this would definitely be the case with my kids, and this would be my favorite answer).

D) she was asked to respond and her parents and a 30 something TU staffer edited it.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

I am not

I know people don’t want to believe it, but the visa restrictions, decline in our prestige, our reform of our entrance requirements to industry standards, pivot to focusing on local and Pell Grant students, and changes in geopolitics, all of which contributed to the decline in our international student population, all pre-dated Donald Trump.

Not to mention we didn’t have anyone working full time working to bring kids over here until Carson arrived, while for the last decade our competitors have armies living and traveling abroad recruiting.

Feel free to repeat that Bad Orange Man is Bad, but it has nothing to do with TU’s international student decline. It has everything to do with TU former incompetent leadership, limited resources and unpleaseable faculty with conflicting priorities and low awareness of the marketplace.

Carson wants a healthy international student population, he has a specific number in mind, the tuition yield for that number is specific and I’m told we are on track to reach that goal in 1-2 years.

That is great to hear. I had always heard it was because of the Orange Man and Stephen Miller but it is good to get the full story. Thank you.

 

[HuffyCane]

I am not

That is great to hear. I had always heard it was because of the Orange Man and Stephen Miller but it is good to get the full story. Thank you.

It really is absurd to hear people at TU complain about the visa issue when they do it days after ARAMCO announces ground breaking partnerships with other schools, many not ranked in the Top 300 or offering any engineering degrees much less a nationally recognized PE program ... in 2014.

 

[TU 1978]

We used to have relationships with other countries through our highly ranked engineering school. Our chemical engineering professors actually did some consulting and teaching in Venezuela and of course we had quite a few Venezuelan students at the school in both undergraduate and graduate level programs.

 

[drboobay]

We used to have relationships with other countries through our highly ranked engineering school. Our chemical engineering professors actually did some consulting and teaching in Venezuela and of course we had quite a few Venezuelan students at the school in both undergraduate and graduate level programs.

Yes. I had a Venezuelan colleague who graduated with me in 1987 with BSCE.

 

[HuffyCane]

Yes. I had a Venezuelan colleague who graduated with me in 1987 with BSCE.

Was that the guy whose Dad was governor of Aruba?

 

[drboobay]

Was that the guy whose Dad was governor of Aruba?

I don't know but his family was definitely wealthy.

 

[dlsnid]

What is our freshmen enrollment this year are we up or down from previous years

 

[HuffyCane]

What is our freshmen enrollment this year are we up or down from previous years

Last I checked it was 540, give or take. 100 international. 100 or so athletes. More than 100 merit scholars. Gonna be a great class.

 

[drboobay]

Seems like a small number?

 

[HuffyCane]

Seems like a small number?

On the smaller end, but within historical averages. Needs to trend up next year while maintaining or increasing merit scholar and intl student numbers. They will get there. Good team. Clear goals. Well funded. Maybe for the first time ever.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

On the smaller end, but within historical averages. Needs to trend up next year while maintaining or increasing merit scholar and intl student numbers. They will get there. Good team. Clear goals. Well funded. Maybe for the first time ever.

It seems they are prioritizing raising standards over raising enrollment, rather than weighting them equally. I thought raising enrollment was higher on the totem pole than that. Maybe I'm thinking back on the goals before Carson got here. I expected the # from last year's class to at least be maintained in this year's class.

 

[HuffyCane]

It seems they are prioritizing raising standards over raising enrollment, rather than weighting them equally. I thought raising enrollment was higher on the totem pole than that. Maybe I'm thinking back on the goals before Carson got here. I expected the # from last year's class to at least be maintained in this year's class.

Aircraft carriers take time to turn.

We have the capacity to expand to 1000, then on to 1200 a year, perhaps, without really straining campus infrastructure.

So that’s the long term stretch goal as I understand it.

760 is a good healthy number but they aren’t going to let kids in that clearly and objectively are likely to fail to do that.

Instilling discipline in basic business fundamentals allows the cash flow to permit a reduced class size of high performers. This will enhance the prestige value of the degree which is a key indicator of our ranking. Without an increase in our ranking, long term business operations costs will continue to trend as unfavorable.

