I’m glad to hear that you’re interested in going to Tufts–that is where I went to college! I did my undergraduate and graduate degrees there and loved it. The fact that your mom graduated from Tufts is definitely something you should include in your application. It’s by no means going to guarantee that you’ll get in, but it is an extra perk in your application. For now, I would focus on everything else that you can do to enhance your application. It sounds like your grades are great–definitely keep that up! Are you involved in extra-curricular activities, sports, volunteer work, etc.? Schools really like to see that! As far as your spinal surgery goes, I think it is something that could possibly benefit your application. When you write your personal statement/essay, you’ll need to choose a topic and perhaps you might want to consider that as something you had to overcome. But also keep other ideas in mind too. Also, remember that you’re still a freshmen, so you should be trying to enjoy high school as well–don’t get too focused on college quite yet! I wish you lots of luck…let me know if you have other questions about Tufts!

It may help if she did attend Tufts. Most of the time, if you have family member or relative who went to the same college you’re applying to, they give you a little bit of priority.

And, your resume so far seems pretty good for a college application. You should be able to get in.

you are a freshman…you don’t start applying until your senior year…i suggest you relax. find an extracurricular you love and stick to it.

also a spine surgery could totaly be transformed into a major hardship + obstical that you overcame 🙂 colleges love that sort of stuff!