Inside Look into Admissions: Tufts & Amherst

Parents Forum
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<p>See? What would I do without you people?!?!? :)</p>

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<p>I think I agree, but then I think of my niece whose two siblings have dominated the kid issue department. We’re talking some really huge issues. However, they actually LOOK normal, while she has her eyebrow pierced, one of those giant bolts in her ears and a mix of punk and grunge look. And SHE is by far the most ‘normal’ of the bunch. But here’s where I agree with you, because she is normal and because the others are so time intensive to parent, I think this is her way of screaming… “I am here!”</p>

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<p>Totally see that picture.</p>

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<p>Very creative.</p>

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<p>As the parent of probably the epitome of a “BWRK,” I can tell you there are plenty of them at Tufts. One of the things we like best about the school is the mix of students there. It’s a lot more diverse than a lot of schools we saw, and we happen to like it that way. But “rejected because you’re too normal?” That’s pretty insulting to a lot of great kids.</p>

<p>I also admire a lot of those (stereotypical?) idealistic, save-the-world type kids the school seems to attract, and they’re not just found at the Tisch College. These are not necessarily the ones writing essays merely celebrating their “different-ness.” S has met a bunch of kids who are doing some pretty great outward-reaching things.</p>

<p>I WILL admit that back when S1 first started researching colleges, the above kind of PR irked him as well, and after reading some of it he wondered if the school was going to be too quirky and ultra-liberal for him. He’s loved it from first visit, though, and happily has found it much more balanced than some of the PR led him to believe. He has good friends at both sides of the spectrum, and plenty in-between. If you don’t think these schools will be a fit, no ones’s twisting your arm – there are tons of others to choose from. Research, visit and find the ones that work best for you and your child. </p>

<p>I can definitely see how articles like the above go too far. They might appeal to some people, but they also turn plenty of others off. It reminds me of a line from one of the Ghostbusters movies where Bill Murray warns the other guy “Don’t scare the straights…”</p>

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<p>Re: post #78–
“How about an article telling us how the top 2,200 were chosen ?”</p>

<p>If they wrote one, it would probably be a bit more mundane-- GPA’s, SAT scores, EC’s, and essays.</p>

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<p>Agree completely with all that lspf72 wrote. My D is at Tufts and “balanced” and “diverse” are two words that she has used often to describe the students and life at Tufts. She calls herself the “normal, suburban kid from New England” with no “story” or “international background.” And there are many just like her. </p>

<p>And don’t all schools go though this in some fashion or other? I mean they admit their top candidates first (for whatever reasons), and then they get to the “borderline” pile. These kids would not be in the borderline pile if they had been in the first pile, so the AdCom are looking for other reasons to admit or deny.</p>

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<p>I just read some of this over, and want to say that folks might want to reread and reflect on the use of the word “normal”, in so many posts. As someone said, this verges on offensive.</p>

<p>Our son is at an Ivy League college and since we first set foot on campus 4 years ago, all we hear about is economic diversity, which has replaced racial and diversity as a focus of all those speeches that college presidents give to parents, while the kids move into the dorms, or on parents’ weekends.</p>

<p>Additionally, there is an increased focus on the middle class, as opposed to adding a few impoverished (often minoroity) achievers to a mix of full-paying students. This is, in fact, the main motivation for Harvard’s recent initiative with financial aid, stated explicitly as being for the middle class, and other schools are following suit.</p>

<p>There is also mention, in these speeches, of honoring the type of kid who works in the local grocery store, or selling ice cream, rather than going to Haiti to work building houses, or to Romania to work in an orphanage etc.</p>

<p>Perhaps some folks will be reassured that the “normal” type of kid, presumably, in people’s minds, meaning a hard-working student who goes to public school, works locally in a relatively mundane job, gets good grades, has no disabilities, and is probably white and middle class- is the focus of so much attention these days. I think maybe “average middle class” would be a better term. I think it is great that this is happening, and it has benefited some of my own kids, but let’s avoid defining normalcy by any particular group.</p>

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<p>lspf72–Glad to have someone who intimately knows Tufts to let us know that the article gives a skewed look at Tufts, but as you said, a true look at the overall choosing of a college class would probably not be as interesting.</p>

<p>The word “Tufted” will be removed from the dictionary and we’ll have to find another definition to which we will attached the picture of the 4.0 Girl Scout dancer–because I really like that picture.</p>

