<p>I think it’s because Tufts is so similar to a lot of top schools.
At Tufts, the quality of education or the diversity of the student body is not worse than at Brown (for example). Thus, my guess is that many students apply to top schools like Brown and Tufts and, if accepted to other schools, they tend to turn down Tufts because it lacks the prestige (or: they THINK it lacks the prestige.) I don’t think that people who turn down Tufts consider it a bad school or are afraid that they won’t fit in…they just think they can get more out of their money at other schools. Also, Tufts isn’t really famous for being generous…so financial aid might be another reason.</p>
<p>I know that it will probably never happen, but I think merit-based scholarships would boost Tufts’ yield tremendously. I would immediately turn down HYP for Tufts if they gave me more money - because the quality of education is indeed similar at those institutions. AND Tufts is definitely more fun ;-)</p>