<p>As we inch closer to the ED deadline (and, for that matter, the RD deadline), I'm around to answer questions about how things work or dole out essay advice or answer whatever other questions you have (like, how much am I enjoying the Colbert Report lately). So, for you lurkers out there, make an account and ask a question. </p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>I’ve been involved in testifying to the county legislature about bullying issues. Should i address that on my app? If so, what is the proper place?</p>
<p>Involved in what sense? That can have lots of different meanings.</p>
<p>Requested by local politicians to attend meetings as a featured speaker to testify on bullying issues. The request was based on performance in the NY Fringe Festival theatrical performance addressing similar issues.</p>
<p>You’ve only given a quick glimpse of it to me with your description, but it sounds like it wasn’t so much an extracurricular activity as something you were asked to do on a very limited basis. </p>
<p>You certainly could write about it in an essay, but if you do that, you’ll want to give the piece more depth than simply explaining what you did - you’d need to tie it back to how it either informs or reflects your perspective/personality… I suspect this wouldn’t be too tough to do since it links back to an interest you have in theater. However, I can’t know if it’s worth scrapping another essay idea you have in order to make room for this; you have limited space in those essays, after all. </p>
<p>What you could do instead, however, is invite your guidance counselor to give it some space in a recommendation. Since it links back into other EC activities, it has a natural space in a rec, and the guidance counselor would likely benefit from being able to talk about it and connecting it back to you in broader ways as well. That would free you up, if you wanted the freedom, not to talk about it directly in your application and yet still have the experience well represented. </p>
<p>Of course - I’m operating with incomplete information, so take this advice with some skepticism, but those are a couple of the options for you.</p>
<p>That is extremely valuable feedback. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Hi, Dan. I’m a long-time fan of your blogs, posts, hand-drawn graphs and Reddit cameos. Thanks for all that you do to make admissions a more transparent and human process!</p>
<p>Tufts is one of the few highly-selective schools that provides a fully-integrated formal admissions program for adults beginning or returning to college. I’d be interested to hear some inside details about the REAL admissions process. What are the unique challenges when sizing up adult applicants who often don’t have SAT scores or recent high-school GPAs? How do you discern who will be a good fit for Tufts, and, perhaps more importantly, who will be able to thrive in a large population of younger students?</p>
<p>Dan, I think the humor was lost on your first reaction to the question, but I got it. People need to laugh a bit more…</p>
<p>Dan - </p>
<p>It says on the Tufts website that alumni interviews can be scheduled only after the Common App (or Universal App) is submitted. But how much of the app needs to be in? If the applicant is using the Common App, do you need just the first portion of the application to refer the applicant for an interview, or do you need the writing supplement as well?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My understanding is that you cannot submit any part of the Common App to us until you’re ready to submit all of it (supplements included). You shouldn’t, I believe, be able to submit the writing supplement separately.</p>
<p>Nope - the main part of the Common App and the supplements are submitted separately. In fact, the main part of the Common App itself has to be submitted before the supplements can be submitted.</p>
<p>The way the Common App is configured, I think you have to hit a button labeled “submit” first, but that’s a misnomer. We don’t get the CA - any part of it - until you hit submit the second time.</p>
<p>*Addendum: CA4 is filled with little things like this, so I could be mistaken, but I’m like 90% sure.</p>
<p>Dan,</p>
<p>My son submitted common app. and supplements for ED 1 a couple days ago and got an email from Tufts saying they received. However, there was never a spot to declare Arts & Sciences or Engineering (he is considering both). When/how does Tufts know which school he is applying for?</p>
<p>Dan, Thanks for answering questions. I’m a junior parent.</p>
<p>1- Does Tufts recalculate grades throwing out art, music (AP art or music too?) or even math/science electives?</p>
<p>2- Since Tufts asks to see all SAT scores, would it be a mistake to take an early SAT to “test the waters” with a plan to take in the spring of junior year and re-take fall senior year if necessary. I know the stated policy is that only the highest scores are used, but there has to be some reason for asking for all test scores.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Regarding AP scores, the fact that a student took AP classes is on his transcript with a grade. Do you expect students to self-report their AP scores? Do you expect them to have AP scores sent as part of the application process? And how much weight do you put on AP scores?</p>
<p>Hi Dan, </p>
<p>This question is not exclusive to Tufts, but I was hoping that you could address it from the general perspective of an admissions officer. I’m very interested in the stock market and have multiple extracurriculars dedicated to this field. In my personal statement, I discussed a personal experience I had with the stock market, and the essay culminated in my view of the stock market and our economy as a whole. For a supplemental essay, I want to discuss my experience in volunteering with a stock marketing organization, and my third (250 word essay) is about why that specific college would be best for a stock marketing education. I attended a info session at UPENN, and they noted that the worst mistake in the college application is redundancy, meaning if you mentioned something once, there’s no point of mentioning it over again. However, I have also hear from many sources that colleges want a diverse student body, not a diverse student. In other words, at least what I think this means, college choose students for their specific skills or interests, so that the student body as a whole encompasses a plethora of interests. If this is true, then I think it would be logical for me to use my three essays to convey my passion for the field of stock marketing. All of these essays are different, but since they are on the same topic, they can be considered redundant. </p>
