<p>the globe published an article on the front page today about college admissions. reporters were let in to tufts and amherst to see the process. personally, i am appalled that tufts would do this. the article mentions many specifics about student applications, even quoting small parts of them. i do not remember giving tufts permission to share this information with reporters... anyways, i was just curious about what other people thought of it</p>
<p>I think my only problem with the article was the way it made the admissions officers look. Frankly, I think I had always had a similar idea about how decisions went down but some of the depictions seemed a little harsh.</p>
<p>The comments below the article make me laugh...a lot of them are reeking with bitterness. I agree with lioness, though. The person who wrote this article made it seem like the Admissions officers were cold-hearted people. :P</p>
<p>Generally speaking, just about any of us in Tufts admissions is comfortable speaking openly and honestly about how our process works and why (in a philosophical sense) we make the decisions we do. Over the last year and a half on CC, I've been able to talk about how we use the SATs, GPA, essays, and recommendations openly and with candor. I found the article to have less depth, actually, than what a conversation with any of us would have offered on the process of committee. </p>
<p>I was present for the discussions in the article, and was a little surprised at the quotes chosen. I'm not critiquing the article, which seems to have been more human-interest in focus than investigative or documentary, but I am fascinated by which moments and details seemed to resonate with Mr. Schworm.</p>
<p>I found it confusing that Tufts mentioned that they go looking for students from lower socio-economic brackets because I thought that Tufts claim is to be 100% need blind. And you can't always tell someone's income from their profession so this makes no sense to me. Amherst is a partner school of QuestBridge so that would explain how they can find these students but Tufts???????????????</p>
<p>Dan- I guess you agree with the view which I expressed elsewhere that the article's author chose examples which he thought would make the article more interesting, rather than examples which were more typical of your process.</p>
<p>Chriscross- I was not aware that Tufts claims to be 100% need blind. I had only heard the Admissions Office express that as a goal, not a reality. Where did you hear this? I am interested, because it is news to me.</p>
<p>I think Chriscross should realize that an application, if honestly done, is usually a dead giveaway for the socio-economic status of the applicant. Just take the home address. A quick google and you can actually see the house, its size and have a street view. Parent's occupation is a give away. Mother is a teacher vs. surgeon...etc Essays reveal even more. Nothing stops an aspirant from speaking honestly about how they've dealt with adversity. In fact, that is of prime interest. Family situation: applicant born oversea, migrates to US five years ago, parents have a drycleaner etc...What do you think the application speaks to if not socio-economic status of applicant and family. Doesn't need the Adcoms to be detectives to really understand applicant's situation. </p>
<p>What follows is an evaluation of candidate by what (s)he has achieved in light of their opportunities and their potential in college and beyond.</p>
<p>
[quote]
was present for the discussions in the article, and was a little surprised at the quotes chosen. I'm not critiquing the article, which seems to have been more human-interest in focus than investigative or documentary, but I am fascinated by which moments and details seemed to resonate with Mr. Schworm.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It would be great if you could elaborate on your use of the word "fascinated."</p>
<p>I just did a little research, although I cannot vouch for its accuracy. Here's what I found: Tufts is "striving" to be need blind on a "permanent basis." When admitting the Class of 2011 two years ago, it looks like the Admissions Office was able to be need blind, but the University did not yet have the means to guarantee that it would be need blind every year. I have not been able to tell whether the Class of 2012 was admitted on a need blind basis. The Adcom was described mid-way through the process (for 2012) as being "need sensitive," i.e., being aware of the need for financial aid but trying not to let that be determinative of the admissions decision in the overwhelming majority of cases.
Given the state of the economy, and the diminution in Tufts' endowment as a result thereof (not even counting the "Madoff Effect"), I would be surprised if this year's admissions process is need blind and, as I said, I have never heard the Admissions Office say that it would be.</p>
<p>I had no idea. I honestly believed them to be need blind. But as has been pointed out all over, there are other ways to determine privilege or lack thereof so that even those schools that do practice need-blind do so while seeing quite clearly.</p>
<p>As I understand it, need blind, in theory, means that the fact that a candidate would need financial aid if admitted has zero effect on the decision regarding whether to admit that applicant.</p>
<p>We believe that socioeconomic diversity is vitally important to have in our freshman class and want to have that spectrum of background represented. In the time the reporter was with us in committee, we were moving all of Illinois, not just the economically depressed areas/applicants. We admitted all over the state and the handful of cases discussed in the article cannot be viewed as a lens to determine your own admissibility.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Tufts' Office of Admissions is already operating under a need-blind admissions policy, but a lack of residual funds is preventing the department from finalizing the policy, according to administration officials.</p>
<p>Achieving permanent need-blind practices is the primary goal of Tufts' ongoing, $1.2-billion capital campaign, Beyond Boundaries. As prominent universities such as Harvard and Yale continue to implement these policies, Tufts has been striving to catch up.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>-Ben Gittleson, January 30 2008...updated august 17, 2008</p>