I know a lot of the class is admitted ED this year, but how helpful do you think it is?
It depends how strong an applicant one is.
@WellOkay I am not sure what @WCASParent is saying, but I am guessing that ED can be helpful for a student who is on the cusp. If you are not close to being an admit, ED is not helpful. If you are a very strong applicant, ED is not helpful.
I think the average ACT is 32 at Tufts. So, if you have a 31 or 32 then, all else equal, I would think you have a much better chance if you apply ED.
I don’t think it’s helpful for applicants who are on the cusp-- cusp applicants are mostly just rejected. It’s worth a shot if it’s your dream school but they do defer a lot of qualified ED applicants to the regular decision pool and then it could also go either way. The deferral letter states outright that they do not try to fill a large portion of their class with ED applicants like other schools do, but they also say they will keep in mind your ED interest when considering you in the RD pool should you get deferred (and you could still get rejected there, easily). Tufts is getting harder to get into every year. Read their admissions blog faithfully to crack the code on best chances. Good luck!
Thanks for the responses, all!
If the only people that get in ED are the ones that would 100% get in otherwise, do you think it’s helpful at all, @redpoodles ?
I don’t see how it could hurt, IF it’s the school you absolutely want to go to, and you have at least a shot. Tufts admits about 1 in 3 of its ED applicants, compared to less than 16% of applicants overall. So statistically it would seem one has a better chance of admission by applying ED. However, because it’s a binding decision, the majority of students who apply ED to Tufts, are often a match for the school otherwise.
Beware of the ED stats. Remember all of the recruited athletes go in the ED round - so it skews the numberss. For an unhooked applicant the odds may be a little better - but probably not twice as likely.
I have researched this issue as much as I could online. There are articles which indicate that it is roughly the equivalent of another 150 points on the SAT (graded to a 2400) or 100 points on the SAT graded to a 1600. That sounds about right to me. It isn’t a huge difference but it is a difference. It’s far from a guarantee but it does in my opinion help you. That being said, making sure your essays are spot on is very important and ED is, as others have said, far from a guarantee.
D1 applied ED because Tufts was far and away her top choice, but also because applicants from her high school tended to use Tufts as a match or safety school (I know, I know, not gonna defend the behavior). She wanted to make it clear that she would matriculate if accepted. No idea if it really made a difference for her.
I don’t see how there could be possibly be a downside to ED if you’re sure you would accept if admitted.
ED matters: They know you can pay and it helps yield: Data
ED Acceptance - 39%
RD Acceptance - 15%
RD Yield - 26%
Total Yield - 41%
% of class from ED - 50%
Tufts is quirky, chip on their shoulder as Ivy back-up. ED shows commitment, many qualified RD’s are rejected that would have been admitted ED. Agree that might not help borderline application, but Ivy qualified applications are dramatically helped by ED.
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/tufts-university
The above data is slightly out of date (a year or two). ED acceptance is a few points too high, RD yield is a few points too low and total yield is two or three points too low. The basic sentiment of “ED matters” however is spot on if you’re a strong candidate.