Congratulations on earning your Tufts interview. Let's make sure you're ready for it.

Tufts undergraduate admission · 2026-27 first-year applicants

Your Tufts interview

Tufts Admissions says plainly that it does not offer interviews as part of the admissions process, and a longtime alumni interviewer reports that the program has been shut down. So for 2026-27 there is no Tufts interview to win or lose, and nobody is judging you for not having one.

Sources (3)

Tufts: Application FAQ · Reddit: Does Tufts Still Offer Student Interviews for the 2026-2027 Admissions Cycle? (2026) · Tufts: A-Z

Not offered oneTufts Admissions does not offer interviews as a part of the admissions process Tufts

What changedA longtime alumni interviewer reports Tufts has ended the interview program (2026) Reddit

What replaces itEvery applicant writes the Tufts-specific "Why Tufts?" essay to show specific interest Tufts

Past formatApplicants report (2020-2025) a relaxed 30-minute chat with a volunteer alum who hadn't read the application Reddit · Reddit · Reddit · Reddit · Reddit

4 more: did it count, odds, test scores, after

Did it countApplicants reported it had little weight; many were admitted without one Reddit · Reddit · Reddit · Reddit · Reddit

OddsClass of 2029: 3,613 admitted from 33,415 applicants, a 10.8% rate Tufts

Test scoresTufts suppresses SAT and ACT scores on the Common App PDF for all applicants Tufts

AfterED I decisions mid-December, ED II mid-February, Regular Decision by April 1 Tufts

How you get an interview

This year, you don't. Tufts' own FAQ says its admissions office does not offer interviews as part of the process. An alumni interviewer of many years reports (2026) that Tufts told volunteers the program has been sunset.

How it used to work, so older posts online make sense:

You opted in. Applicants report requesting an interview in their applicant portal, then waiting to be matched.
Matching depended on volunteers. Alumni picked applicants from a portal, and many regions had more requests than interviewers. Some matches came as late as the end of February.
Many never got one. Tufts sent automated emails when slots ran out, and applicants report many admitted students never interviewed.

If you get an email that claims to set up a Tufts admissions interview this cycle, check with the admissions office (617-627-3170) before replying.

Sources: Tufts: Application FAQ · Reddit: Does Tufts Still Offer Student Interviews for the 2026-2027 Admissions Cycle? (2026) · Reddit: No interview Tufts : r/ApplyingToCollege (2026) · Reddit: anyone get tufts interview (2026) · Reddit: Has anybody gotten a tufts interview yet? (2026) · Reddit: Tufts ED alumni interview : r/Tufts (2024) · Reddit: does anyone know what the latest date to get an interview is? (2023) · Reddit: Is this a bad sign from Tufts Admissions? : r/ApplyingToCollege (2017) · Reddit: tufts interview update (2026) · Tufts: A-Z

What they're looking for

With no interview, Tufts learns about you from your written application. The piece built to show your interest in Tufts is the required "Why Tufts?" essay, which every applicant completes.

What past interviewers were asked to report gives a good hint of what Tufts cares about. Applicants report (2021-2022) that the alum's form asked:

Fit. How well you would fit in at Tufts.
Contribution. How you would add to campus life.
Difference. What sets you apart from other applicants.

A former Tufts student and tour guide (2026) adds that strong grades are expected from everyone. What stands out is a real interest you care about beyond school, the thing you'd stay up until 4 a.m. talking about.

Sources: Tufts: A-Z · Reddit: Tufts interview (2022) · Reddit: Info for Applicants About Alumnus Interview (2022) · Reddit: Tufts alumni interview (2021) · SocratesPost: Best piece of advice from a Tufts admissions insider (2026)

What the old interview was like

These reports describe the program before it ended. They are useful mostly for understanding what Tufts used to ask.

Who. A volunteer alum, sometimes a fairly recent grad, not an admissions officer.
What they knew. Usually just your name, contact details and intended major. No grades, scores or essays.
Length. Most applicants report about 30 minutes; a 2008 report says about 45; one 2021 interview ran over 2 hours.
Feel. Again and again described as chill, friendly and conversational, with no trick questions.
Common questions. Why Tufts, tell me about yourself, strengths and weaknesses, your intended major, what you do for fun, a recent challenge, and which clubs you'd join.
Off limits. Applicants report (2021) that Tufts told interviewers not to ask where else you were applying.

