Tufts Blogs

Remember when we/your parents/your guidance counselor/every admissions officer on the planet told you that academics are the most important piece of the puzzle?  January is the time in admissions when that becomes fact.

Applicants to Tufts are currently on the tail end of what we call "Academic Review."  In this process (which constitutes the first of several steps), you are the sum of your academic parts.  Those parts primarily include three components:  rigor of curriculum, grades/rank in class, and external exams (SAT, ACT, APs, IBs, WASSCEs, IGCSEs, etc.).  We consider all of it, place these results in the context of your specific school, environment, and life experience (more details on that here) and come up with an assessment of your academic abilities.

There are four general categories of academic strength.  Most applicants will fall right on or around our typical profile.  Academically, those students are in our averages (which, compared to the entirety of the teenage population, makes them incredibly bright).  Then there's a group that falls slightly below our norms.  These are students who we know could be successful at Tufts, but are less academically competitive.  There's also a group that falls above our averages (think Mary Poppins: “practically perfect in every way” - academically at least).  Finally, there's a minority who present academic credentials that are soft in all of the academic measures, and make us worry about their potential for success on our campus.  This is roughly how it shakes out: 

The result of this analysis, our assessment of your academic “strength,” is not how we decide who is admitted to Tufts (academic strength is necessary, but not sufficient, and final decisions are built on a full, holistic review of all the pieces).  BUT, it is the basis upon which your decision will be built, the foundation of your application.

If you've ever been to an amusement park, you've seen the signs saying "You must be this tall to ride this ride."  In admissions, there's a similar bar.  The stronger you are academically, the closer you are to that bar, but it’s actually the “voice” or holistic pieces of the application than tip individual students over that mark.  No one is admitted on the basis of academics alone.  And how much of a voice-boost you need depends on your academic standing in the process. Let me break it down:

If you're in the Mary Poppins category (above profile), the admissions committee needs to really like the other components of your app.

If you're right in our normal profile, the admissions committee needs to “like like” the other components of your app.

If you're capable (but below our normal profile), the admissions committee needs to love the other components of your app.

There’s still a long way to go, and I’ve definitely simplified a complex process, but those are the basics on where our applicants have been and where they’re going.  The takeaway?  Seniors: keep up the hustle. Our academic assessment can shift (for better or worse) when we see new information like midyear grades or updated standardized testing.  Juniors: use this year to strengthen your profile.  It will be the ground your application stands on this time next year. 

Questions are welcome below.  They’ll make for a nice break from the mountain of applications and three feet of snow under which I am currently buried.