<p>Ok, so I'm generally not into this kind of thing, but I am wondering what other people think of my chances for Tufts. To clarify my GPA a bit: I go to a top five high school, where the classes are significantly harder than at other more normal schools in my region (which is both a blessing and a curse). Additionally, I have taken a lot of honors science/ technology electives which are not offered at other schools, but obviously aren't APs. Without further ado...
Expected GPA by end of 1st sem senior year (weighted, we don't have unweighted): 4.13-4.16
SAT: 2320, not superscored
SAT IIs: Math 2 (760), Bio (780), Spanish (760)
PSAT: 224, so at least semifinalist
AP scores: Bio (4), AB calc (5), Spanish (5), AP US (5), Env Sci (self-studied, 5)
AP's for senior year: Stat, Gov, English Lit, Spanish Lit (again, I've got some super cool science/ humanities electives lined up here that are honors weighting...)</p>
<p>EC's:
Managing editor of school's lit mag (so like vice-EIC) (grades 10-12)
Publicist of school's environmental club (9-12)
Member of school choir/ service choir (9-12)
Tour guide for school (11-12)
Extracurricular dance (for like all my life)
NHS, Spanish Honor Soc member</p>
<p>Awards:
Scholastic Writing contest regional award (twice)
National Spanish Exam Gold (2 years)
Really haven't won that many awards as my activities aren't very award-heavy (not like debate or MUN or something)</p>
<p>My teacher recs and counselor rec should be really good, and I'm a good writer (don't mean to sound stuck up here) so that should be fine, at the very least.</p>
<p>So I would probably apply either ED II or RD; I need my senior year grades to boost my GPA.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any recommendations for schools that are similar to Tufts and would be mid-range? Thanks! Let me know if I've forgotten something...</p>
<p>What is the real story behind your ECs? In many schools, all of that would require maybe two afternoons a week. At others (depending on the dance and choir commitments), you could be doing quite a bit, in a lot of depth.</p>
<p>I’m not an adcom, but I think they are looking for depth and passion in extracurricular activities, not mere participation or a laundry list.</p>
<p>I’ve actually worked really hard to not have it be a “laundry list”. I used to do more extracurrics my freshman/soph years, but ultimately dropped them for the ones I have listed. At my school we have an activities block built into the day, and that’s split into two different blocks. So yeah I have a leadership position in the lit mag, which is 2-3 blocks a week, and in the environmental club as well, which is like an hour a week. I’ve taken choir as a class off and on, and have done several performances throughout the years; the service choir is one block a week at school and several performances throughout the year. I’ve wanted to get more involved in the choir department, but because of parents/ the director having a lot of favorites/ not having room in my schedule, I haven’t really been able to. So yeah choir and the tour guide thing especially are mainly for fun, but I have done service choir for four years straight. Dance (like ballet and modern) is 2-4 times a week after school or on weekends, depending on the year. NHS is basically no time at all, and SHS is a meeting every other week and some things throughout the year; I’m not an officer there though. Basically, I am committed to these activities, and have leadership positions in two of them. I do totally know what you’re talking about though, with kids just doing ECs to do ECs. </p>
<p>Also, I should have mentioned some summer stuff before: I went to the Virginia Governor’s Academy for Foreign Languages, which is really prestigious within Virginia, and I’ve been working as a TA at an academic summer camp this summer.</p>
<p>Again, I am NOT an admissions officer, but this is from my own high school experience. I was a varsity athlete, so I spent two hours a day, six days a week, in practise or competition. I have friends who spent upwards of four or five hours a day. Other friends spent similar time in marching band, choir, or dance. Ultimately, it was a very serious commitment of time and energy.</p>
<p>Whatever leadership roles you may take in a club that meets during school hours (essentially a class, or at least meeting in lieu of a class) is not comparable. While I do not think that any student should have to pack his day to the brim with activities, and firmly believe that everyone needs downtime, I also think there is a difference between activities that meet on occasion and those that require serious commitment. Again, this is me, and I’m not an admissions officer.</p>
<p>My constructive advice is to first list dance and choir, and to discuss those in more detail in the interviews. List the others as sort of secondary activities - you have your artsy, long-term, time-intensive extracurricular activities, so everything else is [in a totally non-pejorative sense] padding. </p>
<p>Partly, this is just basic presentation skills; when you’re asked for your accomplishments, you list the big ones first, then follow up with the others to round it off. The larger issue is that schools look for kids with ECs because they want kids who are going to write for the paper, sing in the a cappella group, join the dance troupe, compete on their sports teams, and otherwise make the university an interesting place to be. So present yourself as a potential dancer or singer for Tufts, rather than a kid who does a bunch of stuff and may or may not continue to do any of it if admitted.</p>
<p>Not sure if it’s too late to help, but you should definitely apply - your profile is very similar to many admitted students. Being at a 4.1 and above a 2300 definitely gets you a second look (at Tufts and everywhere else) and then it just depends on how well you’re able to tell your story in the essays. </p>
<p>Others have over-played the ED advantage. Only apply ED to a school if you’re certain it’s your top-choice, not just to gain an advantage in admissions. That said, ED will help you slightly in admissions, if in fact it is your top choice.</p>
<p>I’d say your chances are about 18% which is last year’s acceptance rate. You seem like a typical Tufts applicant.
You didn’t provide enough other info about what you are looking for to get more recommendations. majors, locations, size, financial aid, city/country, etc.</p>