<p>I am a currently a junior looking to apply to Tufts University, but I question my suitability and would not want to waste money if there's a snowball's chance in Hades of me being accepted. </p>
<p>Let me first say that I was planning to apply early decision (if at all).</p>
<p>My SAT scoress look like so:
700 Math
680 Writing
670 Critical Reading</p>
<p>My GPA is 3.75, and places me in the top third of my class. My course load has been rigorous. </p>
<p>I have pursued two central extracurricular activities throughout my high school career, these are:</p>
<ol>
<li>My own pursuit of the Norwegian language (that is to say I taught it to myself), which I am now highly proficient in. This is the activity I have been most passionate about for personal reasons.</li>
<li>I participate in both the local and regional chess clubs, and volunteer to teach middle schoolers how to play chess. </li>
</ol>
<p>I hate to rely on these next two items so much here, but I will add them to give you a better picture of who I am.</p>
<p>I am legacy to Tufts University.</p>
<p>I am a Native American URM. I have a tribal enrollment number.</p>
<p>So guys, I'd like to know whether or not I'd be wasting my money in applying to Tufts. Thanks!</p>
<p>You would have a chance even if you weren’t a Native American. Frankly (not to be insulting) being NA is a big boost because it’s such a rare ethnicity. With legacy, I’d say you’re nearly a lock ED, and you’d have a good chance in RD as well.</p>
<p>I’m a senior who applied to Tufts this year and was unfortunately waitlisted. That being said, based on what I know about the school, you definitely should apply. Your ECs, particularly the one about language, fit the scope of Tufts’ “global citzen” perspective. You’re qualified stats-wise and the fact you’re a URM (esp. Native American) will give you a pretty nice advantage with admissions. I hope you apply and get in!</p>
<p>^ i think on the contrary, if the op didn’t have the legacy or the URM, he/she would have a decent shot at making tufts ED. now, add in the legacy and URM PLUS applying ED to the picture, and i can say confidently that you should be an easy accept for the admissions committee at tufts.</p>
<p>^Stop acting like you know everything. A lot of high schools don’t send class rank to colleges. I know mine doesn’t. Good thing too, because I’m in the fourth decile. But I still got into a lot of selective schools. The fact that you think that you can definitively say that this candidate CANNOT get into Tufts is just arrogant and ridiculous.</p>
<p>What selective schools did you get into being fourth decile? Certainly nothing near Tufts.</p>
<p>Here’s what helps me know a few things. Reading books by people who do know! Several explain how colleges know where you rank whether your school ranks or not. Start with A is For Admission which has a whole chapter on this.</p>
<p>Redroses: I didn’t realize that 100% of admitted students at Tufts were in the top decile. Part of the reason I didn’t realize that was because apparently it’s a secret that they only told to you. Because what the published statistics state is that only 90% of accepted students are in the top decile, and not all of them are athletes or URMs. I, in fact, was not in the top decile of my high school, and I got into Tufts, Cornell, and Williams, and I’m a white Christian heterosexual male who is more likely to play Risk than sports.</p>
<p>So stop being a dick.</p>
<p>snakie: Even without legacy and Native American URM status, you definitely wouldn’t be wasting your time applying, if your essays were compelling. Redroses is a dick, and overstates his case, but it is true that you’d have an uphill battle with those numbers; you’d need some great essays and recommendations. With legacy and Native American URM status, I would expect you’ll get in without too much of a bother.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Tufts RD and my school doesn’t report ranks etc., but if they did I would be around the 15%. The OP is definitely a lock to be accepted- especially with the URM and legacy status.</p>
<p>I agree with the seemingly contrary assessments of CloudCult and Redroses regarding snakie’s chances of being accepted to Tufts next year. The fact that he (she?) is a Native American and has demonstrated a passion for learning a foreign language on his own certainly bolsters his chances, especially if he applies ED. The Tufts legacy status will also be somewhat helpful but far from a clincher: from what I have been able to determine, many legacies were denied or wait-listed this past year and the trend will probably become more prevalent as the overall academic qualifications of the student body continues to increase. However (reiterating the view of Redroses), if snakie was not a URM, I think that he would find it significantly more difficult to gain admission. His SAT scores are well below Tufts current medians and the facts that he is not in the top decile of his class would certainly hurt his chances. That’s my opinion based upon what I know.</p>
