Tufts, with the help of a wealthy trustee, recently unveiled a program to attract the nation's best students with the offer of large monetary stipends. Trustee Joe Neubauer (E '63) gave the school a $5 million-plus grant to create a Scholars Program in his name, in order to increase the enrollment of high-caliber students.
Beginning with the class of 2005, prospective students will be eligible for a $10,000 stipend to be used for research, internships, or special projects, though only those in the top five percent of applicants will be considered.
Seven or eight students will ultimately be chosen as recipients, but admissions officers have encouraged all students who meet the criteria to apply for the scholarship. The selected students will be notified of their acceptance soon after they receive their admissions decision. Students who apply to the program are required to write an additional essay.
"[This is] a way to encourage and support at Tufts the most talented students in the country," Dean of Admissions David Cuttino said. "Our hope is that we will see a higher proportion of those students."
Admissions officials are confident that the Neubaur Scholarship Program will succeed in increasing the enrollment among the most qualified applicants because of a successful experimental pilot project held for students admitted in the class of 2003. That program, known as the University Scholars Project, was offered through the Office of Financial Aid, and, according to Cuttino, enrolled top students at an above-average rate.
The Neubaur scholarship is separate from the financial aid office, as Neubaur grants are not need-based. Students who require financial aid will be eligible to receive the stipend in addition to their financial aid package, and those who do not demonstrate need will still be eligible to receive it the stipend. The scholars program is not a merit grant, however, meaning that it must be put toward a research project, and not used for enrollment or housing costs.
"The stipend is focused on progress - its purpose is to continue academic and personal development," Cuttino said.
Neubauer Scholars will be able to work with mentors identified by the Admissions Office on special research projects. While plans for "mentorships" are not finalized, the program will initially involve three or four professors and will expand depending on its effectiveness.
"It will grow as the program grows," Cuttino said.
Students interested in conducting research already have opportunities to seek out faculty members, and may also reach out to fellow students who are involved in research projects. Last week's graduate school fair, as well as an undergraduate symposium planned for early March, are two of several places students can turn.
Cuttino does not think that these new programs will infringe on any existing programs. "Students and faculty frequently work together on research," he said. "This is just another way of reaching out to those talented students and saying that we're excited about working with you."
The scholarship program is Neubaur's most recent gift to the University. In 1997, he and his wife created "The Lerman-Neubauer Prize for Outstanding Teaching and Advising." He has also funded an endowed chair and "The Max and Herta Neubauer Professorship in International Economics." The scholarship program is different from his previous donations in that he has chosen to target the needs of students in addition to those of professors.
"This program is directed precisely at making Tufts University more competitive at the top end of schools," Neubauer said in an interview with Tufts Magazine.
"Because I have a very simple belief that to make universities better you have to focus on two bodies: the scholars (or professors) and the students," he said.
Neubaurer's incentive program begins in a year that has already seen a record numbers of applicants in both the early decision and regular decision pools. There has been an overall 17 percent increase in the number of students who applied for early admission for Tufts, and close to 40 percent of the spaces in the class of 2005 have been filled by students who applied Early Decision. Despite Tufts' popularity, the challenge of enrolling top applicants remains paramount.
