Everything you need to know about Tufts premed, including premed requirements, the best extracurriculars, and the Tufts premed acceptance rate

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Tufts premed requirements

Part 3: Tufts premed extracurriculars

Part 4: Getting into medical school as a Tufts premed

Final thoughts

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Tufts premed requirements

Part 3: Tufts premed extracurriculars

Part 4: Getting into medical school as a Tufts premed

Premed timeline by year

Community service:

Research (opportunities and funding):

Shadowing:

Patient care/clinical experience:

The Tufts postbac premed program

A Tufts University premed writing in a notebook at a library — LEARN HOW TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL AS A tufts PREMED

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Founded in 1852 as a private research institution, Tufts University started as a liberal arts university until the 1970s when it began offering doctoral programs. Today, Tufts offers 90 undergraduate degrees and over 160 graduate degrees across 10 schools. Its Boston campus (located downtown) houses medical and dental schools.

According to US News, Tufts University is ranked #32 in National Universities and they have an 11% acceptance rate. While premed students can major in anything, it’s also interesting to note that 10% of Tufts graduates majored in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Not surprisingly, Tufts University sends a good number of its students to Tufts University School of Medicine. Based on the most recent class profile data (2026), approximately 44 of the entering class pool of students graduated from Tufts University. This was the largest number of students to come from a single undergraduate institution. Clearly, Tufts University knows how to prepare its students for its med school.

But, just how can a Tufts University premed student successfully complete their undergraduate program and feel confident about admission into med school? In this guide, we’ll detail the premed requirements for Tufts students, and we’ll even provide you with a sample two-year plan. We’ll also discuss how Tufts premed students can successfully cover their extracurricular bases. Finally, we’ll talk about getting into med school as a Tufts graduate (including Tufts University School of Medicine) and what you can expect.

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As you decide on a course of study during your undergraduate years, it’ll be important to complete courses that will prepare you for the MCAT in a few years. It’ll also be essential that you do well in your courses—especially those that will make up your science GPA.

Statistically speaking, biology majors make up over half of the premed applicant pool, but that doesn’t mean you need to do so. You should major in something that excites you so that you stand a chance at doing well in your program and finishing strong with a high GPA.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at what your premed coursework will look like as a Tufts student.

Tufts Premed Requirements
Medical school requirement	Required courses
Biology: Three courses with lab	Bio 13, 14 and 15 (with labs)
Chemistry: 1. General chemistry: Two courses with lab 2. Organic chemistry: Two courses with lab 3. Biochemistry: One course	One of the following sequences: Chem 1-Chem 2-Organic Chem 51-Organic Chem 53, and Bio 152 or Chem 171 Chem 11-Chem 12-Organic Chem 51/53, and Bio 152 or Chem 171
Calculus: One course	There is a decreasing emphasis on calculus, and students who have earned AP credit in calculus may not need to take any additional calculus courses. If you take it at Tufts, you’ll likely enroll in either Math 0032 (Calculus 1) or Math 0034 (Calculus 2).
Statistics: One course	Statistics is taught in many departments, including the following: Biology (Bio 132), Child Development (CD 140), Community Health (31 and 136), Economics (EC 13), Math (Math 21), and Political Science (PS 130)
Physics: Two courses with lab	Physics 1 or 11 and Physics 2 or 12
College-level English/writing: One year of English	Complete one of the following sequences: English 1 (Expository Writing) and English 2 (College Writing Seminar) English 1 and Philosophy 1
Psychology: One course	Psychology (Psych 31)
Sociology: One course	Sociology (Soc 101)

With so many things to do in just four short years, it can seem overwhelming at times! Thankfully, the pre-health advising committee at Tufts has put together a list of actionable items for you to accomplish, which they’ve broken down by year.

(Note: this timeline would best suit someone who plans to take a gap year or what the Tufts pre-health advising committee refers to as a “growth year.” If you do not intend to take a gap year, then you’d want to combine Year 3 and Year 4 below into your Junior year.)

Year 1 - Freshman: Sign up for the Health Professions Advising (HPA) Canvas course, and get involved with the pre-health organizations at Tufts. You should also make time to get connected with the pre-health advising department because they’ll be your go-to team for your entire undergraduate program!
Year 2 - Sophomore: Continue in the HPA Canvas course, and begin looking at options for gaining clinical experience. You should also begin looking into research opportunities or internships and start forming relationships with individuals who may end up providing you with solid letters of recommendation. (We cover opportunities for clinical experience and research below!) Additionally, in the Spring semester, they suggest signing up for a “Sophomore Check-in.”
Year 3 - Junior: Continue building on your clinical experience and touch base with those you’d like to develop your letters of recommendation. This is also the perfect time to start thinking about the med school application timeline and what it entails (such as planning for the MCAT and pre-writing secondary essays).
Year 4 - Senior: Finish up the HPA Canvas course, if you’ve not already completed it, and continue building on your clinical experiences. If you wait until your senior year to begin this course, you’ll also be registered for the Health Professions Recommendation Committee (HPRC) Canvas course. At this point, you’d also have likely established a solid network of individuals, giving you a variety of options for your rec letters.

Always remember that not every course you need to take will be offered during each semester, so it’s important to carefully review the academic course catalog as you plan your upcoming years. To assist in your planning, we’ve created a sample two-year schedule that outlines what your first two years may look like as a premed student.

Looking for MCAT practice questions? Check out our proprietary MCAT Question Bank for 2000+ sample questions and eight practice tests covering every MCAT category.

