THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE ADMISSIONS.TUFTS.EDU
STEM POWER FOR MARINA RUEDA GARCIA, HOME IS A SCHOOL ENERGIZED BY WOMEN ENGINEERS
COVERING ALL THE BASES
VARSITY ATHLETES WHO HAVE FOUND THEIR BALANCE
TUFTS’ TOP TEN STUDY ABROAD DESTINATIONS
WHAT NEXT?
AN ESSENTIAL TIMELINE FOR THE COLLEGE SEARCH
FROM BIOLOGY TO BARBECUE
10,080 MINUTES IN THE LIFE OF TUFTS SOPHOMORE HASAN KHAN
ISSUE 25 / FALL 2019
M EET JUMBO
These pages were written by Tufts students. Flipping through them should feel like taking a stroll through campus. You’ll meet professors and students; they’ll share with you what excites them. You’ll drop into a class on an unfamiliar topic and leave inspired, dig into some fascinating research, or hang out in a residence hall with potential classmates. Along the way, you might decide that Tufts feels like the right place for you. If that happens, this magazine is also for you—flip to the back where we’ve broken down the basics on applying: deadlines, aid, and our advice. This is Tufts; explore it.
PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY
CONTENTS
FEATURES 24 | What Will You Do? For Gen Zs, the Possibilities Are Off the Charts. Meet a studio artist researching medical conditions and an engineer who plans to work in the film industry.
32 | A Week in the Life of a Tufts Sophomore From biology class to a barbecue to a view of the Boston skyline—one week says a lot.
3 6 10 11 14 22 36 38 39
INFOGRAPHIC LIVING ARTS AROUND TOWN CLASS HIGHLIGHT ATHLETICS APPLICATION ADVICE ADMISSIONS INFO FINANCIAL AID
On the Cover: Marina Rueda Garcia ’21 journeyed 3,500 miles from Granada to the Hill and found a home. COVER PHOTOS BY KATHLEEN DOOHER (FRONT), KELVIN MA/ TUFTS UNIVERSITY (BACK)
GREETINGS
FROM THE DEAN
I’M NEW HERE. I became a Jumbo in September and have spent the past few months reveling in the creativity, energy, kindness, and intellectual vitality of this special community. I have the great fortune of embarking on my Tufts journey alongside a remarkable and diverse cohort of 1,612 first-year and 65 transfer students beginning their own Tufts undergraduate journeys. What lies before us is...endless possibilities. Now, I know full well that many of you have your paths mapped out. You might already know you want to come to Tufts, study biology, attend medical school, and be the person who makes an impactful difference in the well-being of your patients. Or you know you will come to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts, develop an artistic practice that communicates your worldview, and inspire your fellow citizens to see the beauty and the possibility in the world around them. You might be on a clearly defined, visible path. Or you might not. You might expect that this place transforms you, that Tufts exposes you to new and intriguing areas of study, career trajectories, and ways
Most of what you’re about to read was written by these Tufts students. Listen for their voices as they introduce you to the Tufts community, page by page.
THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE
Best,
JT Duck Dean of Admissions
SIWAAR ABOUHALA ’23 from West Harrison, NY
CHRIS PANELLA ’21 from Hollywood, FL
MAGGIE BROSNAN ’23 from London, England
KEESHA PATRON ’21 from San Bruno, CA
JACOB GREENWALD ’23 from Baltimore, MD
VALERIA VELASQUEZ ’23 from Columbia, MO
HASAN KHAN ’22 from Sharon, MA
OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University / Bendetson Hall 2 The Green / Medford, MA 02155 617.627.3170 / admissions.tufts.edu / jumboeditor@tufts.edu
Produced by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Edited by Abigail McFee, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions Design by Hecht/Horton Partners
PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
MEET THE STUDENT COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
of thinking. You might want to try your hand at human factors engineering, or Arabic, or international relations for the very first time. You might have two, three, or seven areas of study that you’d happily pursue… or you might be genuinely undecided, curiously delving into the many possibilities that each university provides. Wherever you are on your educational journey, Tufts might be the place for you. We push our students to explore the curriculum, build bridges across disciplines, engage in groundbreaking research with deeply committed professors, and learn how one area of inquiry can inform another. Our students are immersed in a community that celebrates the performing and visual arts, athleticism, civic engagement, and the exploration of identity and voice. In this issue of JUMBO, you will learn how our Career Center supports students as they embark on their professional journeys, preparing them for evolving career trajectories in the world that awaits them upon graduation. You’ll spend a week in the life of Hasan Khan, a sophomore who embraces the possibilities each day holds for him. You’ll also meet varsity athletes whose time on the field and on the court doesn’t stop them from doing research on bumblebees, coding, and interning at local TV stations. Multiply each of these stories by 5,541 undergraduates, and the volume of possibilities that awaits you becomes evident. Finally, we hope to empower you as you explore the many possibilities within the college application process itself. This issue includes some college search advice direct from the experts (the folks who will read your application to Tufts!), and a “remixed” Tufts supplement from a current student who went through the college application process not too long ago. No two days at Tufts are the same, and no two Tufts journeys are the same. Each day and each journey brings with it an exciting array of possibilities that will prepare and inspire you for the road ahead. Welcome to Tufts.
300+ WAYS TO FIND YOUR BLISS
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Media & Publications The Tufts Daily Tufts Observer TUTV (Tufts University Television) WMFO (Tufts Freeform Radio) Hemispheres
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Tufts students perform, play, create, and serve outside of the box—deepening their high school interests or discovering new talents and communities. With over 300 student clubs and organizations to choose from, it helps to visualize the possibilities.
26 Political
Amnesty International JumboVote Tufts Democrats Tufts Republicans Tufts Labor Coalition
Cultural
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Religious & Philosophical Buddhist Sangha at Tufts Catholic Community at Tufts Tufts Hillel Muslim Students Association Humanist Community
African Student Organization Association of Latin American Students Asian Student Coalition Queer Straight Association Association of Multiracial People Filipinix Student Union French Society Caribbean Student Organization
24 Club Sports Baseball Equestrian Ice Hockey Rock Climbing Volleyball
47 Arts & Performance
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Fraternities ATO of Massachusetts Delta Tau Delta Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Omega Psi Phi Theta Chi
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Pens, Paints, and Pretzels (3Ps) Beelzebubs A Cappella Blackout Step Team Country Swing Dance Cheap Sox Improv Essence A Cappella Encendido Performance Team Major: Undecided Sketch Comedy Bhangra Spirit of the Creative
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Sororities Alpha Phi Chi Omega Delta Sigma Theta Kappa Alpha Theta Lambda Pi Chi, Inc.
Service (through Leonard Carmichael Society) Animal Aid Best Buddies Tufts Food Rescue Generation Citizen Peace Games Strong Women Strong Girls Peer Health Exchange Hunger Project Habitat for Humanity
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INSIDE OUT
A REAL YET RANDOM, PLAYFUL YET SERIOUS SPIN AROUND CAMPUS— AND JUST BEYOND
WATCH THIS SPACE LOCATED IN the Science and Engineering Complex, the Nolop FAST Facility is a maker-
space open to everyone at Tufts. Their goal is helping anyone succeed in making something amazing. In addition to providing well-maintained tools, Nolop teaches you to use them safely while learning the larger iterative design process. The tools at your disposal include 3D printers, a laser cutter, a CNC router, a table saw, and many others. Get to work!
