Tufts Medical School gives students the chance to take advantage of this wonderful city and call it home. Historical, lively, and academically-driven – Boston is the place to be. It is filled with diversity of thought, culture, and background. It has the perks of being a large city, yet also somehow feels intimate and homey. Tufts School of Medicine is one of the few medical and research powerhouses in the city, and it attracts students from all over the country. If you are interested in how to get into Tufts Medical School, this post is for you!
This blog post serves as a high-yield resource of facts for Tufts Medical School. We’ll also give tips for getting accepted to Tufts from an accepted applicant. Whether you’re comparing medical schools, preparing for an interview, or wanting to learn more about Tufts, keep reading!
Why Choose Tufts Medical School?
The most common reasons we’ve heard from students:
- Tufts is located in Chinatown, which happens to be one of the poorer neighborhoods in Boston. This provides a unique opportunity to get involved with underserved populations early on in your career.
- Tufts is affiliated with over 15 hospitals, which allows students to see not only a diversity of patients, but also how different hospitals run. This is very advantageous for preparing students as they make their journey into residency.
- Most of the affiliated hospitals do not even have a residency program. This means that the medical students act as the residents. This gives an unparalleled opportunity to get hands-on clinical experience at an advanced level.
- Tufts attracts world-class faculty that are always happy to make mentored relationships with the students.
- Wellness is emphasized at Tufts; students boast about how much Tufts cultivates a supportive environment.
- The student body is immensely diverse and inclusive.
Applications
The Tufts Med School secondary is relatively shorter than most other medical schools. While some students face the brevity with a sigh of relief, other medical school applicants have a hard time writing everything they want to say in a few characters.
Read all our Tufts Secondary Application Tips here. We’ll give you guidance on how to stand out in your overall Tufts Medical School secondary application and how to approach specific essays.
Tufts Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompt:
Essay 1) Do you wish to include any comments (in addition to those already provided in your AMCAS application) to the Admissions Committee at Tufts University School of Medicine? (Yes or No) If yes, please explain briefly (1000 characters or less).
Essay 2) Please briefly describe your plans for the coming year. Include in this explanation if you will be a student, working, conducting research, volunteering, etc. (1000 characters or less).
Essay 3) Do you consider yourself a person who would contribute to the diversity of the student body of Tufts University School of Medicine? (Yes or No). If yes, please explain briefly (1000 characters or less).
Essay 4) Given how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the world this year, please contextualize how your experiences have been affected which might include your personal, professional and educational journey. (1000 characters or less).
Essay 5) We understand that many applicants encounter academic hardships along the way. Please comment on any academic difficulties that you have encountered since completing high school (grades and MCAT scores) and that you believe might adversely affect your likelihood of medical school acceptance. We believe that such difficulties offer an opportunity for growth and would appreciate learning how your experiences have affected your approach to academics. If you have not encountered any difficulties, you may answer ‘No’. (1,000 characters max)
If you have questions about your Tufts secondary application, email us at info@crackingmedadmissions.com or contact us.
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Tufts Medical School
Interview Format
Tufts has a traditional, open-file interview format with two interviewers. These may be a combination of students and faculty, usually with one senior student and one faculty member. As these are open-file interviews, the interviewers already know much about you going in. The purpose of these interviews is to expand on your activities and talk about yourself as a person outside of the context of your application.
Want to learn more about how to prepare for your Tufts Medical School interview?
Read our 3 popular medical school interview blog posts here:
- How to Prepare for Medical School Interviews
- 4 Common Medical School Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
- How To Answer Tell Me About Yourself and Why Medicine?
The Cracking Med School Admissions team has helped several students get accepted to Tufts School of Medicine and ace their interviews! Make sure to contact us and get our help.
download your interview guide
If you are prepared, the interview gives you the perfect opportunity to standout and shine by sharing with people what you are passionate about.
Tufts Medical School Acceptance Rate
Tufts University School of Medicine Admissions Statistics:
- Tufts Medical School Median GPA: 3.73
- Tufts Medical School Median MCAT: 515 (129 Chemical and Physical/ 128 Critical Analysis and Reasoning/ 129 Biology and Biochemistry/ 129 Psychology and Sociology)
How did Tufts Medical School Students Do on Their USMLE Step Exams?
- Average Tufts Medical School USMLE Step 1 Score: 229
- Average Tufts Medical School USMLE Step 2 Score: 244
Source: U.S. News Graduate School Rankings 2021
5 Tufts School of Medicine Application Tips
How to get into Tufts Medical School Tip #1:
- Use the traditional, open-file interview as a chance to tell the interviewer something they don’t already know about you. Talk about your passions and hobbies outside of medicine. Try to be comfortable and make it a conversation. I found that my interviewers were very kind. Even if you are asked questions you aren’t expecting, be confident and know that the interviewers want you to succeed.
How to get into Tufts Medical School Tip #2:
- Being that Tufts is in an underserved part of Boston, they like to see that you have experience working with these types of populations, or at least have an interest in doing so. This should come across in your application and/or interview.
How to get into Tufts Medical School Tip #3:
- Consider how you may contribute to the diversity at Tufts. This is one of the more difficult secondary questions, but really dig deep and find something unique about you. It doesn’t have to be cultural diversity. It can be diversity of interests or thoughts. For example, maybe you are really passionate about art. Think outside of the box.
How to get into Tufts Medical School Tip #4:
- Be very familiar with their curriculum, as this is a good talking point in the interview. They just put in place a new, dynamic curriculum that has some interesting features. Read about the curriculum below.
