Tufts is a small liberal arts college in Medford, Massachusetts that packs an impressive punch academically, and athletically. Students at Tufts have access to 90+ undergraduate majors, and there is a huge focus on research, with amazing opportunities for research positions and internships available to undergraduate students. Over 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students at Tufts are engaged in research at any point in time!
The college also has more than 300 student groups, 41 arts and performance groups, and 28 varsity sports teams. The college is a member of the NCAA Division III and competes in the NESCAC conference. Through NESCAC, they’ve won 69 New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships, including NESCAC championships in Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse, Volleyball, and Men’s Soccer since 2020 alone. They also have a strong track record of team and individual national athletic championships.
Outside of varsity sports at Tufts, athletes have access to dozens of club teams and intramural programs that empower athletes to continue performing at their highest level in college. All athletes at Tufts, regardless of team, benefit from the Tufts Personalized Performance Program, and you don’t even need to be on a team to take advantage of this offering. Through the program, athletes work with experienced trainers and learn how to use the Tufts facilities to build whatever it is you’re looking to develop, whether you’re recovering from a season-ending injury or preparing for a marathon.
Tufts has become increasingly popular for top students who want to continue to perform at a high level inside the classroom and out. The acceptance rate for the class of 2028 was only 10%.
In this post, we’ll break down what you need to know as an athlete applying to Tufts. Whether you want to compete on a championship-winning team, or you are considering a more laid-back way of pursuing your sport at Tufts, we’ve got answers.
Applying to college is hard, and applying as an athlete comes with a host of challenges. We’re experts at it, so send us an email.
What is Tufts looking for in Student Athletes?
Tufts is a member of the NCAA Division III and a member of the NESCAC athletic conference. Other members of NESCAC are Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams. You’ll notice that all of these schools are extremely academically competitive, small, and liberal arts schools. This is the community Tufts athletes need to thrive and grow within, and so that’s exactly the type of athletes coaches are looking for as they refine their recruitment lists.
The NESCAC conference also has shared policies for attracting athletes and recruitment that may come as a surprise to some prospective athletes, so you’ll need to review them carefully. Some highlights are:
The admissions office and the athletics departments communicate about potential athletes, but all admissions decisions are made by admissions alone.
But they do take coaches assessments of a particular applicant, and what they would add to a team, into consideration.
Coaches cannot guarantee or promise an athlete a spot as part of the recruitment process
There are no athletic scholarships awarded at NESCAC schools, in accordance with NCAA Division III policy.
What coaches can do is to support students through the admissions process by advocating for their application. In exchange, they expect excellence. They look for life-long learners who are team-players at heart, and they emphasize community-mindedness. They want students, regardless of athletic prowess or intentions, who will look for ways to give back. Tufts student-athletes run toy drives, youth clinics, community clean-ups, and more.
Below, we’ll break down what you need to do next if you’re considering the recruitment process, if you’re curious about being a walk-on, or if club or intramural teams feel more your speed.
Recruited Athletes
Each sport and team-specific page for Tufts has their own “recruit questionnaire” for prospective recruits. We’ve linked the recruit questionnaires for the men’s baseball and women’s soccer teams here as examples, but you’ll need to complete the one for your sport. Filling out this form is the first step in the recruitment process, and it’s important to approach it, like every other step, professionally. This of this like applying for a job, or a mini-college application process. So don’t go to the form, fill it out immediately, and then press send — only to realize 15 minutes later something was incorrect or incomplete. The coaches want to see the same attention-to-detail in how you engage with them as they’d expect to see from you in the training room or during a game, match, meet, or competition. So, review the form in advance of completing it. We even recommend printing it out if you have access to a printer at home or at school, so you can draft your responses before you have to complete and submit for real.
Simultaneously, you need to be communicating with your coach(es) at school or on whatever team you currently compete about how you’re embarking on this process. They can play an important role in communicating your value as a teammate and leader.
Once you’ve submitted the questionnaire, you’re going to have to be a little patient. The recruitment process can be slow, so refer to this poorly designed yet helpful brochure for the guidelines for communication for NCAA DIII recruitment. As you’ll see in the brochure, you can reach directly out to coaches to express your interest. You will also likely be requested to send tape of yourself in action, so use your time to put together a slick highlight reel.
Walk-Ons
The term “walk-on” refers to athletes who are not formally recruited to play on a team, and so don’t have a guaranteed spot when they arrive on campus. Sometimes walk-ons are athletes who would have been strong recruits but didn’t initiate the process early enough, and sometimes they are athletes who didn’t really know if they wanted to play in college at all until after their college application process. Walk-ons come in all shapes and sizes, but one this is always true: they want to play.
Walking onto a team is possible at nearly any college, but that doesn’t mean it’s always probable. At larger schools, and especially DI institutions, much of the team is determined well in advance of the season, so walk-ons may mostly serve as practice squad players. At DIII schools like Tufts, though, walk-ons are much more likely to get play time during games.
Tufts has a tradition of welcoming walk-ons, but that doesn’t mean you should just show up the first day and ask to try out. It’s important to follow the same initial process as a potential recruit by filling out the appropriate recruitment questionnaire and initiating contact with coaches.
Club and Intramural Sports
If joining a varsity team isn’t your goal, there are amazing club sports and intramurals you can join at Tufts, with widely varying levels of required commitment and experiences.
Club: On the club front, there are 28 different club sports at Tufts. These are university-recognized student-led teams. Club teams at Tufts compete against teams from other universities and colleges at differing levels of competitiveness and commitment depending on the sport. Some have tryouts, for example, while others welcome all. There are so many different teams ranging from the conventional (like soccer) to the international (like cricket) to multiple different martial arts teams. As student-run squads, these teams don’t offer all the bells-and-whistles of Tufts varsity sports, but offer a multitude of opportunities for leadership, competition, and fun.
Intramurals: Intramurals are the most laid-back way to play a team sport or to do a group sport alongside students and faculty at Tufts. Intramurals are open to all, and range from 3v3 basketball to soccer to lawn games to flag football. These squads have the lowest amount of time commitment and, many would argue, the largest amount of pure fun. It’s all the exercise with little of the stress of competition, so many students who loved playing a sport in high school — but who know they aren’t up to collegiate level competition — really enjoy being part of an intramural program.
At Tufts, athletes have options. You can compete at the highest level in your sport and aim for a championship, or you can compete recreationally to blow off steam between big assignments. How you choose to play is up to you.
If you’re applying to Tufts, get in touch. We help outstanding students get into top colleges.