Is it me or does it seem likes Tufts has a soul?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
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<p>My daughter is a QB finalist and has received several emails from their partner colleges including Tufts. What struck us both was their tone...not pompous but actually had a sense of humor and do I dare say it, like they really give a dam. They actually said they recognize the application process is stressful and want to help you be successful getting admitted in any school you are apply at. </p>

<p>It may be a marketing gimmick but we spent the day on the Tufts website and found the same tone there and now she is even thinking in the eleventh hour to apply.. </p>

<p>So is it genuine or a ploy?</p>

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<p>I wish you could meet Laura (who is writing most of those QB emails from Tufts). She’s such a lovely person, and so passionate about issues of access in education. “Give a damn” is a great way to describe her, and you should see how she fights for students (especially those with more limited financial resources). </p>

<p>No marketing person looks at any of the emails she sends out, or really any of the emails that we in admissions ever send out. I don’t think anyone on the admissions staff has anything approaching a formal marketing background, so I think we’d be pretty bad at marketing gimmicks. Laura, for instance, before joining us a few years ago, was a kindergarten teacher for two years in an urban school in Georgia. </p>

<p>She definitely has a soul. :)</p>

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<p>Can you PLEASE let her know it shows and is very much appreciated!</p>

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<p>Tufts has lots of soul!!! It is the best!</p>

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<p>There are things Tufts might not have, like Div I athletics or a multibillion dollar endowment, but it most definitely has a soul.
That’s why I loved it. That’s why my kid loves it.</p>

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<p>Tufts beat Yale for the Sailing National Championship. Tufts Women’s Field Hockey won the DIII National Championship. Tufts Men’s soccer made the DIII NCAA tournament is on the rise. School spirit in sports is on the rise because of this and the Fan The Fire events… Go Bos!!!</p>

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<p>I am so excited to have stumbled across this thread today, totally by accident, because I would love to chime in.</p>

<p>My son Sam chose Tufts as his first choice SPECIFICALLY for the reason cited. Yes, it’s a great school, yes that have an awesome program, but so do all the great schools he’s applying to. What won him over, and made Tufts unquestionably his first choice, was two factors. First, was spending a couple of hours on campus - NOT on the tour, walking up to random students to ask what they thought. It was a bizarre experience. He was expecting people to be concerned about a stranger on campus, and instead he said it felt like there must be a prize for who could do the most to recruit him. They walked him around, showed him the dorms, and even wanted to take him for lunch. He’s spent quite a bit of time at other campuses and not had that ever happen.</p>

<p>Far bigger of an influence to him though, has been the admissions team and their mind-blowing website. I’ve exchanged a few emails with Laura, for example, and she was kind, supportive, obviously eloquent, and makes you feel like the most important person in the world - which I’m sure isn’t easy when you must get 1000 emails a day. </p>

<p>Last week, my son received an email from a new guy in admissions named Matt, and he shared it with me. It was truly one of the best emails I’ve ever seen, to the point where i did the unheard of and called Matt on the phone, just to say thank you (sadly he wasn’t in).</p>

<p>Beyond that though, he has been living on their website, even while filling out his other apps, reading the blogs, watching the student made “inside admissions” video over and over, and actually taking notes on it. From Dan we learned that the goal is to “make the best case to admit” every student, even though they know they can’t. From Meredith, who has got to be the happiest darned admission person in the world, we learned that nothing means more to them than getting excited about a candidate and knowing you’re going to fight for them. From Emily, that the goal is to “unpack the story” (I like that one.) From Eddie, reading in his PJ’s…“we know what you’re doing, and want to know why.” Perhaps the best advice, from Justin…to love your list…which Sam actually has now written on a piece of paper and taped to the wall above his desk!!</p>

<p>Even Dean Coffin took the time to prove that you can write a 249 word essay, be eloquent, and get across everything you need to say with brilliance. I mean really, what other Dean of Admissions takes the time to answer the essay questions? </p>

<p>We’ve seen some fantastic schools, but they all seem so much less personal. One made him check a box on the supplement saying that he acknowledges that he is not to send them ANY supplemental information, or else! Another said they want no LOR’s and any that are received are shredded before they reach the file - and that, sadly, was my alma matter (I mean come on…)</p>