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<p>My D is a 4.0, GS, dancer!</p>

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<p>Everyone–please look in the Zs under “Zetesis’s Daughter” for the new home of the photo of the 4.0 Girls Scout dancer.</p>

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<p>In our house “normal” is a dryer setting. ;)</p>

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<p>I almost always put quotes around the word normal, as if in reality anyone truly is “normal.” But I will say this… never do I ever associate a race with the word. But I suppose if that’s where people’s minds go… that’s where it goes. Since I have a niece adopted from China and two nephews - one adopted from Vietnam and one from Cambodia, I honestly am relatively color-blind (without being so blind that I don’t often see the inequities out there). Normal is a very relative term, to which I don’t think anyone ought be offended.</p>

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<p>For all of you who keep insisting one must have a hook to be admitted to Tufts, I will once again state: My D got into Tufts. She had no hook … NONE. She was a very solid applicant with an interesting essay (although nowhere near the caliber of the ones on the website) and a good interview. As hard as some might seem to want to insist it doesn’t happen, many kids one might figure would get into Tufts actually do. The fact that students some might not think would or should be accepted by Tufts actually are does not mean that those with what might be considered Tufts-worthy stats are not accepted. It’s all about balance, and Tufts seeks to balance its classes.</p>

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<p>^absolutely agreed. And I would have loved had my son had the opportunity to interview. I don’t think this is an insistence that there be a “hook” per say. If anything, the hook becomes someone’s ability to stand out - and through an interesting essay and solid interview – your daughter has. </p>

<p>And too… I think scores are relative. Other things may mitigate. But if you are a BWRK, you don’t have perfect board scores or prefect grades. If you aren’t an URM, legacy, athlete, etc… there are fewer opportunities in which a kid is able stand out. Follow? The chance that there will be a million others that fit that same profile, makes it truly a crapshoot. But this applies to ALL highly selective schools. Not just Amherst or Tufts as the article related to.</p>

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<p>What is BWRK?</p>

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<p>A similar analysis of prospective students has been expressed by many of the top schools, so this is not a Tufts-only situation. When I first came on CC 4 years ago, the Princeton forum posted regular articles about their unusual admits. After reading them, we were certain that S was not special enough to be admitted!</p>

<p>I also remember one discussion about this topic on an older thread in which a poster described a successful essay for Princeton in which a male Chinese student talked about taking a step-dancing class. This essay gave him an interesting “face” and distinguished him from all the other bright Chinese males with stellar grades and scores. I understand why this works for the adcoms, but are they sure that having taken an 8-week step-dancing class truly reveals that the kid is fundamentally more interesting and worthy of acceptance than a student who just took violin lessons?</p>

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<p>Of course they are not sure - but because they don’t have anything more to go on than the application, that’s what they have to use to decide which of the many wonderful, appealing applicants to admit.</p>

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<p>wow, seeing that picture of a bunch of adults seated around a round table is really freaky. i mean, i knew it was like that, but to actually SEE them deciding somebody’s fate…<em>shudders</em></p>

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<p>I take a lot of this ‘specialness’ talk with a grain of salt–
S2 is a HS Jr, and would love also to attend Tufts. Based on the kind of PR (for lack of a better word) mentioned here, we might assume he’d have a pretty good shot-- he’s definitely more the creative type than his brother, has more different ECs, and would probably be willing to present something a bit more out of the ordinary when it comes to essays. Unfortunately for him, though, I think it will come down to GPA and test scores, and unless he can raise those more (pretty quickly) it’s probably not going to happen. But hopefully he’ll find - and get into - another school that’s great for him.</p>

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<p>BWRK - Bright, well rounded kid.</p>

<p>Ever heard of google? :stuck_out_tongue: (just kidding)</p>

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<p>Finally, the answer is revealed. For two years I have wondered what the one school that rejected my son found wanting. Now I realize that he undoubtedly forgot to mention the 8 weeks of dance lessons (not just step, either, lots of different styles!) I think my son’s reasoning would have been something along the lines of “why on earth would they care if a future computer science/math student knows how to dance?” How silly of him.</p>

<p>Seriously, I don’t think most applicants are listing every single activity they ever did while in high school. Most future engineering students are going to highlight activities that show their interest and aptitude in math, science and engineering activities. Do admissions committees really expect all applicants to know how to play this game (or for that matter, be willing to play along with this?)</p>