PHAAL’S FALL IN HER SENIOR YEAR, Miranda Phaal ’18 discovered an acrostic
within Paradise Lost that had gone unnoticed for over 350 years (no biggie!). A history major with minors in English and film and media studies, Phaal’s acrostic (a sequence of lines whose first letters spell a new word) is—fittingly—the word “FALL,” referring here to the fall of man and the fall of Satan. Her article forthcoming in Milton Quarterly recounts her discovery and its implications.
EXCOLLEGE: BEHIND THE REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK AWARD-WINNING journalist Jonathan W. Rosen returns to his alma mater to teach this course on the craft of international reporting. What is it like to work as a foreign correspondent? What challenges do journalists face, and how does their work shape our understanding of the world? Texts include the work of both Western and non-Western journalists working across mediums—print, radio, and television. Together with Rosen, students will examine risks posed to journalists by hostile governments, the role of social media, and the ongoing evolution of global media. They will deepen their own skills as reporters along the way.
EXPLORING CIVICS IN THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS THIS PAST AUGUST, 12 first-year students arrived on campus to engage in coursework on the
history and culture of Latin America and on civic studies—learning, in theory and practice, how people advance social change. That’s because these students are spending their first term at Tufts in Urubamba, Peru, as part of Tisch College’s new Civic Semester program. There, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, they’re enjoying a singular experiential learning opportunity: exploring a new culture, improving their Spanish, and learning firsthand how to undertake ethical, effective service through internships at community organizations. It’s a unique way for Jumbos to begin their college education before returning to the Tufts campus in the spring, energized by this challenging but rewarding adventure! 4
DINING HALL HACK: HONEY BUTTER BREAKFAST BISCUIT WHEN CARMICHAEL serves leftover buttermilk biscuits for
breakfast, I always get excited to use them as a base for a next-level breakfast sandwich. Start by toasting the biscuit. Then, add butter and a generous squirt of honey to a small bowl and let it soften in the microwave for a few seconds. Mix the honey butter together, spread it on the biscuit, and then add scrambled eggs, bacon, or sausage. This sandwich is the perfect combination of sweet and savory. As a bonus, it can easily be taken on the go if you’re running late for class!
TUFTS TWEET BEFORE @BetoORourke was on the debate stage last night, he joined us at @TuftsUniversity
last week for a special presidential town hall. #BetoAtTufts
WHAT WE’RE READING WHAT TRUTHS are held in the body? What would hap-
pen if we gave the body a voice? In her new memoir, The Body Papers, Tufts lecturer Grace Talusan chronicles her life as a Filipina immigrant and survivor of trauma and illness, often uncertain of how to move her body through spaces that are unwelcome to it. Writing becomes a form of embodiment in her awardwinning book.
FILM BUFFS UNITE! TUFTS UNIVERSITY Social Collective’s Film Series is the only club on campus that shows
BETO O’ROURKE PHOTO BY ANNA MILLER/TUFTS UNIVERSITY
big-screen films weekly—from Oscar-nominated Lady Bird to fan-favorite Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Running since 1982, Film Series plays a variety of films every weekend, varying the show times for all audiences to see. The best part? The weekend screenings are free for Tufts community members, and usually involve fresh popcorn.
ALOE & AFFIRMATIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE used aloe to soothe sunburn…but what
about mid-semester stress? This event on the Tufts Fenway campus invited students to gather, pot their own aloe plants, and craft affirmations to sustain them in busy weeks. 5
LIVING
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
The newest housing option at Tufts resembles a neighborhood more than a residence hall. Perched on the edge of Tufts’ Hill, steps away from the restaurants and coffee shops of Boston Avenue, a collection of renovated wood-framed houses serves as an on-campus housing option for juniors and seniors seeking greater independence. They’re called CoHo, short for Community Housing. Adjoined backyards offer space to play and gather with students from neighboring houses, fostering the community CoHo was designed to create.
ILLUSTRATION BY JANNE IIVONEN
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PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
Studying economics has given Matt a plan for enacting social change— in his own community and elsewhere.
Every morning, Matthew Tolbert rode the bus to his school in the heart of Nashville, TN. Looking out the window of the bus, he saw firsthand what many consider the “economic boom” of Nashville. Money was flowing into the city, new skyscrapers were being constructed, and posh restaurants were opening. However, despite all of the economic growth, some things remained the same. “People who were poor in the city before the boom remained poor,” Matthew explains. Now a junior at Tufts, Matt is trying to change that. Although he initially applied to Tufts to study international relations, after taking an economics class, he realized economics could be the route to solving the problems that interested him. As an economics major, he is well aware of the reputation his major can have. “I think economics gets a bad rap,” he tells me. “Most people think that it’s all about making money. Maybe that rings true at other schools, but at Tufts, most of my econ classes never even talk about money.” Despite his love for economics, Matt’s favorite class at Tufts so far has had no relation to his major. “My Intro to Architecture course set the tone for my entire career at Tufts,” Matt says. Despite it being a lecture-based class, Matt connected immediately with Professor Diana Martinez. He discovered that they had very similar interests, including a shared fascination with Southern history. “We were both incredibly interested in confederate monuments and their place in the South,” he said. “Professor Martinez encouraged me to write my final paper on how these monuments affect the American psyche.” Matt’s passion for civic engagement began at a young age, with a keen interest in Nashville’s local politics. This past summer, through the Tisch
Summer Fellows Program, Matt worked for the National Housing Rehabilitation Center in DC. While the experience was incredible, and he loved working in DC, he hasn’t lost his love for regional politics. In past summers, Matt returned to Tennessee to work on several political campaigns. He served as the financial assistant to Governor Phil Bredesen during his campaign for senator, as well as a consultant for the Democratic House Caucus. Matt brings this civic service back to Tufts as a Tisch Scholar and the leader of Jumbo Vote. Their mission is to “empower Tufts students to engage in our democracy in every way,” Matt tells me. Their primary objective is ensuring that every student has an equal opportunity to vote. For Matt, talking about local elections comes as naturally as breathing. When I ask him what Jumbo Vote does in the offcycle, he begins talking about gubernatorial races happening in Virginia and Louisiana, as well as a mayoral race in San Francisco. “There are a lot of students here from Northern Virginia,” he says. “So that’s going to be a particularly important race, especially because the balance of power in the House of Delegates is up for grabs.” To Matt, being involved in community politics doesn’t just mean knowing what is going on in Nashville. He believes that community development is the key to our country’s success, but it can’t just be left to “other people’s communities.” Matt suggests that the solution to these problems—everything from education inequality to the eradication of poverty—comes down to paying attention. While his view has expanded beyond the bus window he grew up peering through, so has his understanding—and his capacity for impact. —JACOB GREENWALD ’23
MATTHEW TOLBERT
’21
ECONOMICS MAJOR FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
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ARTS HIGHLIGHT
MUSIC TO OUR EARS Drawing upon the talents of majors and non-majors alike, the Tufts Music Department is known for its vibrant— and nearly constant—calendar of events, featuring guest artists, student orchestras and ensembles, craft talks by Tufts professors, and performances by community members. Explore these snippings from the Music Department’s fall catalogue.