But, the higher the prestige value, the higher the tuition yield, which allows those with more to pay more, so those with less can attend. And then your class size begins to catalyze.

So the school is in training. Gotta get disciplined, gotta get lean. The flex comes later.

 

[chito_and_leon]

My son is a rising HS senior, legacy, interested in cybersecurity. The TU marketing materials are great and he liked campus. But TU isn't on his list bc he doesn't want to live under the Taliban. I wonder if it's possible for a school like TU to be successful in OK, given the kind of student we need to attract.

 

[drboobay]

My son is a rising HS senior, legacy, interested in cybersecurity. The TU marketing materials are great and he liked campus. But TU isn't on his list bc he doesn't want to live under the Taliban. I wonder if it's possible for a school like TU to be successful in OK, given the kind of student we need to attract.

The city government is a model of cooperation and forward thinking. Not idealogical with the exception of one dumbass city counselor. I even expect a Dem will be elected mayor next time. If not, it will certainly be a moderate.

So it all depends on your perspective. Of course the state leadership is truly atrocious right now.

 

[TU_BLA]

My son is a rising HS senior, legacy, interested in cybersecurity. The TU marketing materials are great and he liked campus. But TU isn't on his list bc he doesn't want to live under the Taliban. I wonder if it's possible for a school like TU to be successful in OK, given the kind of student we need to attract.

"Live under the Taliban"- I've never likened it to that...I keep calling them Nazis, but essentially the same. It's also a reason my son doesn't want to stay here.

My son is like your son (legacy, engineering goals). He actually lived on campus for the first 6 months of life as I was the hall director in Twin. Even after we bought a house, I continued to work at TU and everyone on campus knew him. He's done a number of soccer camps at TU and last year was picked to be part of Dr. LoPresti's EE & robotics camps which he had a blast. TU isn't on his list either...mostly because it's too close to his parents 😂 but he's got his eyes set on Boston as he has robotics aspirations and that seems to be where the cutting edge stuff in the field is happening.

 

[chito_and_leon]

"Live under the Taliban"- I've never likened it to that...I keep calling them Nazis, but essentially the same. It's also a reason my son doesn't want to stay here.

My son is like your son (legacy, engineering goals). He actually lived on campus for the first 6 months of life as I was the hall director in Twin. Even after we bought a house, I continued to work at TU and everyone on campus knew him. He's done a number of soccer camps at TU and last year was picked to be part of Dr. LoPresti's EE & robotics camps which he had a blast. TU isn't on his list either...mostly because it's too close to his parents 😂 but he's got his eyes set on Boston as he has robotics aspirations and that seems to be where the cutting edge stuff in the field is happening.

I hadn't been back to Boston since we finished school in the last 90s, before the big dig was finished. Wow, how that city has changed for the better. The creation and use of public spaces is fantastic. The programs like that in Tulsa plus a more moderate environment will be helpful if OK could get to the point of only being moderately extreme instead of poster child for Taliban extremism.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

I hadn't been back to Boston since we finished school in the last 90s, before the big dig was finished. Wow, how that city has changed for the better. The creation and use of public spaces is fantastic. The programs like that in Tulsa plus a more moderate environment will be helpful if OK could get to the point of only being moderately extreme instead of poster child for Taliban extremism.

Wouldn't think the 'Taliban" would have that much effect on a private university. Maybe OU and OSU, but not TU.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Aircraft carriers take time to turn.

We have the capacity to expand to 1000, then on to 1200 a year, perhaps, without really straining campus infrastructure.

So that’s the long term stretch goal as I understand it.

760 is a good healthy number but they aren’t going to let kids in that clearly and objectively are likely to fail to do that.

Instilling discipline in basic business fundamentals allows the cash flow to permit a reduced class size of high performers. This will enhance the prestige value of the degree which is a key indicator of our ranking. Without an increase in our ranking, long term business operations costs will continue to trend as unfavorable.

