Tufts admits Class of 2022 from record-high applicant pool

On March 30, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions offered spots in the Class of 2022 to 3,140 applicants, according to a TuftsNow article. The admissions office received 21,502 applications, marking a record-high number of applicants and a two percent increase from last year.

The acceptance rate dropped from 14.8 percent last year to 14.6 percent, keeping in range of Tufts’ lowest acceptance rate — 14.3 percent for the Class of 2020.

Karen Richardson, the dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment management, attributes the increased competitiveness in Tufts’ acceptance process to the continued increase in the number of applications.

“Admissions has become more competitive in the past few years here at Tufts and at every other highly selective institution. One of the main reasons is that application numbers continue to increase,” Richardson wrote in an email to the Daily.

According to the TuftsNow article, the admissions office received 17,443 applicants to the School of Arts and Sciences, while the School of Engineering received 4,059 applications.

In addition, the School at the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts combined-degree program and the BFA program, now in their second year, accepted 109 and 139 students, respectively.

The article also states that the class represents all 50 U.S. states and 70 countries.

Additionally, nearly 50 percent of the incoming class applied for need-based aid, compared to 48 percent last year. Ten percent of these students are receiving Pell Grants, a federal grant reserved for students with financial need, according to the Federal Student Aid website. Eleven percent of the class are first-generation college students, according to the article.

According to Patrick Collins, Tufts' executive director of public relations, 54 percent of the class identify as female, 43 percent as male and one percent as genderqueer or non-binary. He also clarified that these percentages do not add to 100 because questions regarding gender are not required on the Common Application.

Richardson added that these admissions decisions come at the end of a difficult process.

"The pool for the class of 2022 was the largest in university history," Richardson told the Daily in an email. "As in years past, [the pool] was incredibly strong both academically and in terms of ... how applicants engage with their schools and communities. The admissions team was impressed by what applicants could bring to the Tufts campus and, as a result, had to make some very difficult decisions."

Richardson moved on to say that when determining which applicants to accept, the university considers how they might contribute to the culture of Tufts as a whole.

"The university wants to be able to maintain high levels of academic and social services that are critical to a good experience for students during their time here," Richardson said.

The admitted students will have a chance to see Tufts during Jumbo Days, which Richardson said will be April 13, 19 and 20. The days are designed to allow students to “get a glimpse into academic and social life [at Tufts],” according to Richardson.

Alizée Weber, an intern at the admissions office and the head tour guide, said in a phone interview with the Daily that these days will include talks by the deans and administrative staff as well as the chance for prospective students to attend mock classes that focus on professors' research.

Following this programming, there will be a club fair where admitted students will have the chance to see clubs and organizations on campus and talk to current students about their experience, Weber said. She added that, at this time, food trucks will be available.

As part of Jumbo Days, admitted students are invited to stay in dorms with current students and participate in dinners and entertainment with current students, according to Weber. During the evenings, Jumbo Days attendees have the chance to see performance groups, she said, adding that this entertainment included a performance by Sarabande as well as a trivia night.

“For [overnights] students will arrive the day before the actual Jumbo Day and … they have dinner, they meet their host and then in the evening we have a lot of entertainment,” Weber said.

Weber also stated that admitted students are allowed to participate in Jumbo Days on a first-come, first-serve basis, adding that some students with financial need may receive travel support from the university.

She emphasized that Jumbo Days can profoundly affect a student's desire to enroll, crediting her experience at the event as “the entire reason I came to Tufts."

"When other people come to Jumbo Days, they’ll always say that … it sort of pushed them off from thinking ‘maybe Tufts’ to ‘I love Tufts,'” she said.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to clarify that there will not be a petting zoo at Jumbo Days.