<p>By the way, those who criticize Redroses’ viewpoint by making ad hominem attacks upon him as well as those insist that snakie is a “lock” or will get in “without too much of a bother,” are - in my view - completely misinformed. All you have to do is look at Tufts’ Institutional Research profile numbers for the Class of 2013 - Tufts enrolled students have numbers equal to or slightly better than Class of 2013 students at Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin and Brown. Tufts admissions is now so selective (as well as dependent on extraneous “holistic” factors) that practically no one is guaranteed to be accepted. Many students who were admitted four or five years ago would probably not be admitted today.</p>
<p>snakie-
You are a solid contender for Tufts ED, so if it’s your first choice, I would unhesitatingly recommend that you apply. You haven’t mentioned your Subject Test scores or said just how “rigorous” your curriculum is (especially junior and senior years), and those could be important, but your SATs are in the middle 50%, your GPA is solid, and your ECs are interesting. I love the self-taught Norwegian, it’s just not something you see too often, and being NA is an obvious (and significant) boost.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the replies. It seems to be the general consensus that I at least have “a shot,” and I’m glad to hear that. </p>
<p>In regards to curriculum rigor, by the time of graduation, I will haven taken five of the eight AP classes my high school offers. As you may know, AP test sittings occurred just last week, so I will not receive my scores for some time. </p>
<p>I was also under the impression that one typically takes the subject tests the year one is enrolled in the corresponding course. It had been my intention to take both the German and US History SAT IIs. Since I will be enrolled in both AP US History and the highest level of German as a senior, it was my intention to take the SAT II tests in that year.</p>
<p>My HS didn’t rank but I would have barely been top 50% if it had. I am not a recruited athlete, URM, or legacy, and my extracurricular-s were mediocre, but and I got into Tufts and two schools ranked in the top 10 on usnews.</p>
<p>Tufts, or any other school, certainly does not auto-reject non-atheletes/urms who are not in the top 10%.</p>
<p>FYI being Native American, taken by itself, does not really give you an admission boost because nobody cares about how many Native Americans a school accepts, and schools don’t publish those statistics. It could certainly be one of those things that make you stand out but it won’t give you an auto-boost like being African American would.</p>
<p>snakie-
I don’t understand your thinking on the Subject Tests. Yes, you would normally take them the year you’re enrolled in the corresponding course - but that assumes we’re talking 9th to 11th grade because they are COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TESTS. How do you intend to use tests taken at the end of your senior year on your Tufts app, unless you plan to take a gap year and apply during that year. ([Requirements</a> - First Year Applicants - Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Tufts University](<a href=“Tufts University”>Tufts University))</p>
<p>Just FYI: I’m going to Tufts next year on a 3.6 GPA and I’m even sure if I’m in the top quartile of my class.</p>
<p>Tufts, more than almost any place I know, evaluates its candidates on a very holistic basis. A smart person with “sub-par” numbers but one hell of an applicant profile can get in. One would have to perhaps put in extra effort into the application both in order to make it sing really well and also to establish that one is capable of succeeding there academically. However, with a very good application, OP certainly has a good shot.</p>
That makes sense for German, but a lot less sense for history since you need to take the SAT subject test by January at the latest, and perhaps December (too lazy to look it up.) You’ll only have covered half the history on the test. Is it too late to sign up for something this year? I really think taking them in June when you’ve just finished a course is better than in the fall when you’ve either forgotten material from the previous spring or you are only half way through the curriculum.</p>
<p>
This is just wrong. I’ve seen Native American statistics for many, many schools published on their websites. It’s usually 1%. (Don’t see the numbers for Tufts though!)</p>
<p>BTW you looked like a solid candidate to me - before you ever got to the legacy and URM.</p>
<p>^^mathmom-
He says he would apply ED, so even a December test date would be too late. And he needs two Subject Test scores for the application, so he needs to take them asap. He either needs to take the German now (before he has taken “the highest level”) or another test. I would recommend Math.</p>
<p>I forgot about the ED, yes I agree, most good students can get a decent math subject score. (Not my kid though - he had taken subject tests in May and retook them in June substituting Lit for Math.) Luckily his SAT1 math score was much higher than his SAT2 math score! Lit might be a reasonable option as it requires no special studying.</p>