*OFFICIAL* Tufts RD 2017 discussion/decision thread

<p>Can someone please let me know if they got their decision of acceptance, rejection or wait list via on line or through a letter. I am on the east coast and still have nothing- via snail mail or on my tufts account.</p>

<p>To all those trying to make sense of this- don’t. It has been a crazy acceptance/rejection year.<br>
Accepted to TUFTS (didn’t post my stats earlier, but since someone asked)</p>

<p>My Stats: (I really think my essays helped get me in.)
ACT: 31
SAT II Math 710, Physics 710, Bio 690
GPA 3.7 UW (really difficult private school in NYC)
No class rank
Live outside of New York City
Major: Music/Biology
Extra Curr. Lot and Lots; Pres. of some clubs, Speech and Debate; lots of music stuff; 2nd Degree BB and Tae Kwon Do- as you can see my ECs are all over the place.
Volunteer Work: 100s of hours at preschools and charity events
Work: have taught TKD since I was 11
Essay: the best of any college I applied to- the questions just worked for me; I know Tufts likes very creative and original essays
Interview: None
Race: White
Hooks: None, did show interest
Other School: Accepted to- UNC, Northwestern, BU, Elon, Fordham,Tufts!!!
Rejected: NYU, Harvard
Waitlisted: Boston College</p>

<p>Congrats and Good luck to those who are still waiting to hear from other school or deferred.
Male</p>

<p>BTW- What is the Tufts Syndrome, I must have missed that somehow?</p>

<p>Accepted - int’l student.</p>

<p>@Musicguy - it’s the belief that just because one got into Yale, one should be admitted everywhere regardless of differences in institutions or applications.</p>

<p>Was that too snarky? It felt pretty snarky.</p>

<p>Dan, I looked up the word “snarky” just to be sure I knew what it meant. I guess it’s a pretty good statement. Although tensions are running high after waiting so long for responses. Some students got what they wanted and others did not. After the wind stops blowing people will calm down some.</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Send
[</em>] ACT: 34 (super score 35)
[<em>] SAT II: Didn’t Send
[</em>] Unweighted GPA: 95.25/100
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (school ranks exclusively by decile)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Bio (5), APUSH (4), English Lit.
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 1 AP, 6 Dual Enrollment (3/semester), 1 regular class
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Lacrosse, International Club, NHS, Internship Program, some more minor ECs
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Internships at Northwestern Mutual & Biochem Lab, Landscaping Job, Babysitting
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Nothing major
[</em>] Summer Activities: n/a
[<em>] Essays: I took a chance with my Common App essay. I thought my Tufts essays were amazing though. I really took my time on them and thought they were the best I had written. I really opened up and showed my personality.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: I believe one was very good, while the other was cookie-cutter
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Very close with GC, so it was probably really good
[</em>] Additional Rec: n/a
[li] Interview: I thought this interview was a bit of a disaster. I had an older gentleman who was really nice, but the interview just didn’t flow very well. It also wasn’t a good sign that it only lasted about 25 minutes.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other:[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: Middle (70k-80k) - Applied for Financial Aid
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection:[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Scores, Grades, Essays
[</em>] Weaknesses: ECs, Interview
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at SUNY Geneseo, Siena College, RPI, University of Rochester, Villanova, Boston College. Rejected at Wesleyan.[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Dan you were appropriately snarky. Traditionally at our public CA high school, the kids that get rejected from Stanford get in to Yale. Is there a “syndrome” there? Only in the heads of those who got rejected. Ludicrous concept that needs to die. TUFTS IS THE BEST SCHOOL EVER, with the happiest students. That is all you need to know.</p>

<p>Tolstoy must have missed the news that Stanford had the country’s lowest acceptance rate this year - even lower than Harvard’s, and definitely lower than Yale’s. </p>

<p>That said, the comments made by Dan and Tolstoy are spot on - I’m going to be applying for the class of 2018, and if there’s anything that’s clear from looking at the 2017 results, it’s that you can’t take anything for granted, especially not schools like Tufts that sadly reject more than 81% of their applicants :(</p>

