Does applying for the Tufts-SMFA dual degree program increase acceptance chances?

[punkrockmop]

I’m applying for the BA-BFA dual-degree program at Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. SMFA has an acceptance rate of 90%. Would being accepted to SMFA/ expressing an interest in the dual-degree program increase a student’s chances of being accepted to Tufts (14% acceptance rate)?

[potentialtransfer2018]

Acceptance rate for dual degree applicants is higher than for just Tufts admits.

[punkrockmop]

Woo hoo! Do you know the numbers specifically? (and where did you get the info?)

[TomSrOfBoston]

Tufts is aware of this trick and it will not work as a back door to Medford admission.

[punkrockmop]

Gotcha, thanks

[potentialtransfer2018]

I know several people in the dual degree program, and that is what they have told me about admissions from their personal standpoints.

[TomSrOfBoston]

@potentialtransfer2018 So these dual degree students you know had inferior stats coning into Tufts?

[punkrockmop]

I’m asking out of curiosity. And I’m applying to do the dual-degree program because I want to do it. Not trying to find any loopholes…

[potentialtransfer2018]

@TomSrOfBoston yes, their stats were lower than average for Tufts (think below 30 on the ACT, usually not in top 10% for high school rank). Tufts is likely more inclined to accept dual degree applicants at a higher rate since the program isn’t as popular, and possibly also because the applicants’ art portfolios matter along with their academics.

[LeahRose115]

@TomSrOfBoston I am a dual degree student and I know many others. We work incredibly hard and take more classes than engineers and regular tufts students. I got into the program with a ACT score of 32 an unweighted GPA of 3.98 and did many extra curricular activities. Don’t think that we do the dual degree program as an easy way out because it is so hard.

[TomSrOfBoston]

@LeahRose115 That is not my opinion of the dual degree option. I was replying to another poster who wanted to apply to it given her below average stats.

[shoot4moon]

We visited the SMFA when the merger had JUST happened - within 30 days of the 2016 change. How do those of you enrolled feel that it is working out??

[kevintocollege]

If I apply for this are there chances I will only be admitted to smfa? Preferably I’d like to be in the dual degree program however if I were to only get into smfa I wouldn’t enroll.

[Mastadon]

Would being accepted to SMFA/ expressing an interest in the dual-degree program increase a student’s chances of being accepted to Tufts (14% acceptance rate)?

The act of applying to to the dual degree program would probably not impact your chances of admission, BUT…

Because admission to the SMFA is dependent on putting together a competitive art portfolio, admission to the SMFA would indicate strong artistic ability, which would help with admission to the college of liberal arts (as compared to not having demonstrated strong artistic ability). Demonstrating strong artistic ability would count as both an extra curricular accomplishment and an indicator of creativity (which is an attribute that both Tufts’ school of liberal arts and school of engineering look for).

In the fall of 2005, the Academic Council of Tufts University proposed a new slogan to characterize its mission in educating students: “New Leaders for a Changing World.” Many colleges, of course, have slogans of various kinds. The challenge is how each translates its words into action in an authentic manner.

Sternberg’s theory of leadership—called “WICS,” an acronym for wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized—seemed like a potential basis for implementing the mission as well as an opportunity to add a more discretely creative dimension to Tufts’ evaluation of undergraduate applicants. According to the theory, people are leaders by virtue of making a positive and meaningful difference to the world at some level, from the family right up through the community, state, nation and world.

The theory suggests that leaders need to be: a) creative in generating a vision or new ideas for how to effect positive change; b) analytically intelligent in ascertaining whether their ideas are, in fact, good ideas; c) practically intelligent in implementing their ideas and in persuading others to accept their ideas; and d) wise in ensuring that their ideas will help their stakeholders to attain a common good in the long term as well as the short term, through the infusion of positive ethical values. These skills are viewed as modifiable and flexible, rather than fixed and static.

Our goal at Tufts was to infuse the WICS theory into strategic points within undergraduate (and eventually, graduate) education. The initial strategic points were undergraduate admissions, instruction and assessment. Infusion into admissions would be done through a pilot initiative to augment the Tufts-specific supplement to the Common Application with a set of questions designed to assess WICS in freshman applicants. Infusion into instruction and assessment would be accomplished with the help of the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, which helps teachers enhance their already considerable teaching skills by showing them ways in which WICS and other ideas from cognitive science can be integrated into their instruction and assessment. The focus of this article is on the admissions initiative.

From the standpoint of the WICS theory, the SAT or ACT is incomplete. An admissions officer needs to know about the analytical skills these tests measure but also about other skills that these traditional tests were never designed to capture. Obviously, all information needs to be considered in light of each student’s family and school background and the opportunities with which the student has been provided in the course of his or her life.

https://nebhe.org/journal/kaleidoscope/

Note that the dual degree program takes 5 years and and between 51 and 53 courses (over 5 courses per semester), which is very challenging.

https://admissions.tufts.edu/academics/school-of-the-museum-of-fine-arts-at-tufts/combined-degree-with-the-schoo/

[chemmchimney]

Can anyone speak to the quality of the instructors on the Boston campus? Do students like living there? How are the studios and dorms? My daughter is a likely applicant and I am a Tufts alum. BTW for those who are curious, Univ of MI counts applicants portfolios as 50% of their admissions decision and that seems fairly typical at some visual arts programs. It’s likely Tufts will consider your portfolio as a major factor in admissions and not just as another EC. It also makes sense that Tufts and other BFA/MFA programs might accept someone whose SATs or rank etc was a little below their norm if they have a strong portfolio. That doesn’t make it a “back door” really unless you are a strong artist.

[envisciguy]

@chemmchimney I’m not an SMFA student myself, but a couple of my friends are and live in the Boston dorms — and they are beautiful. Tufts bought and converted some old apartments/row homes, and they are stunning. Think hard-wood floors, walk-in closets, and beautifully-redone bathrooms. The common rooms are complete with a fireplace, making them feel Hogwarts-esque.