Tufts Wind Ensemble Presents: Mid-Century Modern “The post-World War II era saw music for bands take off as a group of young American composers wrote pieces for schools, colleges, and professional groups that continue to be the heart of the repertoire today. TUWE will perform a collection of these works by Walter Piston, Vincent Persichetti, William Schuman, and Howard Hanson. John McCann, director.” Tufts Composers: How to Fall Slowly “Ease into autumn with a varied program of new works by Tufts composers—students, faculty, and alumni.” Tufts Third Day Gospel Choir “Join the 220-voice Tufts Third Day Gospel Choir as they present their fall concert.” What Do I Always Do? How Composers Get Stuck “Tufts Professor of Music John McDonald presents a colloquium in the Varis Lecture Hall. Lunch to be served after the lecture.”
Tufts Arab Music Ensemble: Exploring Palestinian Music from Past to Present “Tufts Arab Music Ensemble explores and presents a concert of Palestinian music, including folk songs and contemporary compositions by Palestinian composers. Naseem Alatrash, director.” Robert Black: Insomniac Do’s and Don’ts “Guest artist and double bass virtuoso Robert Black presents a recital featuring Philip Glass’s The Not Doings of an Insomniac, commissioned by Black. Betwixt each of its seven parts, Black recites poetry by Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, David Byrne, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, and Arthur Russell. In addition, Black spotlights several works written for him by Tufts Composers alongside an improvised dialogue with guest bassist Andrew Blickendorfer.” 10
PHOTO BY PAULO SOUSA / EYEEM VIA GETTY IMAGES
Pasajes: An Afro Latin Musical Odyssey “Professor Joel LaRue Smith presents a concert of original Latin Jazz compositions. The complexity and profundity of Latin American music illustrates its significant relation to jazz and music of the African Diaspora. Bringing Afro Latin Jazz to Tufts ensures that we are establishing a social context of the contributions that this music has made on influencing the landscape of popular American culture by breaking stereotypes and fostering dialogues as powerful tools towards ‘reconditioning’ and changing the conversation about social justice.”
AROUND TOWN
Nothing compares to a Boston fall, so we present: an unofficial bucket list. Check one item off the list, check a few—or check them all.
Fall Gala The most celebrated shindig of the fall might happen right on Tufts’ lawn. Technically a “last hurrah” of summer, Fall Gala takes place annually on one of the first weekends of the new academic year. Enjoy lights strung through the trees, live music, lawn games, and food—all the food. Apple Picking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards Apple picking encompasses everything autumnal in New England: foliage, hay rides, hot cider, and of course—apples. Each October, Tufts sponsors a getaway to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA, known for its surprisingly difficult corn maze and its piping hot, oh-so-fresh cider donuts. Let’s be real; they’re the reason we go. Fall Foliage in the Fells Spanning 2,575 acres of trails, ponds, and boulders, the Middlesex Fells Reservation is a favorite quick trip (six minutes by car) for Tufts students. Pack a thermos of apple cider, hop in the car, and peep leaves to your heart’s content—blazing oranges, yellows, and reds as far as the eye can see!
Leaf Pile on the Prez Lawn When Tufts trees shed their leaves, there is only one thing to do—grab some friends, get in ultimate leaf-scooping formation, and build a leaf pile that could rival our Hill. You know what comes next. Jump carefully. College Fridays at the Museum of Science Every Friday in September, thousands of Bostonarea college students flock to the Museum of Science to roam with the dinosaurs—well, their 65-million-year-old fossils and life-sized models, that is. Catch a lightning show in the Theater of Electricity, watch a Live Animal Presentation, and make some new friends (furry, or otherwise). Boston Book Festival Hosted downtown in Copley Square, the two-day Boston Book Festival has a stacked celebrity lineup—that is, if literary idols are your version of celebrities, and you put the “book” in “book it from one session to another to meet as many as you can.” Make Believe at the Museum of Fine Arts Tufts students know that “MFA” also secretly stands for “Mighty Free Admission.” Seize that perk to wander in a world of Make Believe. This fall exhibition features the work of five contemporary photographers who use the lens of fantasy to address social and cultural issues. Somerville Flea Market A short walk from campus in Davis Square, the Somerville Flea is an open-air vintage and artisan market that spans from June through October. Live music, snacks-for-purchase, and a sea of knickknacks make for the ideal Sunday afternoon, remembering how lucky we are to live where we do.
BOSTON IN THE FALL: A BUCKET LIST 11
MISHA KILMER Only minutes after I sit down with Professor Kilmer, she enthusiastically offers to show me examples of her latest research. She scrolls through a presentation full of linear algebra theorems, finally landing on a set of X-ray phantoms that subtly but effectively grow clearer and clearer. Professor Kilmer laughs gently, fearing that she will overwhelm me with her explanations of breast tissue imaging and datalimited problem sets, but her breakdown of complex concepts leaves me far more intrigued than frightened. As a professor of applied mathematics, Kilmer is abundantly passionate about the work she does, particularly her interdisciplinary research. “There are lots of fascinating mathematical questions with multilinear algebra, and we’re collecting more and more data in the last couple of decades that’s right at the cutting edge,” she states. Professor Kilmer’s research is largely focused on using new methods to create defined and efficient medical images that can be constructed with the use of less data, like those collected by X-ray machines. In particular, she uses a method called dictionary learning, which limits the data to certain constraints to make the processing of an image both faster and more unique. Her research is especially influential in a medical world that is constantly trying to streamline processes. Professor Kilmer sums up the nature of her field when she tells me, “A lot of what a mathematician has to overcome is a language barrier. If you want to work on this problem in science or this problem in engineering, you have to invest the time to figure out what the practitioner is really wanting.” With a view that overlooks the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), Professor Kilmer’s office symbolizes the fascinating overlap between mathematics and technology. Because many of her research questions are driven by science and engineering problems, she often engages in cross-departmental collaboration. Professor Kilmer proudly notes that Tufts’ medium-sized campus makes it easier for faculty to collaborate. “We have low barriers to
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interdisciplinary research,” she explains. “This is a smaller school, the faculty know each other because we are on different committees together, and it’s not a far walk for me to go to the SEC.” While working with engineering faculty is commonplace for Professor Kilmer, she’s also very willing to get students involved in her research. She mentions one former student, Eric Kernfield, who got in touch with her out of the blue after learning about her research online. “We ended up writing a paper that came out in 2015 and is getting a lot of citations now,” Kilmer states. “You look around this department and there are people doing all this world-class research and students can start working on projects [as undergraduates].” Opportunities for undergraduate research in data science and applied mathematics at Tufts will only continue to grow, because of a grant given by the National Science Foundation. These grants are the result of joint efforts amongst faculty, of which Professor Kilmer has been an active part. She hopes that the grant will further the involvement of students in dynamic research, noting that “students are the key to some of the most interesting projects that we will ever get our hands on because they have the interest, and sometimes the disciplinary training, to talk across fields.” Though Professor Kilmer is eager and excited to take on the sabbatical year of fruitful academia that is ahead of her, she makes it clear that she misses direct involvement with students. After her sabbatical, she hopes to come back with a revitalized perspective on her career as well as building up her graduate program and promoting a strong undergraduate research presence in her department. Though Professor Kilmer is set to be “just a professor” when she returns in the fall, she will return as so much more to her students—by continuing to encapsulate the Tufts value of fostering a genuine passion for knowledge. —VALERIA VELASQUEZ ’23
PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
WILLIAM WALKER PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF MATHEMATICS, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
“A lot of what a mathematician has to overcome is a language barrier.�
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CLASS HIGHLIGHT
