<p>Hey guys, I'm about to be a senior and was planning on applying Early Decision I to Tufts. I was just wondering if anyone could possibly give me an idea of my chance of being accepted.
I have a 3.83 Unweighted GPA, a 32 ACT composite with a 34 on Math, English, English/Writing combo with an 11 on the essay, 32 reading, and 28 Science. My school only allows AP classes junior year and I took 2, Chem and Euro. My school also offers Seminar courses which they say are equivalent to AP's of which I also took 2. Next year I plan on taking AP Bio and AB Calc with 3 Seminar courses.
My EC's include 11 years of children's choir in which I have led the young men's tenor section for the past three years. I have played Ultimate for three years and will play next year, I was a founding member of the Model UN Club my freshmen year through which I have attended three conferences. I am in a swing dance troupe going on my 3rd year in which we perform at Veterans' halls and in many performances around the Atlanta area. I have also participated in 7 musicals since my freshman year in high school. Aditionally, I am nearly fluent in French and studied in a French high school last summer for three weeks. I was nominated for the Governor's Honors Program through my school, which can only give out two nominations a year total for all subjects. I have over 100 hours of volunteer experience through meals on wheels and a service project in Tennessee. I worked for four months last summer and into September at a local cafe and this Summer I turned down the job to be a research assistant to a professor in History at Emory. (I plan to major in History.) Finally, I have worked through Planned Parenthood at a program called Teen Action Group that educates at-risk youths about safe sex and healthy relationships.
I will have good teacher recs coming from one teacher who has taught me for two years and was my advisor, and from another in the history department who I will have had twice starting next year. My essays will be very solid.</p>
<p>I'd appreciate any input anyone has! Thanks so much everyone.</p>
<p>-E</p>
<p>I think you will be a very solid ED applicant.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks WCASParent! I hope so</p>
<p>Based on what my D and I garnered from last year’s very helpful and reassuring “Why Tufts?” session (get on Tufts’ mailing list for notification for any that might be held in your area), your entire “package” looks well-suited to what the school is looking for. Your ecs in particular are incredible. You might want to hone in on the one or two you’ve been most invested in and highlight them in your Tufts supplemental essays. Or at least convey the single “thread” that is YOU among the many you’re involved in. And show honesty and humor in the essays—the prompts encourage you to do so. </p>
<p>My D applied ED with similar stats and was accepted. She cannot wait till August. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Sadly I missed the Tufts session when the rep came to town a few months back. I’m on the mailing list and hopefully there might be another announced in my area. It sounds like it was really informative for you and I’d hate to miss out!</p>
<p>Does the Tufts rep come to your school? If yes, it’s a perfect opportunity to meet him/her. Because that’s the person that will be reading your application<br>
Your GPA looks solid. ACT is a little low. Your ECs look good. Write really amazing essays and show interest. My son visited a friend for couple of days and went to some classes with him. He wrote about it in one of his essays.
But these days nothing is a sure bet, so have some good backups ready. But applying ED should definately help.</p>
<p>Yeah, I wondered a little about my ACT’s. My college counseler said I’m within the upper range for Tufts, but I feel like if I did better on Science than I could bring my score up one or two points which would be good. I’ve already taken it twice, is it worth it to take it a third time?</p>
<p>My son got a 30 on science the first time around and a 36 2nd time. But his other sections went down. So overall he went from a 33 to a 34. Not that big of a difference. From what he told me science section is really not about science knowledge but rather the ability to read the charts and tables in the test. See if you can figure it out by doing sample tests at home and then decide if you want to take it again.</p>
<p>One more thing. Have you considered taking the SAT? There is no science section there and you might do better at it. Try a test at home and see how you do. Did you take any SAT subject tests? If you want to major in history, there is a history subject test. Just to show your knowledge in that area. Technical if you submit ACT you don’t need to submit any subject tests, but you’ll be competing with a lot of kids who’ll be submitting both.</p>
<p>Yes I took the SAT once back in January and got a 2140 without any prep. I took Lit and got a 740 I think and a 730 on Math 1. They didnt have a European History Test for SAT II</p>
<p>Those are good SAT II scores. And your SAT score is similar to your ACT. If you look on the conversion chart 32 converts to approximately 2120. Looks like you’re doing everything you can. Just one thought. And you absolutely don’t have to follow my advice. My son got 2150 on SAT 1st time around without any prep. 2nd time with just a little prep he raised it to 2300. Just something to consider. But at the end of the day, even if you have perfect scores there is no guarantee you’ll get into your 1st choice school. College confidential is full of threads with kids getting 2400 and not getting into any IVY.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll definitely consider taking the SAT again. Why not? If I can do better on it than I’d rather show that off to colleges. But do you think I should take the ACT a third time? I would just like to get that science up and all it takes is just tons of practice tests</p>
<p>I think my Tufts son got a 2130 and then a 2140. Older son had similar lack of improvement in his scores. Personally, I think your scores are good enough - I’d submit both SAT and ACT - I’d worry much more about the soft parts of the application.</p>
<p>Cool thanks, I will definitely take advantage of the video possibility portion of the application and will focus on my essays a lot. I also interview extremely well so if the opportunity is available for an alumni interview I will definitely take advantage of that as well</p>
<p>You’ve been advised by some to retake your standardized tests. IMO, this isn’t necessary. Your current scores are solid, and retaking for the purpose of adding shavings of points… Focus instead on schoolwork/ grades, your ec’s, and—perhaps more than anything—your essays and thinking hard about how you want to present yourself to Tufts so that everything is all of a piece. </p>
<p>And as suggested, connect with the admissions office, even if there’s no Tufts program in your area. It’s easy enough to find out who your regional/ state rep is. Email him/her, introduce yourself. They are VERY approachable, as you might gather from the breezy, helpful Tufts Admissions Blog. The blog offers sample essays so you can get an idea of what they might want to read. </p>
<p>Yes, it’s hard to be absolutely confident of anything in this admissions climate, but you have every reason to believe you stand a strong chance by applying ED. Good luck!</p>
<p>I applied last year ED 1 and got in with lower stats than you. Check out the threads I posted and you’ll see that statistically, you have a great chance of getting in!</p>
<p>P.S.*don’t take these chance threads too seriously. Seriously. “momworried” commented on my posts and told me I had a low chance at getting in, but now I’m an incoming freshman planning my classes :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, that makes me feel really good! It’s my dream school and I hope by applying ED they’ll recognize that.</p>
<p>Also, theNDhopeful44, from what you know about those who were accepted ED do my ACT scores put me in a good place? I feel like My core scores on English and Math are really good but if I could just bring up my Science score I could get a 33 or 34. However, this would be my third time taking it. Suggestions?</p>