Tufts Blogs

Hello overseas friends!

We're often asked if we're familiar with international qualifications such as the IB, A-Levels, French Bac or CBSE. The answer is yes, of course - it's our job! 

So how do we do that? Well, we do a lot of research. We get information from exam boards, go to conferences and speak with high schools to learn about the exams you study for and how they might differ by region or by school. For example, we know that while the French Bac is scored out of 20, it is rare to see a score in the high teens!

These qualifications also change with the times, and we keep up with those changes by continuing to do our research in the same way. 

_{My reaction when the new A* grades were introduced to A-Levels mere YEARS after I left high school, making my As look like Bs. via GIPHY}

This isn't the only thing we study up on as we read international applications. For example, we understand that you may have different cultural expectations and access to non-academic activities such as sports. We chat about what an achievement Duke of Edinburgh Gold is to reach, and how a student's hours of community service may be well in excess of their CAS requirement if they are studying for the IB diploma. 

We do some of this research online or over the phone, but one of my favorite ways we get to know the regions we're reading is by actually visiting the country in question. While we might not be able to visit every country every year, when we visit, we're able to experience your everyday traffic in Mumbai, the historic districts of Shanghai or the suburbs of Paris. 

So when you apply to Tufts, you can be confident that we will be reading your application in the context of your home environment, not anywhere else.

via GIPHY