TUFTS CLASS OF 2021 RD RESULTS

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

Hey everyone! I don’t think a RD results thread has been started yet, so here we go! Results come out in about 2 weeks, so good luck to all applicants and future jumbos!

Please use the following format while posting the results. Please discuss on the other RD thread, and use this one only for results.

Please replace the “[a” below with just “[” before posting.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

2

Fingers crossed!

3

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Biology 750, Math II 790
ACT (breakdown):didn’t take
SAT II: 1540 (750 E/ 790 M)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no rankings done in my HS
AP (place score in parenthesis): English 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Calc AB, AP Java, Honors English, History, Spanish
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: yes
Volunteer/Community service: some (100+ hrs)
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8? Hard to tell
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Not sure. Guidance counselor does not know me well.

Teacher Rec #1:yes
Teacher Rec #2:yes
Counselor Rec:yes
Additional Rec: former boss
Interview: yes

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Computer science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: strong public school, very competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 200K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: SAT scores, essay?
Weaknesses: GPA could’ve been stronger, and while I’m sure my recommendations were fine, my teachers don’t know me too well (I’m a private person), so I doubt they were stellar. Not many extracurriculars.
Why you think you were rejected: Probably just not competitive enough compared to other applicants.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Waitlisted LeHigh, accepted UMass Amherst, RPI, RIT and Northeastern.

General Comments : 21,000 applications to Tufts this year! 6 kids from my class already got in ED1 and 2 this year, so that doesn’t leave a lot of open slots, I’d guess. Congrats to all those who got in!

4

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 30 (E: 35, M: 32, R: 29, S: 26)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), AP Calculus AB (5), AP Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, Biochemistry/Biotechnology, Senior English, Spanish 3, Civics, Senior Project
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar?

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Yearbook (Editor-In-Chief), National Honor Society (Vice President), National Spanish Honor Society, Peer Tutoring Program, College Mentorship Program (Co-Founder), Choir, African Student Association (Co-founder)
Job/Work Experience: Chick-Fil-A (1.5 years)
Volunteer/Community service: National Jewish Hospital, University of Colorado Hospital, Ronald McDonald House
Summer Activities: Working, Volunteering, Traveling
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Supplement: 9/10 (I worked really hard on these) Common App: 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Probably 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: Probably 9/10
Counselor Rec: Probably 9/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Didn’t have one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Charter
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Lower middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, GPA
Weaknesses: ACT score
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably my essays
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to University of Rochester, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Tufts University; Rejected at Columbia University

General Comments : I’m happy!

5

**Decision: Accepted to Arts & Sciences **

Objective:
SAT I superscore: 1340 (700 Math, 640 R+W)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t submit
SAT II: (Bio E, 650) (Math II, 670)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: My school does not use weighted GPA
Rank: top 9%
AP: (4) AP Psychology (2) APUSH (I don’t know if these are automatically submitted. I don’t think I submitted either)
Senior Year Course Load (All Dual-Enrollment): Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Number Theory (honors), General Physics I, Java I, Java II, Data Structures/Algorithms, Calculus IV, Intro to Education, Lifespan Psychology, Intro to the Humanities
Number of other RD applicants in your school: none that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): William E. Boeing Community/Collaboration Award, Coca Cola Regional Scholar, Elks National Scholar, Ky and Yu-Fen Math AMS Award Recipient
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): honors society, honor roll, community college deans list, vball awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Lots of volunteer work, blog writing, sports, art, etc
Job/Work Experience: Worked three jobs my junior year, two jobs this year (long shifts).
Volunteer/Community Service: (1,000+ hours) Lots. I wrote all the Math Olympiad tests for my district and am a mentor for several elementary/middle schools, and mentor students online in a space program. Church server, volunteer tutor, etc.
Summer Experience: Junior Summer: Math camp, Space camp

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 8/10 I wrote about an experience at math camp. It was quirky and about theoretical computer science. My common app was about my diverse background and how I brought my high school its first CS course after contacting outreach coordinators at Microsoft. I compared my town to a soda bottle.

