Interesting that they did share the ranks when you said for merit scholarship. When I asked our counsellor where my S24 ranks she was very evasive and said they don’t track it and best is check Naviance per college and the School profile.
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Question about applying to out-of-state publics: From the discussions on this thread, I’ve seen that students who get into out-of-state publics on the level of UMass and UMinn tend to have 1450-1500 on their SATS. Even though these students tend to be in computer science and business, these scores make me think that these publics only want high-testing out-of-state students, so they can raise their overall scores. If my student has a 1360 SAT (which is not going to change), should they go test-optional to these OOS publics, even in a more normal Arts and Sci-type major?
I’d suggest looking at the 25th/75th percentile range at your target schools to make a decision. OOS admit rates are lower, so the bar may be higher than the published figures. If the GPA is good, your student should definitely go test optional, especially if he or she is not applying to very competitive programs.
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Thanks!–“the bar may be higher than the published figures” is exactly what I was thinking, whereas the private schools won’t have that potential difference. The grades and APs are currently squeaky clean, although I’m interested to see what happens with AP Calc next year. 
There are certain public state schools where the admission standards are the same. For example, on our tour, UF tour guide said the admission standard is the same in state vs OOS.
I think they want strong OOS students to bolster their rankings plus OOS students pay more.
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I went and looked up U Minn the SAT ranger for their college and they list based on major: Academic Profile of Fall 2022 Admitted Freshman Applicants by College | Office of Admissions
For college of science and engineering the SAT range they have is: 1370 - 1520. So if you have 1440 or above which is 50% I would submit it even if you are OOS.
Another data point is checking Naviance for your school data. Based on Naviance the avg GPA and SAT score for kids who got into U Minn from our school is 3.74 and 1460 SAT.
So based on the data above if my S24 were to apply to U Minn for engineering I would submit anything around 1450
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I believe (I could be wrong), state schools tend to be more stats oriented when reviewing admissions than private schools. So if SAT falls below the 50% range, test optional may be the way to go.
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some, in fact most, public schools publish in state and out of state statistics so you can see this. For most schools being out of state hurts you significantly. And some, like UW Seattle publish by major. For example in 2022 admittance, 21% of in state were accepted to CS while only 3% OOS were. I took these stats into consideration when steering my kids to making sure he had some solid targets and not too many reaches on their list.
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I just saw something that changed my mind. The schools emphasize that the 25-75% average is for admitted students, not enrolled students. This means that many of the admitted students with higher scores might have gone elsewhere (since these are the kinds of schools with 50 percent yield). Ergo, if the score is truly within the 50 percent window for admitted students, it would be better to show it in all cases, I think.
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My D24 has a 33 ACT, and also thinks she will probably ED to Tufts. We have had the same conversations about whether to try again to see if she can improve. I’m in favor both to increase profile for Tufts, but also to increase likelihood of Honors Program at our instate flagship.
She’s currently an adamant “no” on another ACT effort. I’ve intended to raise the question again once all exams are over. Yesterday was AP Lit, tomorrow is APUSH, and next week is AP Physics. Then the week after she has regular exams for Honors Pre-Calc and Honors French IV. So she’s busy right now. 
Am I overestimating the benefit of even 1 more point on ACT?
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Yes. Don’t bother with another round of ACT testing.
She can always go TO.
40% admitted students did not submit ACT/SAT. Probably a close call.
https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/enrolled-student-profile/
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I struggle with the idea of test optional for her. We are a full pay family, and she attends a well regarded private school. We are in the South, with no recent history with Tufts. But we regularly place kids with similar stats at other selective schools (particularly full pay students). My S21 had slightly lower stats (and less uniform rigor), and was accepted ED to Tulane. (He is thriving.)
Even though 33 is at the bottom of the submitted range, it feels like it would validate that it’s still a strong score - and might particularly help an AO who is less familiar with her HS.
But I do have twinges of concern - which is why I’m leaning toward another attempt to bump the score.
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What were her practice section scores? Did her official score reflect her practice scores?
My DS2022 got a 34 on his 1st official ACT, because he messed up the timing of the Science section. He normally practices a 35 on Science, but he got a 30 on the official test. So of course he would take a 2nd ACT.
He raised the Science to 35 as expected, and was able to superscore 36.
Since Tufts has such low acceptance rate, a 34 would help more than a 33, because there’s this “1500 SAT bar”.
34 is more like 1500 SAT,
whereas 33 is under 1500 at 1460.
But it’s definitely about your DD’s transcript also.
My DS2022 was accepted to Tufts RD. His transcript were all APs/Honors and A+, and his 36 ACT helped.
But my DD2024’s 33 ACT will not get her into Tufts, because her transcript is not as strong as her brother’s (so Tufts is not on her list).
I’m having DD take the ACT for the 3rd time (because she had a few practice sections scoring 35), hoping to help offset her not stellar GPA.
My point: doesn’t hurt to test again, even for 1 more point.
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D24 took AP English Lit yesterday. Thinks she did well. I hate the waiting part of this…waiting for the scores. Much prefer the CLEP process where you find out your score immediately at the testing center.
APUSH is tomorrow. Study hall all day at school today. The Calculus teacher is also having drop in “student hours” at certain times today. D24 turned in the 2nd extra credit assignment for Calculus.
She’s also applied at some other places for summer work…2 positions at different grocery stores near us plus another McDonald’s location. There’s 3 other grocery store jobs I’m going to make her apply to. She has an interview on Fri at the 1st one she applied to. She really doesn’t like this part of learning how to adult. 
Hey, kiddo, neither do us adults! LOL.
There’s forms to submit by end of the month for her week-long Summer Scrubs camp in June.
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Your question suggests she did more practice than I believe she actually did, LoL! While I have urged it, she spent more time on her classes, as math and science come less easily to her than English and history.
Her pre ACT (10th grade) was a 34, so I was surprised when the first try at ACT came back a 31. She tried again and improved everything but English (already a 35), with the now 33 superscore. I suspect she should be able to improve math or science from their current 32 - which would tip her to a 34.
Her intended major is English, so I’m also hoping the choice of a less popular major (compared to engineering, economics, psychology, etc) works in her favor. They have lots of tenured humanities professors who need students in the pipeline for higher level classes, yet some majors (like English) are showing declining numbers.
We’re not full pay, so we were/are chasing merit, so my DS2022 did a lot of PSAT (aiming for NMF) and ACT drilling aiming for 36.
And for DD2024, better ACT would help pull up her GPA.
ED to Tufts would be the ultimate Demonstrated Interest, so that would help.
We’re local to Tufts. The only other kid that was accepted to Tufts from our HS applied ED.
good luck.
We love Tufts, lived in Davis Square for a few years.
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Thank you! Good luck to your D24, too.
We are building the rest of the list, including safeties where she would be happy. We will have another visit to Tufts in the Fall (hoping to add on some other nearby schools), to check in on whether ED is still right for her.
D24 spent two weeks at Tufts last summer in one of their pre-college programs, and she absolutely fell in love with the campus and Davis Square. She toured me around both when I came at the end of the program. I know it’s a tough reach, but we are hoping not impossible.
Just found out two of S24’s teachers are leaving and this is their last year they will be at the school… worst thing is both are teachers whom know him the best, and he was going to ask them for LoR.
If the teachers are leaving the school, can S24 still ask them for LoR? Or LoR has to be from teachers that are teaching at the school?
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If your D had a 33.25 and just got a higher score in 1 category, that could push her up to a 33.5 which would be rounded up to a 34.
Im not sure if schools just look at the composite scores or if they look at individual sections. Do they view a 33.5 differently than a 34.25 which are both counted as 34.
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