POSSIBILITIES Nothing broadens possibilities quite so much as the creation of new departments, majors, and minors, allowing students to explore deeply relevant topics, often for the first time. Below, you’ll find just three courses offered as part of new Tufts programs: colonialism studies (a major), civic studies (a major), and museums, memory, and heritage (a minor). CST 0094-02: Racial Politics and Urban Space in the US How can the history of racism in the United States be understood through the activism and struggles of urban-based social movements? How have policing technologies, forms of violence, and governing assumptions made racial segregation an enduring reality in America? As capitalist modernity began to make city life the majority experience in the US in the early 20th century, a range of formidable forces intersected in the creation of these expanding metropolitan areas. This course will highlight the radical changes that US urban centers have undergone historically and the role that race, racism, and racial politics have played in these transformations. Participants will examine these shifting and fluid realms not simply as cartographic places frozen on maps but also as ideas and myths that have helped construct US nationalism and settler colonialism, and helped bolster anti-racist visions. This course will feature examinations of Boston, Seattle, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities. —Thomas Abowd, Senior Lecturer, Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora CVS 150-03: Science and Civic Action This course teaches students conceptual approaches and practical skills needed to effectively create change on science-based issues that impact our lives and communities. The course links science issues to our professional, personal, and civic responsibilities and equips students to help others make critical choices on divisive or complex science issues. Future scientists and engineers will acquire skills that build civic capacities, while students from the humanities and social sciences will learn skills indispensable for positive civic action. This course aims to strengthen inclusivity through pluralistic and dialogic approaches to science learning and civic action. —Jonathan Garlick, Tisch College Senior Fellow for Civic Science
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VISC 0122: Reassessing Museums: Collecting and Art, Biting the Hand that Feeds As museum collections have expanded, so have their responsibilities, making these institutions some of the premier disseminators of knowledge. In some instances, museum collections can reflect the values of collectors wanting to advance and secure both their economic and social interests, but not necessarily the interests of society at large. Some museums act as receptacles of social artifacts and artistic objects organized to display the historical development and notable artistic achievements of those cultures they exhibit. This course examines the constantly changing roles of museums, and their complicated social, political, and cultural agendas. The wide existence of museums worldwide (over 100,000 by some accounts) makes it clear there is no single way to understand their complicated workings. However, students in this class will examine (through class lectures, discussions, assigned readings, and museum visits) a variety of institutions and issues related to their exhibiting and acquiring collections, to mine the ways museums operate in the 21st century. —Eulogio Guzman, Senior Lecturer, SMFA at Tufts
ILLUSTRATION BY ©2019 KEITH NEGLEY C/O THEISPOT.COM
F ROM CLASSROOM TO CONVERSATION
Professor Kendall Reiss, who teaches small metals and sculpture at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts, is known for her work with atmospheric oxidation, producing stunning glimmering copper and teal “blooming metals.” Similarly, Kendall is known for helping her students bloom, pushing them to expand upon their artistic practices. She sat down with her independent study mentee, combined degree student and sculptor Ezri Horne ’22, to discuss mentorship, collaboration, and their identities as artists. —MAGGIE BROSNAN ’23
Ezri Horne: I think that really speaks to how SMFA works. You don’t have to take a class with somebody to end up building a relationship and learning from them.
The SMFA at Tufts is both a small and intensely creative environment. How do you think that contributes to the relationships that you build with your teachers, professors, and mentors? EH: Because of how small the school is, you have the opportunity for people to really know you, and for you to really know them. It’s a lot less intimidating to reach out to people if you’re interested in their work. And it does lend itself to being more productive because you get to shape what you want to learn and what opportunities you want to pursue.
In what ways have you supported each other’s artistic practices, or altered the way that you approach the creation of art? KR: Being in a creative environment like this means our work is constantly being enriched by all of the things that we see around us. I feel like I am teaching, and I am learning. I’m still in that process. I’m in the classroom and I’m soaking up as much energy from my students as the knowledge they are learning from me. It is a reciprocal relationship… We work together to teach each other things.
KR: The creativity is concentrated in a way that helps students to identify a practice that is going to work for them for their entire lives. This is something that they carry with them. They’re learning the skills they need to work in studios, but also learning about resources that exist outside of the studios, and how to work within the idea of community. I think that really boils back down to thinking of the SMFA as a structure that’s emphasizing how you move through an artistic practice in a way that’s sustainable, in a way that’s supported by your identity as an artist. The intensity here is about the artistic practice, about learning how to be an artist.
EH: We’ve had a meeting [for my independent study], and I already have a reading list. I think research has been a missing piece of my practice, trying to place what I’m doing in a larger history and tradition, so working with Kendall has already helped me put in that kind of necessary research.
EH: Here, you get assignments, but they don’t have to fulfill a specific set of requirements or demonstrate a specific skill. It’s about how to take an artistic skill and then apply it to your own life and experience. It always has to come back to who you are as the artist, who you’re trying to speak to, and what you want to say.
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PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
How did you meet? Kendall Reiss: I first became acquainted with Ezri and her work through an exhibition of student work at the end of her spring semester freshman year. I was really impressed by it. It was all very happenstance—I saw [Ezri’s] work, then I met [her]. I’ve always had an interest in what she has been doing here as a student, and we are now doing an independent study together this fall.
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PA I N
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The best learning is experiential, pushing students outside of their Acomfort C C R A zones—or time , GHA Nhalf zones. Over A of Tufts juniors choose to study abroad in a full-year or semester-long program, many of them opting to K O N Gin one of ten participate HONG LONDON, UK Tufts-run study abroad programs. Explore the possibilities below.
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BMEAIDJRII D , NG, C HINA
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BEIJING GHANA A fall semester option, Tufts in Beijing takes stu- Tufts in Ghana is a fall semester program taught in dents to Beijing Normal University (BNU), where they English at the University of Ghana in Legon, just engage in intensive language training in Mandarin outside of the booming capital city of Accra. With a Chinese and explore Chinese culture. Tufts stu- tropical climate, gorgeous landscapes, and plenty dents live in a dormitory at BNU, enriching their of amazing food, Tufts students can spend their time experience and helping them build meaningful con- exploring Ghana and all it has to offer. Extracurricular nections with other students—BNU has nearly activities and trips visit places like the the National 10,000 undergraduate students, so there are plenty Park at Kakum, the National Cultural Center in of people to meet! Both the resident director and Kumasi, and the National Theater in Accra. In additeachers at the College of Chinese Language and tion, students take three weekend trips to the Dagbe Culture guide students through tours of museums, Center for Arts and Culture in the village of Kopeyia FRANCE PARIS, CHINA instruct students in Chinese cooking, and sponsor to foster a better understanding and appreciation HINA , Coffers long-distance trips to places like Shanghai, Xi’an, of Ghanaian culture. Tufts in Ghana also NG I J I Estudents, including Nanjing, and Shaoxing. plenty of coursework optionsBfor dance, political science, and English. CHILE A Tufts in Chile is a fall semester or yearlong HONG KONG Nprogram G H A have the Set in a vibrant and modern city, Tufts in Hong Kong A ,students based in Santiago, Chile!CTufts R A Ca Chilean host family, take presents students with a unique spring semester opportunity to live with classes with Chilean students at the local Pontificia opportunity. Hong Kong is known for its bustling Universidad Católica de Chile and intern at locations urban center and high-class food scene, but there’s around the city including the Museo de la Memoria plenty to explore beyond that—beautiful nature, y los Derechos Humanos (Museum of Memory and mountains, and parks. At the University of Hong Human Rights), which memorializes the human rights Kong, students live in a double room and take abuses under the Pinochet dictatorship, or working classes in subjects like art history, economics, and as an assistant ESL teacher at a local colegio. electrical engineering. Courses are taught in Students also have the opportunity to travel both English, but students are encouraged to take lanwithin Chile and in Latin America to locations such guage and culture classes to help them in their time as Machu Picchu, Patagonia, Buenos Aires, and in Hong Kong. Outside of the classroom, students more! Tufts in Chile is an incredible opportunity for go on regular cultural excursions and dinners, meetany Tufts student interested in exploring Latin ing new people and connecting with other Tufts America and deepening their Spanish proficiency.
