<p>ok, my friend is in 11th grade. his parents can't afford his college education. he told me that his family income is like $20,000 and an untaxable income of $10,000. That means his family technically makes like $30,000. Since this friend gets free lunch at the public school he is attending, his family qualifies for $0. Also, he has like a 2300 SAT, A+ average, etc.</p>
<p>That means he might be a victim to Tufts syndrome, if he applies RD. If he applies ED, and gets accepted, then, he his financial aid package will not be great, because of his commitment. </p>
<p>He would just want to know how he could approach this problem. How would he express deep interest without applying ED? If he had the money, he would apply ED, but he just doesn't.</p>
<p>And he also would like to ask: Does Tufts give good FA?</p>
<p>Maybe he could write a letter when he applies RD explaining his situation?</p>
<p>Anywhere he applies that meets 100% of need without loans is going to give him the same amount of aid regardless of ED commitment. Plus, he can back out if they don’t. They can’t make him honor the ED commitment if he can’t afford it.</p>
<p>I’ve known students who couldn’t afford to go to Tufts because they didn’t get the aid they needed, and I’ve known students who have chosen Tufts because the aid they received was so good. What I absolutely have not known are students who weren’t accepted because their stats were “too” good and they didn’t apply ED–I assume that’s your concern about the mythic Tufts syndrome. </p>
<p>The way it works at Tufts is that in general, the higher your grades and test scores are, the higher your chances of being admitted. No one is given a free pass, so if your recommendations and essays don’t bolster those scores, you might not get in. Conversely, the lower your grades and scores, the more you’d best focus on all those other attributes that are important to Tufts.</p>
<p>As for ED vs. RD, Tufts knows that there are plenty of students who can’t afford the risk. Your friend can simply tell his admissions officer that he’d be applying ED if he knew the money was there. They’ll listen.</p>
<p>Two answers:</p>
<p>1) Tufts syndrome doesn’t exist at Tufts. So, to worry about that is a silly waste of time. BECAUSE WE DON’T DO THAT.</p>
<p>2) A student with a family income that is as low as you say would certainly qualify for and receive a financial aid package that would cover the entirety of Tufts’ tuition (or very close to that). </p>
<p>Your friend has nothing to worry about irrespective of when he applies. If he wants to apply ED, he need not worry about financial aid. And if your friend wants to apply RD, he need not worry about the absurdity of getting denied because is too smart. We don’t believe anyone is too smart for Tufts.</p>