Teacher Recommendation #1: Never Read
Teacher Recommendation #2: Never Read
Counselor Rec: Never read but she likes me.
Additional Info/Rec: I had the olympic volleyball coach write a letter on my behalf although I am no longer pursuing v-ball at the olympic level.
Interview: Never had one.
Art Supplement: n/a

Other

Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country:
School Type:
Ethnicity: Minority Mix: Filipino, German, Moldovan, Native, Middle Eastern
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: 20,000-30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): I had the olympic coach as my vball recruiter, am from a small farm town in Washington, and am a girl who loves theoretical computer science.

Reflection

Strengths: Unique factor, I overloaded on the most difficult college courses every year, participated in many extracurriculars/made a difference in my community.
Weaknesses: TEST SCORES.
Why you think you were accepted: I think I am pretty diverse/unique and I participates in a fly-in weekend.
What would you have done differently?: Revise the ending of my essay. It is so damn cheesy, but I had to submit it before a certain deadline so I could apply to the fly-in program.
Where else did you apply? (17 schools)
Rejected: Cornell, MIT (lol what a surprise), Caltech, Princeton, Harvard, USC, Pomona College
Waitlist: UPenn, UCLA
Accepted: University of Washington-Seattle(direct admit to CS), Duke University (accepted via diversity LL), Tufts
Stil Waiting: Stanford, UC Berkeley, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (uh… I don’t think they are EVER getting back to me… But hey, at least they flew me out there…)

Other Factors:
My location? No one really knows about Tufts in my area.

General Comments & Advice:
Show as much interest as you can. Start early on your essays and requesting letters of recommendations. Let your essays tell your story.

6

**Decision: Accepted **

I’ve been waiting a long time to write one of these.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 R, 35 E, 34 S, 33 M, 35 W)
SAT II: 770 Math II, 700 Lit, 730 Bio, 580 USH (YIKES)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a but my counselor said I’m top 15% at least a while back
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 English Lang, 5 APUSH, 4 Physics, 5 APWH
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC (which I’m doing terrible in right now lol), AP English Lit, AP Biology, Chinese History Honors, Mandarin 4 Honors, Middle Eastern Studies, Game Theory
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): lol nope - I got a school wide Bio award though lol

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Native American Ambassador (Leader), Stock Exchange Competition and Club (Founder and Leader), Second Degree Black Belt (Part Time Instructor), Soccer Team (eh)
Job/Work Experience: Book store employee for 2 years
Volunteer/Community service: Student Service Leader
Summer Activities: Taking care of sick family members, reading a ton, and rock climbing in Joshua Tree
Essays (rating 1-10, details): To be honest - not really sure how to rate these
Common App: (8/10) alzheimer’s disease and rubiks cubes (other puzzles) and just helping people and realizing my place in the world
Tufts essays which I can’t really remember (7/10): just a plan of what I wanna do in college and studying linguistics and political science I think. Also speaking Afrikaans, German, and Korean and how I assume a different personality while speaking each.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
AP English Professor (9/10): She’s a highly accomplished ex-harvard professor who I bonded quite closely with over poetry and reading the classics. I think she really appreciated me as a writer and she invites me to her book club meetings with Harvard friends sometimes.
AP Physics Teacher: (10/10): There are only two teachers I’ve really every felt a close connection to: one was my physics teacher and the other is my Bio teacher this year. I wish I could’ve had my bio teacher write my letter, but my physics teacher absolutely loves me. I’m highly confident she had great things to say about me.
Counselor Rec: Not sure lol. We both speak Afrikaans which is cool and she talks a lot.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No but I wish I had
Intended Major: Political Science and Linguistics
State (if domestic applicant): (Southern) California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Prep in SoCal
Ethnicity: South African and Korean
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 300k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen american, language enthusiast

Reflection

Strengths: ACT and unique background, culture, and languages
Weaknesses: GPA and the fact that my school is full of overachievers
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: culture, my ACT score, maybe my GPA, and the fact that I sounded like I knew what I wanted to do in college
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UC (Davis, San Diego, Irvine, Santa Barbara), Boston College, Emery, USC
Waitlisted: U Chicago, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Northwestern
Rejected: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Yale (Yeah today was a heck of a day), Claremont McKenna
Still Waiting: Stanford
General Comments :

Go Jumbos? yeah so far it’s go jumbos or maybe fight on. but go jumbos today!