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As you may have guessed, all Tufts premed students will be expected to complete a fair amount of extracurricular activities. It’s common for premed students to place emphasis on obtaining experience in the following areas:

Community service
Research
Shadowing
Patient care/clinical experience

Tufts premed students have the advantage of being enrolled at one of the leading institutions for research in the nation. Here are some of the ways you might fulfill the above requirements:

Tufts students have many opportunities to perform civic duties and community service, both locally in the Boston area and around the world.

Leonard Carmichael Society - The Leonard Carmichael Society is an umbrella organization for all service groups and is the largest on campus. Through it, students are also able to provide English language and citizenship classes to immigrants.
Tufts Civic Impact - All other community service and volunteer opportunities can be accessed through Tufts Civic Impact. As a student, you can log in with your Tufts student ID and you’ll be connected to all volunteer and civic service opportunities in the area. Students are also able to post their own opportunities (like when you need a volunteer for your psychology project). As an added bonus, you can use the platform to keep track of your service hours and donations provided.
NAAHP Virtual Opportunities for Prehealth Students - Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual opportunities have become more commonplace. The NAAHP has composed a large list of opportunities for pre-health students (many of which are virtual) that you may want to also check out.

Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize - This prize is awarded to second semester sophomores or juniors who are engaged in a research project or volunteer opoprtunity that involves international issues.
Global Research Assistant Program (GRAP) - This is an international-based research opportunity for Tufts undergraduates to work with faculty members for a minimumm of eight weeks during the summer.
Tisch Summer Fellows (TSF): International - This is a program that supports undergraduate, graduate and professional students who are working on creative and self-designed projects that have an active citizenship theme. The primary goal of TSF is to help students bring their international projects to life.

You may also find it helpful to review the profiles of faculty members at Tufts to see if any are involved in research that interests you. If you find one engaging in research you think you’d enjoy, feel free to reach out to them to see if there are any available opportunities. Additionally, most college students have access to Handshake through their university. Handshake is a platform similar to Indeed or LinkedIn but for college students, and it’s an excellent avenue for you to explore opportunities for research.

These are just a few of the research opportunities available to Tufts students. Regardless of the direction you decide to take for research, Tufts provides ample support beyond your exploration! For instance, the Summer Scholars Program funds rising juniors and seniors for a 10-week independent research project, while the Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium gives you an incredible chance to celebrate and present your research! To that end, you could also look into attending the Harvard Undergraduate Research Conference or the Stanford Undergraduate Research Conference, both of which are annual events where undergraduate students from across the nation can meet to discuss and present the research they’ve been involved in.

While you may find traditional resources such as LinkedIn and Indeed helpful in your hunt for shadowing opportunities, Tufts also has a platform devoted to helping you network and connect with people in your future field. This platform, known as The Herd, is private and is only open to students, alumni, faculty, and staff members who are a part of the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

In addition to spending time in traditional clinical settings—such as hospitals and doctor’s offices—Tufts undergrads have school-sponsored opportunities for clinical experience. As an undergraduate at Tufts, your role through The Sharewood Project would look different than that of a medical student. However, there is still plenty available for you to do! From handling all aspects of client intake to managing client files and getting patients triaged, undergrad students will find themselves in a position to gain valuable patient care experience.

With close proximity to Tufts Medical Center, Tufts undergrad students also have the ability to engage in patient care services, from discharging and escorting patients to keeping up with the fast-paced ER.

Further reading: How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities for Medical School

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As you complete your undergrad program at Tufts, the end goal is of course to get into med school. Whether that means attending Tufts University School of Medicine or somewhere else, you can rest assured that Tufts will have you prepared for the next step!

You may wonder if attending Tufts as an undergrad places you at a particular advantage for receiving an interview offer or acceptance at Tufts University School of Medicine. Considering the majority of those in the most recent entering class came from Tufts University (see link above for class profile), it would seem that there may be some sort of advantage.

Regardless of where you decide to attend med school, the first thing you’ll need to do is prepare your AMCAS application. You’ll also want to put together your personal statement and work on gathering the required letters of recommendation that you’ll need. (The number and type of rec letters you’ll need will vary depending on the med school you attend, but three is the most common number of letters needed.) Depending on your year in college, you may also find yourself eligible for acceptance through an Early Assurance Program if the school you’re interested in offers one.

Further reading: How Hard Is It to Get into Medical School?

If you’re reading this guide, then chances are good that life as a Tufts premed is already on your radar (if you’re not already there as one). As such, you’ll likely complete the required pre-health coursework during your time at Tufts.

However, if you’re a non-traditional student or are one who decided late in your undergraduate years that a health career interested you, then the Tufts Postbac Premed Program may be the perfect avenue for you to pursue med school. This program offers older students (provided they had at least a B+ undergraduate average, scored at or above the 80th percentile on standardized tests, and can demonstrate a strong interest in a career in healthcare) the opportunity to complete the prerequisite coursework and follow a path that leads to a future in medicine.

Sample Tufts Two-Year Course Plan

Semester

Courses

Freshman Fall

Chemistry 1
English 1
Calculus 1

Freshman Spring

Chemistry 2
English 2
Child Development

Sophomore Fall

Organic Chem 51
Psychology
Physics 1

Sophomore Spring

Organic Chem 53
Physics 2

Whether you have your sights set on Tufts University School of Medicine and are looking for the best preparation or you’re simply looking for a university with an outstanding premed program, Tufts University fits the bill. The tips and suggestions in this guide will help you decide how to make the most of your time at Tufts as a premed student, and following them will prepare you for an exciting career in healthcare.