If US News ranking is what you worry about, I would strongly recommend that you probably shouldn’t be at all (you shouldn’t trust a random magazine’s ranking too seriously, after all.)
Tufts University has failed to provide its admissions statistics to US News this year, which made them lose a couple of points, thus a slight drop in the ranking. (Prior to applying ED, I also did some extensive research on the credibility of US News, and I have decided to not care about it at all.)
When it comes to its selectivity ranking, Tufts actually dropped from 15th just two years ago to 57th this year, simply because Tufts admissions did not fill out some parts of the incoming freshman’s profile. (Seriously, the US News notes that Tufts is “more selective” when Boston University and Case Western Reserve University are considered as “most selective.” By no means, I am implying that it is easy to get into BU and Case Western, but seriously?) I’m guessing this happened as the Dean of Admissions changed last year which might have caused some confusion within the office.
If the admissions profile were to be provided properly, I would have to guess that Tufts’ ranking should have risen this year, in tie with UVA and Carnegie Mellon at #25, or at least with Wake Forest at #27 just like the year before. After all, Tufts tends to be underestimated in the ranking system, simply because of its relatively low peer assessment score filled out by Presidents and vice-provosts at other national universities (I think this system is very flawed; how can a president from other university quantify the quality of undergraduate experience at Tufts?) If NESCAC colleges were to estimate Tufts’ quality, Tufts’ ranking could have literally soared to top #15-#20.
It might be assuring for you that Tufts has maintained its spot in top #30 ever since the US News has existed, showing its excellence after all. But hey, think about it – #29 in the nation? That’s insanely good. Tufts, a school with 5,500 undergrad, is literally competing against schools like U Michigan and UVA with 45,000 kids!
Regardless of the ranking, there is absolutely no reason for you to regret your ED decision. As others have mentioned already, 86% of the applicants would be thrilled to be in the position you are. If prestige is really what you are worried about, I would say Forbes ranks Tufts #32 that combines both liberal arts and national universities, just two spots behind Johns Hopkins – which is ranked #10 according to the US News --, and ahead of Wash U, Carnegie Mellon, and USC, if that helps even a bit. No matter what ranking or metrics you might look at, Tufts is generally considered as a top-tier university in the United States. Tufts students do get the best jobs out there, as 85% of the graduates find a job or enroll at graduate school within 6 months. Not to mention, Tufts is ranked 15th nationwide for its high mean income ten years after graduation.
For me, I did look closely into the ranking and return of investment, as I am an international student from a country where people harshly judge the value of American undergraduate education based upon US News ranking. To give more insight, people back at home firstly asked me how highly Tufts was ranked on the US News, when I told them that I will be attending Tufts next year. (Trust me, people outside of the U.S. tend to think that the US News ranking really reflects how difficult it is to get into a school.)
While it is hard to say, strictly based upon my GPA, SAT, AP, and extracurricular involvement, I might have gotten into a much “higher” ranked school, even an Ivy school if I had applied Early. However, I realized that my happiness at an institution far exceeds how others perceive my prospective college, and confidently chose Tufts over two other Ivy schools that I were considering to apply Early. I’ve never regretted since.
I have determined though that my fit and quality of education I will get matter far more than the perceived prestige and ranking system. You should be thoroughly thrilled and grateful to be joining Tufts just as I am and really, forget about the unscientific ranking. For me, I can literally list 15-20 reasons why I would choose Tufts over Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, a school that I have loved ever since my freshman year. What made you excited about Tufts at first place? Seriously, think about it, and try to be grateful. Just the idea of going to Tufts next year makes me jump with happiness every time.
So let’s enjoy the rest of our senior year and get prepared for our insanely smart classmates who will challenge us to think, reflect, discuss, and learn from them.
I hope my rambling might have helped addressing your “ED Regrets” even a bit – seriously, I spent a good amount of 20 minutes writing this – which I think you shouldn’t be having at all, haha.
See you soon at the hill – be prepared to stare at the beautiful Boston skyline every night 