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students in the program. There are plenty of opportunities for traveling, and each residence hall has its own student association that’s focused on clubs and activities. It’s an ideal program for students interested in living and learning in one of the most exciting cities in the world.
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JAPAN E ANC A full year or semester in Kanazawa, one, of F Rthe S I most beautiful cities in Japan, is full PAofRmany opportunities for Tufts students! Located on the Japan Sea, Kanazawa is an ancient castle town and was the administrative center of the Kaga Domain from 1600 to 1868. There’s a deep mark of artisans, artists, and crafters on the town, and Tufts in Japan students can spend their time taking the train across the island, with Osaka just two hours away and Tokyo a two-and-a-half-hour ride away. To make the transition easier, students are paired with a Japanese family for short homestay visits throughout the semester. But sometimes the lack of a comfort zone can help students learn more. “The best part of my trip to Japan was experiencing what it means to be an outsider. I was able to step out of my comfort zone into a different culture, and because of that, I’ve been able to look at my own life and experiences in a more holistic and empathetic way!” (John Fedak ’19) LONDON With four different universities as options—the University College London (UCL), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the University
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of the Arts, London (UAL), and Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL)—Tufts in London students can spend either a fall semester, a spring semester, or the full year across the pond. There is a wide range of courses to take, but the subjects usually depend on the institution’s focus. Students live on or near campus in residence halls. Most students elect to cook for themselves, but there are plenty of free or highly subsidized dinners, trips, cultural events, and activities. Tufts in London students travel throughout the country during their stay, but there are plenty of ways to hop off the British Isles and explore Pmainland Europe.
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FR MADRID AN C A semester or yearlong program, Tufts ACCRA, GHANA E in Madrid prompts students to study at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in Cantoblanco and the University of Alcalá (UAH), or pursue university-level coursework at the Tufts in Madrid Program Center. There are multiple excursions and a Spanish peer mentor program, in which local students help guide Tufts students. With a host family housing situation, the program’s goal is to enrich students’ lives with a deeper understanding of Spanish culture and language. “Studying abroad in Madrid was a totally transformative and eye-opening experience that completely changed my relationship to myself and to the world. Putting myself into a cultural context that was foreign to me was incredibly challenging, but it allowed me to gain new perspective and become a more well-rounded and compassionate
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person. My Spanish skills also improved tenfold— overall it was an unforgettable experience that I’d recommend to anyone!” (Lexi Serino ’20)
OXFORD A full-year program, Tufts in Oxford is focused at Pembroke College—a smaller, friendlier, and informal college founded in 1624 with a current student body of around 500 and an emphasis on a balance between intellectual activities as well as sports, music, and drama. There are a few more academic requirements, including a minimum GPA, to enter this program, but the variety of academic subjects available makes it all worthwhile. One of the most popular aspects of student life on campus is The Oxford Union, a student debating society that BEIJING, CHINA brings prestigious speakers and guests from a variety of backgrounds. All students live in single rooms in Pembroke College and have the opportunity to go on regular cultural excursions, including trips, cultural events, and dinners with the Tufts in London program.
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PARIS This yearlong or semester program offers courses in French institutions of higher education in Paris, like the University of Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle), University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne), University of Paris VII (Paris Diderot), and the Institut Catholique. Students participating in the yearlong program can also obtain a part-time internship at sites including small French companies, NGOs, or art galleries. In their free time, students explore
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Iwhat A Gthe city has to offer. “I spent a lot of time O exploring, Paris C H on foot… Most things I did were I Land centered on food E trying pastries, restaurants, bakeries, baguettes, etc. That allowed me to get a pretty good sense of different neighborhoods and what made them unique,” says Taylor Wurts ’20. All students live with a host family and are housed individually so they can hone their language skills and experience French family life firsthand. Paris’ artistic, literary, and architectural histories make for a rich place for Tufts students to live.
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TÜBINGEN Through this program, 20 Tufts students are completely integrated into the German university system, studying at the Eberhard Karls University, PARIS, FRANCE founded in 1477. With more than 280 areas of study and the option for a full-year program or a springsemester program, Tufts in Tübingen students have plenty of amazing opportunities to look forward to. Students usually get involved with clubs and activities on top of coursework—especially soccer—and can pursue internships at schools, hospitals, government offices, and more. Students live in the studentenwohnheime (student dormitories) and can spend their time traveling across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. There are plenty of festivals, concerts, sports events, and exhibitions to attend!
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JOURNEY TO THE HILL
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PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
“I belong here.”