Sources: Reddit: Interview Advice! (2021) · Reddit: interview for tufts (2026) · Reddit: Tufts ED alumni interview : r/Tufts (2024) · Reddit: Undergrad interview (2024) · College Confidential: Tufts Interview (2008) · Reddit: Tufts interview (2022) · Reddit: Info for Applicants About Alumnus Interview (2022) · Reddit: Tufts Interview (2021) · Reddit: tufts alumni interview (2023) · Reddit: Interview questions (2020) · Reddit: tufts alumni interview : r/ApplyingToCollege (2025) · Reddit: Tufts alumni interview (2021) · Reddit: Tufts interview (2022)

How much it mattered

Applicants and interviewers mostly said: not much. Several reports call its effect on admission "virtually" none. Others say it mostly gauged interest and filled small gaps. One 2022 post notes the report was evaluative and read with the rest of the file, but a weak one was rarely decisive.

Applicants also report that not getting an interview never counted against anyone. Now that no one gets one, this is even more true: your essays, activities and grades carry the whole application.

Sources: Reddit: Tufts interview (2022) · Reddit: Info for Applicants About Alumnus Interview (2022) · Reddit: does anyone know what the latest date to get an interview is? (2023) · Reddit: Tufts Alumni Interviews : r/ApplyingToCollege (2022) · Reddit: Is this a bad sign from Tufts Admissions? : r/ApplyingToCollege (2017) · Reddit: No interview Tufts : r/ApplyingToCollege (2026) · Reddit: tufts interview update (2026) · Tufts: Application FAQ

How to prepare

Put the energy you'd have spent on interview practice into your writing.

Make "Why Tufts?" specific. Past applicants say the weakest answer is just the location. Name the programs, courses, clubs or internships you'd actually use, and say why they fit you.
Show the passion beyond school. Write about the interest that drives you, not only your grades.
Add what's missing. Interview advice was to share things not elsewhere in your application. Use your essays and activity descriptions for that instead.
Ask your questions another way. You won't get an alum to quiz about campus life, so contact the admissions office in Bendetson Hall (617-627-3170) or look at student-written pages.
Keep your interview skills sharp. Practice "tell me about yourself" and "why this school" anyway. Other colleges still interview.

Sources: Tufts: A-Z · Reddit: Interview Advice! (2021) · Reddit: interview for tufts (2026) · Reddit: Tufts alumni interview (2021) · SocratesPost: Best piece of advice from a Tufts admissions insider (2026) · Reddit: tufts alumni interview (2023) · Reddit: Interview questions (2020)

What happens next

Decision dates. Early Decision I applicants hear in mid-December, Early Decision II in mid-February, and Regular Decision by April 1.
Test scores. Tufts suppresses SAT and ACT scores on the Common App PDF for all applicants. For the Class of 2029, about half of applicants submitted scores.
Your school within Tufts. You apply to Arts and Sciences, Engineering, the SMFA BFA, or the 5-year BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree. Arts and Sciences students declare a major by spring of sophomore year; engineers by spring of first year.

Sources: Tufts: Application FAQ · Tufts: Admitted Student Profile

Your interviewer

Ravi Malhotra Fictional interviewer

Get a briefing on your own interviewer

Know who's interviewing you? Their LinkedIn profile is the best source.

Use a computer if you can. Open their LinkedIn profile in a web browser, click More (or ⋯) under their name, then Save to PDF.
On a phone: the LinkedIn app can't save a profile. Open linkedin.com in your phone's browser instead, switch to the desktop site, and use More → Save to PDF.
Upload the PDF here, or paste what you know about them (a bio, a profile page).

See the sample briefing

Senior Product Manager for clinical software in Minneapolis; Tufts alum (B.A. 2010) who volunteered as a Tufts interviewer until 2023. There is no Tufts interview this year.

