How does Tufts compare to Brandeis in admissions difficulty overall?

Tufts is harder to get into overall than Brandeis. In broad admissions conversations, Tufts is usually treated as the more selective school. Brandeis is still selective, but it is typically a step less intense in raw admissions difficulty.

One concrete difference is applicant demand and national reach. Tufts draws a very large pool from across the country and internationally, and it gets a lot of attention from students who are also applying to other highly selective private universities. That tends to make the process more competitive even for strong applicants. Brandeis also attracts serious students, especially those interested in strong academics and a mid-sized research university near Boston, but it is usually not discussed in quite the same admissions tier as Tufts.

Another difference is how hard it is to stand out once you already have strong grades and coursework. At Tufts, many applicants have excellent transcripts, rigorous classes, and substantial involvement, so the holistic review can feel especially tight. Brandeis also reviews applications holistically, but the level of compression among top applicants is usually less extreme, which makes it somewhat more accessible.

A useful way to think about it is that Tufts belongs in the bucket where even very qualified applicants should expect unpredictability, while Brandeis is selective in a more manageable way. If you are building a balanced list, Tufts often functions more like a reach, while Brandeis is more often placed a notch below that in difficulty for the same student profile.