<p>^^Correct. Not true.</p>
<p>Tufts isn’t afflicted by Tufts Syndrome at the undergraduate level but I suspected Tufts to be afflicted by the Syndrome at the PhD level as far as physics is concerned. Perhaps chemistry or mathematics are afflicted by the Syndrome at the PhD level… but only at the PhD level.</p>
<p>[scoff] Actually, it is true. </p>
<p>If your parents are college educated, if you are from a wealthy suburb or an elite private or exam school, then the standards are simply higher. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, spent years interviewing in several parts of the country, and am here to tell you that you are plain wrong. </p>
<p>There are forty kids at the public high school in my town who are applying to Tufts, plus those who attend private high schools, plus those who attend the elite private in town. You’re trying to tell me that I’m wrong to say that Tufts has the pick of the litter from my town? Do you really think that any school would let its class be filled with kids from the same school, the same suburbs, the same types of towns, in the same five states? </p>
<p>Get a clue.</p>
<p>Tufts will accept two or three dozen kids from Stuyvesant or Phillips, but the reality is that the kids who attend school in North Dakota - NMSQ score of 200 - are not judged on the same absolute standards as kids who go to school in NJ - NMSQ score 221. </p>
<p>The only other alternative is to judge people on the opportunities that others have, not that they have. </p>
<p>[National</a> Merit Scores | National Merit Qualifying Scores](<a href=“http://www.studypoint.com/ed/national-merit-scores/]National”>National Merit Scores)</p>
<p>Consider the ramifications of that chart as it applies to college admissions, a 75-25 SAT median, and the like.</p>
<p>I think the disagreement is with the statement “you aren’t going to get in unless you are top 5% of your class, mid/high 700s on all parts of the SAT, and have great extracurricular activities.”
Unless you’re on the admissions committee I don’t think you’re qualified to make that statement. Otherwise everything else you’ve said is obvious.</p>
<p>I spent about 30 minutes yesterday afternoon advocating for a girl at a good school, in the suburbs, with college educated parents, who has mid-600s level testing. So, it does happen, and some of those folks do get in. </p>
<p>But, you’ve got to be pretty awesome, and have an application that is practically fluorescent with smarts to have that happen. It’s uncommon, quite uncommon, and it’s telling that it took so much time to make the case for one applicant. But present us with the tools to make the case and we will. </p>
<p>I’m not disputing the general assertion ariesathena is making: that we read applications with an awareness of context, and that context helps us define academic merit. But, from the perspective of a guy who reads these applications, the “pick of the litter” isn’t something defined entirely through an academic lens.</p>
<p>
I cannot agree more with the last part. </p>
<p>Part of what I was saying is that people without good ECs simply do not get into Tufts (or if they do, they are the exception that proves the rule). So some of these “Tufts Syndrome rejectees” are actually good students with little else to offer.</p>
<p>–
Just as a purely mathematical thing, if admissions were to treat kids from towns like Andover, Weston, or Newton the same as they treat kids from coal mining country, W.Va., then the Tufts class would be filled with kids from Andover, Weston, and Newton, with the extremely rare coal-miner’s daughter in the mix. </p>
<p>I cannot tell you how many people say, “25% of the Tufts class has SATs less than 1260 [or whatever], so my daughter, who got a 1350 and wasn’t admitted was rejected for being so stupendously awesomely amazing!” To which I say - yeah, but your kid goes to Brookline High, you have a Ph.D., your husband is a neurosurgeon, and your daughter doesn’t do much in the extracurricular realm. But the kid with the 1260 is the first in his family to go to college, one of the only people in his school to go to college, let alone a private school, and works thirty hours a week to help support the family.</p>
<p>
I wonder how my son got in? White, NY suburbs, decent but not top high school, one high 700 (CR), two high 600s on the SATs, subject tests varied from high 700s (one) to low 600s (hope they ignored that one). Not in the top 5% of the class, though he was close. We’re college educated yada yada. </p>
<p>I think he proved he was an interesting kid with a lot of potential. He put his heart (and his charm, and his intelligence) into the essays, knowing that there were a lot of B’s on the transcript and ups and downs in his scores. Just saying that even in the NE Tufts will dig a little deeper for the right kid.</p>
<p>“I think he proved he was an interesting kid with a lot of potential. He put his heart (and his charm, and his intelligence) into the essays, knowing that there were a lot of B’s on the transcript and ups and downs in his scores. Just saying that even in the NE Tufts will dig a little deeper for the right kid.”</p>
