<p>I'm applying to Tufts from the UK. My application was sent off yesterday, but I just want to know what people here think of my chances. I didn't apply ED because I didn't want to be locked in to a restrictive financial aid package, but even though I applied RD, Tufts is my absolute top choice school and I intend to make this clear in the interview.</p>
<p>SAT Reasoning: 2140 (780 CR, 640 M, 720 W) - taken once
SAT Subject Tests: 750 World History, 710 French, 710 Literature
11 GCSEs - 3 A<em>, 5 A, 2 B, 1 C
Taking 4 A-Levels, predicted grades: A</em>AAA
GPA: No clue
Class Rank: School doesn't rank, but it's a selective school (i.e. you have to pass an exam to get in), and it's one of the best state schools in the country and even outdoes many private schools in the area, and I'm guessing I'm in the top quarter.
Great recommendations</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars:
This is where I fall down. My school doesn't offer many extra-curriculars, but I have taken every opportunity available to me which interested me, including some outside school, and even created opportunities which didn't previously exist:</p>
<ul>
<li>Amnesty International local group member</li>
<li>Senior Prefect at school, in charge of the pastoral care of a class of 12 year olds</li>
<li>Peer Support Group counsellor - I was co-founder of this group, which is supported by the school, and is designed to allow younger students to come to us and talk to us about personal problems they might be encountering which they aren't comfortable talking to teachers about. This group has won more than £1,500 in grants for its work, and all the counsellors have undergone a counselling course.</li>
<li>Elected to represent my class to the School Council</li>
<li>Homework Club helper - working with the school's Special Needs Department to give children who don't normally do their homework a chance to get help on it.</li>
<li>Debating, representing the school at a number of national and international competitions over the last three years, as well as being house debating captain and house public speaking captain.</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, anyone got any tips for the interview? I requested one, and I'm hoping for it to make up for my abysmal maths scores on the SAT.</p>
<p>I think that all looks really solid. Definitely a competitive application.
What’s frustrating these days is how unpredictable getting into a school can be, though. Regardless of grades and accomplishments, it’s only possible to guess to some extent. </p>
<p>It’s good that you took the initiative to set up an interview - I think that will help, especially if it goes well (and I’ve never heard of a “bad” interview, just “better” ones)
I know it’s corny and you’ve probably heard it a thousand times, but it’s best to be yourself at an interview. Don’t try and list all your accomplishments; they’ll see those in your application. My Tufts interview was one of the best I had, because it turned from an interview into a conversation (and I almost ended up learning more about my interviewer… haha). You’ll do great.</p>
<p>I can’t make heads or tails of your transcript, but I will assume that you are taking a challenging curriculum at a really fine school and you seem to have done quite well academically. By the way, I see you’re not a big math student. Have you taken calculus and physics? They might look for that.<br>
Your CR SAT is great; it would put you in the top 25%. Your math, on the other hand, is poor for Tufts, and would put you in the bottom 25%. Your total score - 1420/1600 - is pretty solid, even if not overwhelming. Your Subject Test scores are fine; they’ll only take the top two, which gives you a 730 average.
Many Europeans have explained that ECs are less available at their schools than in the US, so TUfts is undoubtedly used to dealing with that issue.
Don’t worry about the interview. It won’t really affect whether you are accepted unless you blow the interviewer away and s/he communicates that in a big way to the AdCom, and then it’s still of de minimis importance. Interviews are usually more informational than a material factor in the admissions decision.
It is clear that you have an impressive record of achievement of which you should be proud. WHere does that put you? I think pretty much in the middle of the competition. It will be a crap shoot.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Ah, no, one more thing - we’ve been having some serious family problems in the last few months, and my grades at school have taken a corresponding fall. My grades from last year are all good though, and I couldn’t find any way to explain the drop in grades on my application. Should I bring that up in the interview? Will the interviewer bring it up?</p>
<p>And don’t worry, I haven’t heard anything a thousand times - I’ve had precisely zero coaching in terms of these American applications. My school’s college counsellor absolutely refuses to help me and even lied to me about having completed my school forms on the common app (she thinks I can’t see when they’ve been completed), so I’m pretty much on my own. Any advice at all is always appreciated.</p>
<p>WCAS Parent: Thanks for your reply, sorry, I missed it in the above.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken calculus - that isn’t offered until A-Levels in the UK, and I’m only taking English Lit, Politics, History and French for my A-Levels. I did GCSE maths last year, which basically covers everything on the SAT plus trigonometry, and got a B. I’m TERRIBLE at maths. I did get As in Chemistry, Physics and Biology GCSEs though.</p>
<p>Also, World History was a real gamble for me - in the UK, history courses spend an entire year on a fairly specific area of history. Since the start of my GCSE History course in September 2007 (i.e. Year 10, or for Americans, 9th Grade), I’ve only done 20th Century history, except for this term when we did Ireland in the 19th Century. World History, on the other hand, covers thousands of years - I had only one month to revise with an AP textbook I bought off Amazon, and was amazed at the score I got.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. Is there anything I can do now to boost my chances, or is it just wait-and-see?</p>
<p>Hmm… well generally the opposite problem is better (low grades coming into school, but higher grades coming out) because it shows improvement. I can almost guarantee that the interviewer will not bring it up, in order to avoid bringing up sensitive/awkward subjects - there a lots of reasons for significant grade drops, and I’d say most of them are private ones.</p>
<p>I guess it really depends on how comfortable you are discussing it. But then again, an interviewer can’t really do much about that except listen. I don’t think bringing it up would really help your chances of getting in.</p>
<p>If you have had a significant grade drop in your senior year, you MUST find an opporunity to explain it. Do it in the interview or, possibly better yet, write a separate letter to the Admissions Office (which will also let you explain how much you want to go to Tufts).</p>
<p>I completely agree with WCASParent that you must communicate (without whining, of course) your reasons for a drop in performance this year —I believe Tufts looks very closely at senior year grades (I seem to recall that Dean Coffin said so in one of his blogs). It’s unfortunate that the explanation apparently will not come from your GC so you will have to do so yourself and I wouldn’t rely on the interviewer to properly transmit this info. Dan, do you have any suggestions for how the OP might convey this information (the app has already been submitted)? WCAS’ suggestion that you also use the opportunity to state/reiterate that Tufts is your first choice is a good one.</p>
<p>I think they’ll consider an email or a letter.
You need to tell them what you need to tell them, and I don’t think they’ll care much about the form and manner of transmission.
See [Meet</a> the Admission Officers - Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Tufts University](<a href=“Tufts University”>Tufts University).
I think you want to communicate with Courtney Minden.</p>
<p>Remember that while my app has been submitted, my school forms still haven’t. My counsellor also teaches a full schedule and deals with British university applications for 180 boys, so it’s understandable that she hasn’t found time to do my US applications yet.</p>