<p>Greetings to the Tufts College Confidential community!</p>
<p>My name is Jon and I am an admissions officer at Tufts along with Dan (DanAdmiss@Tufts). We are excited to share our experience and insight from our role as admissions officers and former Tufts students. Dan and I decided to join in order to clarify how we approach the admissions process and answer as many questions as we can that relate to Tufts.</p>
<p>Id like to begin my first post by offering some insight into the things that you have the most control over within the admissions process. At Tufts, 80% of our applicant pool is academically admissible based upon their testing and high school performance. To determine which of these students we offer admission to, we use a process called voice, which entails an applicants extracurriculars, third party commentary from guidance counselors & teachers, and most importantly, essays. </p>
<p>Essays are a powerful tool because they allow you to establish a unique and compelling voice in the admissions process. Well-written essay not only set you apart, but also allow you to add .texture and depth to your application. Essays are the ONLY part of this process that you can own 100% of because you cant change your grades, you cant change your testing after you achieve your highest score, and you cant change which activities youve filled your time with in high school. You CAN choose every word you put down on paper to offer us insight into who you are. Essays are often underutilized within this process and I cannot emphasize enough what an important resource they can be in your own self-advocacy.</p>
<p>Dan and I will primarily be monitoring the Tufts forums, but hope this information is useful for the entire CC community. Enjoy the remainder of your summers and we look forward to being in contact with you throughout the school year.</p>
<p>I'm in the middle of writing my essays right now and I was wondering- my topics aren't especially unique or weird or crazy, but rather something that I feel is an important part of my character (not about an activity, person, etc though). This is all right, yeah?</p>
<p>I think that if you adequately express WHY these seemingly-non-unique things are so important to your character, and if you use these topics to really give the admissions officers a sense of who you are - both with the SUBJECT of the essay and HOW IT'S WRITTEN...because I think that how well you write often indicates your general intelligence and outlook on life - then you'll have put your best foot forward in showing them who you are. If they decide that "who you are" wouldn't be a good fit at Tufts, you shouldn't feel bad, because it just means you weren't necessarily right for the school, and will be accepted in the places that would fit you better. That's why, in my opinion, if you don't lie in your applications you have the best shot of finding a good fit for you.</p>
<p>The thing is, the admissions officers have to read a ton of essays a day in quick succession. You want to make sure that yours isn't the same bland five-paragraph essay that's been drilled into you since middle school. Use a good vocabulary, make sure it flows well, and try to make it capture their interest. Be true to yourself, but understand that both the subject and the writing style have to work to spark the reader's interest amidst a sea of other essays.</p>
<p>Second - One of the most important things we're hoping to get a sense of in your Personal Statement is how you think and process information from the world around you. Remember, you are applying to SCHOOLS who are interested in building your mind. Helping us understand the way you tick a big part of helping us understand you. If your essay does that, then it doesn't matter what you've chosen as your topic. </p>
<p>In fact, writing about an activity or person can sometimes get in the way of accomplishing that goal. It's easy to write about that person or that activity without focusing the essay on yourself, your growth as a person, or your passions. </p>
<p>It sounds to me like you're on the right path. Remember: Don't worry about what we want to hear; instead, write what you want to say.</p>
focusing the essay on yourself, your growth as a person, or your passions.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Do you also look for such information in the Tufts Optional Essays?
For example, should I try to talk about me in a short story with the topic "Toast" or should I use this topic to demonstrate my creativity, critical thinking, etc.?</p>
<p>The goal of the optional essay is still the same: to showcase your passions, strengths, and ability to grow. While several optional essays provide more conventional opportunities to do that, we've also created topics that seek to draw out those qualities in very different ways.</p>
<p>Our goal when we were making all of our essay topics was to provide certain students with a venue to show off specific abilities in a way that the common application essay really doesnt provide. For many students (and you may find yourself in this group), creative writing/creative thought is a powerful feature of their intellectual identity. Those prompts give us a way to see that potent talent, and they give you a way to show us if you have it. </p>
<p>As for what to do with those prompts, I say do literally anything so long as what you write is basically a short story. I would encourage you not to take any of the essay topics too literally, especially the short story prompts. Stretch the prompts as much as youd like, with recognition that our goal is to get a sense of your creative skill. You would be correct thinking that this isnt a conventional Who-I-Am essay, but hopefully you can imagine the kind of insight we receive into how a persons mind works when we see what he/she does with a prompt like Toast. You don't need to mention yourself at all to do that. These short stories require a certain amount of trust on your part - trust that we will spend the time necessary to understand you through creative writing but I can assure you its a responsibility that we take seriously. </p>
<p>A quick aside on our philosophy that may help you better understand the opportunity we see the supplement to represent: I dont believe that the common application works for everyone. There are some people with a technical mindset, or who arent very flashy writers, or who are uncomfortable talking about themselves. Being in those groups does not mean that someone isnt dynamic, interesting, personable, or smart. Our essay topics are meant to give those students (along with everyone else) a way to express those qualities in less conventional ways, and they give us a powerful tool that lets us get excited about the students who apply. I love quirky people (shouldnt everyone?), but not everyone feels comfortable being quirky on the common application. Our essay topics, if nothing else, are clear in saying, its ok to be quirky!</p>
<p>Yowch. This is a long one... hope it helps.</p>
<p>Very interesting and refreshing thread. My D asked me to read her essay, and asked her English teacher as well. I think it really captures who she is and how she thinks, in her voice/style. Her English teacher really liked the essay but expressed some concern that her unconventioinal style, [which sometimes departs from proper grammar usage i.e. intentional sentence fragments], might put off some people and distract them -- and even make them wonder if she knows proper grammar. D has made some minor changes but does not want to lose her style/voice. I know you can't comment without reading a piece, but what are your thoughts generally about unconventional writing?</p>
<p>As long as we can tell she's deviating from the norm intentionally, and not because of a lack of ability, she's gold. Generally, it's not hard for us to make that assessment, especially when we have the supplemental writing as well. As long as the deviations serve a purpose (and it sounds like they do), I'd encourage applicants to stretch the bounds of their writing as much as they feel comfortable.</p>
<p>If making the writing more conventional (or safer, if that applies) whitewashes some of the qualities that define her voice, personality, and intellectual spark, then I'd ignore the complaints that her English teacher has. </p>
<p>Fairness Disclaimer: When you venture outside of convention, you take on a certain amount of risk. Generally, it's less risk than you think it is, but there is still a risk in what you've described. In my experience as a reader of these essays, the risk is absolutely worth it; it'll let you distinguish yourself and express yourself more fully.</p>