7

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 SuperScore
36 English
33 Math
35 Reading
35 Science
SAT II: 740 Chinese, 780 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.66, weighted 4.08
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank or provide percentiles
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chinese
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Super heavy honors filled term:

1st:
Multivariable Calculus [Honors]
Advanced Chemistry Pt. 1[Honors]
Creative NonFiction (English)[Honors]
Community Service

2nd:
Multivariable Calculus [Honors]
Advanced Chemistry Pt. 2 [Honors]
Chinese 6 (highest level) [Honors]
Contemporary China (history) [Honors]

3rd:

Space (Math) [Honors]
Multivariable Calculus [Honors]
Chinese 6 [Honors]
Industrial Design (Art)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None lol

Subjective: I made a fully functioning Railgun!

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

4 yrs. student tech support
4 yrs. Engineering EC class (head advisor now)
2 yrs. JV Tennis (LOL)
2 yrs. Peer Tutor for Math/Science/Chinese
2 yrs. Lead tutor at a Chinese Immersion Public school
2 yrs. Financial volunteer @ a dog shelter

Job/Work Experience:

Almost none

Volunteer/Community service:

2 yrs. Peer Tutor for Math/Science/Chinese
2 yrs. Lead tutor at a Chinese Immersion Public school
2 yrs. Financial volunteer @ a dog shelter

Summer Activities: N/A

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, thought that my Why Tufts was a little cheesy. Talked about why I wanted to go to Tufts because of the X-College. Was a little generic cause it was mentioned in passing for the info session
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:

10/10- Math teacher I have had for 4 years. Gotten super close with him. Taking Multivariable Calculus with him, and there are 3 people in the class, so I think he has gotten to know me super well. Both struggled and succeeded in his classes so he knows my learning style/how I process things

Teacher Rec #2:

8/10- English teacher, best one I could find. Worked with her for 3 years, so similarly she knows how I learn, etc. but not as close of a relationship with her compared to the math teacher.

Counselor Rec: Unsure tbh gonna throw in a 5/10 just cause
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview:

10/10

Talked with my guy regarding my (ironically) hate for ball sports cause I dont want things hitting my face. We laughed a lot and it was a genuine conversation, but we not once talked about Tufts. Minimally talked about ECs, school, generic interview questions

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: NO
Intended Major: Mathematics + Chem/Physics/Finance Double Major
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper/ Upper-Middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection: holy I was expecting to get in but I have gotten nothing but rejections or waitlists from the schools besides the backups. I think the interview went super duper well and Im happy with that.

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: A mix of strong school work (its super hard to get good grades at my school, they dont give A+'s maxes out at A, most youll usually get is A-), and dedicated ECs to STEM fields+ Math major. Strong interview couldve helped.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Rejected: UPenn, Northwestern, Rice, UCLA, Cal, Pomona, WUSTL, USC

General Comments Was not expecting to get rejected from both Cal, UCLA. Not expected USC rejection, but looking back on it, i understand why (no dedicated interest at all, didnt interview, campus visit, info, etc.)

8

Rejected. I will post one of the breakdowns later. A little surprised since I was accepted into Rice, but it’s all for the best. I do think my Tufts interviewer was a little rude.

9

Daughter was waitlisted, but she was accepted at Georgetown, so she’s pretty happy.

