Members of the Tufts community can get involved with the admissions process in many different ways.  Through the Tufts Admissions Network, alumni, parents, and friends of the university can help shape future classes of Jumbos.

➥ TAN Member Position Description
➥ Eligibility Requirements for TAN Members
➥ Best Practices for TAN Members
➥ TAN Yearly Timeline At-A-Glance
➥ PASSPORT Mentors

Tufts Admissions Network

Tufts alumni who volunteer through the Tufts Admissions Network (TAN) are an important part of the admissions process and help the admissions office by conducting interviews with prospective students across the world.

Please read the information below to learn more about being a Tufts Admission Network volunteer and review our expectations and guidelines for this year’s program.

Prospective TAN members: Sign up to join TAN for the 2020-2021 year
Active TAN members: Log in to your TAN portal

TAN Member Position Description

TAN members are volunteers who believe they can represent Tufts in a positive manner and wish to conduct interviews with Tufts undergraduate applicants. 

Our goal is to provide an engaging and positive interview experience for our applicants. The primary purposes of the interview are to make Tufts more accessible to our applicants, to provide an opportunity for applicants to ask questions and to allow applicants and alumni to share information that might not otherwise be found in the application.

When signing up, TAN members provide their geographic information, which will determine the region in which they will receive interview assignments. TAN members are asked to provide their maximum availability for interview assignments when they sign up. Members will receive no more interviews per application round than the number provided, but members may receive the maximum number. Please be mindful of this when inputting maximum availability; members can adjust their availability as the year progresses.

TAN members conduct a portion of interviews during our Early Decision I round in late October through late November, and then an often larger portion of interviews are available for our Early Decision 2 and Regular Decision application rounds in mid-December through late February. Interview assignments must be accepted or declined. If an assignment is accepted, a TAN member commits to reaching out, conducting the interview at a mutually convenient time and date with the applicant, and then submitting a report summarizing the interview within 72 hours. We require that TAN members accept or decline an assignment as soon as possible, so that if an interview is declined there is plenty of time to reassign to another TAN member.

TAN members must read our Eligibility Requirements and our Best Practices for TAN Members and agree with those terms in order to be active members of the Tufts Admissions Network.

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Eligibility Requirements for TAN Members

Tufts alumni are eligible to serve as interviewers through the Tufts Admissions Network (TAN) if the following criteria are met. A Tufts Admissions Network member:

• Holds a diploma from one of Tufts’ three undergraduate schools: School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering, or School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.
• Is committed to reviewing all training materials and abiding by the Best Practices for TAN members.
• Feels that they can represent Tufts well and can share their enthusiasm as an ambassador for Tufts.
• Has the ability to conduct all interview assignments virtually or over the phone.
• Agrees to not interview an applicant with whom they are already acquainted.

Tufts alumni are not eligible to serve as volunteers through the Tufts Admissions Network if there is a conflict of interest present. Conflicts of interest include alumni who:

• Work or hold a position that involves advising students on the college application, testing, or financial aid processes.
• Act as an alumni interviewer for more than one undergraduate institution in the same admissions cycle.
• Have an immediate family member applying to an undergraduate program at Tufts University.
• Purposefully interview students with whom they have an acquaintance or strong connection, which may cause temptation to skew interview reporting.

Interviewers with any other potential conflicts of interest should discuss them with a staff member of the Tufts Admission Network by emailing tuftsadmissionsnetwork@tufts.edu.

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Best Practices for TAN Members

All Tufts Admissions Network members are expected to abide by our best practices. Please review these principles before each admissions cycle.

Our goal is to provide an engaging and positive interview experience for our applicants. The primary purposes of the interview are to make Tufts more accessible to our applicants, to provide an opportunity for applicants to ask questions and to allow applicants and alumni to share information that might not otherwise be found in the application.

TAN members should:

• Have familiarity and comfort with the TAN portal. Navigating the portal is critical to being a successful alumni volunteer.
• Represent Tufts well and stay informed.
  
  • We expect interviewers to utilize our training resources and refer applicants to the Admissions or Financial Aid teams for questions they cannot answer.

• Be cognizant of deadlines and communications
  
  • It is expected that TAN members read our TAN Tuesday email newsletters, all other email communications, and training resources in order to be mindful of deadlines and updates to the program.

• In a timely manner, accept interview assignments as soon as possible for interviews they commit to conducting, OR decline interview assignments they cannot or should not conduct.
• Be considerate of an applicant’s comfort and safety. For 2020-2021, interviews must be conducted virtually via video teleconference or telephone, and every TAN member must be vigilant in conducting interviews in an appropriate setting.
• Set personal bias aside.
  
  • TAN members should be interested in engaging with applicants from a wide range of diversities, backgrounds, and experiences, and should never comment on or discriminate against an applicant based on any of their identities.

• Provide a positive and mutually respectful atmosphere for the applicant.
• Have a genuine conversation with the student.
  
  • An interview should allow space for an applicant to ask questions and exchange ideas.

• Submit detailed interview reports within the deadlines set by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
  
  • Please ensure that your interview report contains details and anecdotes of your conversation to aid the admissions committee in learning information about the applicant beyond what is available in the application.
  • We advise that all interview volunteers submit reports within 72 hours of an interview.

• Update your availability in your TAN profile as needed.
  
  • Log in to your Tufts portal and edit your TAN profile contact information or interview availability if there are any changes throughout the year.

TAN members may NOT:

• Conduct the interview in a private setting. In-person interviews should never be hosted in the interviewer’s home. 
• Record audio or video of the interview.
• Communicate with the applicant outside of the context of the interview.
• Ask the applicant to do any special preparation for the interview or request that an applicant provide any specific materials (e.g. transcript, resume, essays).
• Accept interview assignments with students they know personally.
• Compare Tufts with other institutions or make any negative comments about any other academic institution.
• Ask an applicant to disclose other schools to which they have applied.
• Discuss or postulate the applicant’s likelihood of admission. The optional interview is one of many pieces to an application.

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TAN Yearly Timeline At-A-Glance

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PASSPORT Mentors

PASSPORT Mentors connect with an incoming Jumbo from another country to help make them feel at home in the United States and, more importantly, in the Tufts community.

The PASSPORT Program is a volunteer program sponsored by the International Center, Undergraduate Admissions, Alumni Relations and the Advancement Office that matches Tufts alumni, parents, faculty, and staff with incoming undergraduate international students for cultural exchange, support and community building. The program has been designed to support students who receive financial aid. Participating students come from a variety of countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Vietnam, China, Uganda, Ecuador, and more.

Click here for more information about the PASSPORT program.
Become a PASSPORT Mentor

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