<p>Would love the hear from students or parents who attend or recently attended Tufts which was considered a "reach" when applying. How do "reach" students perform at Tufts? Are they in over their heads or was getting in the hardest part? Were any of these students also Varsity athletes? Did any of you apply ED to increase your chances along with no requests for financial aid? What were your SATs and GPA's? I've been reading posts about over achievers but not much about weaker applicants in terms of GPA and/or SAT scores.</p>
<p>Tufts was definitely a reach for my son, who applied ED. He’s now a freshman and does not find the work too difficult. . . only finding time to do the reading in between his many extracurricular activities. To answer your questions; (1) he is not a varsity athlete; (2) he applied ED to emphasize his commitment to Tufts; (3) he applied for financial aid; (4) his GPA and ACT were well below what the scattergram for his school said Tufts had accepted in the past, though his ACT is the mean for accepted students. He worked very, very hard of his application, and I know that paid off, because his admissions counselor mentioned it to us when we met.</p>
<p>Tufts was a reach for my son. B+/A- student in high school. His CR score was in the top 75%, but his math was right around the 25% mark. He took a challenging schedule in high school including a bunch of math and science APs even though that’s not his area of strength. He got C’s in Arabic and I think an economics course as a freshman. He has no natural gift for languages and he took two other extremely demanding courses. His grades have improved every semester and he’s now getting about the same grades he got in high school. He took an Arabic course summer after freshman year in Jordan and got an A - and said it really made him realize how both difficult, but also good Arabic is at Tufts.</p>
<p>My son is a Tufts freshman, a recruited varsity athlete. He came from a top academic NE Prep school with about a 3.7 GPA and an ACT of 30. He has found Tufts to be very challenging but about mid-first semester figured out what he needed to do to keep his grades up and keep up with a demanding sport…he also takes Arabic and pulled an A- first term. The pace of languages is very fast. Calculus (which he got an A in HS) was shockingly hard but after nearly failing the first exam he pulled a B+ for the term…I think for him it was an adjustment to be at a big school (his prep averaged 12 students/class) and to pace himself with studying…he also learned to avail himself of extra help. I am confident he is well on his way to a successful Tufts career…but it has been harder than expected. Most students from his high school, Many who go onto Ivies and NESCACS, report college to be much easier than high school…this has not been the case for my son and his other HS buddies attending Tufts</p>
<p>My D is a senior and, while not recruited in the sense of help with admissions, has been a varsity athlete all four years. Tufts was not a reach for her (although she also wasn’t a lock since almost nobody is) and she has found that she has to work very hard, much harder than high school (a competitive Boston suburban HS). She is majoring in one of the STEM fields and has found, at least in those areas, that there is zero grade inflation. My sense is that pretty much everyone is working hard at Tufts. Having said all that, if you get in, I wouldn’t worry that you’re not going to measure up. At her matriculation ceremony, (then) Pres. Bacow said that if Tufts had admitted you, then it knows that you can do the work, and I think that’s true. If you’re accepted, then the school saw something about your profile that made them want to take you. Even if your hard stats are below average, something about your application (perhaps an indication that you’re simply a late bloomer) made them stamp “yes”. And D indicates that the faculty is really accessible and willing to help. And the student body seems very supportive too. Yes, you’ll have to work hard, but just like everyone else. Lastly, if you really want to go to Tufts, take your application/essays very seriously—it really matters.</p>