<p>I don’t want to label Dan’s reply snarky – his posts are typically very helpful and much appreciated. However, he did not accurately explain the so-called “Tufts Syndrome”- that is, a college such as Tufts, which receives many stellar applications, rejects some highly qualified applicants who they assume will choose to go elsewhere in order to increase their yield (the percentage of accepted applicants who enroll). Why is it called “Tufts Syndrome”? Probably because so many Ivy hopefuls regard Tufts, inappropriately, as a back-up school. Given the choice they select the Ivy, and weeding them out in the admissions process keeps them from depressing the yield. The “Tufts Syndrome” thus refers to the behavior of the institution, rather than of the rejected applicants. Dan’s explanation implies the latter, which is perhaps the reason he called it ‘snarky’.</p>

<p>Note that this is not a comment on whether the “Tufts Syndrome” actually exists, which is likely to remain a matter of endless debate no matter how often admissions officers try to debunk it.</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2260 superscore-Math 740, Reading 720, Writing 800
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: US History 680, Math II 690, French 560
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ?? weighted 4.1
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/300
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov (4) US History (4)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP French IV, AP World, AP Calc BC, AP English Lit
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cross Country (Captain), Musical (Dance Captain), NHS (President), Tri-M (President), Tennis, Choir, Model UN
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: various with NHS and my church
[</em>] Summer Activities: work
[<em>] Essays: fairly strong
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: excellent
[<em>] Counselor Rec: probably solid
[</em>] Additional Rec:
[<em>] Interview: nope
[</em>] Supplementary Material:</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
[</em>] School Type: poor performing public
[<em>] Ethnicity: white
[</em>] Gender: male
[<em>] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): applied for aid
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: extracurriculars with lots of leadership, essays
[</em>] Weaknesses: very little volunteer work, not great subject tests
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: showed my unique perspective and background, leadership
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to uPenn, Georgetown, George Washington, Boston University, Northeastern, and Drexel. Thrilled to have no rejections!</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: Congrats to everyone accepted, and to those who weren’t try not to take it too hard, it’s practically a lottery, especially this year.</p>

<p>Anyone wonder if “brieflynoted” is real? One post, sole purpose to complain about Tufts Syndrome, no stats, semi-outlandish claims…</p>

<p>Yale is more difficult to be accepted to than Tufts. Plain and simple.</p>

<p>I was wait listed with a 4.1 weighted GPA and a 2320 SAT. 800 CR, 770 Math, 750 writing. 4s and 5s on multiple AP exams. I’ve been the first chair percussionist in the all state band for two years running, I have been an SGA class officer for three years, I’ve played varsity soccer for three years, I’m on the honor council, I am an Eagle Scout, and I was accepted to Carnegie Mellon, northwestern, and oberlin, among others. Disappointed and a little confused!</p>

<p>

Generally, yes, in every specific instance, no. (Think “Yale needed a squash player, but Tufts already had a full roster.”)</p>

<p>I will also add that the Tufts application has changed quite a bit in the last few years. While I’m not an adcom (IANAAC?), I can guess that there may be some students whose application is not tailored to Tufts (e.g. no supplemental essays, declined the optional alumni interview, went into the interview and couldn’t explain “Why Tufts?”, etc.), who might get into Yale and not into Tufts. But you have to remember that Tufts isn’t seeing the Yale app and getting its nose out of joint; it’s seeing a lazy, unthoughtful application. </p>

<p>No one has yet to explain why a university should accept a talented student who puts no effort into an application, or a super-smart kid who is obviously a bad fit for the school. Nor has anyone explained what is wrong with an admissions committee seeing, and acting on, various red flags. </p>

<p>Again, IANAAC, but out of 18,000 applications, I bet at least some students fall into the above description.</p>