<p>In the end, Sam’s quote was “You know what dad, Tuft’s gets it, and that’s why I want to be there.” They somehow have learned that you don’t need a billion dollar marketing budget, engraved lucite invitations, thirty dollar brochures, or alumni calling us at home. All you need to do is to make students feel loved, respected, and wanted, and you can win over a student who had previously been looking only for schools with lot’s of green stuff growing up the hallowed walls.</p>

<p>So, if folks from Tufts do read this…all I can say is way to go! I’m not easily impressed, but you managed to pull it off. When it’s all over and done, I’ll be making it my personal goal to come say thanks, and offer to be a parent ambassador or something.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

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<p>Steve - OK, now I’m saying a little prayer that your son gets admitted :-)</p>

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<p>Thanks, BeanTownGirl, you’re too kind. I think he’ll be ok there. He seems to be a good fit for Tufts. Not a flawless 2400SAT person, by any means, but the beauty of Tufts is that from what i’ve heard, the whole “holistic approach to admissions” isn’t just a brochure buzzword, they actually seem feel to that way!</p>

<p>My only concern is his CR score. He had the teeniest of reading disabilities when he was very young, and even though he conquered it completely, had a 5 on his AP English test, and has actually published 3 books, and authored multiple papers, he’s never been able to break the 700CR level. Had a 780 WR and 710 I think for Math, but not the CR. I’ve suggested that he take a prep class, but he’s so busy with school, sports, internships, and running two non-profits that I don’t think he has the hour to spare…plus he told me if he did have that free hour he’d rather be “at the shelter working with his kids, then learning 10 more pretentious vocab words each week,” that he has no need to use. I wasn’t thrilled with that decision, but it’s a bit hard to argue with someone who at least has that sense of values about what’s important in life.</p>

<p>Anyway, I just want him to be happy, get a great Biomed education, and be close to home here in the Boston area, which is why I’m glad Tufts is choice number one. There’s a professor there named Dr. Kaplan who’s doing exactly the type of research he wants to do, and between that and all the good karma, it really wasn’t that hard of a choice for him.</p>

<p>My selfish concern is that if he winds up at Rice, Columbia, or Hopkins I would so miss him so much. Been a tough year with mom walking out on all of us, and even though we’ve always been close, it’s been more so the last few months. If he stays local I could go to his soccer games, track meets. It’s so weird, as a parent you go to every sporting event from the time the child is 5 and then all the sudden, they’re a senior in HS and it’s done. Very mixed feelings. Proud, happy, but a bid sad as well.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

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<p>Steve,
Two other factors, Tufts alumni by and large love the place both undergraduate and those of us with grad degrees from there. And the graduate/professional schools look kindly at Tufts undergrads wrt admissions so more than a few spend eight years as a Tufts student. Granted the medical and dental schools are downtown and not Medford but it is still closer than the other schools you mentioned.</p>

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<p>Agreed…and thanks. Yes, his “life plan,” which he, of course, has already laid out, is to get his Biomedical Engineering degree, with a minor or dual major in something like Public Health or International Relations. Then he wants to spend two years either overseas with the Peace Corp, or more likely staying in the states and doing Teach for America, which is a really cool program he’s been looking at for a while. Then he’ll look to medical school, again hopefully in the Boston area. He really wants to be involved in the research end of medicine…</p>

<p>Steve</p>

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<p>@ Steve- your quote hit home:“It’s so weird, as a parent you go to every sporting event from the time the child is 5 and then all the sudden, they’re a senior in HS and it’s done.”
My D is a freshman violinist, and I’ve been to every concert, recital etc. since she was 7- then she moved to Tufts, and I’m in San Diego! So, Tufts thoughtfully made it possible for those of us not able to be there to see the concert live, as they live streamed it online! Amazing. Yes, Tufts does care and is awesome. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Steve, I wouldn’t worry about his CR score. My son had a 700 on CR and is currently a freshman at Tufts and loving it. But I think the 700 did prevent him from getting into Columbia or Yale. But he absolutely loves it at Tufts. I would have preferred if he got into Yale or Columbia because we’re from New York metropolitan area. Would of been nice to be closer and see his games. We only saw one of his games when we were there in October. And 4 hours drive doesn’t seem too far but it really is. But the most important thing is that he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be. He loves the campus, the kids, the food, Boston, etc. This past semester he loved all his professors and did really well.<br>
Sounds like your son has a very unique story and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you on campus next year.</p>

