ED II to Tufts?

SWHarborfan
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:31:03 +0000

Actually, the converse is true at Tufts and other highly selective schools.

ED I spots tend to be taken by athletic recruits, legacies (if qualified) over an equally qualified non-legacy, and applicants with higher data, overall, simply because the sensibility who applies ED tends to be very directed, focused, and accomplished; they, also, tend to be wealthier because their needs are not so financial aid, dependent, generally. So, you see, not all spots are available for highly-qualified students when you factor in athletic recruits and some legacies.

My daughter, pretty much, objectively, a “Superstar” (very impressive data and a very unusual and impressive “hook,” but a sincere hook, nonetheless, and a nice kid with integrity, great recs!) just got into Tufts ED1. She was passionate and intimately knowledgeable about Tufts, and it showed. I can guarantee you that her essays were some of the more original and compelling and articulate ones that the Tufts admissions people read.

Tufts, also, in their commitment to take a holistic approach, rejects a lot of high data kids ED (I know three of them, who were pretty shocked), as well, so a high GPA and test scores is an assurance of nothing. In fact, my daughter had a more obvious chance of getting into Stanford EA (in which she had zero interest) because Stanford tends to take kids with high to very high data and zealous and long-standing community service commitment, unless you’re a celeb’s or famous CEO (the Silicon Valley CEO/CFOers) progeny; as well, my daughter had done two years of Stanford summer session and done supremely well and was armed with an impressive Stanford transcript(s). But such a profile did not guarantee entry to Tufts, although it may have helped, in the end.

The one thing I hear, redundantly, is that the essays are of paramount importance to the Tufts admissions people, more so than at other schools. It seems that the Tufts people are really on a mission to feret out some singular and telling qualities that don’t live in the test scores or GPAs or even the recommendations.

Best of luck to you!! Tufts is a terrific, terrific school with a lot of heart and happy campers.