Tufts Admissions receives record number of applications for Class of 2023

"According to Karen Richardson, dean of admissions and enrollment management, Tufts Admissions received a record 22,725 applications to the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering for the Class of 2023, an increase of 5.7 percent from the record-setting pool last year. Record numbers of applicants also submitted early decision (ED) applications, totaling nearly 2,500 applicants, an increase from 2,262 the previous year.

Although the admissions department is still in the early stages of reviewing applications, Richardson has noticed similarities among early admissions applications." …

https://tuftsdaily.com/news/2019/01/16/tufts-admissions-receives-record-number-applications-class-2023/

As a mother of a student applying to Tufts ED2, I don’t know how to react to this information. My son also is attracted to Tufts for the very same reasons others are, as Karen has described in the above article… On one hand it’s great that Tufts has a record number of applicants this year. It’s such an amazing school. On the other hand I don’t feel very optimistic that my son will receive an acceptance letter in Feb. (whether he’s a good fit or not). As an involved parent of this whole college application process, I feel that too many kids are applying to too many colleges. It’s getting out of control. I honestly wish that the colleges agreed to an application limit (which sounds very messy, I know). I personally know a boy who applied to 19 schools this year… It’s a lot of work and stress for many who are involved in this. It wasn’t like this years ago. I see this application trend not only with Tufts but with many, many other universities. I wonder what the application process is going to look like 10 years from now? Good Luck to Tufts Class of 2023!!!

IMO, applications increased because Tufts dropped the SAT subject test requirement.

@brantly -

Tufts was in fact one of the last schools to drop the SAT subject test requirement, so that may have suppressed application counts in previous years, which would lead to a relative increase this year.
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/03/12/tufts-drops-sat-subject-test-requirement

There is no way to know for sure, but that probably isn’t the only factor and may not be the primary factor. Overall application counts, as well as ED application counts have been rising steadily for many years.

Tufts has clearly benefitted from the general demographic trends associated with the increased desireability of urban environments, as well as the increased importance of technology and innovation in all aspects of life.

Engineering applications are up and computer science (which spans engineering and liberal arts) recently eclipsed international relations as the most popular major. This was also the first application round with the new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in place and only a couple of years after the opening of the new, interdisciplinary Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex (CLIC). Another new interdisciplinary building for computer science/data science and economics is scheduled for 2021 along with the opening of an on-campus (Green Line) subway station linking Medford, Somerville, Cambridge and Boston. Currently the closest subway station (Red Line) is half a mile from campus in Davis Square (Tufts provides a continuous shuttle between campus and Davis Square).

This fall will also be the first year of the Barnham Hall renovation (vacated when the biology department moved to the SEC). This will create space for a new civics major, new film making studios (for film and media studies), as well as new painting and drawing studios for use by the faculty of the recently acquired School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA). Applications for both the SMFA degree and the BA/SFMA dual degree program also increased.

This fall will also be the first year after a full renovation of two of the larger freshman dorms (and the creation of a new freshman quad) and the first year of a new “community housing” (COHO) concept for juniors/seniors created by renovating a cluster of turn-of-the-century, wood-frame victorian homes and turning them into student apartments.

Last year, there was also an issue where Tufts decided to stop tracking the percentage of students in the top 10% of their class (because only a small percantage of applicant’s schools provide this data). The data was not provided to US News which caused Tufts to drop a couple of places in the rankings. Last fall, Tufts rank rose a couple of places.

Any of these factors (as well as others) could also have impacted this year’s application count. There is no real way to know…