Tufts Acceptance Rate: Class of 2030 Data, Early Decision, the Tuition Pact, and What It Means for Your Odds
By Rona Aydin
What Is the Tufts Acceptance Rate for the Class of 2030?
Tufts admitted 10% of applicants to the Class of 2030 (entering fall 2026), selected from a record 36,000 first-year applicants (Tufts Now, March 20, 2026). Tufts has not published an exact admit count for the class. For the Class of 2029, Tufts made 3,613 offers to 33,415 first-year applicants, a 10.8% rate (Profile of the Class of 2029).
Applications rose about 8% from the year before (Tufts Now, January 2026), and Tufts reported its largest-ever Early Decision, QuestBridge Match and transfer applicant pools for the Class of 2030 (Tufts Now, March 2026). The admission rate has moved from 11.5% for the Class of 2028 (3,957 of 34,432, Tufts Common Data Set 2024-2025) to 10.8% and then 10%.
| Class | Applications | Admitted | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2030 (fall 2026) | 36,000 | Not published | 10% |
| Class of 2029 (fall 2025) | 33,415 | 3,613 | 10.8% |
| Class of 2028 (fall 2024) | 34,432 | 3,957 | 11.5% |
Source: Tufts Now (March 20, 2026); Tufts Common Data Sets 2025-2026 and 2024-2025. The Class of 2028 rate is our calculation.
What Is Tufts’ Early Decision Acceptance Rate?
Tufts offers two binding Early Decision rounds. For fall 2027 entry, ED I applications are due November 2, 2026, with decisions in mid-December, and ED II and Regular Decision applications are due January 4, 2027 (Tufts first-year applicants). The Tufts Common Data Set 2025-2026, which covers the Class of 2029, reports 3,344 ED applications and 1,071 ED admits, a 32.0% rate. By our calculation, the other 30,071 applicants were admitted at 8.5% (2,542 offers). The 2024-2025 Common Data Set left the ED counts blank.
For the Class of 2030, Tufts reported its largest-ever Early Decision pool, with ED applications up about 8% from the year before, but it has not published ED admit counts for that class. In the view of Oriel Admissions, the gap between 32.0% and 8.5% overstates the boost from applying early, because the Early Decision pool differs from the rest and the Common Data Set does not show how. Even so, ED is a meaningful advantage for a student who is sure Tufts is the first choice and whose family has checked the aid estimate.
How Does the Tufts Tuition Pact Affect Admissions?
Under the Tufts Tuition Pact, beginning with the fall 2026 entering class, U.S. undergraduates attend Tufts tuition-free if their annual family income is under $150,000, with typical assets. Students from families earning less than $60,000 receive aid packages with no loans, and many families earning up to $300,000 qualify for some aid. Tufts also says it meets the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student, regardless of citizenship (Tufts Tuition and Aid; Tufts Now, March 2026).
JT Duck, dean of admissions for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, said the full-need commitment and the recently announced Tuition Pact drew students to Tufts for the Class of 2030. In our experience, the Pact matters most for families who assumed a private university was out of reach. For families above the income line, it does not reduce cost directly, so the aid estimate should come before any Early Decision commitment. For financial aid strategy at this income level, see our financial aid guide for upper-middle-class families.
What Test Scores Do You Need for Tufts?
Tufts is test-optional for all undergraduate applicants, and it encourages applicants with SAT scores of 1300 or higher, or ACT scores of 28 or higher, to include them. In the most recent cycle, admitted applicants who submitted scores ranged from 1240 to 1600 on the SAT and 26 to 36 on the ACT, and Tufts says it will not assume that unsubmitted scores fall below those ranges (Tufts SAT and ACT Tests). For the Class of 2029, the middle 50% of enrolled students who submitted scores was 1460 to 1520 on the SAT and 33 to 35 on the ACT (Tufts Common Data Set 2025-2026). For testing strategy, see our test-optional admissions guide.
For the Class of 2030, about 55% of applicants and 75% of admitted students submitted scores, an increase from prior years, according to Tufts. In our view, that gap shows that most admitted students chose to submit, not that submitting caused admission; students at or above the 1300 SAT and 28 ACT guidance should generally include their scores.
How Does Tufts Compare to Ivy League and Peer Schools?
