If you’ve seen me at any point in the past few months, you’ve heard me talk about Ely. Ely is one of our freshmen this year, and being from Washington he fell directly in my territory when it came time to read applications last winter. A prospective Mathematics and Computer Science major with a potential pre-med track, he spent his senior year juggling various responsibilities such as being captain of his track team, a member of the Chemistry Club, a McDonalds fry cook, a boy scout, and of course a student. Most importantly for this blog post, he is also the author of my single favorite essay this year.
Creativity in essays doesn’t always match up with convenience in blogs, so I’ve bolded the more relevant pieces of his essay to make it easier to read.
/*I'm not too good with words, so I wrote you computer code.
Run this .java program if you feel ambitious,
otherwise I included the output at the bottom of the code.*/
import java.util.Scanner;
public class demonstrateNerdySide{
public static final int THIS_MANY = 2;
public static void main(String[] argv){
for(int howMany = 1; howMany <= THIS_MANY; howMany++){
tellThemHowYouFeel();
goJumbos();
}
/*end foor loop*/
Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println(“\nI sure hope this made my point.”);
System.out.print(“Did it? (Please type \“yes\” or \“no\”; and press enter):”);
String answer = scan.next();
while(!answer.equals(“yes”)&&! answer.equals(“no”)){
System.out.print(“Please type \“yes\” or \“no\” and press enter: ”);
answer = scan.next();
}/*end while*/
if(answer.equals(“yes”)){
System.out.println(“\nYay! Thank you for your time.”);
} else{
System.out.println(“\n...oh, okay then. Thank you for your time.”);
}
} /*I figured more than two loops would be obnoxious.*/
public static void tellThemHowYouFeel(){
System.out.println(“___.._.._\n.|../.\\/.\\”);
System.out.println(“.|..|....|\n.|..\\..../”);
System.out.println(“.|...\\../\n_|_...\\/\n”);
} /*end method*/
public static void goJumbos(){
System.out.print(“___.....___.___”);
System.out.println(“.._\n.|..|.|.|_...|../.\\”);
System.out.print(“.|..|.|.|....|..|_\n |..|”);
System.out.println(“.|.|....|....|”);
System.out.println(“.|..\\_/.|....|..\\_/”);
} /*end method*/
}/*end class*/
/*I apologize if the indents get lost in the system. The periods are there so the spacing doesn't get lost.
The output reads “I <heart-shape> Tufts” in big block letters, two times. Because I do.
Then it asks you if I made my point. If you respond no, it says “...oh, okay then. Thank you for your time,” and if yes, it says “Yay! Thank you for your time.”
I promise. Go Bo's*/
I love this essay. After reading it, I had a pretty good sense of who Ely was. Now, acknowledging that this is one of those essays that will only work once, let me share with you how to recreate Ely’s success but in your setting.
The first thing that Ely did was he kept his essay simple. He didn’t throw 15 different ideas into a single essay to see what stuck, he focused on something that matched his intellectual curiosities and playful nature and he ran with it. When looking at your own essays, ask yourself what one or two points you’re trying to make. We won’t have you around during committee to explain what your essays say about you, so try to keep them concise and clear so that we know what you’re sharing with us.
Second, Ely’s essay was personable. It was smart without being showy and used language that was easy to understand. While someone who has no experience with code may not understand the mechanics of his essay, they clearly can see where he was going and how he got there. We’re looking for students, not robots, so keep your essays light and casual, write how you speak (yes you can use contractions), and have fun with them!
Lastly, his essay was genuine. Here is a boy who admits he’s not the best writer and proceeds to write me my favorite essay, albeit predominantly in a different language. I loved the little flashes of personality like how he worried more than two loops would be obnoxious, or the fact that his code thanked me for my time regardless of how I answered his question. Nowhere in Ely’s essays did he talk about how fun or intellectually playful he is, instead he showed us.
Tufts isn’t composed of imaginary dream students, it’s made up of unique individuals each with their own life experiences. Our job is to find the combination of personalities that make Tufts what it is, use the essay sections to show us yours.