<p>Tufts syndrome does not exist. Period. </p>

<p>Every university is looking for different traits in an applicant. A trait that is valued highly at one institution may not be as valued at another. As Dan stated, just because someone was accepted by Yale does NOT mean they deserve to be accepted everywhere else; same applies for the arguement with Stanford. Rejections hurt – I get it. But that doesn’t mean one should go bashing on a particular school.</p>

<p>brieflynoted, I suggest that you put your ego aside and don’t blame an old fallacy. I wish you the best at Yale. You must have excellent qualifications and should do well! Thanks.</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (740 R 790 M 720 W) (single sitting)
ACT: none
SAT II: 800 Math II 800 Chemistry 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): none
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Calculus, British Literature, Economics, Senior Portfoli
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Official Interpreter, Math Club (President),
Business Club (Vice-president), Spanish Club (Vice-president), Class president, Student Monitor
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring elementary school children
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at pharmacy and emergency room at hospital
Summer Activities: Volunteered in Ethiopia
Essays: 8/10 maybe
Recommendations:
Teacher Rec #1: Excellent
Teacher Rec #2: Great
Counselor Rec: Excellent
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):N/A
Country (if international applicant): South Korea
School Type: Private/Religious
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100K-150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: GPA, SAT, SAT2s
Weaknesses: lack of APs, lack of awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: scores and GPA
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at BC, CMU, Rice, UVA, UMich, TAMU, Cornell. Rejected at Penn</p>

<p>General Comments: Happy!</p>

<p>ACCEPTED</p>

<p>Late in posting but found this information helpful in the past.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.86 UW. School doesn’t weight
Rigor: Took every AP except language. 14 APs (all 5s so far) all the rest honors
SAT: 740/800/800 one sitting
SATII 740 US History 800 MathII
EC: Drama, Jazz Band, Chess, Math Team, Masterminds etc. Some leadership
Awards: Bausch and Lomb outstanding science student award and scholarship, NMF, AP Scholar with distinction, various local/state awards
Essays: Fine
Recs: Picked great teachers and GC is terrific
Interview: Went fine</p>

<p>Also admitted to UChicago, Fordham, Northwestern
Denied UPenn, Columbia</p>

<p>Will end up at Chicago because the Math program is so good and the Financial Aid was great with no loans, and more than need met.</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted!</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (800 R 750 M 730 W)
ACT: 34
SAT II: 770 Lit 790 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15/110
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), World History (4), US History (5), Biology (5), Art History (5), Eng Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, AP Macro/Micro, European History, Psychology, Comparitive/US Government, Physics C, Eng Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Eagle Scout, NHS, Red Cross, various others
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Did a lot through Scouts and Red Cross
Summer Activities:
Essays: My common app one was crap. I couldn’t figure our how to write it and ended up screwing up badly. I really liked the Tufts ones though.
Recommendations:
Teacher Rec #1: No idea
Teacher Rec #2: No idea
Counselor Rec: No idea
Additional Rec: None
Interview: I thought it went pretty well.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, highly competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Probably SATs and APs. Maybe my Tufts essays?
Weaknesses: My GPA. My ECs were kind of weak too. Plus the common app essay
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Carleton, Grinnell, and Northeastern. Waitlisted at Rice. Denied at Dartmouth.</p>

<p>Rejected from Tufts
3.83 GPA and 2360 SAT score 800 W 790 M 770 CR
sat II- 800 math II 770 physics 760 us history
my rank is ~30%, best public school in our state
taken about 6 Aps until senior year and senior year took 6 aps. got 5s in all my exams to date.
national-level awards in speech/debate, lots of stuff with chorus, volunteering, a few other activities which revolved around these three, including service-oriented biz
great essays…especially the tufts ones
teacher recs were a wild card</p>

<p>accepted to - georgia tech (early)
rejected from - harvard, stanford, yale (early), dartmouth, emory, duke (legacy), uchicago, northwestern, tufts</p>

<p>why i think i got rejected - i forgot to send my official SAT score report to tufts. also obvious stuff like the atrocious class rank and mediocre gpa</p>