Tufts University, located just outside of Boston, is a private research university with a liberal arts feel. Because of its proximity to all the other Boston (and near-Boston, wink wink) schools, Tufts has a ton of programs/affiliations/and crossover opportunities with schools in the area. Since the school did start as a liberal arts college, majors like econ, psych, poli sci, and international relations reign supreme.

If you’re thinking about transferring to Tufts, you’re in the right place! Tufts is competitive, with a single-digit first-year acceptance rate of 9%. “Uh, TKG,” you sass, “we’re talking about transfers right now.” Hush! We’re illustrating a point! Low first-year acceptances generally translate into low transfer acceptance rates, which Tufts also has. During the last cycle, 148 of the 1,474 students who applied got in. That is roughly 10%. With competitive stats like that, we’ve outlined some tips and tricks to help you create the most compelling application possible.

Tufts’s Requirements

Straight from Jumbo the Elephant’s mouth: “A transfer student is any student who has matriculated at another college or university. To be eligible for transfer consideration at Tufts, students must be in good academic and disciplinary standing at an accredited two- or four-year institution.” However, they also note “to be a successful candidate for transfer admission at Tufts, we recommend completing at least one year of college study by the time of enrollment at Tufts.”

Here are their requirements:

Transfer Common App
Essays (more on that later)
Two faculty recommendations (can be professor or TA)
School/College report
Midterm report
Official Transcripts (college + high school)
Course descriptions

Optional requirements:

Test scores
Arts supplements (if not applying for a BFA. It is mandatory if you’re seeking a BFA)

More on their requirements and process for transfer applicants here.

Pick the Right Classes

If you’re applying to Tufts as an international relations major, you should take classes that suggest that you’re actually interested in that topic. Obviously. Don’t fill up your scant elective options with American Politics classes, prove you actually like IR!

But, don’t forget to take your prereqs. Those will help you finish those credits out for Tufts in the future, but will also serve as a good safety net in case your transfer bid isn’t successful.

Get Really Good Grades

Since Tufts is a competitive school, it’s fair to assume you need great grades to be a competitive applicant. Not to go all “obviously,” on you again, but… obviously. If you underperformed in high school, getting all As in college is kind of the main way you can prove that you’re good at college.

And to help you get good grades, here’s a tip. Don’t take the classes you almost failed in high school. A) you don’t need the extra stress, B) you definitely don’t need the GPA hit, and C) we’re sure there are other math or science classes you can take besides calculus or chemistry. And also, please go to all your office hours. Those relationships with profs can help keep your grades high and they come in handy when it’s time to ask for rec letters.

Develop Your Niche

You need to do things that prove you’re actually interested in your stated major. If you’re applying to International Relations and have done like, zero IR extracurriculars, Tufts isn’t going to buy it. Here’s a (nonexhaustive) list of things you can do to build out your stated passion in a documentable way:

Research with a professor
Joining (or starting) clubs
Writing for an on-campus publication
Getting an internship
Getting a paying job
Volunteering (in something related to your major)

And let’s be clear, this isn’t just to pad your resume. It’s to provide Tufts with tangible proof that you’ve explored your interests, know what you want to do, and if accepted, will graduate in a reasonable amount of time and not change your major 23 times. It also helps build community at your current school, which will come in handy if your transfer dreams don’t come true.

Write Good Essays

Tufts has one question:

Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring to Tufts University and the objectives you hope to achieve. (2000-3000 characters)

This is probably the most standard transfer essay out there, which means it should be a slam dunk for you all out there. This will combine elements of the “Why” essays you wrote a bunch of for first-year applications, along with the standard transfer essay fare. You’ll want to hit on all the elements of a good why essay:

Origin story (why you want to study the thing you want to study. To add in another comparison (mixed metaphor, ugh), think of it as a lightbulb moment.

Declaring your major
List 1-2 upper level classes + explain why they’re good fits for you
A professor or two you want to research with
Academic + non-academic extracurriculars

Make sure to explain why you’re transferring, but don’t bash your current school. More on this type of prompt here.

We hope these tips help you a) prepare to transfer and b) make that transfer application happen. Good luck with your Tufts application and make sure to keep your grades up, get plugged into your community, and dive into your passions.

If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.