For future applicants stalking this thread, her stats are:

GPA: 4.1UW, 4.4W
ACT: 33
SAT: 2320/2400
SATII: US History: 750, Math I 740, Lit 760, Span 700
Class rank: Our school doesn’t give rank, but expected it is top 10
AP: English Lang (5), US History (5)
Senior Year: AP English, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics, Honors Spanish

Other:
Extensive volunteering over four years, focused on children with disabilities, Special Olympics, literacy tutoring and our local hospital
Religious Ed teacher - 2 years
Varsity tennis - 4 years
JV Soccer - 2 years
Job - work at tennis club, soccer referee

Awards:
Book award
National Merit commended scholar
Various honor societies (spanish, music, NHS)

Essays: strong
Letters of recommendation: expected that they were strong based on relationships

Weakness: White, Irish, from New England

10

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

  • SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 750 CR+W, 20 Essay
  • ACT (breakdown): 36 Composite, 35 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science,
  • SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem, 760 Physics
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 UW, 4.61 W (scaling is subjective per school so don’t take this too seriously)
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4th out of 230
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP World (5), AP US History (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Calc AB Subscore (5)
  • IB (place score in parenthesis): None
  • Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics 2, AP Biology, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
    • Academic awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Program Letter of Commendation, Excellence in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences from the Society of Women Engineers (CT Section), Presidential Scholars Semifinalist.
    • Dance awards: Dance Teachers Club of CT Scholarship Winner (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015), DMA National Jr. Mr. Dance Most Talented Non-Finalist (2012), DMA Jr. Mr. Dance of CT (2012), Sophisticated Production’s Highest Scoring Solo (age 15 and under) (2013), DMA Teen Mr. Dance of CT (2014), DMA Tap Class Audition Scholarship 1st Place Recipient (2016), Numerous First Overall Solo and Group Awards (2010 – Present).

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
    • Competitive Dancer (Senior Competition Captain) Tap: 10 Years, Ballet: 9 Years, Jazz: 9 Years, Hip-Hop: 7 Years, Contemporary/Modern: 7 Years
    • Nutcracker Ballet (I've played the role of Prince and Cavalier these past 3 years) (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • National Honor Society (Tutoring coordinator/tutor) (11, 12)
    • French Honor Society (Executive Officer) (10, 11, 12)
    • Seaperch (11, 12)
    • Math League (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • Varsity Tennis (4 singles, 3 doubles) (10, 11, 12)
    • Offered to produce music for small fashion lines
  • Job/Work Experience: None
  • Volunteer/Community service:
    • Assistant Dance Teacher Ages 9-14
    • Nutcracker Ballet Student Rehearsal Assistant
    • NHS Tutor, all subjects
    • Writing Center Tutor
    • Math Center Tutor
  • Summer Activities:
    • 4 Weeks of Dance Intensives/National Competitions
    • Helped build a dance studio/gym in my basement
    • Dance training
    • College Tours
    • Tennis
  • Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    • Common Application Essay Rating: 9?? I had my AP Lit teacher read it over, as well as a few friends. They all said it sounded really personal and unique while being memorable, but I couldn't judge myself accurately.
    • Tufts Supplement: 9
  • Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    • Teacher Rec #1: AP Calc/Multivariate/Linear Teacher, Math Team Coach
  • I assume it would be very good as he knows my intense schedule in and out of school, my work ethic, my sense of humor, and my sociability.
    • Teacher Rec #2: AP Chem Teacher Same as Rec 1, with the addition of my love and curiosity of the natural sciences plus my drive and independence in the classroom.
    • Counselor Rec: Unknown, but she used to attend my dance studio? So maybe that helped. This was also her first year, so personal details may have been rough.
  • Additional Rec: None.
  • Interview: Nope

Other:

  • Applied for Financial Aid?: None.
  • Intended Major: Physics
  • State (if domestic applicant): Connecticut
  • Country (if international applicant): NA
  • School Type: Public
  • Ethnicity: White
  • Gender: Male
  • Income Bracket: Upper middle class
  • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Male dancer?
  • Strengths: Test scores, extracurriculars, strong commitment to dance, national dance awards, rigorous course schedule, 3 independent studies in physics (shows initiative),
  • Weaknesses: interview
  • Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Yield protection/Tufts syndrome based on all my other acceptances

General Comments: Probably going to end up at YPC

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Muhlenburg, William and Mary, Duke (likely letter), Columbia (likely letter), Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Cornell, NYU, Wesleyan, Amherst

Waitlisted: Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford

Rejected: Harvard