Is Tufts a huge reach for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>Can someone tell me what my chances are?</p>

<p>Female
Asian (Indian)
MA
Competitive public high school (sends many to top schools including Ivys)</p>

<p>Cumulative GPA: 3.7 uw...i think. My school doesn't give it out of 4.0, but my average of all three years is a 93 unweighted.</p>

<p>Freshman year: 97 average.
Soph year: 92 average.
Junior year: 91 average.
I'm hoping to get back on track at least the beginning of senior year.</p>

<p>All Honors and/or AP classes.</p>

<p>Rank: 16/300...Top 5%</p>

<p>SAT:
CR-540 (yea, i know...)
M- 660
W- 740 with a 12 on the essay
This was my second time taking it, however, I had many distractions in the room, which caused me to do not as well. I'm most likely going to take again in Oct, but will taking it three times be just as respectable? I'm hoping to get that CR score to a 600+.</p>

<p>ECs <em>Please note that I moved and therefore switched schools after my freshman year. There many seem a slight inconsistency in some activities because of this</em>.</p>

<p>Speech& Debate Team (9th)
-Went to many competitions and won numerous awards even on the state level. Could not continue because it was not available at my new school.
Violin
-Have been playing for 8 years, and freshman year played in the Symphony Orchestra.
Model UN (10th-12th)
-Delegate
Yearbook (10th-12th)
-Will be Editor Senior year.
Science Club (11th-12th)
-Will be Vice President Senior year.
-Serve as a mentor for elementary school kids and help them conduct research at the vernal pool.
PEER Leaders (11th-12th)
-Community leaders from the school.
-We do various community service and help around the school.</p>

<p>Community Service (about 150+ hours)
-Elks Lodge (over 50 hours)
-Pediatric Doctors Office (about 30 hours)
-Local Hospital (about 30+ hours)
-Various other events including Special Olympics and Soup Kitchens</p>

<p>Other Summer Stuff
-Working in a Genetics Lab at URI helping with research.
-Will be Interning at InCube for a few weeks at the end of this summer. It's a biomedical research company.</p>

<p>I understand that right now my SAT is killing me, but like I said, i hope to get that up at least another 100 points or so if possible. I will most likely pursue something in the medical/biology field. THANK YOU!</p>

2

<p>Your SATs are a little low, but otherwise everything else looks good</p>

3

<p>you should consider taking the ACT......if you do well on it they wouldn't even have to see your SAT scores.</p>

<p>also the SAT trys to trick you whereas the ACT is very straight forward the hard thing about the ACT is that you don't get much time per section.....they are both very different test but i find people tend to do a lot better on one then the other</p>

4

<p>What Honors and AP Classes are you taking/did you take?
Colleges not only look at your GPA, but also try to gauge how tough the course load is?
Everything looks great except the SATs. I had the same problem and I took it a third time and brought up my CR score. So if you have confidence in yourself that you will improve, then go for it.
I would say that Tufts is within reach for you - meaning that it is probable if you improve your SAT scores, get back on track with a higher GPA, and write good essays (which I think is a walk in the park considering you got a 12 on your essay).</p>

5

<p>I concur. Your SATs are lacking, but otherwise you look good, so maybe they will get past the unimpressive SATs.</p>

6

<p>hotapp: I took honors math all three years, taking AP Calc next year. Honors English all years as well, with AP this year coming up. Honors Science courses, with AP Bio junior year, and BOTH Physics and Anatomy this year. Honors History all four years. So yeah, pretty much all honors, and a few APs (my school doesn't offer too many). </p>

<p>I'm definitely going to try to get that CR score up, and I'm pretty sure it will happen. I'm thinking at least in the 600-650 range.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies, any more?</p>

7

<p>Your curriculum is very strong. The only thing you need to work on is your CR score and you'll be a strong candidate for acceptance.</p>

8

<p>I visited Tufts last week, and I really loved it. I took the tour and attended the information center. The school really has a lot to offer, and i do think it's a good fit for me. I'm still working on that CR score. I know it's dragging me, but I really hope to increase it another 100 points or so like I said. </p>

<p>When I was there, the lady really said to focus on the "voice" part of the application. So my question is really, how do I write the "why tufts" essay and the "who are you" part of the app. Any advice, continued chances, or anything would be greatly appreciated.</p>

9

<p>Your GPA is pretty good, your ECs are strellar, your courseload seems right on track, and your SAT, while a liiiitle low, can probably be easily imrpoved. Oh, yeah, take some SAT subject tests, too. Pick your best two/three subjects and take tests in them.</p>