MARINA RUEDA GARCIA
’21
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR FROM GRANADA, SPAIN
Ever since she was little, Marina Rueda Garcia has delighted in learning through doing. When she began her college search, it was a dream to her that the School of Engineering at Tufts not only enables students to apply concepts every day in small-sized laboratory courses but also guides students towards research and internship opportunities at the undergraduate level. Two years after first entering Tufts, Marina describes to me her 3,500-mile journey from Spain to the Hill. As the only student in her class to leave Spain for college, Marina was terrified to start a new life abroad. But upon entering the pre-orientation program GO, short for Global Orientation, she felt less alone. Reflecting on the enthusiastic, caring student leaders that welcomed her onto campus, she feels happy that she was able to “find [her] community right away” and have the resources to help her through culture shock. Through GO, she was pleased to meet new friends who also traveled from worlds away and, with them, share “what home means” to her. Marina’s positive experience as a first-year motivated her to contribute to the program as a second-year host advisor. Marina declares GO to be one of her favorite experiences at Tufts. Now entering her junior year, she remains close friends and neighbors with her co-participants and co-advisors. Marina beams when she speaks about the collaborative and positive energy she encounters in her academic classes each and every day. Though in high school she felt isolated as the sole woman in her 20-student STEM classes, she pushed through others’ alienating comments and gender expectations to take the engineering classes she loved. Upon entering Tufts, she was amazed at how, in her entering class, nearly 50% of incoming engineers identified as women. Marina was hopeful that she “would not feel out of place anymore.” During
her first day of classes, when her ideas were greeted with the same consideration as those of her male classmates, she felt that she could confidently say, “I belong here.” This fall, she is most excited to craft independent projects on chemical reactions in her biotechnology processes laboratory course. Through direct application of the concepts she has learned, she is eager to further shape her view of how she will apply her coursework in the chemical engineering field. When considering her academic support system, Marina makes sure to credit the strong women who support her throughout the highs and lows of chemical engineering. She feels continually empowered by her mother, who studied engineering and taught her that she deserves to take up space and pursue what she is passionate about. At Tufts, Marina is inspired by her major advisor Ayse Asatekin, who is an international chemical engineering professor specializing in polymer science. Glowing with pride for her ever-helpful mentor, she shares that “it is really comforting” to see a woman of similar circumstances achieve success in chemical engineering and be able to think, “Okay. I can do this too!” During their one-on-one meetings, Marina always looks forward to receiving helpful advice and tasty chocolates. To Marina, home is her family and how they treat each other. She hopes to bring a piece of home to Tufts in her everyday life, as she tries to hold the same values that she learned from her parents. And through giving guidance to sophomores as a community development assistant, offering support to other international students as a Global Orientation host advisor, and attending lunches with prospective applicants as a mentor, she does just that. —KEESHA PATRON ’21
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ATHLETICS
IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: ATH Conor Jay Chepenik ’20 Jacksonville, FL
Radhika Joshi ’21 Fremont, CA
Major and Minor: Computer Science, Engineering Management Sport: Squash Other Campus Involvements: Teaching Assistant for Comp15 (Data Structures Course), member of JumboCode
Major and Minor: Film and Media Studies, Entrepreneurial Leadership Sport: Football Other Campus Involvements: Member of TUTV, library patron at the Ginn Library, and resident of the Spanish House
How have you found balance as a varsity athlete and student? In order to balance athletics, academics, and extracurriculars, I have had to learn to manage my time and prioritize my tasks well.
How have you found balance as a varsity athlete and student? Less sleep. (Laughs.) All jokes aside, it can be challenging, but time management skills really help. Our Head Football Coach, Jay Civetti, has required everyone on the team to fill out a schedule for their entire week. The team does it every Sunday, and even though it takes a good 15 minutes to fill out, having a weekly schedule is really beneficial to staying on top of school, athletics, and extracurriculars.
Have you done an internship or research in your time at Tufts? I interned at Microsoft as a software engineer the summer after my sophomore year, where I worked on a team of eight interns and collaborated with the Applied AI and Branding teams to create a mobile application that makes the museum experience more engaging using artificial intelligence. I also interned at Broadcom (a software company) as a software engineer the summer after my freshman year, where I worked on the Agile Development team. I spent the summer applying machine learning algorithms to different data sets to conclude what metrics cause a device to malfunction. What is a passion you have discovered during your time at Tufts? I have discovered that I have a passion for coding and encouraging young girls to go into tech. What is your favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Tufts? My favorite thing about being a student-athlete is definitely my team, which is an amazing resource. From my team members to my coach, it’s very comforting to know I have such a strong support system of amazing people who care about me. 22
Have you done an internship or research in your time at Tufts? The summer after my sophomore year, I worked at the local television station in Jacksonville. I got to help shoot and edit teasers for the news and assist live TV shows like River City Live, a local TV program showcasing the highlights of Jacksonville, FL. This past summer I interned at a company called Proyeccion Films in Bogota, Colombia. I wrote script coverage, assisted with powerpoints, and input scripts into Movie Magic. What is a passion you have discovered during your time at Tufts? Filmmaking. I was always interested in content creation growing up, but I never made anything of my own until I got to Tufts. What is your favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Tufts? Having teammates who I love. I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had from the football team, and I’m so grateful for that.
HLETES WHO DO IT ALL Christina Nwankpa ’20 Round Rock, TX
Maria Ostapovich ’20 Fort Collins, CO
Major: Biopsychology Sport: Volleyball Other Campus Involvements: Minority Association of Pre-Health Students, Tufts Athletes of Color, and Leonard Carmichael Society
Major: Biology Sport: Softball Other Campus Involvements: Tufts Pollinators Initiative
How have you found balance as a student and varsity athlete? In order to balance everything, I had to develop my time management skills and learn to prioritize certain things over others.
How have you found balance as a varsity athlete and student? I think what helps me the most is just focusing on one thing at a time. I know I can get overwhelmed when I think about everything going on all at once, but if I remind myself to just take everything one step at a time, it gets so much easier to balance everything.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
Have you done an internship or research in your time at Tufts? I have done research at the University of Texas where I focused on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in zebrafish. I have also done research at NYU Medical School where I worked with microscope worms to determine which proteins are responsible for cell division and specialization in early embryonic development. What is a passion you have discovered during your time at Tufts? During my time and experiences while at Tufts I have discovered my passion for medicine—specifically focused on female health issues in women from lower socioeconomic statuses. I have always been interested in medicine, especially pregnancy. I believe that all women should be privy to the basic medical practices to better their health, regardless of where they come from. What is your favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Tufts? Tufts has the perfect combination of academic rigor, a hardworking athletic community, and the flourishing city of Boston. Being 15 minutes from Boston brings great opportunities to explore and try new things. Going to Tufts allows me to be dedicated to my sport but still gives me the time to explore other interests.
Have you done an internship or research in your time at Tufts? Yes, I have done research in the Tufts Biology Department through a National Science Foundation grant. Most recently I have been doing research on bumblebees, specifically looking at how they allocate their resources and how that influences worker body size. I came across this opportunity through a professor of one of my classes who was looking for an undergraduate researcher. What is a passion you have discovered during your time at Tufts? I love doing art in any form (drawing, painting, etc.) whenever possible. I realized that it makes me feel so much better when I take the time to do something I really enjoy, and since I’ve been at Tufts I appreciate it more than ever. What is your favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Tufts? My favorite thing about being a student-athlete is the community. I love the bonds that I have formed with my teammates, but I also love the sense of togetherness that binds all of the Tufts athletes. 23
ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN JOHNSON
FOR GEN ZS, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE OFF THE CHARTS Consider this prediction: by age 50, members of Generation Z (that mostly likely includes you, reading this magazine) will have had on average 11 different careers, most of which don’t yet exist. Interesting. The idea of taking coursework to prepare oneself for a career (singular) seems to go out the window when faced with a fact like that. Well, yikes. Are you sweating? Are your parents sweating? Is it just me? But this is where the situation gets interesting. What would happen if colleges could offer coursework that crosses disciplines and perspectives, preparing students with the critical and creative thinking skills they need in order to thrive in any number of possible careers—and even to embrace that idea of “possibility”? Is that possible? By Chris Panella ’21
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AS A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT, THE PHRASE “LIBERAL ARTS” SOUNDED TO ME LIKE A HOT BUZZWORD IN THE WORLD OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS. The concept of liberal arts also seemed a bit old—it is, in fact, the oldest form of higher education in the world. Now, as a student, I realize that the liberal arts are more relevant today than ever. If I’ve found any synonym, it’s exploration. Taking classes in multiple academic areas—at Tufts, we have languages, arts, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and natural sciences—is a fantastic way to discover interests. But a liberal arts education isn’t simply making Tufts students into well-rounded scholars. It goes beyond undergraduate education, and into the workforce. Outside of Tisch Library on a sunny September afternoon, Christopher Markus ’20 tells me about his passions, which root back to high school. “I started doing lighting in high school,” Markus says. “I joined stage crew and lit musicals, plays, and variety shows. And being exposed to that in high school, I got involved with theater here my first semester.” Since then, Markus has done lighting on student productions of musicals and plays, as well as films. It’s no small feat to light something—it takes the knowledge of how the technology and the bulbs work, along with the creativity to decide what looks good and what doesn’t. For Markus, an electrical engineering major, there exists a unique balance between the two. “I enjoy doing graphic design and arts-related things,” Markus says, smiling, “but it’s hard for me to think about the technical side without thinking about the artistic side.” For Markus, neither exists in a vacuum. He describes himself as someone who likes to build. “I used to build some of my own equipment before I could afford to buy it. I built this RGB lightbar that I used on a few shoots. You could control it with a phone app, and it was pretty useful.” And while Markus plans to stay at Tufts one year after his graduation to get his MS in computer engineering, he tells me he won’t give up working creatively. “I’m always going to be doing something artistic,” he insists. Markus has always made technology with the consumer in mind, and often that consumer is himself. He thinks about what will look and feel good for the consumer, and he suggests that a long-term goal would be developing technology for the film industry. Many students at Tufts have similarly ambitious long-term goals, although the goal themselves differ. For Elena Phethean ’20, one of the best opportunities for growth at Tufts came with an internship. This past summer, Phethean was a development and special events intern at GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders). “I’m interested in human rights as a whole,” she says, “but also improving queer health outcomes, whether that’s community work or nonprofit work or something else.” Describing her work with GLAD, she tells me, “It was so great to work in an organization that is so socially, but also professionally, queer focused. It was meaningful to see a concrete example of what work can be done.”
