– Photos by Emily Zilm, Matthew Modoono and  Alonso Nichols/Tufts University

Tufts University welcomed the class of 2015 at its Matriculation Day ceremony last Wednesday, August 31. Tufts’ freshman class was drawn from its largest pool of 17,132 applicants, with 21.9 percent offered admission, the most selective class ever. The 1,321 members of the 156th entering class come from 47 American states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 57 nations outside the U.S. Americans of color represent 27 percent of the class, 217 speak a language other than English at home and nearly 10 percent are first-generation college bound. In addition, the academic profile for the enrolling students matches or exceeds last year’s record highs: 89 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class with mean SAT scores of 707 Critical Reading, and new highs of 716 Math and 715 Writing. Forty-four percent received financial aid from Tufts, and 149 are Pell Grant recipients, an important indicator of socioeconomic diversity.