Admissions decisions have gone out for the undergraduate Class of 2029, showing a 10.5 percent acceptance rate, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The class, selected from a pool of 33,400 applicants, represents a “dynamic cohort of academically accomplished scholars who have pursued rigorous courses of study in high school, performed exceptionally well in their classes, and who are coming to Tufts eager to dive into all that the university offers,” said JT Duck, dean of admissions for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. Decisions were released on March 20.

Top areas of academic interest for the admitted students include biology, pre-health pathways, and community health; mechanical and biomedical engineering; computer science; psychology and cognitive and brain sciences; economics; political science; and interdisciplinary art studies as part of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.

Duck also noted that the mission of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center “strongly resonated” with members of the new class. “Many of our admitted students have started businesses or innovated in novel ways to address challenges in their communities and are looking for ways to expand the impact of their work,” he said.

The class composition reflects ongoing recruitment efforts across the United States, including a focus on reaching out to high schoolers from small towns and rural communities, Duck said. More than 50 students in the admitted class engaged with Tufts via virtual and in-person Small Town Outreach, Recruitment, and Yield (STORY) events over the past two years.

Highlights of the Class of 2029

• 55 percent of all admitted students attended public high schools.
• 11 percent are the first in their family to go to college.
• About 15 percent of admitted students (or 1 out of every 7 admitted students) will qualify for a federal Pell Grant, a percentage that has grown in recent years as Tufts strengthens its commitment to enrolling and supporting students from low-income backgrounds.
• 90 students are residents of Tufts’ host communities—Medford, Somerville, Boston, and Grafton­­­­­­­­­­­­.
• All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Mariana Islands are represented.
• The top 10 states for admitted students are Massachusetts, New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Illinois. Of admitted students from the U.S., 15 percent hail from the South and Southwest and 20 percent from the West.
• International students—foreign nationals who are not U.S. citizens—comprise 11 percent of the class, coming from more than 70 countries.
• The 10 most common countries of residence outside of the U.S. are: China, India, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Kenya.

Tufts is in the fifth year of a six-year SAT/ACT test-optional pilot, Duck said. Similar to prior years, half of all applicants submitted SAT or ACT scores. About 65 percent of admitted students submitted SAT or ACT scores.

Acceptances were sent on March 20. As in recent years, Tufts hopes to be able to offer admission to additional students from a waitlist after May 1.

Undergraduate Admissions is hosting Jumbo Days on the Medford and SMFA campuses this April and will offer virtual events for admitted students throughout March and April. Students admitted through regular decision have until May 1 to confirm their intent to enroll at Tufts this fall.