Tufts University is a “student-centered” research university on an idyllic New England campus just minutes from downtown Boston. They offer over 90 undergraduate majors across three undergraduate schools united by a shared philosophy that education should be about “collaboration, rather than competition.”
At Tufts, 1,500 students are working in labs conducting and supporting research, and most students complete at least one internship during their time as a student. The university seeks out students who will fully embrace the opportunities they offer, and who are academically creative and excited to explore. They also want people who look for ways to give back close to home, and with global impact. Tufts has serious international reach, as 40-45% of students go on to study abroad at least once while an undergrad through Tufts global-learning programs in Spain, Italy, Chile, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, and more, plus nearly 200 pre-approved external programs.
Accessing these experiences isn’t easy. Tufts is in high demand, and the popularity of the university has soared in recent years. The acceptance rate is only 10%.
In this post, we’re going to help you use your summers to become part of that 10% of accepted applicants. If Tufts is high on your list, you will need to every tool in your toolbox — and your summers are a powerful opportunity to boost your application, and your likelihood of admission.
You’ll need a summer strategy, and we can help with that.
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What does Tufts want to see from your summer?
Big picture, Tufts wants to see you push beyond what’s possible during the school year. They want you to go deep into a subject or field that you’re passionate about, and they want to see you seek out opportunities for learning and mentorship in the field — whatever your field. Most importantly, they want to see that you pair passion with hunger. You have big dreams, and you’re striving for them. Now, let’s get into how to pull that off.
Emphasize Your Academic Mettle
If we were to think of your summer as three “buckets,” the first is academic. Tufts has distribution requirements for applicants, so, before you read any further, review them. Make sure you’ll not just meet their minimums, but exceed them. Even if your school has all the bells and whistles and you’ll easily exceed the Tufts requirements for consideration, we recommend taking a summer course at least once before applying to college (and this is true no matter where you want to apply).
When it comes to summer courses, you have a few options. If there are any local colleges or universities, or community colleges, in your area within easy reach, look into whether they have courses open to high school students in the summer. Hint, they probably do. You could also take an accredited online course — keyword, accredited. Even if the online course isn’t for college credit, it does need to be coordinated by an accredited institution or university. When picking a course, try to explore something you’ve pursued previously more deeply. For example, if you’ve been taking computer science courses at school, you could take a more targeted coding or app development course over the summer that would build upon the foundation you’ve already built. Or, if you loved biology in school, you could take a science course focused on a specific region or ecosystem.
Another way to improve the academic side of your Tufts application is an internship. Tufts loves internships, so we encourage students to secure an internship with a local academic, a business owner, or a professional you admire – for a minimum of two weeks full-time or four weeks part-time. Ideally, you want an internship that is focused on working under and learning from a specific person, rather than a general internship with a company or non-profit. The reason why we suggest this isn’t necessarily because you’ll have a better experience working under a single person, but because building a relationship with a sole supervisor through an internship is the best way to potentially secure a supplemental recommendation come application season.
You could also choose to pursue a research or creative project on your own. If you want to take this route, you need to create a structure for yourself akin to what an internship, and to set a concrete goal. The goal could be the creation of a particular body of work, the completion of a certain project, or the publication of a piece of writing.
The last tool for augmenting your academics during the summer that we’ll touch on here are summer programs. We are careful about recommending summer programs, because many cost far more than they are worth from an admissions perspective. A pay-to-play summer program could absolutely be worth it if your primary goal is to learn, have fun, and get a taste of what college will be like. But, when we look at summer programs from the perspective of admissions, we have to put the fun stuff to the side and think strategy.
Tufts does consider the “level of applicant’s interest,” when reviewing applications for admission. This means that they give invisible gold stars to applicants who show that they are excited about Tufts, and that they are committed to attending if accepted. One way to show this is to visit, another is to attend an information session online, on the road, or on campus, and another is to introduce yourself to a Tufts rep at a college fair. One of the strongest ways to show your interest, though, is through a summer program. Tufts offers a variety to pick from.
Pre-college Intensives: These 1-3 weeklong programs offer college-level coursework in a fast-track setting. These programs are intense, but they aren’t full courses and don’t come with college credit. Some are in-person, like the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Bootcamp, and some are virtual, like the SMFA Graphic Design Bootcamp.
College Courses: We really like the Tufts for-credit courses that are open to high school students because you can earn credit that is legit college credit, and you can show that you will perform at a very high level once you’re a (for real) Tufts student. Many of the courses are online, and you’ll learn alongside undergrads and be held to the same high bar. The courses are expensive, but since you’re getting college credit, you’re truly getting something for the money beyond experience. Wherever you end up for college, this course credit ‘should’ transfer. It’s also worth noting that courses are available throughout the year for high school commuters, virtual students, or hybrid students, so this is something to keep in your pocket as a potential opportunity even if you can’t make it work during the summer.
The Tufts College Experience: The College Experience is a 5-week residential intensive where you take real classes for real credit, while also having a lot of fun as a Tufts student for the summer. We like this program, but it is very expensive as a residential program. The virtual option is less expensive, but you also lose the social benefit and the opportunity to build relationships with professors and instructors, so the savings may actually be a cost.
Strengthen Your Social Good Credentials
Once you’ve squared away how you are boosting your academics, you need to address the second bucket: social good.
Tufts cares a lot not just about volunteering, but about making a continuous concerted effort to benefit your community. They want to see that doing good isn’t just something you do, it’s part of who you are. We recommend addressing all of this by volunteering locally, in a long-term way, for a non-profit or initiative that is related to a personal or academic passion that will show up elsewhere in your application whether in your transcript, in activities you do in the school year, or by pairing an experience up with things you’ve done in past summers.
Earn Some Dough
The third bucket may come as a surprise. We want you to work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know you’ve been working hard — but we want you to work. Like the job kind with a paycheck. This will almost certainly be a low-level position that isn’t glamorous at all. That’s sort of the idea. Through a job, you show that you can be collaborative, you can be part of a team, you can show up on time and you can follow-through. Whether you’re a lifeguard or working at a carwash, serving at a restaurant, or mowing lawns, putting a job on your ‘resume’ is an important way of illustrating that you are ready to step up to the plate and face any challenge. The one thing we don’t recommend for this one, though, is working for a family member. If you are part of a multi-generational business, you can ignore this advice, but simply going and working for your dad won’t show Tufts what we are trying to communicate.
If Tufts is at the top of your college list, using your summers to strategically strengthen your application is a key part of the admissions preparation process. We hope you’ll take these recommendations to heart to build a stronger application by filling all three buckets: academics, social good, and getting a job.
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