landlockedblues

Hey guys, if anyone that is going to tufts could answer a few of my questions that'd be great!

Tufts is my #1 choice college right now and I need to decide whether or not to apply for ED. The only reason that I'm hesitant about this is that I know that my family wouldn't be able to afford it without a pretty large amount of aid. I'm going to apply for FA, but if I don't get enough, and I apply ED, then...I'm basically screwed haha. So does anyone have any advice about applying ED based on these circumstances?

Secondly, I'm wondering how likely it would be for my to get into Tufts, either with or without ED. Here are my stats:

I'm female, chinese, attending a large public school in texas

SAT: reading 740/math 680/writing 740 (2160 composite)
SAT IIs: literature 680/us hist 660 (retaking, probably math I instead of us hist)
Weighted GPA/rank at middle of junior year: 3.99; 149/1288 (both GPA and rank are probably a little higher now)
AP scores: world hist 4/ english language 5/ spanish language 4/ art 3
I am taking the ACT next week and anticipating a 31-33.

throughout grades 9-11 i've been pretty much an a/b student, a lot better in english than in math/sciences.

This year i'm taking:
dual credit econ/gov (counts as honors)
ap art history
ap english lit
ap spanish lit
ap statistics
ap physics b

ECs-
member of NHS (maybe around 100 hrs community service for this?)
member of habitat for humanity
member of invisible children club
member of spanish club
North TX youth honor society


any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

Snarf

I wouldn't risk ED under the circumstances, but that's just me.

What you should do is call or e-mail the admissions office, and ask if they would release you from ED if 100% of your demonstrated need wasn't met. It's possible they might, and if so, no reason not to apply ED, right?

Also, your stats are strong enough, but like I always say, it completely depends on your essays.

DanAdmiss@Tufts

Since we always meet 100% of demonstrated need, that isn't the issue. The issue is whether or not Demonstrated Need is enough for you. I won't say whether or not applying ED is the right way for you and your family to go, but I will offer some perspective on the ED process from our perspective in the admissions office.

If the financial aid award you receive is truly unworkable, you can be released from the ED commitment. Out of the hundreds of ED admits we have each year, less than a handful have issues like that with their financial aid. For nearly every single ED applicant, our financial aid awards make Tufts an affordable option. But, since we don't offer any merit awards, that may not cover the full financial picture for you.

NervousParent

That's very helpful Dan. Can you please tell me what is the mix of loans versus grants in the typical financial aid package? We are hearing that more and more packages have much more loans and a lot less grants. For a parent like me, I am thinking that a loan isn't that great, (must be paid back) but a grant is like free money. Yes/No?

DanAdmiss@Tufts

The average FinAid package was a little more than $30k, the average grant award was a little more than $27.5k. We cap the loans at $4500 a year, regardless of need, so that undergraduates can leave Tufts with limited debt.

lolabelle

Hi Dan, I'm a former student (LA'07) and I just wanted to chime in that what you wrote about financial aid packages and grants vs. loans at Tufts is very impressive. Glad to hear the University is doing such a great job in making education so affordable to high-achieving, deserving students. Thank you!

kjcastillo1990

^I'd like to follow along with the appreciation for affordability. Tufts surprisingly more affordable for me to attend than it would be to attend my state school.

lioness1120

Not to be a downer or anything, but for my family Tufts is surprisingly UNaffordable. Given my mother's unique situation, I'll have to take out about $20k in loans per year unless something dramatically changes. But I chose to come to Tufts because I love it here and wouldn't have been happy at the schools that did offer me scholarships. So it really does depend on your own situation.

lunitari

Dan, does the financial aid offer come at the same time as the ED acceptance info? ED goes in so early that I'm a little confused about how the financial aid information you require can be submitted soon enough.

My daughter met with a Tufts staffer at her school yesterday, and they had such a great conversation that she is eager to apply ED (she was very keen on Tufts even before that). The staffer even encouraged her to do so, after admitting that he usually DIScourages would-be EDs. So of course she's feeling very excited about the prospect.

But I'm a little nervous given that we have a complicated financial situation: divorced parents, plus some dramatic changes in one household's income/means due to the economy and job loss in the past year. What the tax returns might imply we can pay is now very different than our actual aiblity to pay. What if she's accepted ED and Tufts' idea of what we can pay doesn't match the reality?

DanAdmiss@Tufts

Some info on when/how to submit financial aid for ED purposes: Tufts University Financial Aid - How to Apply

Part of the reason we require the CSS profile is because it sheds light on complicated situations like divorce, step-children, and other things. Our financial aid office did a fair amount of work this past year, especially, with families dealing with job losses and changes in income. They aren't strangers to that circumstance; you should absolutely contact the financial aid office to ask questions about how that's handled and how the FA office will use that information in their assessment (617-627-2000).

In the unlikely event that it isn't possible to reconcile your circumstances with the required federal guidelines for FA calculation, we would release your family from the binding commitment. It's always sad when that happens, but family requests for release are, fortunately, a rare occurrence.

I'll stress here that if your family must place a priority on the possibility of aid that will go in excess of financial need, you should think hard about the restrictions of an ED application. Needing to assess the merit aid possibilities can be a personally difficult but completely legitimate reason to decide not to apply ED.