If your child is a hopeful Jumbo, you’re probably scratching your head, wondering if they really have what it takes to get into the prestigious Tufts University. We don’t blame you: the acceptance rate for this year’s incoming class at Tufts was a mere 10%. That makes Tufts on par with Ivy League schools in terms of selectivity. We’re going to get into all the different factors that go into Tufts admission, but first let’s learn why Tufts has become a school students are  clawing to get into. 

About Tufts University 

It’s only in recent history that Tufts reached its current status as an R1 research university with “very high research activity” as classified by the Carnegie Classification. For most of its history, Tufts was a small liberal arts school for Northeastern prep school types. But the university’s recent collaborations with the New England Conservatory, MIT, Harvard, and even universities across Europe have placed it firmly within the echelon of top higher education institutions. 

Tufts has around 6,900 undergraduate students. The School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering are located on the main campus in Medford, but some undergraduates also enroll at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The most popular majors at Tufts are Computer Science, International Relations, and Economics, which together make up about a ⅓ of the undergraduate population. 

Tufts is located a short walk away from Somerville’s Davis Square, a hub of commerce and food located along the MBTA’s Red Line, meaning students have easy access to Harvard Square and Boston. Davis Square highlights include Dragon Pizza, Sacco’s Bowl Haven, and the Somerville Theater. There’s an active Greek scene on Tufts campus, but the student body tends to run quirky and progressive, so there’s something for everyone. 

Tufts University Admissions Requirements

According to Tufts Undergraduate Admissions, a competitive application, in addition to great grades, test scores, and extracurricular achievements, requires extensive “self-reflection” and “research.” This is their nice way of saying that they don’t want boring students who are merely good test takers. They want fascinating students who are movers and shakers. They want students who have a story to tell. They want students who are going to hit the ground running once they get to Medford, who know exactly why they want to be at Tufts, and who are prepared to make the most of their four years there. Ideally, they’ll admit a class of students who are all going to become influential and important people one day, the Tufts name pinned to their biographies. For students who can’t imagine heading anywhere else for college, Ivy Coach excels at preparing students for the college application process with our own expert research and admissions-savvy self-reflection!

What Kind of GPA Is Necessary To Get Into Tufts?

The following is the class rank breakdown of Tufts’s Class of 2028 members, as reported in the 2024-25 Common Data Set. Unfortunately, the university hasn’t reported any GPA data for recently admitted cohorts, so the class rank data below is the closest to gauging the GPA requirements for admission in the Tufts admissions process.

Assessment	Percent in Tufts University Class of 2028
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	85%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	95%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	99%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	1%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted high school class rank:	25%

Even though we may not have explicit GPA data for recently admitted Tufts cohorts, we at Ivy Coach can still make a highly educated guess that the majority of Tufts applicants earn admission with GPAs higher than 3.5. And even though the above data is not the most reliable, since roughly only one quarter of the cohort submitted class rank data, they still convey just how crucial academic performance is for gaining admission to Tufts.

That said, grades aren’t everything at Tufts. If you haven’t bolstered your application with compelling essays, letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, etc., you had better believe Tufts won’t simply admit you because of your 4.0 alone. 

What Kind of SAT or ACT Scores Are Needed To Get Into Tufts University?  

Although Tufts University officially maintains a test-optional policy, 56% of students who applied to the Class of 2028 submitted test scores. This is pretty high for a test-optional school and is in keeping with Tufts’s competitive admissions rate. Tufts has not released data on what percentage of admitted students sent test scores, but we’d wager that it was higher than 56%. To put it differently, submitting test scores always boosts an applicant’s chances.

For the Class of 2028, the average SAT score for students who chose to enroll at Tufts was 1510. The average ACT score was 34. These are some mighty high scores! 

What Classes Do Students Need to Take to Get Into Tufts University?

Luckily, Tufts has answered their question in their own words: 

We recommend that you pursue four years of each core academic subject in high school. These subjects are English, world language, math, science, and history/social studies. However, this is a recommendation and not a requirement for applicants to Tufts. If you exhaust your high school’s offerings in a certain subject area in your junior year, for example, we do not expect you to have a course in that subject area during your senior year. You may also decide to double up in a certain area of interest in your senior year, and it is acceptable if that has to come at the expense of another subject area. Here is a good rule of thumb: balance any “cuts” to your course schedule with challenging and meaningful additions.

At Ivy Coach, when we read the word “recommend,” we cross it out and write “require.” If a school “recommends” its applicants do something, you better believe that the ones who didn’t follow that recommendation received a rejection letter. 

What Kinds of Extracurriculars Does Tufts Like To See?

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard about “well-rounded” applicants and how colleges seek this type of student. What you probably haven’t heard, though, is that this all a big charade, a myth, an urban legend. We will say it plain and simple: colleges do not want well-rounded applicants. Why? Because the jack of all trades is also the master of none. Colleges don’t want students who are middling at lots of different things. They want students who have specific areas of excellence and expertise, students who are going to become leaders in their fields one day. So, rather than shuffling your kid from soccer practice to cello lessons to robotics club, decide together what their talent and passion is and go all in on that thing. 

Tufts University Application Requirements

Tufts accepts The Common Application and The Coalition Application. They ask for a letter of recommendation from a counselor and a teacher. Finally, they ask applicants to respond to one of the following three prompts in 200-250 words: 

• It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity and why?
• How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today?
• Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community.

Who Should Students Ask For Letters of Recommendation For Tufts University?

Applicants to Tufts should ask a junior year teacher with whom they’ve had a close relationship and in whose class they excelled. The teacher’s subject area should align with the rest of the student’s application. For example, if a student wants to become a bovine lactation specialist, they should ask their biology or environmental science teacher. On the other hand, if they want to become the next great historian of Gilded Age America, it wouldn’t make much sense if they asked their Calculus teacher to write their recommendation. 

Does Tufts Require an Interview?

Tufts does not require interviews, but they offer them! Hot tip: take them up on the offer. 

What Are Tufts University’s Application Deadlines? 

Early Decision I applications to Tufts University are due November 3. Early Decision II and Regular Decision applications are due January 5. 

How Ivy Coach Helps Students Get Into Tufts

If you’re interested in figuring out if your child has a shot of getting into Tufts University, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. Not only will you find out if your child has a chance of getting into Tufts University, but you’ll receive a game plan of how your child can optimize their admission to the best school possible.