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Phethean, a double major in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS) and community health, mentions the common, often generational view of WGSS and its more diverse job field. “There can be such a weird stigma around it, like the classic ‘What job are you going to get?’ line. It was influential to work at a place where there’s meaningful [impact] in that field,” she says. GLAD is heavily focused on litigation, advocacy, and educating people on their individual rights. Phethean says her day-to-day activities were busy and varied, including everything from communications about events to learning more about donors and getting them involved in GLAD’s work. GLAD also helped Phethean see something she didn’t necessarily expect in her future. “I’m definitely considering law as a path, and also social work,” she says. “I’ve thought about working with LGBTQ+ youth, something more community focused.” Phethean came to Tufts undecided and finds value in that—and how it transfers to her future. She mentions that she’d like to apply for a variety of jobs and see what calls to her. “There are so many different avenues to go down,” she concludes. And the various skills she’s learned from classes and internships—Phethean tells me she interned at a medical center and Family Equality Council prior to GLAD—all help to develop the wide range of career paths she can explore. A liberal arts education can be a starting point for students to find an interest in something unexpected—even a subject that is rooted in personal history. For School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts alumna Helen Driscoll, her own experience with scoliosis sparked an artistic interest in creating a representation of the medical condition, its treatment, and its history. Driscoll was braced for scoliosis using an experimental form of corrective equipment. Her brace deviated from historically implanted methods in that it was a lot softer and could be worn under clothing virtually undetected to the untrained eye. While this was designed and intended as a benefit, it functioned to produce a silent burden she carried unknown to her peers. Few knew about her diagnosis, and fewer still understood the difficulty of the bracing process. For Driscoll, it sparked a dysmorphic view of her body, the effects of which were systematic and pervasive. In an effort to harness this hardship, Driscoll developed a drive to produce work on her condition. “I got into this project about my relationship with my body as a vessel and a home,” she says. “I worked on my regions of pain physically and mapping my spine out, and people became really interested in that and wanted to see more work about that.” Driscoll didn’t want this work to be just for her. She wanted it to feel representative of everyone living with scoliosis—a project that encompassed both the internal and external. So, she researched the history, science, and work behind the bracing of scoliosis.
ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN JOHNSON
In her historical research, Driscoll found that women were around ten times more likely to be braced for scoliosis than men because of the structures of their bodies. She looked into what has changed in the treatment of scoliosis. “Knowing it was a pretty gendered experience [to be braced], I found that all of the braces were made by men,” Driscoll explains, “with no care to the female body, especially during puberty.” She found that her brace made menstruation difficult, a flaw in the design. She calls scoliosis a very personal and silent condition, and hopes that her work showcases what that struggle looks like. She also discovered in her medical research that, in the past, scoliosis was viewed as a bone problem—that is, being caused by an issue in spine growth. “I found this study that suggested it might be a miscommunication between the brain and the body,” she says. “And that your brain doesn’t realize your body is slumped over, so it doesn’t correct it. In your formative years, your spine tries to correct it.” If the study is true, she says, then people have been going about bracing wrong for years. And this means that Driscoll’s work isn’t purely personal and artistic—it’s groundbreaking. While she continues this project, she also works at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a position she got after an Experimental College course’s tour of the observatory. “We learned about how the observatory was hiring all of these women to do all of the mathematical equations and map out the night sky.” She sounds ecstatic when she mentions her work at the observatory and tells me she’s a plate technician who handles photographic glass plates that range in age from the mid-1800s to the late 1900s. These plates show various aspects of the night sky, and for Driscoll, it’s the perfect balance of artistic work and women’s history. In a liberal arts institution, it can be difficult—overwhelming, even—to see so many impressive students and their creative career paths. I often find myself asking, “How did they think of that?” when I hear how someone bridged their passions and distinct academic interests. Executive Director of the Career Center Greg Victory tells me that a liberal arts education is the future—it’s about teaching students to do a variety of things.
“Your major is one data point in your identity as a professional,” Victory tells me in the Career Center, located on the seventh floor of Dowling Hall. Victory sees majors as being something students “should be really excited about” rather than what they necessarily deem as practical. From there, students can explore their interests and seek out career paths. “A lot of the data is showing that more and more organizations are interested in students who have a liberal arts education,” he explains, “because they think differently, they process differently, and they ask different sets of questions.” Victory then describes the career readiness competencies—a term from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)—that graduates should develop during their undergraduate career. The seven include critical thinking, oral/written communications, leadership, and—added by Tufts—civic engagement. While they don’t lead to any specific major, the goal at Tufts is to gain experience in these areas. The liberal arts philosophy directly connects to this variety of competencies, with courses encouraging students to approach topics and ideas from their own backgrounds and interests. “I’ve talked to a number of students who have taken the Food Systems course, who aren’t community health or biology majors,” Victory says, “but they’re economics majors who think about how they can apply the critical thinking competencies they’re learning in economics to working with a non-governmental organization and helping [that organization] change a food systems structure.” Victory believes that the openness of Tufts, where students can explore academic interests and approach courses and topics they’ve never thought about before, is the perfect environment for growth and curiosity. And it’s not just coursework. Internships, student activities and clubs, and outside opportunities complete the liberal arts education. So, to answer my earlier question—yes, it is possible to have a well-rounded, globally minded education that prepares you for the next step, without knowing at the outset what the next step will be. Who knows? Maybe you’ll take a leap instead.
