College profile
Tufts University
MA · Private nonprofit · Large suburb · 34,003 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Top feeder high schools: Boston Latin School (9), Phillips Academy (Andover) (8), Harvard-Westlake School (6), Hopkins School (6), St Ann'S School (6). Graduates per class year, from each high school's own published list. 227 high schools' lists name Tufts University; every one is ranked below.
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Science grads from here earn about $156,343 four years out; fine and studio arts grads about $41,365 — a 3.8× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- Almost everyone who starts here finishes. 94% graduate within six years — the standard federal measure. Nationally about a third of students who start a bachelor's never finish one, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision: the debt stays, the credential doesn't.
- The campus itself adds earnings power. Opportunity Insights tracks it: only about 3% of students arrive from the bottom income fifth, but those who do reach the top fifth by their 30s at a 62% rate — a strong sign the outcomes here are the campus, not just the intake.
- Your price depends enormously on whether you qualify for aid. Families who receive aid average about $39,998/yr here; without aid it's the full ~$88,300/yr. There's no income cutoff for aid — qualifying depends on the gap between this college's price and your finances, which is why the college's own net-price calculator — not any average — is the estimate to trust.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
Feeder high schools
Which high schools send graduates to Tufts University?
The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Tufts University, from each school's own published list: Boston Latin School (9), Phillips Academy (Andover) (8), Harvard-Westlake School (6), Hopkins School (6), St Ann'S School (6). 227 high schools' lists name Tufts University.
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
All 227 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name Tufts University on a list of where their graduates enrolled whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: St Andrew'S School (7, Since 2023); Garrison Forest School (1, Three-Year Survey); The Lovett School (1, List as of 5/1/2026 (no class year printed on the list itself; page 2 header reads "College Acceptance and Matriculation" and links this file as the "Class of 2026 matriculation list")).
How this is counted
227 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name Tufts University on it. Between them they printed 1111 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at Tufts University, from each school's own published list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, so a one-year list and a five-year list can sit on the same page. A list whose class years we cannot read is not divided by a guess — it is listed below with its total instead.
Is my high school on this list?
Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists
All 20 schools, with the class years each list covers
How this is counted
20 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name Tufts University on it. Between them they printed 70 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to Tufts University, from each school's own published acceptances list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. Admits are counted at each college a student was admitted to, the same way the UC Reach Score counts a student admitted to three UC campuses three times — so this is a count of admissions, not of students. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, and a list whose class years we cannot read is listed below with its total rather than divided by a guess.
All 239 feeder schools, ranked →
Counted from each school's own published document, linked on that school's page. A high school that is not here does not publish a numbered list we could read — that is all absence means, and it says nothing about its graduates. Where a school publishes both, the two lists are shown separately: an acceptances list is not a list of enrollments, and the two are never added together.
Parent/student verdict
Highly selectiveHighly selective reach for nearly every applicant.
Best for
- Strong academic profiles — students here cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
- Students drawn to Social Sciences or Engineering (the two biggest majors)
- Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
- A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — ten years at the $83,214 median runs about $478K ahead of four years at the ~$88,300/yr sticker (aid recipients average ~$39,998/yr)
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1460, or ACT below 33, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)
- With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
- High cost — full price is ~$88,300/yr without aid, and aid-receiving families still average ~$39,998/yr — verify the major's earnings track record before committing
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
36% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 18% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
The real cost
What Tufts University actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Tufts University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
Tufts University's own published aid policy · 2026-27
admitted U.S. undergraduate students whose family income, with typical assets, is under $150,000 per year will receive grants to cover the cost of tuition
Income thresholds assume typical assets — and this college uses the CSS Profile, which can count home equity and business value the federal form ignores. As published at the college's financial-aid pages ↗.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$479K ahead at full price +$672K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
What students study here
Most popular majors at Tufts University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Tufts University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Tufts University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Computer Science. | $156,343 |
| Cognitive Science. | $130,801 |
| Economics. | $123,809 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $101,196 |
| Civil Engineering. | $88,924 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | $79,571 |
| Political Science and Government. | $78,180 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | $77,998 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | $77,753 |
| Biology, General. | $76,782 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
Student body & economic mobility
Who attends here — and what the campus adds.
Opportunity Insights data. It measures two things at once: how many lower-income students a college enrols, and how many of them reach the top earnings quintile later. A high rate says the college does both — it does not establish that the campus caused the earnings, because the students it admits differ from the students it doesn't. Read it as a signal about access and destination, not as proof of value added.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
AI program signal
AI + computing education at Tufts University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Tufts University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
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Related reading
College admissions · October 2026
College applications · October 2026
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantTufts University is a private nonprofit four-year college in MA. It admitted 10% of applicants (34,003 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1460–1550, ACT 33–35. 36% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 18% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Cost: about $39,998 a year on average with aid, $88,300 a year at full price.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $83,214 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $672,148 ahead with aid, $478,940 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($156,343); Cognitive Science ($130,801); Economics ($123,809).
Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 3% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 62% of those reached the top fifth as adults.
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name Tufts University: 227, 1111 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often Boston Latin School (9.0 per class year, 9 over 1 class year, Class of 2021); Phillips Academy (Andover) (8.0 per class year, 8 over 1 class year, Class of 2024); Harvard-Westlake School (6.0 per class year, 6 over 1 class year, BY THE CLASSES OF 2021-2025, counted column "CLASS OF '25"). Each figure is the number that school printed divided by the class years its own list covers; the totals and years are shown. These are the schools that publish such a list, not every school that sends students; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/tufts-university.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming Tufts University: 20, 70 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Bronx High School of Science (The) (10.0 per class year, 10 over 1 class year, 2025); Millburn High School (6.0 per class year, 6 over 1 class year, Class of 2025, counted column "ACC=Accepted"); Middlesex School (4.0 per class year, 4 over 1 class year, Class of 2026, counted column "accepted"). Admits are counted at each college, so this counts admissions, not students. These are a different set of documents from the matriculation lists above and the two are never added together; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/tufts-university.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/tufts-university.json
Questions families ask
What is Tufts University's acceptance rate? Tufts University is a private nonprofit four-year college in MA. It admitted 10% of applicants (34,003 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Does Tufts University require the SAT or ACT? Tufts University is a private nonprofit four-year college in MA. It admitted 10% of applicants (34,003 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
What SAT or ACT scores do Tufts University students have? Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1460–1550, ACT 33–35. 36% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 18% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
How much does Tufts University cost? Cost: about $39,998 a year on average with aid, $88,300 a year at full price.
What do Tufts University graduates earn? Median earnings ten years after entry: $83,214 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $672,148 ahead with aid, $478,940 ahead at full price.
Which majors at Tufts University pay the most? Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($156,343); Cognitive Science ($130,801); Economics ($123,809).
Which high schools send the most graduates to Tufts University? The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Tufts University, from each school's own published list: Boston Latin School (9), Phillips Academy (Andover) (8), Harvard-Westlake School (6), Hopkins School (6), St Ann'S School (6). 227 high schools' lists name Tufts University.
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Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.