Applications for the Undergraduate Class of 2027 Top 34,000

With the most diverse applicant pool ever, Tufts is the first-choice school for a growing number of students

Applications to the Class of 2027 continue to show strong interest in Tufts from an increasingly diverse high school population, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

For the second year in a row, applications for undergraduate admission topped 34,000. They represent the university’s “most compositionally diverse” applicant pool, said JT Duck, dean of admissions for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.

This year, students of color make up 56% of U.S. students applying to Tufts, up from 52% last year, with increases across Black, Latinx, and Asian American applicants. “What we’re seeing at Tufts follows demographic trends in the U.S. high school population and is the product of strategic outreach of the admissions office and campus community,” said Duck, reporting data as of January 17.

Duck credits the growth in applications from American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students—up 15% from last year—to the establishment of an Indigenous Center at Tufts, and by proactive outreach to prospective students by its director,  Vernon Miller.

Tufts is also the first-choice school for more students than ever, as reflected in a 6% increase in Early Decision applications over last year, and a 37% increase over three years ago.

Duck noted that the admissions cycle marked a return to in-person recruitment, after it was paused during the pandemic.

“The Tufts admissions team returned to high school visits, college fairs, and international travel, while continuing a hefty amount of virtual programming,” he said. “Together, these efforts made the process of learning about Tufts more accessible than ever before to prospective applicants.”

This admission cycle included an SAT/ACT test-optional pilot, which was extended in December by an additional three years. Undergraduate first-year and transfer applicants applying to enter in the fall of 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not required to submit test scores, “allowing Tufts to gather more data about the impact of the test-optional policy as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Duck.

Here’s a look in more detail at applications to the Class of 2027. 

Populations

  • Students of color comprise 56% of the U.S. applicant pool.
  • First-generation college students comprise approximately 20% percent of the pool.
  • Early Decision applications increased by 6% over last year.
  • International students—defined as foreign nationals without U.S. citizenship—comprise 23% of this year’s pool, up from last year’s 22%.

Geographical Diversity

  • All 50 states were represented, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Mariana Islands. The top seven states by home address are Massachusetts, New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, and Florida.
  • Nearly 600 students applied from the host communities of Somerville, Medford, Boston, and Grafton.
  • The most represented countries by citizenship outside the U.S. are China, India, Brazil, Ghana, Turkey, South Korea, Canada, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.

Application by School

  • The School of Engineering received more than 7,000 applications for the first time.
  • The School of Arts & Sciences received more than 25,700 applications.
  • The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts received its largest ever applicant pool: nearly 1,200 applications across the Bachelor of Fine Arts and 5-year combined degree.

Application Process

  • Tufts matched with 20 outstanding Questbridge Scholars through the National Questbridge Match process and expects to admit many more Questbridge Scholars through Early and Regular Decision rounds.

Decisions for students who applied during the second round of Early Decision will be released in early February, and students who applied via regular decision will receive their decisions in late March.

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