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<p>Steve: thanks. I actually got misty-eyed reading that. I get to spend the year with Justin directing our website. As a Tufts alum, I think it’s an incredible honor to sit where we sit in education, and with that honor comes an obligation (I think) to be transparent, positive, and supportive of all these students who give us the vote of their application. </p>

<p>It’s a team effort over here, and we’re bucking the admissions trend by steering clear of aggressive and sometimes cynical admissions marketing consultants. It’s tremendously gratifying to hear that our work resonates. Good luck to your son, and if he ever has questions, feel free to connect him with me. I’d be pleased to help out.</p>

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<p>Oh hey Dan! I didn’t put two and two together. You’re actually “the Dan” that Sam keeps watching in the video…the now infamous “Baltimore or Bangkok… …the goal is to admit the kid” person that he keeps hoping is the actual admission guy reading his app this weekend :slight_smile: You’re somewhat famous around our home these days.</p>

<p>Thanks for all you do, Dan, truly, and please pass along our thoughts to the whole team and let them know that they absolutely make a difference, even to students they don’t admit. In fact, this week, as Sammy was doing his essays and apps for Brown, Columbia and Princeton and the other schools he kept going back to the Tufts website for tips on how to do it. Of course, he had a darn good point, which was to ponder whether the admissions folks at some of the more stodgy schools had the same sense of wit as the Tufts folks, and would appreciate his “Let you life speak” essay about how he always says he feels sorry for butterflies because they have no adolescence. I warned him, perhaps inaccurately, that I don’t think that one would evoke the same smile at some of those schools, as it might from Meredith, for example, who talks about “fighting tooth and nail” for someone in committee.</p>

<p>In any event, dare I say that even the kids you don’t ultimately admit are better for the experience? Well, maybe not better…but certainly not as bad as you might think.</p>

<p>Funny thing, today when he was watching it for the zillionth time he asked if they allowed freshman to intern in admissions. I told him to give it a few years before trying to add one more thing onto a plate that’s way overfilled now.</p>

<p>Would it be ok to share your post with him? He may want to send you an email just to say hi, if that’s not inappropriate in any ways. He doesn’t want to do anything improper in any way.</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

<p>Steve Levine</p>

<p>PS. Here’s Sammy if you want to put a face with the name. [A</a> Note from Our President machildrensfund.com](<a href=“http://machildrensfund.com/?page_id=292]A”>http://machildrensfund.com/?page_id=292)</p>

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<p>@momworried and @tolstoy2 - So great to hear from current parents around CC. That’s the feeling he had there as well, that everyone is just always happy. being from the Boston area, he just loves it here, and I have no doubt he’ll put together a group of 20 kids to head to Fenway one night. Boston is just awesome, although I’m not sure they’d be able to drag me out of San Diego, with that gorgeous weather.</p>

<p>We’ll see if that CR score hurts or not. It’s just so weird that you devote 4 years of your life to being that great student, challenging yourself, writing books, taking college classes, and then one test on something so irrelevant to the big picture, can make all the difference in the world. Hopefully, the rest of the story is compelling enough that they can look beyond it. I mean really, come on, as a sophomore he won first place in the State Engineering Fair, building a carbon fiber space platform, launching it into the atmosphere, tracking it for 100 miles, and recovering it in Central Mass. Now that was really neat :-)</p>

<p>He’s just a really cool kid who has it all (except the CR). He even has Abercrombie keep asking him to model, but told them he’d rather be in a lab coat. If only I could turn back time and live that life, I’d do it in a sec.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

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<p>I love this thread because I thoroughly agree with everything said on it. My daughter is a freshman at Tufts and it couldn’t be better. What a wonderful place. And, Steve, don’t worry - she got a 690 CR score. Tufts looks beyond that if the student is the right fit.</p>

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<p>@hobbes I just know you’re right. There must be something in the Medford water that makes everyone so happy :slight_smile: BTW, at 690, I don’t think I would lose any sleep. His was 630…which was a little bit of a concern, but between the 780 in writing and 710 in math, plus mid 700’s on the subject tests, I’m hoping they’ll at least not worry about that part, and find the value in a great student who’s really motivated and loves it there.</p>