“Womp womp” moments in college admissions
Often when people think of admissions officers, they envision a grumpy old man with a red pen, ruthlessly slashing through admissions files with one goal…
All students who get in to Tufts must answer the question, ‘Why Tufts?’
I got in to Tufts.
Therefore, I answered the question, ‘Why Tufts?’
Two years ago, in fact. And then I answered that question a second time, decided to come to Tufts.
Why? At the time, because it was the best school I got into. Hindsight is 20/20, though, so shout out to Father Time for proving me wrong. That’s not why I should have picked Tufts. Luckily, though, as it turns out – I made the right choice.
Here’s why: Tufts gives you opportunities to do the things you want to do, now.
Tufts has countless programs that encourage students to get outside the classroom and start doing to learn instead of learning to do. Synaptic Scholars allows students to come together to work on interdisciplinary personal projects and to peer-review each other. The Tisch and Summer Scholars programs allow undergraduates the capital and means to do research in their field. Allies puts students on the front lines of civil-military relations by connecting members with peers at military academies. I have a friend that won a grant to do research in the economics department. My roommate researched adipose tissue with stem cells last semester to gather data that would advance research on diabetes.
And me? I’m in EPIIC: Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship, a colloquium-style class in which we have a new lecturer every class, each an expert in a sub-field of the larger topic chosen each year. Students study intensively during the first semester (think “500 pages of reading each week” and “four-hour, ten-pages (typed) written exams”) in order to prepare themselves to host an international symposium on that same topic at the end of February, to which they invite leading voices in the field and facilitate meaningful, fascinating conversation between academic heavyweights.
This year was “Russia in the XXI Century”. Timely a topic as Russia is, we started in 300 AD with Kievan Rus and studied Russia’s story from every angle: economic, political, cultural, etc., constantly attempting to take both the American and Russian perspectives, as well as a detached third-party point of view. We went deep into Russia’s history to explain its present.
In October, I was given the chance to represent my class as one of three delegates (and, we would later find out from our nametags, Scholars) to the internationally acclaimed Oslo Freedom Forum, a conference on human rights held each year in Oslo, Norway, home of the Nobel Peace Prize. This year, there was a very Russian-heavy showing of personalities, and as such, the experience was appropriate for the class. I got to personally speak to and connect with some of the most important people in Russia: Garry Kasparov, champion of chess and human rights; Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the most famous political prisoners of the 21st century and formerly the richest man in Russia; Pussy Riot, Russian female punk rock protest band; and so many more.
And as an aspiring filmmaker, I made a documentary about it, which was screened at our own symposium. So don’t let me tell you about it – let my camera and classmates do the talking in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6boHgPRmXAw
So basically what I’m trying to say is this: I chose correctly, but mostly by accident. I did not know about any of these opportunities before coming to campus, but if it were not for Tufts, I never would have had the opportunity to represent my school at an international conference and make a film about it.
So that’s why, Tufts.
Want to learn more about EPIIC or any of the programs talked above? Check out the link below, or contact me on Twitter @orlandoeconomos or email at orlando.economos@tufts.edu
http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/program/epiic
Often when people think of admissions officers, they envision a grumpy old man with a red pen, ruthlessly slashing through admissions files with one goal…
If you are feeling intimidated by the college application process, I highly suggest breaking up the application into sizeable sections. One section…