<p>I anticipate that an admissions officer may say “I get it. This student is interested in the stock market, but what else is there too him?” However, if colleges are looking for that specific interest that makes you unique, then is it even important to convey your other interests? For example, would it make sense for me to write my first essay on the stock market, my second on chemistry, and my third on University X’s study abroad programs? Frankly, I think it makes more sense for me to dedicate all three of my essays to the field that distinguishes me from the majority of the applicant pool, however redundant it may be.</p>
<p>I’m really not sure. How does an admissions officer look at this? Don’t restrict yourself from saying that I’m completely wrong. I won’t take it personally! I just really want to gain some insight!</p>
<p>Hey Dan, quick question. On your website (for the class of 2017), it says that the mean ACT composite is 31. Does this include super scores? Because the highest score I have is 29, but with superscores, I have a 31.</p>
<p>@FlaWless007 - You’re thinking about this too narrowly. It sounds like you’re assuming there’s something specific and consistent we’re looking to find across all students and if you don’t demonstrate the “right” set of qualities (whether it’s being narrowly and specifically good at something or being more multifaceted) then you don’t get in. That’s generally not how it works. Some students have lots of moving parts, other have great depth in particular areas. Both can be interesting and compelling as applicants. </p>
<p>Redundancy <em>is</em> bad, but you can have multiple essays pointed at the same issue that don’t say the same thing. Essay #1 deals with your frustration trying to get people to vote in local elections. Essay #2 talks about a false sense of homogeneity your community has because of district gerrymandering. Essay #2 shares your ambition to become an elected offical. </p>
<p>All three of those essays are on the “same topic,” politics broadly and elections specifically, but each has a different approach and shares a different side of your understanding and thoughts. </p>
<p>Also… you’re worrying too much about what everyone else is doing. You’re trying to carve out a space to be “unique” in our applicant pool. It’s important to be distinctive, and to show us your own spin on things, but if you’re picking your topics based on what you think everyone else is doing I think you’re setting yourself up for hard time. We got 18,000 applications last year. It’s <em>REALLY</em> hard to find an essay topic that others aren’t talking about. The strength of your essay isn’t the topic you choose, but the depth and nuance you can bring to your exploration of that topic (and, by extension, the exploration of yourself). If you stay up at night thinking about the Markets (capital M), and you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is check the futures or the Nikkei, you’re going to have a depth and an excitement around those ideas that others won’t. What will set your essay apart is <em>that</em>, not that you chose to write about stocks. </p>
<p>(And, FlaWless007, I really liked your question… can I turn it into a blog post? Would you mind?)</p>
<p>@HVBaseballDad - so, it shouldn’t be possible to submit the CA/Supp without checking a box for either A&S or Engineering, but who knows, right? The common app this year presents all manner of fun for us to find together. He can email me and I’ll check to see if, indeed, he did make a choice and not realize it. Either way, we’ll sort it out. [Admissions</a> Officers at Tufts](<a href=“http://admissions.tufts.edu/contact/meet-the-team/]Admissions”>Meet the Admissions Team | Tufts Admissions)</p>
<p>@Stemmmm - We never recalculate a GPA. We use whatever the school gives us, letting individual schools decide what they feel should count according to their own educational philosophies, and if we have a weighted GPA then we’ll use that. </p>
<p>There is absolutely no disadvantage in just submitting everything. I have no idea why taking the SATs earlier would be a mistake, as you put it, so as far as I (and thus, Tufts admissions) is concerned, you’ve got nothing to worry about. We ask for everything because of two reasons. A) Score choice would be a waste of your money. And B) more important, is that not everyone has the right guidance to understand what super-scoring is, and a non-trivial group would misunderstand the advantage of score choice and withhold testing that actually benefits them even though the overall score seems lower.</p>
<p>@Daddio3 - It’s sometimes nice to have the AP testing, but there’s no expectation that students will self-report scores. </p>
<p>@Rumble96 - Yup! Superscores!</p>
<p>Hiyah Dan, I was wondering if you eat ice cream during the winter? I understand in most cases ice cream is not the most favorable things to snack on during the freezing chills that winter time brings; however, ice cream is beyond awesome and deserves to be appreciated not just in the summer but in the winter to because ice cream has some level of feeling that people may not be aware of yet.</p>
<p>I cannot speak for Dan in particular, but in general Massachusetts residents take their ice cream very seriously. You do not become the #4 state in per capita ice cream consumption by only consuming it in the summer…</p>
<p>[Ice</a> Cream: Who Eats The Most Ice Cream in America?](<a href=“http://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/who-eats-the-most-ice-cream-in-america/]Ice”>Who Eats The Most Ice Cream in America?)</p>
<p>The first gourmet ice cream shop was Steve’s in Davis Square near Tufts</p>
<p>[Ice</a> Cream History - Steve Herrell’s Ice Cream Shop in Somerville](<a href=“http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/article/2013/06/25/ice-cream-history-steves-somerville/]Ice”>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/article/2013/06/25/ice-cream-history-steves-somerville/)</p>