If you read Lee Coffin’s blog about fit, you know a little about how decisions are made in the Admissions Office. Applicants are chosen to “fit” the university on a whole bunch of levels. So here we are. If you are a senior, you know that you were accepted to Tufts because you were a good fit for the school. Now, it’s you turn to make sure that a school fits you.
If you have ever taken a Biology class, you probably know at least a little bit about enzymes. They basically follow a lock and key model where the substrate fits into the activation site of the enzyme, the enzyme’s shape changes, and voila, we have products! The important thing about that little Bio lesson is this: only a specific enzyme activation site will work with specific substrates. Not just any enzyme-substrate combination will create the reaction that you are looking for. You have to have a combination that is just right more than any other combination would be.
With this upcoming month, go on your own journey. Maybe you have to make a decision between schools now that letters and emails have been sent. For the next month, you have to find that substrate-enzyme combination that works for you. You have waited for months as schools read applications you wrote with the goal of accurately conveying who you are to the Admissions Office. Now, the tables have turned and you have the chance to decide if the school really is a fit for you. Only you really know who you are and no application is going to get every facet of your persona across. You can take what you know about yourself and the school to make a choice. Take advantage of blogs, videos, and campus visits that give you a chance to figure out which school works best with you, because in the end, you have the final say over where you are going to be for the next four years. [Cue ALL the excitement!]