How to get into Tufts Medical School Tip #5:
- If you have ties to the location, emphasize that. Boston schools love Boston people. If you do not have ties, that is perfectly fine. But, you should be able to state why you would love to live and do your training in Boston.
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The Insider’s View on Tufts Med Pre-clinical years
How to Get Into Tufts Medical School Tip – Know the Curriculum:
Tufts School of Medicine Curriculum: Overview
Tufts has a new curriculum that just began with the class of 2023. It integrates four “threads” that are prevalent throughout the students’ medical career:
1) Healthcare Systems
2) Population Health
3) The Patient Experience
4) Personal and Professional Development
What is unique about Tufts is that rather than having 2 years of pre-clinical curriculum, it is only a year and a half. Beginning in March of the second year, core clerkships already begin.
Pre-clinical curriculum:
The pre-clinical years kick off with a 3-week healthcare systems course, which gives context to why you are doing the work that you’re doing, particularly in underserved areas. Here are some other highlights of the pre-clinical years:
- Begins August of year 1 and finishes in January of year 2.
- Students gain early clinical experience to solidify the knowledge they learned in the classroom and apply it to real situations.
- Foundational science units include biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, and more.
- Foundations of Patient Care is a longitudinal curricular element that allows students to learn better how to diagnose and interview patients.
- The Competency-based Apprenticeship in Primary Care (CAP) occurs towards the end of year one and provides students with the opportunity to apply their skills in a primary care office.
- Foundations of Evidence-based Medicine and Clinical Reasoning is also a longitudinal curricular element that has students engage in small groups to refine their reasoning and diagnostic skills.
Combined Degrees
Tufts Medical School offers several combined degree programs, allowing students to branch out and explore other interests. The following are the dual degree programs offered:
- MD/MA in International Relations
- MD/MBA in Health Management
- MD/PhD (Accelerated, 4 years)
- MD/PhD
What students are saying about Tufts School of Medicine
The Insider’s View on Tufts Medical School's Clinical Years
Tufts School of Medicine Clinical Curriculum:
About halfway through the second year, core clerkships begin. The following are the required clerkships:
- Medicine (8 weeks)
- Surgery (8 weeks)
- Family Medicine (6 weeks)
- OB/GYN (6 weeks)
- Pediatrics (6 weeks)
- Psychiatry (6 weeks)
The end of year three and continuing through year 4, advanced clinical rotations begin, which include interesting rotations such a clinical neuroscience, and also allow students to take additional electives.
Some other highlights:
- Students are allowed to take an extra 8 weeks in addition to the core clerkships to take career exploratory electives. This gives the opportunity to solidify one’s desired specialty.
- Intersession periods are one-week sessions where students take a break from their clerkships to return to the classroom, reflect on their experiences, and put everything into context.
- Students are required to complete a scholarly project, which is an inquiry-driven project that can be on any research topic, from basic science to population health. There are blocks during years three and four solely dedicated to completing this project.
- Tufts has implements a faculty coaching model, which gives students a longitudinal mentor who is there to support their growth and development.
Common clinical rotation sites:
- Baystate Medical Center
- Carney Hospital
- Faulkner Hospital
- Good Samaritan Medical Center
- Lowell General Hospital
- North Shore Medical Center
What students are saying about clinical rotations at Tufts Med
Housing & Social Life
Where do students live?
Students may choose to live on or off campus. Posner Hall is the on-campus dormitory where some students choose to live. Most students, however, opt for off-campus housing. Here is an off-campus housing resource: Off-Campus Housing website
The office of Tufts Medical School housing can be easily reached (med-housing@tufts.edu) and would be happy to assist you in your search for an apartment. It is important to know that housing in Boston is pricey, but living with a roommate may alleviate that cost.
How do students get around?
Driving and parking in Boston can be stressful, so most students (at least in their first and second years) do not bring a car. Depending on where your clinical rotation sites are, having a car during clerkships may be helpful. You may be able to get around with public transit, but public transit does not necessarily reach all of the affiliated hospitals.
Most 3rd and 4th years share cars so they can get to their clinical rotations.
What is the student life like?
Tufts is unique in that its class size is very large (~200 students). This has its pros and cons, but notably, this means that there are so many opportunities to form long-lasting and meaningful relationships with many peers. Tufts Medical School supports a large, compassionate community of academically-driven students who also have a passion for service, arts, and many other interests.
Tufts has instated “learning communities,” which are groups of faculty and students who share facilities in one of the campus buildings. These contain many amenities such as TVs, kitchens, and study spaces. Students congregate here to socialize, study together, or even just relax. Faculty coaches also meet with these students in their learning communities to provide mentorship.
Tufts School of Medicine provides its students with a great fitness center, free of charge to the students. If students wish to take a fitness class, they are able to do so with a small fee.
Tufts students love to get involved in student organizations! One notable organization is the Sharewood Project, which is a student-run free clinic that provides medical care and education. There are so many opportunities to get involved in whatever is of interest to you.
Check out this site for more details: https://medicine.tufts.edu/student-community
financing
While medical school is undoubtedly a large investment, Tufts School of Medicine does what it can to alleviate that financial burden. Many students apply for need-based aid, and most take out loans.
- Tuition Medical School Tuition and Fees: ~$65,000
- Health Insurance: ~$5,000
- Other (housing, living expenses): ~$25,000
- Average Indebtedness post-graduation: $222,521
Cracking Med School Admissions Resources
Here are useful Cracking Med School Admissions resources:
- How To Write A Personal Statement For Medical School
- Download Cracking Med School Admission’s FREE AMCAS Activities Workbook
- Premed Timeline: Planning For Medical School Applications
Read our other popular school blogs here: