If you are reading this post, a deferral was not part of the plan. You applied to Tufts early decision because you wanted certainty. If you got in, you’d be set. If you didn’t, you’d know Tufts wasn’t in the cards. But now you’re on the receiving end of a deferral decision and it’s not a yes or a no, but a very unsatisfying maybe.
There’s little more known about Tufts admissions aside from the acceptance rate, which is 10%. Anyone who claims to know how many students have been deferred in recent years, is just guessing. We do have some thoughts, though. You can’t bet on being part of a tiny pool of deferred students, nor assume you are in a massive pile of applicants pushed to regular decision. This simply means that your strategy for what comes next can’t be based on assumptions, but centered on you and strengthening your application.
First, you need to focus on the rest of your college application process. In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to do for Tufts and everything else you need to do to ensure that your college application season is satisfying and successful, even after this deferral.
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Before you address Tufts, you need to get all the other pieces of your college application strategy in a row. Maybe you’ve been working on applications since August, but we also wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t done much. While getting work done in advance doesn’t actually jinx your chances of getting into your top choice school, we know from experience that many students act like it does. So, it’s possible you haven’t even looked at the supplements for your regular decision cycle schools…or even made the list.
Review Your College List
The ground floor of a successful college application experience is a strong and well-balanced college list. This means having reaches like Tufts, targets, and foundation (or safety) schools — now that you’ve been deferred, you especially need the targets and foundations!
Identifying what is a target and what is a foundation can be confusing. With acceptance rates plummeting, schools that would have been targets for you just a few years ago may be reaches today, and former foundations may have now be targets. You need to follow statistics, not feelings, to determine how you line up against the schools you love. If this is overwhelming, we can help.
Reassess Your Common App Essay
Next, you need to open your common app essay up and look at it with fresh eyes. We get it if this sounds like the opposite of how you want to be spending your time right now, especially if you have supplements to write, but the common app essay is hands-down the most important piece of writing in your application — so it has to hit.
The secret to writing a strong common app essay isn’t actually a secret, it’s a strategy. To unlock it, you need to read our 2024-2025 Guide to the Common App Essay. You should also take a look at these real essays that led to impressive acceptances.
Once you’ve reviewed the guide and read some sample essays, give your essay another look. If it doesn’t measure up, edit. If it really doesn’t measure up, rewrite. It’s worth it — we promise.
Press Submit
Finally, you need to press submit. That may sound obvious, but it isn’t. Waiting until the deadline to submit is ok, but don’t force yourself to wait if you’re application is ready to go. We see the worst editing happens between when an application is perfect and when the student presses ‘submit’. The more you can shorten that window of time, the better. So, when the application is ready, submit.
Now let’s get back to Tufts.
WHAT TUFTS WANTS
As we’ve said, Tufts doesn’t release a lot of information on their admissions stats, including deferral numbers. If you have been deferred, however, the facts are these. You’ve been bumped to the regular decision pool, and the binding Early Decision agreement no longer applies. You do not need to reapply, and they do not require additional information be added to your application beyond a mid-year report (which catches your grades on file up to those regular decision applicants will be submitting). However, not being required to do something is not that same as something being basically required to truly be considered for admission after a deferral. If you want to get into Tufts, you need to take some action.
Tufts considers demonstrated interest, or how much you like them, when they reassess your application after a deferral. This means that reinforcing that Tufts is, indeed, your first choice is crucial to be seriously considered.
Tufts will not let you in if they don’t feel like you will accept the offer of admission. The best way to convey this information to them is through a Letter of Continued Interest.
Letter of Continued Interest
A letter of continued interest is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a letter that communicates that you are still seriously interested in Tufts as your first-choice college. Begin your letter with a formal opening like “Dear Tufts Admissions.” Then you need to write, in only a few sentences, a strong statement confirming that you will attend Tufts if accepted.
After confirming that Tufts if still your first choice, you have the opportunity to include an update. We recommend focusing your update on 2-4 things that you would have put in your initial application if they had happened in time. These could include new leadership roles, awards or recognitions, internships, volunteer roles, or employment. Give things that are related to your major, or that build upon themes in your initial application, particular emphasis.
Finish the letter, which should be no more than 350 words, by again stating the Tufts is your first choice.
But what if Tufts isn’t necessarily your 1st choice anymore? That’s ok, but don’t tell them that. Since the binding ED agreement no longer applies, you can say whatever you want as far as your intentions with Tufts. If you get in, you don’t need to go — even if you tell them that you will. But if you don’t say that Tufts if your first choice, you are very unlikely to get in.
Once your letter is complete you need to edit, polish, and submit via the applicant portal or an email to the admissions office. If you have previously communicated with a particular admission official, send it to them as well with your name and city/state in the subject line.
Getting into Tufts after a deferral is possible, but it won’t happen without doing some legwork. The same goes for your entire college application experience. You need to put in the work to reap the best reward. So, get to work.
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