<p>I can honestly say that I enjoy reading your applications to Tufts, with specific devotion paid to your essays. In the spirit of helping next year's applicants make as much of an impact as this year's, I'd like to offer my perspective on what makes for a powerful college admissions essay.</p>
<p>Seriously, the best piece of advice I can give is not to worry about what we in admissions think. Tell the story that YOU want to tell about yourself, and don’t compromise on that. The impact of a genuine and open voice cannot be overstated; it will lend you an energy and an enthusiasm that we will pick up. I know that sounds hackneyed, but it’s also absolutely true. I believe part of having the courage to do that requires you to remain calm and assertive throughout, so the corollary to “Be yourself” is do your best to rise above the stress of it all. Tall order, I know, but students that are able dispense with the formalities and think of us as equals and as human beings stand out. Besides, if you worry about telling us what we want to hear, you'll write the same essay as the hundreds of other applicants who try to write what we want to hear. </p>
<p>Also, remember that we’re interested in gaining insight into what your intellectual strengths are. That could be building things, creative writing, analytical work, whatever. How your intellectualism manifests itself could be anything, but help us see how your mind works. In order to do that, however, you have to figure that out for yourself first. Personally, I think students don’t self-reflect enough before they begin writing, and self awareness goes a long way. As much as we want to know what you do with your time, we are much more interested in understanding <em>how</em> you’ve grown as a result of your experiences and <em>why</em> you were interested in doing those things in the first place. Almost always, the ‘Hows’ and ‘Whys’ are more valuable (and more interesting) than the ‘Whats.’ </p>
<p>Also, not all topics will work the way you want, and sometimes you can’t know that until you try to write the essay. If that happens, you need to be able to objectively look at your writing and start over. You should always feel comfortable starting over.</p>
<p>Finally, there are two questions that will help you gauge success on your college essay. </p>
<p>1) Ask someone who knows you really well: “Does this sound like me?”
2) Ask an adult who has never met you to read your essay, then ask: “Does reading this tell you something important about who I am or how I think?” (Then you can ask “What did you learn about me?” just to be sure that the right message got across). </p>
<p>If the answers to both those questions are ‘yes,’ then you’ve done it. The goal of a college essay is to let a stranger understand something important about who you are using your own voice. You can test this by actually giving your essay to a stranger and seeing what they learn about you.</p>