Chance me? Trying to decide if I need EDII.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>Hey guys, Tufts is a bit of a reach for me and I'm trying to decide if I need EDII to even have a shot at getting in. I'm not a super kid with great stats looking for compliments, I'm actually kind of an average student who would REALLY REALLY appreciate some advice. Anyway:</p>

<p>Female, White</p>

<p>GPA: 3.75 unweighted, 4.41 weighted
Rank: 101 out of about 850</p>

<p>ACT: 32
I never took the SAT, something I regret but whatever...</p>

<p>APs:
Junior Year- AP American History (5), AP Psychology (5), AP Computer Science (4), AP Lit/Comp (4)
Senior Year- AP Calc AB, AP College Engilsh, AP Econ, AP Euro. I'm also taking honors Modern Middle Eastern History, honnors physics, 5th year honors Italian and I'll take the Italian AP test (my school hasn't reinstated the AP course yet)</p>

<p>I don't have any super impressive internships or club presidencies to boost up my extra curriculars, which kinda worries me but heres what i've got:</p>

<p>4 Year Varsity Cross Country Runner
2 Year team captain (Junior and Senior)
Currently 3 year, but will be 4 year Varsity Track runner
Member of my school's dance company, Dancer since 3yrs old
Mentor for freshmen (senior year)
Student Ambassador for transfer students (senior year)
Spent summers working 30-35 hrs/week as a part-time nanny
Studied film through an independant study, worked as a freelance filmmaker since freshmen year, was a member of the production staff for my shool's news program sophomore year. </p>

<p>And thats about it.....
So I need your opinions! Do I have a shot at Tufts? Do I have a better shot with EDII? Will it hurt me that I don't have any intellectual, Model UN type extracurriculars? Or does it help that I'm really dedicated to the extracurriculars I do have? ALSO! I'm interested in the IR program. Will that make it harder to get in? </p>

<p>Basically, any opinion you have, I'm dying to hear it.<br>
Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Oh child. We are in exactly the same boat. Do you also like peppermint tea and Belle & Sebastian? Because we’re identical in all other aspects. Me: 32 ACT, white female, varsity sports, independent studies, summer activities, class rank below top 10%, no presidencies or captainships, rigorous classes but not perfect GPA, some cool ECs, etc. etc. </p>

<p>Tufts is my one true love and I want to go so so so much. I didn’t realize this, however, in time for EDI so I waited. Now I think I want to do EDII but I don’t know how much of an advantage it would bring. To sort of answer your question: I don’t think we can know if it gives us an advantage because we don’t know what the pool of applicants will be like. Yes, EDII is a smaller pool, but it is also more competitive and full of people who are truly madly deeply head over heels for Tufts. I assume it would be about as hard to get in, maybe a teeeeeensy bit less hard, as RD.</p>

<p>What you say your major will be won’t hurt or help much, IR or otherwise. If you were a girl saying you wanted to be a mechanical engineer with a double major in biochemistry and a minor in mathematics, that could put a little oomph in your application. But it really doesn’t matter much. They assume your major will most likely change.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do is write slammin’ essays, RD or ED or XD. Be the one they’re talking about when they say “Wait, who was that kid with the great essays? I WANT them! Go find them!” Will you have good recs? Make sure your interview goes well. Bottom line, as you can see from our similarities, there are a lot of people like us in the middle. We just need something to make our apps tip over into the “yes” pile. I think essays are they key. Just remember every little thing counts. Once you apply, calm yourself down, remember that you are awesome no matter what school accepts you, and have some peppermint tea.</p>

<p>-BW</p>

3

<p>If Tufts is really your first choice, then you should apply EDII. You are definitely a competetive applicant, and there is no greater demonstration of interest than applying ED. I cannot overemphasize, though, that you should NOT apply ED unless you are sure that it’s your first choice.</p>