With only a couple weeks until the Regular Decision deadline, I’m sure you’re working on finalizing and polishing up your application for submission. After months of research and going through several drafts of writing, you might be feeling like you’re ready to submit and finish the application process. Although I can certainly sympathize with those feelings, I’m here to encourage you to double, triple, quadruple check your application! Here are some reminders and things to consider before you hit the “submit” button.
Academic and Extracurricular Interests
Tufts is a place where students are intellectually curious and playful. They bring with them their unique passions and are open to exploring new interests. It’s a place where ideas are constantly shared with one another. Even if you’re unsure of an academic major or career path, does your application at least showcase the things that pique your interest, the hobbies that fill up your free time, or the curiosities that keep you wondering? Will we as admissions officers get a good sense of how you will engage in the classroom and how you will contribute to student life should you become a Jumbo?
Proofread!
This isn’t surprising advice and you’ve probably heard this a bunch of times before, but we encourage you to proofread your application for proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling! Mistakes happen, but we would like to see evidence of care throughout your application. If you’ve been working on your application for hours, it may help to step away for some time before checking your work over one last time and submitting.
A Complete Application
Once you submit your application, I’m sure you’ll be ready to take a breath and finally relax after months of hard work. To ensure you can catch a break, it’ll serve you well to check that you have all application requirements ready for submission. Feel free to use this checklist to confirm that your application is complete. If you’re also applying for financial aid, don’t forget those requirements and deadlines as well. A financial aid application checklist can be found here.
The Full Picture
Overall, reflect on whether your application paints a full picture of who you are. As cliché as it sounds, we are looking to learn what makes you you. Be sure to give us as much information as necessary so we can gain a full understanding of who you are as a student, but also as a contributing member of the communities you join. We advise you to truly allow your strengths, personality, charm, curiosities, voice, and passions to shine through. Use the different parts of the application to show us all the multiple aspects of yourself and how you incorporate them into your lived experience and perspective. It's harder for us to accept a student if we feel like we don't know much about them or how they move through the world—it's a competitive applicant pool after all, and we can't take everybody. If you look over the entirety of your application, is your authentic and genuine self coming through the words on the screen? If so, you may be good to go!