<p>what about tufts syndrome? the desire to have the highest yield possible, etc. i've heard that that does play a role sometimes.</p>
<p>well, i dont choose who to admit so i cannot say for sure, but I know we get so many rediculously qualified people that they have to look for things other than just numbers to admit them. Showing interest in the school is definitely on of them, but that goes for any college.</p>
<p>I can say, Cats, that I've never seen a person rejected who blames it on "Tufts Syndrome" who had higher (or equal) stats to mine. </p>
<p>I think it's because Tufts really wants:
*functional, happy, stable people
*students who have heavy participation in ECs</p>
<p>Tufts isn't trying to be MIT; it's really aiming to be (and succeeds!) at being a school where students thrive as humans. Classes are small; professors really get to know their students - many will invite the class out to dinner or over to their homes; it's a campus where people are smiling.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Tufts places a very heavy emphasis on extracurriculars and the "global classroom." Most everyone I know who went to Tufts (or even got in the door but went elsewhere) had extensive ECs. I know someone who had very similar grades to me but did not get in - her sole EC was yearbook, senior year. Other people are varsity athletes, horseback riders, dancers, Model UN types - you name it, and you can find hundreds of Tufts students who have done it. They also have a huge amount (29%, last I checked) of students who do not have English as their first language. 15% of Tufts students are international. Many are fluent in other languages. </p>
<p>My guess (and it's just that) is that Tufts has a threshold for academics. Once you're over the threshold, it's all about other factors - who you are as a person (from LORs and interviews), your ECs, and where you're from. Tufts could probably fill its class a few times over with Massachusetts applicants who are in the top 1% of their high school class and have 1400+ SATs, but choose not to. That would be a really, really boring school. It's about more than grades and SATs - and I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who does not realize that, because they are completely missing what makes Tufts really special.</p>
<p>WHat is Tufts syndrome and what's a yield ("highest yield possible")? </p>
<p>Aries, what were your stats?</p>
<p>Tufts Syndrome is the act of a school rejecting highly qualified applicants because they know more selective/elite colleges will accept them, and if admitted these students aren't likely to attend. Yield is the % of students admitted that actually attend the school. It's just about preserving reputation and looking good statistically.</p>
<p>i was talking to my friend at dinner tonight who had a 1600 on his SAT, valedictorian of his class, very smart, etc, was actually admitted to Brown, Harvard, and Washu but chose Tufts. On paper he looks like he could be a prime candidate for Tufts Syndrome if it existed, but I dont think it does.</p>
<p>Wow. Thats interesting. Since you were talking to him at dinner, I guess the natural question would be "Why Tufts" over those schools. What did he say?</p>
<p>he gave pretty vague answers about those questions, he laughed and said he would pick tufts over harvard and brown again and said he wished he had tried stanford (its freezing outside).</p>
<p>I've heard of a lot of 1400 kids getting "Tufts Syndrome."</p>
<p>Me: 6 out of 250, very good school
800 math, 750 verbal
750ish SAT IIs
10 varsity letters
a slew of other ECs (would not bore y'all to tears listing them) </p>
<p>Never heard of anyone with = or higher stats getting rejected - certainly never that also had the ECs.</p>
<p>I applied in 1998 and matriculated in 1999. It was also a lot easier to get in back then (which argues more for the Tufts Syndrome than your age group). Know people who turned down Cornell and Columbia for Tufts - I was certainly not very rare with my stats.</p>
<p>Now, some of it was probably that it was very clear that I wanted to go there - had talked to engin. faculty, family connections, and one of my recommenders thought that it was a great fit (he had a child who went there). Still - I got in and have to listen to kids complain about have 1450 SATs, one varsity sport, and being in the "top 5%" of their class as being "too good" for Tufts. Grrr.</p>
<p>Man...that sucks for them (those who think they're too good for Tufts). I LOVE Tufts. If I get in, I would be ECSTATIC!!!! </p>