Tufts admitted 10% of applicants for the Class of 2030, a higher rate than every Ivy League college that has published Class of 2030 figures; Cornell had the highest of those, at 9.2%. See our Ivy League acceptance rates for the full comparison.
| School | Class of 2030 acceptance rate | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Tufts | 10% | 36,000 |
| Cornell | 9.2% | 65,514 |
| Dartmouth | 5.8% | 28,863 |
| Penn | 5.8% | 61,264 |
| Brown | 5.3% | 47,937 |
| Yale | 4.2% | 54,919 |
| Princeton | 4.1% | 46,618 |
| Harvard | Not published | Not published |
Sources: Tufts Now (March 20, 2026); Cornell University Factbook (September 1, 2026); University of Pennsylvania (June 12, 2026); Brown, Yale and Dartmouth decision-day announcements (March 2026); Princeton profile (August 18, 2026). Rates rounded to one decimal place.
What Does Tufts Look for in Applicants?
JT Duck described the admitted Class of 2030 as “entrepreneurial, collaborative, civically engaged, active members of their school and local communities” (Tufts Now, March 2026). He also cited the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, the Experimental College and Tisch College of Civic Life as programs that drew applicants.
The top areas of academic interest among admitted students were biology, international relations, mechanical engineering, economics, political science, biomedical engineering, cognitive and brain sciences, computer science and interdisciplinary art. Oriel Admissions has found that the Tufts supplemental essays reward specific, personal answers over polished achievement summaries. For essay strategy, see our Common App essay guide.
What Are Your Chances on the Tufts Waitlist?
Tufts waitlist activity varies sharply by year. For the Class of 2029, Tufts offered 3,061 students a place on the waitlist; 1,193 accepted and 71 were admitted, 6.0% of those who stayed on the list by our calculation (Tufts Common Data Set 2025-2026). For the Class of 2028, 354 of 991 were admitted, 35.7% by our calculation (Tufts Common Data Set 2024-2025). If you have been waitlisted, a concise Letter of Continued Interest with a real update can help where a school accepts one.
How Can You Improve Your Chances of Getting Into Tufts?
Apply Early Decision only if Tufts is the clear first choice and the family has run the aid estimate; the Class of 2029 ED rate was 32.0% against 8.5% for the rest of the pool. Submit scores at or above the Tufts guidance of 1300 on the SAT or 28 on the ACT. Give the Tufts supplemental essays real time, and show specific knowledge of Tufts programs rather than general enthusiasm. For building a competitive profile, see our guides on summer programs, high school internships, and recommendation letters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tufts admitted 10% of a record 36,000 first-year applicants for the Class of 2030, according to Tufts Now. For the Class of 2029, Tufts admitted 3,613 of 33,415 applicants, a 10.8% rate.
32.0% for the Class of 2029: 1,071 admits from 3,344 Early Decision applications, according to the Tufts Common Data Set 2025-2026. By our calculation, the rest of the pool was admitted at 8.5%. Tufts has not published Early Decision admit counts for the Class of 2030.
For fall 2027 entry, Early Decision I is due November 2, 2026, with decisions in mid-December. Early Decision II and Regular Decision are due January 4, 2027, and Regular Decision results arrive by April 1.
Yes, for all undergraduate applicants. Tufts encourages applicants with SAT scores of 1300 or higher, or ACT scores of 28 or higher, to submit them. About 55% of Class of 2030 applicants and 75% of admitted students submitted scores.
Beginning with the fall 2026 entering class, U.S. undergraduates attend Tufts tuition-free if their annual family income is under $150,000, with typical assets. Families earning less than $60,000 receive aid with no loans, and Tufts meets the full demonstrated need of every admitted student.
It varies by year. For the Class of 2029, 71 of the 1,193 students who accepted a waitlist place were admitted, 6.0% by our calculation. For the Class of 2028, 354 of 991 were admitted, or 35.7%.
No. The Ivy League is eight universities: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale. Tufts is a private research university near Boston whose 10% Class of 2030 rate is close to the 9.2% rate at Cornell.
Oriel Admissions recommends Early Decision at Tufts only when it is the clear first choice and the family has checked the net price, because the agreement is binding. The Class of 2029 Early Decision rate of 32.0% was well above the 8.5% rate for the rest of the pool.
Sources: Tufts University Common Data Set 2025-2026; Tufts University Common Data Set 2024-2025; Tufts Now: Introducing the Admitted Undergraduate Class of 2030 (March 20, 2026); Tufts Now: Tufts Receives Most Undergraduate Applications Ever (January 22, 2026); Tufts Admissions: Profile of the Class of 2029; Tufts Admissions: First-Year Students; Tufts Admissions: SAT and ACT Tests; Tufts Admissions: Tuition and Aid; Ivy League Class of 2030 figures as compiled in our Ivy League acceptance rates table
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.
