<p>Considering that grades/class rank are less than 1/3 of what they look for, I wouldn’t use anecodotal evidence of your experience. My year, engineering students had higher SATs (much higher math, slightly lower verbal, so composite was higher) and better class rank (average top 6% v. top 9%). </p>
<p>Tufts also looks at SATs and SAT IIs for academics. Then they look at extracurriculars (category 2) and personal qualities (category 3). So part of Category 1 is but a small part of the picture.</p>
<p>There’s also the theory that your classmates could have been unlucky. It could have been the year for wanna-be French majors and trombone players, and, if they are both wanna-be French majors who want to play trombone, tough luck for them. Tufts could have been short a French horn, and your (hypothetical) French horn abilities got you in.</p>
<p>Gender is also a big thing - Tufts aims for parity, but a lot more women than men apply (something like 60/40 overall).</p>