<p>Also, so does Tufts follow the Tufts Syndrome and yield methods during their application process? And so say you REALLY REALLY want to go to Tufts (and you've let them know that too), but you've applied to other schools, and you're qualified for some of them (for instance: Emory, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, a few private schools in Texas, etc) they would reject you because you would easily get into those other schools which you applied to? Sorry I'm just really confused and freaking out (a little).</p>
<p>I don't think so. I mean Tufts gets kids who are accepted at all those schools every year. Showing interest always helps at any college. Don't freak out . Every school you put up there will be awesome. It will work out</p>
<p>Um, NO. </p>
<p>See above. They don't reject you because you are "too good." This application cycle, Tufts got almost 16,000 applications for 1,200 seats. If you don't get in, it's not because you're too qualified. </p>
<p>If you really want to go to Tufts, that will come through and may be a "tip" factor. The fact that you've - omigod, applied to other schools! - will not sink your candidacy.</p>
<p>If Tufts Syndrome existed, a few things would be true:
*Rejected students would be admitted. I know a girl who didn't get into BU; her guidance counselor called up and asked why. They said tha they knew that it was her safety and acted accordingly - but if she truly had no place to go or really wanted to go there, they would let her in. I've NEVER heard of that happening with Tufts. So I think we can safely assume that some people are a little upset that they don't quite measure up.
*You would see a drop-off at the highest levels of achievement with admissions rate. There used to be a chart that had # applied and # admitted for each range of GPAs and SATs (750-800 math, ditto verbal, 700-740 math, 700-740 verbal, etc) - and guess what? The kids who score higher are more likely to get in. </p>
<p>Freakin morons run around and say that it's not a good enough school to reject them, so it must be a really lousy school that just tries to up its numbers. Same morons who don't realize that if Tufts wanted to up its numbers, it would stop accepting fantastic, quirky, well-rounded kids who don't have perfect stats. Tufts has about a 1/3 yield. Does anyone think that the admissions people are so stupid that they reject "overqualified" people (not sure how you are "overqualified" for a school where the median SAT is like a 1450 old scale) but still have a low yield.</p>
<p>the more I talk to people here, the more I come to see that for every kid that wanted Yale and was rejected, there was someone else that got into Harvard and came here. A lot of my friends turned down schools like Cornell, Dartmouth, Gtown, Penn, Harvard, Columbia, NYU-Stern, etc, in order to come here.</p>
<p>Some like the location, some the size, some the specific program (for example, IR kids choose Tufts over other schools), some the people. The admissions process is really a huge crapshoot.</p>
<p>I got into Rutgers in January, so I didn't need another safety school. My regulars were Tufts, William and Mary and NYU-Stern, and I got into all three. I was waitlisted at Columbia, deferred a year at Dartmouth, and didn't get into Gtown SFS, Yale, Cornell or Penn (where I applied ED). Aaaaand...I couldn't be happier here! Also, my mom works at Columbia and if I transferred now i'd get in, get free tuition and be 20 minutes away from home...yet I don't want to. Tufts is where I belong :-D</p>
<p>I chose Tufts over Williams, Holy Cross, a big scholarship at Tulane, and Bucknell for what its worth. I think Tufts is polarizing....people either LOOOOVE it or HAAAATE it</p>
<p>who hates tufts? I obviously don't mean who specifically, but what types of people are unhappy there?</p>
<p>well, i hate to stereotype, but generally kids who come here looking for a big frat/party/sports scene arent too happy. Kids who pick the college for the academics usually love it. However that is definitely a stereotype and not a law.
and this has been my experience, maybe some other tufts kids will answer that for you too</p>
<p>I don't care much about frats and sports, but is there a shortage of parties? or are they just not frat parties?</p>
<p>um...there are parties. as long as you are involved on campus there will be parties, and frats do through parties but they are usually too crowded and get broken up early. most parties are small</p>
<p>People who like the size, the academics, the location, were involved in high school - they love it here. I know a couple of kids who applied ED that I guess had too high expectations that are trying to transfer to Brown, though.</p>
<p>^ What were their expectations too high about?</p>