<p>Your son sounds just like mine! His application package offered incredible insight into his character, his thought process, what he cared about, his values, and even his sense of humor. His essays really complimented the academic picture painted by his teachers, guidance counselor and his (less-than-perfect) transcript. </p>
<p>He also comes from a NE area where tons of public and private school kids apply to Tufts. There are lots of legacies, way too many wealthy educated families, and an abundance of first generation kids with inspiring back stories. The competition is intense.</p>
<p>Best of all, he is so very happy at Tufts and positively thriving. Somehow, the Admissions Office understood how good the match was, and we will be forever grateful that they did.</p>
<p>mathmom: perhaps I should have only said that the chances of that kid getting in are incredibly slim. Happy now?</p>
<p>Let’s all take a GIANT step back and look up at the subject of this thread: “Tufts Syndrome.” Now, mathmom, do you think that most students with your son’s stats and your son’s background are accepted? If someone pointed to your son and said, “But he got in and my SATs are higher, therefore, Tufts Syndrome! They rejected me for being too awesomely amazing!”, what would you say? What if that person added, “It’s not just your kid - they accept like three hundred people who have GPAs below X and another three hundred people with SAT scores below Y, and my scores and grades trumped both of them, easily!”</p>
<p>I suspect that, despite the smug “Aries is wrong! and she’s not an adcom!” hen party, your response would look a LOT like mine.</p>
<p>I see a lot of posts where students/parents seem to have read their teacher/counselor recommendations. (here, most recently) Is this common practice in your schools? When I write letters of recommendation to graduate schools, the applicants always sign something agreeing to waive their rights to see the letter. I don’t recall if my D signed such a form, but I never would have thought to ask to look at recs.</p>
<p>ariesathana, it was the absolutes in your post that set people’s teeth on edge. If you’d written “Tufts is a much harder admit unless you are blahblahblah” instead of “you aren’t going to get in unless blahblah” that would’ve been a different matter. </p>
<p>D2, a HS junior, is looking at a small SoCal college that would be a great fit for her. A few of the school’s programs are challenging admits, but overall admissions isn’t tough: 75% level for the SAT subsections are in the mid-600s, overall admissions rate (which includes those tough admit programs) is 45%. Today, a student was wondering on the school’s CC forum why he was given a spring admission/waitlist for fall for one of the more selective programs: he has a weighted GPA significantly over 4.0, an SAT score over 2300, and great ECs. He regarded the school as a backup, and was puzzled why he didn’t get in. Now THAT’S a great example of yield management syndrome.</p>
<p>tw23md: We did not read any recommendations or the guidance counselor’s SSR. My son signed waivers. But he asked for recommendations from specific teachers based on what had happened in those classes and what he thought – an educated guess – about what they’d write about him. Based on conversations with his guidance counselor, who knew him well, we knew she was writing a very thoughtful rec.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, those pieces of the package still pretty much addressed his academic/high school life, with maybe some character and personality in the mix, but that is only one part of the picture, albeit a very important part. The pieces of the application my son controlled – the essays, etc. – intentionally addressed entirely different aspects of who he is.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the parents on one side who cry “FOUL!” or the parents on the other side who scream, “Sour Grapes!” Yield protection is a marketing weapon that seems reasonable and even predictable. Tufts is not a public school. It’s not a church. It’s a business. </p>
<p>Imagine if job applicants had to list the number of jobs they applied for versus the number of rejections they received. Or if single men had to list how many women they’ve asked out and the percentage that actually accepted. Those stats might make them appear less appealing, no? </p>
<p>My son was rejected by a place that we considered a safety school. He was accepted by other places that are widely considered to be “harder” schools. We don’t begrudge the admissions people. It’s business.</p>
<p>This school has an 18.7% acceptance rate. U of Chicago had a 16.3% acceptance rate last year (and USNWR ranked them 4th last year - take that with a grain of salt). People need a reality check.</p>
<p>Look, in reality, we are splitting hairs between these fine institutions. Personalities get involved and on the internet you don’t know the reasoning behind post. Some posters may have been rejected by a certain school so post negative comments on that school. Tufts’ acceptance rate for this year is a significant drop from last year and it will probably move up in the rankings. In the end, all of these institutions are excellent.</p>