Tufts Pre-College Program: Find Top Courses & Training Locations

Through the Pre-College Programs at Tufts, students can experience a higher education learning environment with college instructors in-person and online. For-credit and non-credit course offerings are both available, as are on-campus and live online instruction.

Tufts University is a private university in Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 by Christian universalists; at the time, the majority of colleges in the United States were religious and they wanted to bring a less religious, more universal approach to higher education.

Since then, Tufts has become one of America’s most prestigious institutions of higher education. It has earned a reputation for being a “Hidden Ivy,” which are colleges that offer the same academic rigor and prestige as an Ivy League college.

Tufts has a Pre-College program for ambitious high school students who want to experience the rigorous academics of a top college. Students can earn college credits in several different types of programs throughout the academic year and over the summer.

School Locations

Courses are offered virtually or on the Boston-area Tufts campuses; some courses are hybrid, taking place online and in-person.

Most Tufts’ PreCollege in-person courses are taught on the main Tufts campus in Medford/Summerfield, Massachusetts. Some courses are taught in Boston at the Boston Fine Arts Campus or the Boston Health Sciences Campus.

Subjects Taught at Tufts Pre-College Program

Tufts is a prestigious school with many academic programs, so its Pre-College course offerings are also varied. The primary subjects taught at Tufts Pre-College Program are art & design, STEM, engineering, social impact, and business. Tufts Pre-College also offers courses to help high school students prepare for the college experience.

Tufts Pre-College has a Machine Learning/Introduction to Python course for high school students interested in a coding or tech career. If you’re interested in finding out about machine learning courses in your area, Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool shows live online machine learning courses for high school students.

Age Requirements

Tufts Pre-College is open to high school students entering grades 10-12. Students entering the 10th grade are only eligible to enroll in summer courses. Year-long academic programs are available for grades 11-12.

What Classes Are Available?

Tufts Pre-College draws its courses from a number of the university’s different academic departments, including Math, English, Philosophy, Psychology, History, and Foreign Languages.

Some recent course examples include The Anthropology of Capitalism, Plants & Humanity, Intro to Virtual Reality, Literature of the Beat Generation, How to Survive the End of the World, Design for Social Change, Philosophy of Humor, Evolution of Fashion, and The Disney Experience: Performance, Design, and Technology.

Tufts Pre-College also has unique course offerings, such as Mini-Med School, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Bootcamp, SMFA Graphic Design Bootcamp, Tufts Summer Research Experience, and the Tufts College Experience.

Students interested in pursuing a career in coding or the tech industry might be interested in Coding 101. This residential program is uniquely designed to suit all skill levels, including beginner and advanced coders. Students will learn Python: one of the most popular programming languages and the foundation for mobile applications. The course includes lectures on the history of programming, an introduction to AI and robotics, and cybersecurity. In addition to lectures on Tufts’ campus, enrolled students will take “Tech Treks” to some of Boston’s top tech businesses, including Hubspot, Google, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Fidelity. You can learn more about Coding 101 via Tufts’ Pre-College YouTube channel.

Class Formats

Most Tufts’ Pre-College courses are taught on the Tufts campus, although some courses and programs are offered virtually. Residential programs provide housing in a Tufts dorm or a commuter option if you live in the area.

Admissions Process

Students must go through an admissions process if they wish to attend Tufts Pre-College. The university encourages students to apply early since admissions into their Pre-College programs is competitive. There are rolling dates depending on if you’re enrolling for the summer or another semester.

Pricing & Payment Options

Costs for Tufts Pre-College depend on which program you are planning to take. Typical residential program pricing is around $5500, which includes housing in a Tufts dorm. Commuter prices are about $4000. Virtual courses are the lowest priced at around $3800.

Benefits of Attending Tufts Pre-College Program

High school students have the opportunity to earn college credit at one of America’s most prestigious universities. They offer year-long, one-semester, and summer courses virtually and in person on their Boston-area campus. Students can get a taste of the college experience in residential programs that include dorm housing and cafeteria passes.

What Do Students & Parents Say?

Reviews for Tufts Pre-College online are mostly positive, with a Facebook score of 4.8 stars. Students describe themselves as “passionate,” “quirky,” and “interesting.” One parent writes on Facebook, “Tufts does a great job keeping the kids engaged and interested.” One student writes, “Come here if you want to be challenged, if you want rigor.”

An SMFA Design Bootcamp student writes that their experience was “affordable” and “the quality of education and feedback the teachers provide is excellent.” Many students online have noted that the web design portion of the Design Bootcamp is weak: “more time should be spent to allow for students to get experience with web design or interface design” and “web design is an area they could improve.”

There are some criticisms of Tufts Pre-College online. One student writes that their “professors had clear favorites” and “I was invisible. I had to fight for attention, studio time, and feedback.” One student described their Tufts Pre-College experience as “overrated.” Another, who did the residential program, complained about the cleanliness of the dorm buildings and that “the food could be better.”

Key Takeaways

Students get college credit from Tufts University, a prestigious university.
Through their residential programs, high school students also get the opportunity to experience campus life and earn college credits.
Tufts is partnered with Boston-area companies, and their programs allow students insight into working in that industry.
Courses are offered residentially, in-person non-residentially, and virtually.

Top Courses at Tufts Pre-College Program

Find the perfect course for you at Tufts Pre-College Program. We’ve selected 2 of Tufts Pre-College Program’s most popular courses. View the course catalog at universitycollege.tufts.edu

Coding 101
Designed for young learners of all ability levels, this course helps students develop their proficiency in coding. Students learn Python and participate in lectures, activities, projects, and field trips as they discover careers in programming, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Locations:
- Boston
- $4,000
- 2 Weeks
- Weekdays
- Beginner
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Graphic Design Bootcamp
High school students discover the field of graphic design in this weeklong immersive course. As they build skills in digital graphic design with Adobe Creative Cloud products, students discover careers in visual communications, marketing, and photography.
Locations:
- Live Online
- $2,000
- 1 Week
- Weekdays
- Beginner
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showing 2 of 2 courses

Subjects Taught at Tufts Pre-College Program

Coding

Coding is what makes technology work. It runs behind the scenes of the technology that has become an integral part of daily life and business in the modern world. There are a variety of coding languages that allow programmers to develop websites, create apps and software, analyze data, create machine learning algorithms, query databases, and more.

In-Person Coding Classes Live Online Coding Classes Coding Bootcamps

Graphic Design

Graphic design is visual communication through artwork or combining images and text. Graphic designers create logos, ads, social media graphics, magazines, books, websites, apps, and more.

In-Person Graphic Design Classes Live Online Graphic Design Classes Graphic Design Bootcamps

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Tufts Pre-College Program

School Locations

Subjects Taught at Tufts Pre-College Program

Age Requirements

What Classes Are Available?

Class Formats

Admissions Process

Pricing & Payment Options

Benefits of Attending Tufts Pre-College Program

What Do Students & Parents Say?

Key Takeaways

Top Courses at Tufts Pre-College Program

Coding 101

Graphic Design Bootcamp

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Subjects Taught at Tufts Pre-College Program

Coding

Graphic Design

Map of Tufts Pre-College Program Locations