<p>More thoughtful follow-up:</p>
<p>We absolutely do not waitlist (or deny) applicants because they are ‘too qualified’. There are, however, instances where an applicant CLEARLY lacks any vision of what a Tufts education is, and would not be interested in attending. </p>
<p>Last year I saw a <em>highly</em> qualified applicant who, when asked why she applied to Tufts during her interview, exposed that she didn’t know which school Tufts was. She wasn’t admitted, but that would have been the case for any applicant who couldn’t tell you anything about Tufts. This is a rare occurrence, certainly, but having seen the admit rates for students in the top academic group I know that the so called ‘Tufts Syndrome’ has no foundation in the current reality of admissions at Tufts. </p>
<p>(Personal aside: I did the exact same thing when I was applying to schools. A well known (and obviously) Jesuit school where I was ‘highly’ qualified waitlisted me. Likely, this was because the first time I learned the school was Jesuit was during the interview. I knew nothing about the school and it showed.)</p>
<p>And then, of course, there are the applicants with essays that really turn us off.</p>
<p>But, when a top kid doesn’t get admitted when they feel they “deserved” admittance, they are sometimes very vocal about it. Check back on the CC boards in April/May, and in every forum you’ll see no shortage of applicants who believe they understand why they got admitted/waitlisted/denied - I’d wager most are mistaken in their beliefs. But the stories of those top kids have a way of sticking in your memory, when the stories of kids at or below academic profile don’t. Once the narrative of “Over-Qualified” students gets traction, it’s hard to stop it. Other people start buying into it, and those vocal students start to see it as the reason for their decision. </p>
<p>I’m sure some will be skeptical, but I know that “Tufts Syndrome” DOES. NOT. EXIST. at Tufts.</p>