Tufts University supplemental essays
Tufts University asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27, plus more depending on your college or program. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
Early Decision closes November 2, 2026, Early Decision II closes January 4, 2027 and Regular Decision closes January 4, 2027. The prompts carry these limits: 75-150 words, 100-200 words. Every Tufts University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 2, 2026 |
| Early Decision II | January 4, 2027 |
| Regular Decision | January 4, 2027 |
Checked against admissions.tufts.edu/apply/short-answer-questions. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required · 75-150 words
Please describe how you have learned about and engaged with Tufts during your college search process.
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required (your program) · 100-200 words
School of Arts and Sciences applicants. Tell us about one of your favorite school assignments in the past two years. What was the assignment and why did you enjoy it?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required (your program) · 100-200 words
School of Engineering applicants. Tell us about an engineering or science-related project that you have helped build, design, create, or iterate in the past two years. What was the project and what was your role?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required (your program) · 100-200 words
Bachelor of Fine Arts applicants. Tell us more about a specific piece in your portfolio. What were the ideas you intended to explore, and how did those ideas inform the process of making the piece?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required (your program) · 100-200 words
Combined Degree (BFA + BA/BS) applicants. Tell us more about a specific piece in your portfolio. How did an academic course, project, or interest inspire the ideas that you explored in this piece? Or, how did making this piece influence your academic interests?
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Your Tufts University checklist
One supplement, required. The first deadline, Early Decision, is November 2, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplement 1Required75-150 words
- 4 program-specific promptsOnly if you apply to the college or program it names. All printed in full above.
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Not sure what a review is? What an AI college essay review can and cannot do, and what a college essay grader leaves out. What the read checks against Tufts University’s own prompts is on the Tufts University essay review page.
Getting into Tufts University
Tufts University admits 11.5% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1470-1560 on the SAT and 33-35 on the ACT.
About 1 in 9 applicants are admitted, at a college of 7,061 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1470 | 1510 | 1560 |
| SAT reading and writing | 720 | 740 | 770 |
| SAT math | 750 | 770 | 790 |
| ACT composite | 33 | 34 | 35 |
What SAT score do you need for Tufts University?
A 1560 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1510 at their midpoint, and a 1470 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 33, 34 and 35. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Tufts University?
- Tufts University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1470-1560 on the SAT: a 1470 sits at the 25th percentile, 1510 at the median and 1560 at the 75th. A score at or above 1560 is a clear strength in the application; below 1470 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Tufts University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Tufts University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 33-35 on the ACT, with a composite of 34 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 33. Reported by Tufts University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Tufts University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Tufts University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Tufts University admits 11.5% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Tufts University?
- Tufts University admits 11.5% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 9 applicants. At that rate no set of numbers makes admission likely, a perfect one included, because the college turns away far more qualified applicants than it takes. Strong grades and scores get the application read; the essays, the recommendations and what you have actually done decide it from there.
What Tufts University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Tufts University essay questions, answered
- Does Tufts University have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Tufts University asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27, plus more depending on your college or program. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 75-150 words, 100-200 words.
- How many essays do you write for Tufts University in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the Common App personal statement. Some applicants write more, depending on the college or program.
Schools with similar admit rates
Tufts University admits 11.5% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Middlebury College (10.8%), Boston University (11.1%), University of Notre Dame (11.3%), Carnegie Mellon University (11.7%), Washington University in St. Louis (12.1%), Haverford College (12.4%).