<p>So, I got waitlisted from Tufts, and I am honestly no longer bitter or upset about the decision, even though the school was my first choice. But, to be honest, I'm kind of surprised.</p>
<p>People say Tufts likes kids who show interest, and doesn't want to be an Ivy safety, right? </p>
<p>So, here's what I did to show my interest:
- took an honors class at a tufts summer study
- got a recommendation from the professor
- did an interview, where I definitely mentioned tufts was my first choice
- wrote the additional essay
- put tons of time into my application in general</p>
<p>so, isn't that showing interest? I'm still not sure as to why I got waitlisted... it seems almost sadistic, considering how obvious it was that I liked the school.</p>
<p>By the way, I also had straight A's in top classes, a 2150 (all 700's+) on the SATs, good ECs with leadership, blah blah, and I got into Cornell and Hopkins, for which I showed no interest whatsoever. So, I still don't get it. </p>
<p>I would definitely write a letter. My college counselor mentioned to our class that a lot of colleges over-accepted applicants last year and ended up over-enrolling them. They might have under-accepted this year, wait-listing a lot more people and then waiting to see what kinds of demographics emerge from the people who decide to go so they don't run into the same problem they had last year. In this light, if I were you, I'd definitely put myself on the wait-list, send Tufts a letter reiterating how much you want to go to there, put in a deposit at either Cornell or Hopkins (congrats on this, by the way--those are great schools!), and then just see what happens in the next 3-4 months. Good luck with everything and hope to see you in the fall!</p>
<p>yeah I don't think the whole "interested" thing is THAT big of a factor. I really didn't show interest in any of my schools. I think it's the type of thing that is a "tip" when choosing between two comparable students; however I doubt the process often gets that far.</p>
<p>Did you apply ED? I think that's the best way to show strong interest, although if you didn't it's obviously not going to help your situatuion at this point.</p>
<p>The article is all about the tremendous increase in applications at so many schools and how it reaches a certain point for the Admissions Committee that even a more than qualified student for a particular school can still be rejected.</p>
<p>Unfortunately with top schools, there is a little bit of luck that's needed as well.</p>
<p>If I were you, I'd do whatever I could to make sure you're at the very top of the wait list. Try contacting the Tufts Summer Study Professor for his/her thoughts. Good Luck...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I haven't seen your essays, so it's hard to say - but writing a supplemental essay does not, by itself, show interest. If your essay was "Why Tufts," that's good - but it should also really hit the nail on the head. JJs'Mom isn't around the boards anymore, unfortunately, but her son's Tufts essay almost brought tears to my eyes - I couldn't help but think - that's my alma mater!!</p></li>
<li><p>Your interviewer might not have put that into the report.</p></li>
<li><p>They have to build a class. Your ECs might have been the one thing that they have too many of this year - Tufts doesn't need a class full of trumpet players or track runners; they need everything. It's possible that better students had your ECs or that the ED group filled up their requirements. Also, the school just can't have a whole group of French majors; they try to guess who will go where (generally) and strive for balance, mostly because they can't overburden a department.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>gr8fldad - no, I didn't apply ED. Money is a big issue in my family, and we applied for financial aid everywhere. If tufts had not given me enough money, I would simply not have been able to go, and I didn't want to take that risk... getting out of an ED contract, even for finaid issues, is horrible.</p>
<p>jckrsslltrrrmsch - actually, I think I'm going to enroll in Wellesley instead. Haha, yeah, everyone thinks I'm weird for liking it more than Cornell or Hopkins, but I feel like it just has a nicer atmosphere and wasn't as huge/overwhelming. </p>
<p>ariesathena - I honestly think my common app essay and my supplement essay (which was about who I am, and not the school) were more awesome than my why Tufts essay, I'll give you that. The "why _____ school essay" was the section of every application I hated most. But I feel like spending extra time on a well-crafted essay, even if it's not about the school, shows that you care. No? My ECs were pretty average/normal, I'll give you that one too, but I thought the other parts of my application made up for it. </p>
<p>PS: Tufts isn't need blind, right? Could that be part of why I got waitlisted as well?</p>
<p>A major deciding factor is whether or not you decided to take many rigorous classes this year and have challenged yourself over the years. I believe that was an important factor in my admission because I am taking Physics II AP/UCONN, Chem II AP/UCONN, Calculus I AP/UCONN, pre-engineering drafting honors, and AP Literature and doing very well in all of them. Tufts seems to like seeing that people are challenging themselves and succeeding.</p>
<p>Yeah, I've been taking pretty much all the hardest courses availabe at my school every year and have 4 AP's this year.. I don't think that's the issue.</p>
<p>sorry mehhhh;Financial concerns are a real reason not to apply ED. I still think you should speak with the Tufts Professor you dealt with over the summer. If he/she was willing to write a recommendation for you, then maybe he/she can speak with someone (who makes admission decisions) on your behalf. Tufts is a great place; it's worth the effort.</p>
<p>you also can NOT forget the factor of the housing crunch. They could not afford to overaccept, or else people wouldn't have a place to live. They waitlisted a lot of people so that if applicants didn't matriculate, they could fill holes from the waitlist.</p>
<p>1) I read in Tufts' very own Observer magazine that Tufts is not yet need-blind but has been preparing to reach this in the very near future.</p>
<p>2) Just because you show interest in a college does not necessarily mean that you are the kind of student that school is looking for. Lots of people would die to go to some Ivy League schools - but not all of them are going to get in, especially with college selection processes getting more and more competitive. Like someone else said, sometimes there are too many of a certain kind of person flooding admissions. Tufts is also unique in that it looks for strong internationalist and volunteer-ist tendencies in its student body. If you haven't shown a desire to engage yourself globally or within your community, being more interested than most in the college might not make up for that.</p>
<p>3) Tufts overenrolled by about a hundred people last year, I believe, so they may have been a bit more careful this year in accepting v. waitlisting just in case (or else they would not be able to continue to guarantee housing for freshmen and sophomores)</p>
<p>I am NOT an expert on this, I know, and I apologize for making any rash, incorrect generalizations. These were just my thoughts when I read about your predicament.</p>
<p>yeah, everything you said was right, I think.. the school is not need blind, and it did overenroll.. I did some volunteer-y, internationally things, for a few years but maybe not as many as others, I don't know. I don't think they want EVERYONE for politics, however, and would like a wide range of people, right?</p>
<p>I don't know, when I called to ask why, they were just like, "Everything was fine with your application, but we recieved so many applications this year WAH WAH WAH.. you're in the top part of the waitlist blah blah blah."</p>
<p>It sucks when they don't have a real reason for not accepting you; like, oh, we didn't feel like it today or something? Whatever. I'm sure you'll be just as happy somewhere else - maybe even happier?</p>