Most important point first: Tufts does not offer interviews for 2026-27, so you will not be meeting Ravi or any other Tufts alum. His profile itself says he interviewed 'until Tufts stopped offering interviews.' If anyone emails you claiming to set up a Tufts interview, call admissions (617-627-3170) before you reply. Ravi is still a useful picture of the kind of alum who used to do these chats. He spent about 12 years (2011-2023) talking to Minnesota and Wisconsin applicants, about 15 a year. He studied Community Health and Economics at Tufts, ran community health screenings in Boston, and now leads a team building scheduling and exercise apps for therapy clinics. His About section says he 'still love[s] hearing what 17-year-olds are curious about.' That fits what Tufts says it values: real curiosity and a specific reason for wanting Tufts. Tonight, don't rehearse for him. Put that energy into your 'Why Tufts?' essay and keep your interview answers sharp for other colleges.

Their path

Tufts University, B.A. Community Health and Economics, 2010; Leonard Carmichael Society (Tufts' student volunteer group) and club cricket
Program Coordinator, Harbor Street Health Collaborative, Boston, 2010-2013: ran blood-pressure screenings at barbershops and churches
Tufts alumni volunteer interviewer, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2011-2023
Health Data Analyst, then Product Analyst, Brightline Analytics, St. Paul, 2013-2019
Part-time MBA (a business master's degree), University of Minnesota Carlson School, 2017
Senior Product Manager, Clinical Software, Meridale Health Systems, 2019-present: leads 14 people; shipped a 2023 caregiver app that cut missed therapy appointments by 18%
Board member of an adult-English-learner literacy nonprofit (2018-present); youth cricket coach (2016-present)

What it means for your conversation

You will not be interviewed by Tufts this cycle. Not having an interview cannot count against you, because nobody gets one.
Ravi's profile confirms the program ended by 2023. Older online posts about requesting a Tufts interview describe a system that no longer exists.
Alums like him reported on fit, what you'd add to campus, and what sets you apart. Tufts now has to learn those things from your essays and activity list, so write them there.
His path from Tufts volunteering to community health to health software is one example of interests carrying beyond college. This is only an illustration. You don't need to share his field.

Questions they may lean toward

Why Tufts, specifically? This was the most common question in the old interviews, and it is now a required essay. Name real programs, like the Experimental College, Tisch College, Civic Semester, IDS (design-your-own) major, or a specific club, and explain why each fits you.
What are you curious about outside class? Ravi's profile says he loves hearing what teens are curious about. A former tour guide says this is what stands out at Tufts. Show it in your essays.
How would you contribute to campus life? Old interviewer forms asked about contribution. Your activity descriptions should show what you actually do, not just your titles.
Tell me about yourself / a recent challenge Tufts no longer asks this, but other colleges still interview. Practice a two-minute answer.

Honest common ground

Volunteering or community service. He was in Tufts' student volunteer group and serves on a nonprofit board. This only counts if you really do it.
Coaching or teaching younger kids. He coaches youth cricket. Relevant only if you have done something similar.
Being from the Midwest, if you are. He interviewed in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Note: none of this matters this year, since you won't meet him.

Questions to ask them

(For admissions at 617-627-3170, not an alum) Is there any way to share information that I would once have shared in an interview? This replaces the interview Q&A. It is a fair, practical question for the office.
(To current students or student-written pages) What do students actually do with the Experimental College or Tisch College funding? Real details make your 'Why Tufts?' essay specific instead of generic.
(If you ever met an alum like Ravi) How did what you did at Tufts shape what you chose to work on later? This is an open, genuine question that doesn't require you to fake interest in his field.

Avoid

Don't hunt for or request a Tufts interview, and don't reply to unverified emails offering one. Check with admissions first.
Don't contact Ravi or other alums expecting it to help your application.
Don't write a 'Why Tufts?' essay about location only. Past applicants call that the weakest answer.
Don't invent an interest in health care or tech to seem like a fit for alums like him.
Don't worry about not having an interview. Spend that time on your essays.

A sample, to show what the briefing looks like: Ravi Malhotra and their employers are invented.

Based on: The sample interviewer's profile (fictional) · Tufts: Application FAQ · Reddit: Does Tufts Still Offer Student Interviews for the 2026-2027 Admissions Cycle? (2026) · Tufts: A-Z

All sources · 37 plus 13 applicant threads

Applicant threads are linked under each question.