But, the higher the prestige value, the higher the tuition yield, which allows those with more to pay more, so those with less can attend. And then your class size begins to catalyze.

So the school is in training. Gotta get disciplined, gotta get lean. The flex comes later.

So long term goals are set at around 7000 student enrollment(including grad school) approximately?

 

[astonmartin708]

My son is a rising HS senior, legacy, interested in cybersecurity. The TU marketing materials are great and he liked campus. But TU isn't on his list bc he doesn't want to live under the Taliban. I wonder if it's possible for a school like TU to be successful in OK, given the kind of student we need to attract.

Under the Taliban?

 

[chito_and_leon]

Wouldn't think the 'Taliban" would have that much effect on a private university. Maybe OU and OSU, but not TU.

State government also sets other policies that affect life. And we live in a time when state governments see it as not only their right but role to punish/cancel private businesses for their legal policies and opinions, so I'm a lot less convinced than in the olden days of 2021 or so that the impact on a private university will be all that different.

 

[chito_and_leon]

So long term goals are set at around 7000 student enrollment(including grad school) approximately?

Seems like being in a conference with Tulane, Rice, Navy, Stanford and Cal is a good thing, too. Pick up Vandy and Wake when they get pushed out and it's a little Ivy.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

State government also sets other policies that affect life. And we live in a time when state governments see it as not only their right but role to punish/cancel private businesses for their legal policies and opinions, so I'm a lot less convinced than in the olden days of 2021 or so that the impact on a private university will be all that different.

Everybody isn't Desantis. There are extremes, and there are extremes. I haven't seen anything equivocating Desantis like policies that affect private business or private universities in Oklahoma. Walters ranting and raving doesn't have the power of the governor or operational power of the governor's support against private business here. We aren't Disney.

 

[TU_BLA]

I hadn't been back to Boston since we finished school in the last 90s, before the big dig was finished. Wow, how that city has changed for the better. The creation and use of public spaces is fantastic. The programs like that in Tulsa plus a more moderate environment will be helpful if OK could get to the point of only being moderately extreme instead of poster child for Taliban extremism.

So I was there during the Big Dig...what a ****ing nightmare. The one thing I miss about Boston is the easy access to convenient public transportation. My son is under the impression he will get to take his car if he goes to school there and we're like HELL NO you aren't. The money I'll save in the additional insurance and the parking fees alone will pay for an annual Charlie Card to access the T, buses, and commuter rail. I hope he realizes how easy it is to get anywhere in Boston and Cambridge on the T. He can also get to his grandmother's house pretty easily using the commuter rail to the southcoast.

And I wish Tulsa had a 1/4 of the capacity and convenience with any sort of functional public transit system.

 

[chito_and_leon]

So I was there during the Big Dig...what a ****ing nightmare. The one thing I miss about Boston is the easy access to convenient public transportation. My son is under the impression he will get to take his car if he goes to school there and we're like HELL NO you aren't. The money I'll save in the additional insurance and the parking fees alone will pay for an annual Charlie Card to access the T, buses, and commuter rail. I hope he realizes how easy it is to get anywhere in Boston and Cambridge on the T. He can also get to his grandmother's house pretty easily using the commuter rail to the southcoast.

And I wish Tulsa had a 1/4 of the capacity and convenience with any sort of functional public transit system.

I have fond (?) memories of hours spent driving increasingly broad circles in Cambridge looking for parking... The only reason I would think you'd need a car is to go to the grocery store, but now with Uber that's probably not needed. Walking to the T with big bags of groceries (and in my case but I'm sure not your son's cases of beer) was a drag.

 

[HuffyCane]

So long term goals are set at around 7000 student enrollment(including grad school) approximately?

A little higher. But yeah, that’s the ball park.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

A little higher. But yeah, that’s the ball park.

A little higher as in 8, 10, ?.

 

[HuffyCane]

A little higher as in 8, 10, ?.

Meh. 7500 probably max. But I’m guessing. They seem to want 4100 well qualified undergrads and a healthy law school. Grad school is gravy.