“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…
Why Tufts?
I was recently at a friend’s house, eating latkes and dreidel-shaped cookies to celebrate Hannukah. The common app and Tufts supplement came up in conversation and my friend read her “Why Tufts?” essay aloud to the group of people in the room (cheers to smartphones). Her essay is beautiful in its simplicity: a list of things about Tufts that she found appealing when she was sitting in your position, applying to Tufts. Remarkably she has done everything on her list! I guess this goes to show that my friend is good at knowing what she likes and setting her mind to accomplish her goals.
But what does this mean for you as an applicant to Tufts? It means that there are so many things about Tufts to write about for this supplement question. You can take a list-like approach, sharing the many reasons Tufts is calling your name. Or you can focus on one particular aspect of the university that speaks to you above everything else. Maybe your essay will be somewhere in between, with a sentence or two about several things that you find attractive about Tufts.
Since I included a little about my friend’s essay, it’s only fair that I include mine.
Coming from a small school, I truly appreciate small class size. I have also experienced having the scope of my studies restricted by limited offerings and by scheduling conflicts. Tufts offers its students the benefits of small classes, yet the University also has the allure of a plethora of resources and diverse course offerings. The ExCollege attracts me as a place to take innovative classes, at a new and exciting depth and breadth, with highly engaged peers. As a student who enjoys classes in all disciplines, Tufts’ interdisciplinary minors, including Leadership Studies, particularly appeal to me.
As you can see, I focused on one macro aspect of Tufts, the fact that it’s a medium sized school, and one micro aspect, the ExCollege. Reflecting on this essay, I feel as though I have gotten a lot out of the small class sizes at Tufts—smaller classes create less intimidating environments and also lend themselves to discussion. I took one course through the ExCollege, Gender, Culture and Human Rights, which is definitely in my top three classes at Tufts. I will not be completing any interdisciplinary minors, however. I can say that I have definitely gotten a well-rounded liberal arts education at Tufts, and am interested in several interdisciplinary fields that I may pursue in the future, especially behavioral economics.
There’s no wrong or right answer when it comes to Why Tufts. Talk about something that’s meaningful to you, and I assure you it will come across in your writing.
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