OP, I don’t think you should be focusing on selectivity as a way to game the system. You are likely a better candidate for one than the other. That is where you will have a better chance.
Also, being full pay will help. If you are feeling that Tufts is the better fit, your odds are likely better there. Focus on having good applications.
OP, you should absolutely try to maximize your chances of getting in one of those two by using your ED2 option. This is not gaming the system, it is just rational behavior and is the reason the ED option exists to begin with. Assuming of course you would be equally happy at either school.
Having said that, I would think that you have a better shot applying with Economics to Tufts. Economics is the second most competitive major at BC, with about 14% of the undergrads. It’s popular at Tufts as well, but not as much - about 9% of the undergrads.
Based on IPEDS information, 12.6% of BC’s recent class graduated with a first major in an economics field. The corresponding figure for Tufts is 9.6%. I wouldn’t suggest to the OP that she base her decision on a difference as narrow as this, even if she were to assign meaning to this statistic at all.
AI lists slightly different percentages but the point is that Economics is the second most competitive major at BC
BC doesn’t admit by major, so this would not be relevant to admission into BC. Therefore, majors within BC aren’t more or less “competitive.” I wouldn’t factor this into the decision-making.
That being said, I do agree with others that BC and Tufts are quite different from one another, and it’s actually pretty rare that both schools appeal equally to the same student. I think it’s likely pretty difficult to predict which school would give you better ED2 odds, and therefore, I would recommend applying to the school that you feel is a better bit. That’s likely to improve your odds, since you will probably submit a better application to the school that is the best match for you.
I know BC doesn’t admit by major. The reason Economics is so competitive is because the business school is so hard to get into and many choose Economics in Morrissey as a way of getting to the business school later. I’m basing this on conversations had when we toured BC. Obviously, it would be harder to get in with an indicated interest in that major than Classical studies or something.
I think the OP is quite aware that the schools are different and she should pick the one that’s right for her
It is nearly impossible to transfer from Morrissey to to Carroll School of Management. They accept a max of 10 internal transfer students per year, and it is not required, or even helpful, to be an econ major to get one of those transfer spots. In fact, they use a lottery to select those ten (or fewer) students, once they meet certain minimum criteria.
I don’t know that this is necessarily true. I certainly am not aware of any data to back it up.
Back to OP - I will reiterate my earlier advice. Apply to the school you like the best that you feel is your best fit. You’ll almost certainly have a better application for that school which will give you better odds.
Best of luck!
would want to know more about your unweighted GPA and then your schedule. hard to know if you are shooting a little high. barnard is maybe no harder from an admissions perspective than these two schools. finally, please confirm if you are from MA or New England. Lower admissions % at each of these because of their popularity in the region.
I’m an international student 
tbh i would say im shooting rlly rlly high but I do have a bunch of other colleges which are less selective but still schools I’d be happy to attend
Freshman year I was new to my school + COVID etc so that was bit rocky, but it picked up afterwards. I took Honors Sciences (which kinda tanked my gpa lol), but I also took a lot of AP classes that I did really well in. I’ll take 7 ap classes and 8 exams (a mix of 4s and 5s) in my HS career, which is the maximum my school “allows” (you can self study but I never did). Apart from those honors science classes everything was either an A or A-. I did well in classes that were super relevant to my major like Econ (ofc), social sciences, english and even math classes
I did believe that Econ was equally tough for both schools. I am applying to MCAS, not Carroll, and I plan on just sticking in the Econ program, I’m not interesting in applying/studying Business. But I understand that they do not pick by major. I couldn’t really figure out if Tufts admits by major, but I think they do?
Also I do just want to say thank you to everyone on this thread! It’s been really helpful going through the responses on it 
Got it! Yeah, I don’t think I’d really mind either school, but I do want to take advantage of the ED2 since its exists yknow
Tufts doesn’t admit by major. Like any school, though, they want students with a mix of interests. It wouldn’t serve them well to have 80% of the class trying to major in the same subject. So they (and everyone else) care about the general direction of your interest.
I suspect your profile (gpa/act) is what got you rejected at Barnard and will likely be the same at Tufts and BC.
Is the 32 a superscore ? A 32 is below the 25th percentile at Tufts so maybe consider TO. I can’t find a current BBC CDS but the website shows a 34 average and two years ago your ACT was below the 25th percentile.
Not sure your overall profile but I would lean heavily toward not getting in to these two, especially if submitting your test. Of course, TO at schools where most submit isn’t good either. Your parents can pay full - that is a big plus for Tufts.
Do you want religion and imagery at school - that’s BC. Big time sports - also BC. If not, Tufts.
But you need to be prepared with other choices - such as Bryn Mawr, smaller state schools, or privates like American (which needs $$), U Denver, Charleston, Fordham, Holy Cross, Brandeis (which needs $$), etc.
I hope you get into one but statistically, you’re not quite there.
I think you need to go down a couple rings - or at least be ready to do so.
Good luck.
Please note that the OP reported an ACT score of 34.
Dang how’d I miss that. I stand corrected. Thanks.
In that case pick the one you like and hope - I’d think Tufts - 1). Not religious 2). They love full pay.
But have back ups like Brandeis ready to go.
Apologies. Thanks for correcting.
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