Personal Statement

<p>Any suggestions as to how to go about writing the Tufts personal statement? Is there anything in particular that they're looking for? How formal should the essay be? Is there anything in particular that really works for these essays, because I'm having a really hard time figuring out what direction to go in. I was thinking about writing about how one of my teachers has been really inspiring for me, and I think that in showing what I love about him, they'd be able to see what I am interested in and what I admire, but I think that it's focusing more on him than on me, and I don't know if that's really problematic. Anyway, any tips on this would be greatly appreciated!!</p>

<p>I'm not sure what you mean. Are you talking about the ED essay which I affectionately call the "Why Tufts?" essay, or the general common app. essay question?</p>

<p>Just the general common app essay. I'm not really sure if there's anything in particular that they look for in reading it, how I should go about it.</p>

<p>Since this is a more general question, perhaps you should read over the many posts about essays over at the "College Admissions" area first. If you can't find what you're looking for, post over there.</p>

<p>Another idea is to purchase one of the many books published about college essay writing. We got a few and they helped steer us away from certain cliched areas and helped us to understand better what ad coms were looking for.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>The essay should be written in formal language but it doesn't need to be a formal essay structure (intro paragraph with thesis, several paragraphs, concluding paragraph--this is not necessary). In terms of topics, take a look at yourself and the rest of your application and see what your application seems to be telling the admissions people about you. Think about qualities or interests that you consider important parts of you that you don't think were stressed enough in your other documents. When writing the essay, be really honest, be yourself. NEVER try to write what you think they want to read because you never know. DO write something that shows you off as the cool, intelligent, curious, _<strong><em>(fill in the blank)</em></strong> person that you likely are.</p>

<p>Writing about your teacher is a possibility; I sort of did that. I picked the topic of your choice essay and wrote an essay on my favorite extracurric AND the teacher that influenced me the most (it was my voice teacher and singing is my fav. EC). The essay actually worked out really well; I could send it to you. But while I mentioned my teacher, I focused on what I learned from him, rather than why I think he's so great. Be careful to keep the focus on you and keep the essay from becoming a recommendation for the teacher. They're accepting you, not him/her. </p>

<p>Good luck; feel free to e-mail me if you need more advice, want me to e-mail you my essay, or want to show me what you've got so far.</p>

<p>Are you applying ED?</p>

<p>Wow, thanks for all of the feedback! That has really clarified my major concerns. I recently decided to rewrite it so that I wouldn't accidentally be writing about my teacher rather than the influence, so now my essay is on my political activism, which is probably more appropriate anyway. </p>

<p>juliatorgo- Yes, I am applying EDI, which is one of the reasons why I'm trying to get everything finished and polished. Would you mind terribly if I emailed you my essay to see if you think I'm on the right track with it? That's incredibly generous of you to offer...</p>

<p>Hey Miranda, if you have any other questions or stuff, don't hesitate to email me or whatever.</p>

<p>I've also been helping another EDI candidate with his essay, so I'd be willing to help with yours also. :)</p>

<p>my Tufts emailwould be preferred.</p>

<p>leftyleftist- sure, go ahead and e-mail me. I hadn't realized that my e-mail was no longer in my user info (as it had been in the old forum). It should have been fixed now so just click on my profile and e-mail me your essay. Or, if it doesn't work, my e-mail is <a href="mailto:JuliaTorgo@yahoo.com">JuliaTorgo@yahoo.com</a></p>

<p>Hey y'all - I've been CC deprived because I couldn't figure out how to login after they changed it. So two questions today - 1) How formal should the "why tufts?" (ED candidates) be? I have a fun idea for that but it's not uber-formal. 2) Julia or JJsMom - do you think I could email you my essay and you could take a look at it? thank :)</p>

<p>mjones- Mine wasn't formal in terms of its format but it was formal language. I don't think there's any kind of rule or guideline on that though so feel free to go wild as long as it isn't too wild.</p>

<p>Sure, definitely feel free to e-mail me. This actually goes to everyone out there who wants me to read your essay; send it over and I'll do what I can to help =)</p>

<p>I just found out I got a 1410 on the SAT!!!! I'd imagine that'll help me out a bit admissions-wise. :-)</p>

<p>juliatorgo- thanks so much for your willingness to read my essay- I'll email it to you later tonight.</p>

<p>Wow! Congratulations =)</p>

<p>Sure thing.</p>

<p>Hey just got back from Parents Weekend at Tufts! Great time!</p>

<p>Mjones: I changed my preferences so you can send me a private message regarding your essay. I'd be happy to look it over. Just be forewarned, I'm a tough editor!</p>

<p>Lefty: NICE job on the SAT :)</p>