I wrote this for a blog last year, and every time we release decisions it's hard to reconcile very different emotions I feel watching decisions go out and reading the CC forums (as well as FB and Twitter). Though I know none of this will made a disappointing decision any better, it might help illuminate the challenge of such a low acceptance rate.
Quote:
This was Tufts' most selective year, and seemingly as a result I feel strongly about every student from my territory admitted. But, to be honest, the increased selectivity was a struggle for me and many other admissions officers. We loved no fewer students, more actually, and yet that affection was tempered by the realities of the admissions process and the amount of space that exists at Tufts. There are students who will be, or have been (depending on when you read this), denied who I loved more than some of our admits, students that I passionately fought for and believe would make amazing additions to Tufts and yet will not receive happy news. I understand why those decisions stand, and may even agree with those reasons, but that doesn't change my feelings about those people.
And if you were one of those students, you will never know how important your application was to me, and I will likely never be able to tell you.
I struggle with that because my own disappointment feels trivial in comparison to the disappoint that a student might feel seeing our decision, but I share this because one of the clichés that you hear if you receive disheartening news is that these decisions are not referenda on your worth as a person: just because it's a cliché doesn't mean it's not true. I find a measure of solace knowing that those students' awesomeness exists independent of decisions at Tufts.
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