An Eager Tufts Hopeful

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
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<p>hehe, I registered as a user so that I could post in this forum.. i've been reading it for ages :)</p>

<p>Tufts! It is definitely my first choice, but I am not applying ED II due to concerns about fin. aid. Please rate my chances!</p>

<p>SAT: 1420 (630 M/ 790 V – will the huge gap hurt me?)
SAT IIs: 720 Writing, 700 Bio (M), 640 Spanish w/ Listening
(I also have a 670 on my first writing attempt and a 530 on the math 1C. I took 1C in 10th grade because I was foolish. Could this also hinder my chances?)
GPA: 4.0 unweighted (My average is a 95.4, this translates into a 4.0 on my HS scale, not sure how Tufts evaluate it)
Rank: 25/760, top 4%</p>

<p>APs Junior: US History (4), Biology (4), Statistics (2 – awful)
Does Tufts want to be informed of our scores in any other way than the question on the supplement? Should I put down my 2?</p>

<p>Senior Courses:
Pre-calc (honors not offered)
Honors Gov’t – (Taking a Gov’t class through St. John’s University, opted to do this instead of taking the AP.)
AP English
AP Spanish
Physics (honors not offered)
Sociology (through local CC)</p>

<p>ECs:
Volunteer Peer Tutoring at local Junior High School -7 ½ hrs/wk. (9, 10)
- Spanish and Biology, all levels
National Honor Society Peer Tutor (11,12)
- Spanish and Biology, all levels
Key Club (10, 11, 12)
Yearbook - Editor-in-Chief (9)
Technology Club – design and maintenance of school website (11)
Yearbook Staff - Computer Editor (12)</p>

<p>Honors:
NHS (11, 12)
Spanish NHS - President (12)
Junior NHS (9)
City Council Citation (9)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Braille Institute of America – Intern (07/04 – 08/04)
District Attorney’s Student Advisory Council – Internship (current involvement, Grade 12) – Editorial for optional essay based on this.</p>

<p>Letters of rec. from AP Spanish and AP Bio teachers (have had both of them for 2 years).</p>

<p>Also, I visited Tufts and did an overnight stay there. I’m trying to figure out a way to let the admissions officers know how much I loved it – any suggestions?</p>

<p>Sorry for the length, honest evaluations greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>Just write on your application that you would have liked to apply ED but financial considerations prevented you from doing so.</p>

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<p>How were you EIC of yearbook 9th grade?</p>

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<p>I was in a junior high school that ran through the 9th grade, so we were "seniors". They'll see it on my common app when I list other schools attended.</p>

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<p>snuffles, i was going to do that in a cover page explaining a few things about my app, thanks :)</p>

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<p>I was going to suggest a cover letter - just a quick blurb about the highlights of your stay. Communicate that you got a feel for the campus (not just that it's a small research institution, but mention something about how people really like each other, the clubs, the atmosphere, a class you sat in on, whatever). </p>

<p>Chances: the lack of extracurriculars might hurt you - they definitely want to see a lot of those. However, if 10th grade is like freshman year (in that you're at the bottom of the pecking order) they may understand. NEVER assume that they will piece things together - just go right out and say it. "10th grade was our first year at high school; after acclimating for a year, I did (blah blah blah)." </p>

<p>Retake the Math 1C. I know, I know, you probably don't want to - but again, don't assume that they will piece things together and make allowances for you. They might see that as 10th grade, but they might see that just for the score and think that you would have hit <600 if you took it the next year. Don't let the admissions people guess - retake it, get a score, and prove that you can handle the workload at Tufts. I don't think that the disparity between verbal and math will hurt you (unless you are applying as an engineer or math/hard sciences major).</p>

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<p>thanks for your input, ariesathena :)</p>

<p>i have changed things around a little since my post. Instead of the editorial about law, my optional essay is about my overnight stay at Tufts. i incorporated my extracurriculars with HS courseload and what I would like to study at Tufts, and put it in the context of my visit. </p>

<p>since i'm applying for arts and sciences, I wasn't planning on retaking the math 1C since I have three other grades that are higher.. but I guess it might a good idea. oyy (math and I aren't the best of buddies)</p>

<p>In terms of explaining my 9th grade situation, would it be smart to put that in a cover letter instead? and should i send the cover letter along with my supplement or can it wait to be sent with the common app?</p>

<p>thanks guys</p>

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<p>Aldeya, if Tufts is really your first choice, even considering the fact that you'e applying RD, I'd let them know. Send in a short "Why Tufts" essay anyway, and tell them that the only thing holding you back is money. By the way, even though i applied EDI, money was a big issue for me. You'll be happy to know that, not only did i get money, i got a whole lot of it. I've been extremely happy with their financial aid, and my parents love how friendly their offices are over the phone. Good luck!</p>

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<p>I sent in an additional essay, so why can't yours be about why Tufts is your top choice (tell them why you didn't apply ED) Good luck.</p>

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<p>Alergic and Camus, thanks for your imput. i had the same idea.. to send in a "why tufts." </p>

<p>my optional essay was all about my visit and how much i loved the school. it actually fit the 'why tufts" motif pretty well. the only thing i didn't say flat out was, "tufts is my first choice school but i didnt apply ED because of financial considerations." with this info in mind, do u think it's still a good idea to put it in black and white terms? i know ariesathena advised that I not make the admissions officers guess, but I didn't want to flood them with repetitive information...</p>

<p>there's still time before the deadline, so i could send it in a seperate envelope that would get added to my file....</p>

