We enroll a diverse array of Jumbo Engineers. Some have years of programming, robotics, and tinkering under their belts. Others are good at math and science but have a nebulous-at-best sense of what the field is all about. We see this as inevitable (not every teenager has access to engineering programs) and inherently positive (variety is the spice of life).
But it raises the question: How can you tell a student is a good fit for Tufts Engineering if the application contains no evidence of, exposure to, involvement in, or clear aptitude for engineering?
Quite often the answer is: the supplement. While the supplement questions do not explicitly address engineering, they provide a platform to showcase your personality and how your mind works. To succeed in engineering students need grit, passion, collaboration, kindness, stick-to-itiveness, creativity… the list goes on and on and these necessary but hard to quantify soft skills are most often evident in a student’s own writing.
Want to know what it looks like?
I’ve pulled pieces of Tufts supplemental essays from recent Tufts applicants (and now students!) and described why they helped the committee see a “fit” for engineering broadly, and Tufts engineering specifically, below.
- The applicant wrote: “The model existed, but we each had a different idea of how to construct the final product. “Bring the tape! WHERE IS THE TAPE!?!! GET OVER HERE, WE NEED MORE TAPE!!” The surrounding groups must have thought that our tape shortage was a life-or-death situation. Regardless, our communication regarding the critical ingredient, tape, became our downfall.”
- The Admissions Office thought: Communication and teamwork are key in engineering, and hindsight is 20/20. This is a student who has already seen the damage that can be done when those traits are lacking, and will enter the program with an infectious calm and collaborative attitude.
- The applicant wrote: “Humor is my coping method… playful interactions can sometimes accomplish what serious ones cannot.”
- The Admissions Office thought: This is the study buddy I want at 3:00am the night before a problem set is due when things get tense and the room would benefit from a little silliness. You’ll probably be everyone’s favorite teaching assistant in COMP11.
- The applicant wrote: “My bike goes up, down, left and right, and so does my mind. I like to work hard towards goals, and I also like having freedom to simply think. Cycling gives me an opportunity to do both.”
- The Admissions Office thought: They can handle the hustle, but won’t let it cloud their mind. This is someone who has the grit for hard work, and the social/emotional/mental balance to keep things in perspective. A zen-like engineer with a love of the outdoors feels Tuftsy to me.
- The applicant wrote: “The older culture in Italy is based in times when people desired progress: The Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Italian Unification, it's all forward momentum. This has made me enchanted with the past, desirous of a return to eras characterized by discovery. More importantly, it has helped me to adopt a similar mentality: an interest in progress, and a desire to contribute to new developments.”
- The Admissions Office thought: Hello, young inventor! A student who doesn’t settle for the status quo, who is the opposite of complacent, who respects the progress of the past while going bravely into the future? I see a future Gordon 100k New Ventures Competition winner in our midst.
Italian history, bikes, duct tape, comedy… the ways you can demonstrate fit for engineering are endless. If this area of study and our program are right for you, the soft skills we’re hunting for will shine through regardless of topic. And that’s how you’ll show us you’re an engineer without a circuit board in sight.