What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$9,811 to $58,570 a year, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $88,300 a year. Average need-based aid package: $65,473.Aid and debt
35.5%
receive need-based grants
$27,329
average debt at graduation
179
students got merit aid
about 3% of undergraduates
$18,964
average merit award
Getting In
Admit rates
10.8%
admitted overall
32%
admitted Early Decision
8.5%
admitted Regular Decision
Early Decision
Early Decision applicants were admitted at more than 4x the Regular Decision rate, and Early Decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
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Some of that gap reflects who applies early (recruited athletes, legacy applicants and highly committed students concentrate in that pool), so it isn't proof that applying early would raise any one student's own odds.
Key dates
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1460–1520 · 42% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 33–35 · 16% of the class submitted
87% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What they value
- Very important
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- Class rank
- GPA
- Personal essay
- Recommendations
- Character
- Important
- Extracurriculars
- Special talent
- Considered
- SAT/ACT scores
- First-gen status
- Legacy status
- Where you're from
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Demonstrated interest
- Not considered
- In-state residency
What this means for you
Tufts rates course rigor, your essay, and your recommendations as Very Important, and your activities as Important.
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Rigor means AP, IB, and dual enrollment carry real weight — make sure your mix of AP or IB courses is strong. The essay is weighted like your GPA. Choose recommenders who can be specific about you, not just confirm your transcript. And depth and leadership in a few activities matter more than a long list.
Tufts rates demonstrated interest 'Considered' — it can tip a close decision, without being decisive.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
Tufts just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-Tufts essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
59.8% of Tufts classes have fewer than 20 students.
59.8%
under 20 students
32%
20 to 49
8.2%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. Tufts CDS 2025–26, I-3.
10:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
64.1%
first-years from out of state
60%
live on campus
12%
of men in fraternities
15%
of women in sororities
Who attends
- White39.5%
- Asian17%
- Hispanic10.2%
- Multiracial7.6%
- Unknown / other7.1%
- Black6.1%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. Tufts CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
82.7% of Tufts students graduate in 4 years.
82.7%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
94%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
95%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
93% finish in 6 years, against 94% of all students.
Pell Grant students finish at about the same rate as everyone else.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Medford.
Tufts sits on a hilltop straddling the Medford/Somerville line, about five miles northwest of downtown Boston.
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It reads as a self-contained, largely residential campus rather than an urban one, but Davis Square in Somerville — a lively stretch of restaurants, shops and the Red Line — is a short walk away, and since December 2022 the campus has had its own MBTA Green Line stop (Medford/Tufts), putting the full Boston and Cambridge metro within a light-rail ride. The result blends leafy suburban quiet with quick transit access to the city.
The City
Major city
Medford, MA
Best For
Notable alumni
Notable Alumni
Pierre Omidyar
Founder of eBay, the pioneering online auction and e-commerce marketplace, and later of the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science here in 1988.
Class of 1988
Jamie Dimon
Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank and one of the most influential institutions in global finance. He earned his undergraduate degree at Tufts in 1978 before an MBA at Harvard.
Class of 1978
Tracy Chapman
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter known for “Fast Car” and “Give Me One Reason.” She began performing while studying anthropology and African studies at Tufts, graduating in 1987.
Class of 1987
Meredith Vieira
Emmy Award-winning television journalist and host of “The View,” “Today,” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” She graduated from Tufts in 1975.
Class of 1975
Hank Azaria
Emmy Award-winning actor and voice artist best known for voicing numerous characters on “The Simpsons.” He graduated from Tufts with a degree in drama in 1988.
Class of 1988
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
Traditions
Traditions
Painting the Cannon
A replica of a USS Constitution cannon on the academic quad that students paint — only after dark, by tradition dating to 1977 — to promote causes and events. Groups often camp out overnight to guard a fresh coat until sunrise.
The Illumination Ceremony
On the first night of classes, first-year students gather to light candles in honor of founder Charles Tufts and the “light on the hill.” The same class returns to the ceremony the night before Commencement to close out four years.
Spring Fling
An annual outdoor concert festival held on campus just before final exams, running since 1980. It brings live bands and performers to the quad and is one of the biggest campus-wide events of the year.
Weekend escapes from Medford
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Medford
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
1 hour 45 minutesClassic New England beaches, seaside towns and seafood on the peninsula south of Boston.
The White Mountains, New Hampshire
2 hours 30 minutesHiking, skiing and fall foliage in northern New Hampshire, including Mount Washington.
Newport, Rhode Island
1 hour 30 minutesGilded Age mansions, the coastal Cliff Walk and a lively harbor town on the Rhode Island shore.
Getting there and game days
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Boston Logan International (BOS)
25 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Boston Red Sox MLB
- Boston Celtics NBA
- Boston Bruins NHL
- New England Patriots NFL
- New England Revolution MLS
Internships and jobs nearby
Career Proximity
Tufts graduates plug into the dense Boston and Cambridge job market, with strong pipelines into biotech and life sciences — Kendall Square, one of the world's largest biotech clusters, is a few transit stops away — as well as consulting, finance, technology and health care. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy gives Tufts unusual depth in international affairs and public-sector careers, while Tufts Medical Center anchors its health-care connections.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
Downtown Boston — about 30 to 40 minutes by MBTA Green Line from the Medford/Tufts stop at the edge of campus
Who thrives here
Who Thrives Here
Tufts admits 10.8% of applicants overall, but 32.0% through binding Early Decision against 8.5% in the regular round, so committing early is a real lever for students sure Tufts is their first choice. It is a mid-sized private that feels smaller in the classroom: 7,031 undergraduates at a 10:1 student-faculty ratio, with 59.8% of class sections under 20 students. Admissions are test-optional, and the middle half of those who submit scored 1460 to 1520 on the SAT. Outcomes are strong — 95% of first-years return for a second year, 82.7% graduate in four years and 94% within six. Culturally, Tufts leans quirky and intellectual rather than rah-rah: 60% of undergraduates live on campus, Greek life is modest (12% of men, 15% of women), and campus rituals run to painting “the Cannon” overnight and the first-night Illumination ceremony that opens each class's four years. The trade-off is cost: Tufts meets 100% of demonstrated need, but only 35.5% of undergraduates are awarded any need-based aid, so a majority pay close to full price; among those who do borrow, average debt at graduation is $27,329.