<p>do u guys think i should?</p>

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<p>Here's what I think. A lot of people might say that a college is their number one, but in reality it's just a tactic used to get an edge. In your case, you're telling the truth. Like the other students, they'll wonder, why not ED? I think it may be a good idea to inform them of why you didn't apply ED...actually, I think you should have applied ED. At every school, I think, if you are not satisfied with the financial aid (and you can proove it is not sufficient) then you don't have to accept your place (even if you applied ED.)</p>

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<p>hrm.. interesting point about the ED. my parents and i seriously considered it, but when we did the EFC online we decided against early decision... </p>

<p>i think i'll send that note in tho. i sent one with my app explaining a grade on one of my AP exams. you're right that simply stating the truth might help show them that i'm being honest.. thanks :)</p>

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<p>i would definitely send in that note. Also, Tufts has been very kind as to their Fin Aid offerings and support for us. I also know that they gladly take appeals if your package isnt helpful enough. I have a friend who still couldnt afford to go to Emory with the money they offered, and they wrote him up a completely different package. Most good schools will do this. So send in that letter! It can't hurt.</p>

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<p>Generally, you'll get good financial aid if you are very poor; the people with the most trouble have incomes between $100k and $150k/year. Too late for that now... </p>

<p>I would really advise sending along a note of some sort, just explaining things. They spend about a half hour on each application, which really isn't enough to start guessing. My advise: cover letter as a blurb letting them know what's going on with the app, and an addendum explaining things in detail.</p>

<p>Cover letter:
(their address on the left side)
(your address on the right side)
To (fill in name of Director here, I think it's Lee Coffin),</p>

<p>Enclosed please find my application for admission to Tufts University for the class of 2009. I am applying to Tufts because (great food, cool people, whatever - think a few sentences. You could also throw in a few things about yourself - that you're a senior at xx High and you're a technology-savvy peer tutor. Many schools reduce each kid to a few sentences and a "tag." Give yourself a tag. Mention any friends you have who go/went there and how much they enjoyed it.)</p>

<p>Please find the following materials enclosed:
*Common app
*Essay re: (whatever it's about and maybe a note on how it fits in)
*Supplemental essay about why I'm applying to Tufts
*Supplemental form (or whenever you sent it in)
*Resume
*Addendum noting extracurricular activities/high school set-up and my decision to apply RD </p>

<p>Thank you for your time and consideration,
Aldeya
SSN: 123-45-6789</p>

<p>When making a note of an AP grade, realize that you don't even have to list the grade if it's bad - generally, don't put it on there unless it's at least a 3. But - if you do mention it, don't whine, just say flat-out why you got the bad grade (threw up in exam room, material different from what we learned - we did a lot of theory of history and economics, while the AP focused on dates and wars - whatever).</p>

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<p>ariesathena, wow. thank you so much for posting this. if i may, i have a few questions i'd like clarify before writing this up.</p>

<p>*Essay re: (whatever it's about and maybe a note on how it fits in) - wat do u mean by "explain how it fits in"? do i put the title of the essay here? </p>

<p>*Supplemental form (or whenever you sent it in) - i sent this in November.. should i still mention it?</p>

<p>*Resume - i decided not to send this because it didn't add anything to my application, just repeated things i already mentioned. still send?</p>

<p>*Addendum noting extracurricular activities/high school set-up and my decision to apply RD - can i just say "Addendum noting my decision to apply RD"? i don't feel the need to explain any of my ECs. not sure wat i would note about high school set up either..?</p>

<p>one last thing - i sent out my application today. if i put this in another yellow envelope and send it in, will everything in my file just come together on the spot at Tufts?</p>

<p>again, thank you for taking the time to read this and help me out.</p>

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<p>About the essay: let's say that you wrote about your work with Braille Institute. If you mention that you like Tufts because of LCS (the public-service organization), mentioning in your cover letter that your essay is about community service and that you like Tufts because of LCS will help to tie your application together. Likewise, if your essay is the only place that you mention a class you love, it could serve to highlight your academic interests. So - think about what your essay adds to your application and where it fits in with everything, and mention that in a sentence. Example:
*Essay re: community service. (One of the things that I love about Tufts is that the largest student organization is LCS, which does every imaginable community service project.)</p>

<p>Mention that you sent in the supplemental form in November. It just makes you look organized. If it's lost or misplaced, they will know where to look for it.</p>

<p>Forgot to mention: you could say which teachers wrote recs for you and why you chose them (Example: Recommendation from Mr. Heisenberg, my chemistry professor. His class was one of my favourites, and I am considering majoring in chem at Tufts.)</p>

<p>Send resume if it adds things. I used mine to flesh out the activities list (things like track awards, times, places; duties for poetry magazine editor, etc). If it's redundant, don't send it.</p>

<p>Sure! I thought that your high school was 10-12, not 9-12, and thus, you don't have any ninth grade activities. You could also mention that in a cover letter, since it takes a sentence.</p>

<p>I remember being 17 and confused about applications. When I filled out law school ones, all that cover letter/resume stuff just made more sense. Take a step back from your application and imagine sending it to me. I don't know much about you - just the basics. How would I see things? Would I want more information about something? Would I have to hunt through your app to make sense of everything? Is it obvious how everything fits together to give a picture of you, or do you need to kind of outline it to give the reader a sense of the big picture? The cover letter is really meant to pull everything together - show me why you had your physics teacher write a recommendation for you and why you wrote about being technology co-ordinator for the yearbook. There's a finite amount of information that you can put in the app, and the cover letter helps to show why you chose to include what you did. </p>

<p>I think it should all come together at Tufts. Just attach a post-it or something that you want it appended to your file.</p>

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<p>thanks SO much :) i really appreciate it</p>