Admissions Factors
What Tufts Looks For
Tufts rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations and character and personal qualities.
How Tufts rates each factor
Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.
Very important
Considered
Not considered
The numbers behind the class
Overall admit rate
10.8%
3,613 of 33,415 applicants
Early decision admit rate
32%
Early decision admits equal 61% of the class
Admitted from the waitlist
6%
71 of 1,193 who stayed on it
87% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.
Frequently asked questions
What does Tufts look for in applicants?
Tufts rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations and character and personal qualities.
Does Tufts consider legacy status?
Tufts rates alumni relation as "considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
Does Tufts track demonstrated interest?
Tufts rates the level of an applicant's interest as "considered".
What is Tufts's waitlist acceptance rate?
1,193 students stayed on the waitlist and 71 were admitted, a rate of 6%. The number changes a lot from year to year because it depends on how many admitted students enroll.
What is Tufts's early decision acceptance rate?
Early decision: 1,071 of 3,344 applicants were admitted (32%), against 10.8% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
Source: Tufts’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.
