Posted in The Dean's Office

Crossing the Finish Line

It's time to decide.

If your college search were an hour glass, a tiny dune would be nearing its zenith as the last few grains of sand rushed to the lower portion of it.  If, as the saying goes, something ends when the fat lady sings, she's warming up backstage.  If...  Okay, you get my point. This thing is over.

Three festive Jumbo Days (two were sunny and bright while one was a wee wet) have come and gone.  We published Jumbo Magazine #2 with your matriculation decision in mind. The Class of 2016's page on Facebook (yes, I read it…) has been ablaze with chatter about the virtues of Tufts as May 1 inches closer.  (Not surprisingly, that understandably biased group consistently shouts ""Go Jumbo!" and who am I to disagree with their sage advice?)

But despite the jumbo party on campus and the on-line chorus of enthusiasm for the Brown & Blue, many of you are still pondering your enrollment decision.  While our class is filling nicely, a bunch of you are wracked with indecision as the...

Sweet Sixteen by the Numbers

While I personally prefer holistic info about our admissions outcomes, I know many of you like to roll around in the numbers so here's a peek at the statistical profile of the Class of 2016.  Unless noted, the figures reflect students who have been offered admission.

Number of applicants: 16,378

Percent admitted: 21

Percent increase in applications since 1995: 92

Number of states represented: 50 (Hello, North Dakota!)

States with the largest number of acceptances: MA, NY, CA (CA was only 10 behind NY.)

Number from Idaho: 9

Number from Texas: 99

Number of high schools represented in applicant pool: 4,594

Number of high schools represented in the accepted class: 1,734

Percent who attend a public high school: 55

Largest number accepted from a single high school: 25 (It was a huge pool.)

Number of countries represented: 76

Percent who are foreign citizens: 10.5

Number who live abroad (includes American citizens): 485

Countries with the largest number of acceptances: China, Singapore...

Supply and Demand

Tomorrow, at long last, admissions outcomes will be released for students who applied during Regular Decision and those who were deferred from the early rounds.

While the admissions process will instantly turn to a celebration of those who were accepted, I’d like to pause at this penultimate moment to acknowledge the students who will get unhappy news from us tomorrow.  Since we accepted 21 percent of the pool, an all-time low, simple math tells you nearly 80 percent (notwithstanding the wait list offers) have been denied. 

When I visit our application processing room in Bendetson Hall, the expansive wall of files that were denied is a poignant reminder of the practical contours of “selectivity.”  Let me be clear: I am not celebrating this fact.  It’s simply an unavoidable aspect of a “most selective” admissions process: we must say no more than we can say yes.

To borrow a concept from AP Economics, competitive college admissions is a vivid example of supply (1300 places in our freshman...

Celebrating My Nerdy Playlist

It looks like I missed the boat on my colleagues’ celebration of their reading season playlists.  (I must not have been reading my email when Dan sent that message around…) 

So, as I sit at my desk on this snowy Leap Year Day (is that what it’s formally called?), here’s a peak at what’s playing on the dean’s iPod as he (don’t you love it when a writer refers to himself in the third person?) reviews today’s tub of files. 

But before I reveal my musical preferences du jour, it’s fair to say this post also channels our Optional Essay #3:  this former drama club president (third person narrative reappears…) and Best Actor in the Class of 1981 at Connecticut’s Shelton High School is, wait for it, listening to a playlist called “Broadway Hip.”  Yes, I am celebrating my nerdy side as a musical theater fan. (If you read my blogs you already know I watch Glee.  Are you really surprised?)

Today’s playlist of choice was inspired by a quick trek to New York this past weekend to see “The Book of...

Leap Year

You know there's a lot to do when Leap Year makes you giddy because there's an extra day to get everything done...