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In order to access Professor Blume Oeur’s CV, I have to click on a picture of his two cats, Widby and Sesame—I am instantly intrigued by the sociology scholar I am about to meet. Professor Blume Oeur, who has dedicated his life to dissecting the sources of toxic masculinity, questioning gender roles, and challenging traditional public school and higher education practices, welcomes me to his office at the top of Tufts’ unforgiving Hill. I ask him what keeps him trekking back every day and he jokingly responds, “Because this place was crazy enough to give me a job.” He tells me about his favorite class on men and masculinities, which examines the concept of masculinity and its impact on personal lives, college campuses, and the media. While gender studies courses commonly focus on the intersection of feminism and whiteness, Professor Blume Oeur’s course is entirely dedicated to understanding the influence of the patriarchy across time and place. However, he stresses how very few white, cisgender men actually end up taking this course. “I think it should be a required course for everyone,” he explains, “because masculinity doesn’t just hurt women, it hurts men. A lot of the things that men do are in service of masculinity.” Professor Blume Oeur has spent years researching the forced, discriminatory connection between gender and education. After college, he decided to work as a middle school teacher in Philadelphia and, in return, closely observed the effects of poverty and racial inequalities on public schools in urban locations. He explains how it was common practice to separate boys and girls in school, especially when they would walk down the hallway in two lines. “I couldn’t have said, ‘If your mom, dad, or guardian makes more than $30,000 a year, stand in this line; any less, you need to stand in that line.’ We separate on the basis of gender, and it’s this natural thing that we do. I wanted to understand that history better, which got me into studying masculinity.”
In his book, Black Boys Apart: Racial Uplift and Respectability in All-Male Public Schools, Professor Blume Oeur revisits some of the topics he confronted during his time as a middle school teacher: Why would schools in cities that have long faced racial and social class segregation want to separate on the basis of gender? How can we use feminist principles to understand the life experiences of men and boys? Is it possible to simply unlearn gender expectations? In trying to answer these questions, he explains he is “discouraged by how, as a nation, we’ve lost faith in our public schools” instead of trying to “embrace our public schools as empowering spaces for students and their communities.” The problem arises because the ones in control are corporations, CEOs, and those who are not really invested in the schooling of young people. “The market has really encroached on public schools and forced standards on students. I hope that…we really make public education a priority. It’s a social justice issue that should always matter.” Social change requires more than simply good intentions; it needs to be built into policy. Professor Blume Oeur further explains how feminism is, in fact, a way to demolish toxic masculinity. “Feminism is about inspiring progressive social change and trying to unsettle and dismantle patriarchal structures in the service of greater gender equality. Masculinity divorced from feminism is troubling,” he reveals. While the separation between both processes leads to unequal outcomes, many of us have grown accustomed to socialized forms of behavior and categorization. We must, consequently, make an active effort to take a step back and question everything we do. This type of thinking, according to Professor Blume Oeur, encompasses all that sociology is; it “asks us to take things that are familiar to us—so familiar that they’re taken for granted—and to make them strange.” —SIWAAR ABOUHALA ’23
FREEDEN BLUME OEUR 28
PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
As a sociologist and former middle school teacher, Professor Blume Oeur is working to eradicate toxic masculinity.
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ADMISSIONS REMIX KELLA MERLAINMOFFATT ’20
AFRICANA STUDIES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MAJOR FROM WELLINGTON, FL
PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
In her college search, Kella MerlainMoffatt sought a place that would push her to grow. Three years into her journey at Tufts, she has found growth through community—as an Africana Center peer leader, a member of the Caribbean Students Organization and the Diversity Admissions Council, a tour guide, and a Tisch Scholar. In her remixed supplement, she reflects on discovering an unexpected pathway at Tufts, the meaning of family, and how passions can become power.
WE ASK CURRENT STUDENTS TO TACKLE THE NEW TUFTS SUPPLEMENT
Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? In short, “Why Tufts?” One of the scariest and most exciting things about college is how it will change you. When I came to Tufts, I knew I wanted to major in international relations, dance with COCOA (the African dance team), and study abroad in Ghana. Flash forward to senior year, and I’ve added a second major, traveled to Rwanda, Ghana, and Hong Kong thanks to Tufts, and danced with COCOA. I’ve joined clubs that were centered on my respective identities and served others in capacities unimaginable. There have been many beautiful ups, and a decent amount of notso-stellar downs. Truth be told, I almost transferred out of Tufts after my first year. Yet, when I think about why I continue to choose Tufts every day, it’s because I have found communities my high school senior self could have never conceived. I choose Tufts each day because it’s the place that has allowed me to discover endless possibilities.
We all have a story to tell. And with over 5,000 undergraduate students on our campus, that is over 5,000 stories to share and learn. What’s yours? As a child, I remember thoughtfully picking out Christmas toys for “cousins” alongside my mother. I have spent my entire life living with a family that extends beyond the nuclear unit. In the Ghanaian and Haitian cultures, family extends beyond the biological, so I have been blessed with a large family. I have been scolded and loved by “aunties” and “uncles.” Teased and protected by “cousins.” When my family or I needed a helping hand, they were my community. They helped me realize that blood does not define family—love does. Family history on both sides tells me that my grandparents were the first in their respective communities to have luxuries like a telephone and mailbox. Every weekend, the neighbors would queue to use the phone and send their mail free of charge. My grandparents believed in giving back to their communities and passed down that legacy to my parents, who have adamantly emphasized the importance of being civically engaged to my siblings and me. I consider the most effective way to engage different communities is by undertaking matters that are propelled by genuine care—the same care I found in my extended family. My long-term goal is to open up a center for underprivileged youth that focuses on civic engagement and arts education. I know that this will come to pass because I am a firm believer that we have the power to speak abundance over our lives. In time, it shall be.
To see all the options for the supplemental essay questions, visit https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions/ 31
TUFTS SOPHOMORE A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A
1,961,667 minutes between a traditional Tufts student’s matriculation ceremony and their commencement ceremony
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15 minutes to walk the perimeter of the main campus, between northern Somerville and southern Medford
10,080 minutes in a week. How might you spend yours?
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
There are approximately 1,961,667 minutes between a traditional Tufts student’s matriculation ceremony and their commencement ceremony. It takes about 15 minutes to walk the perimeter of the main campus, sandwiched between northern Somerville and southern Medford, but where you spend that time in between Boston Avenue and Powderhouse Boulevard is 100% unique to each and every Jumbo on the Hill. What might those 1,961,667 minutes look like for you? While everyone’s journey here at Tufts is different, a quick 10,080 minutes (or one week) can give you some insight on how I spend my time here—and potentially how you might spend yours. —Hasan Khan ’22
A Brief Respite Right before the second week of classes starts, I have two full days for rest and recovery. If you have any concerns that Tufts lacks a social scene, let me convince you otherwise: two birthdays, a Boston trip with my dance team, and two movie nights with friends I haven’t seen since the end of last year—I’m already exhausted. While hopping between weekend activities at Tufts is a competitive sport, there is always something going on should I need a night in: cookie decorating with Another Option at Tufts, cactus and succulent gardening with the Tufts University Social Collective (TUSC), and film screenings in Tisch Library from Us to Ladybird to Rocketman. However, Sunday is for self-care and finishing (or starting) the week’s homework. Highlight of the Day: Besides clearing out my inbox and finishing up decorations in my room, I find myself relaxing and working with friends on the Prez Lawn while it’s cool and sunny with a sprawling view of the Boston skyline just over Tisch Roof.
MON
Beginnings As a Resident Advisor (RA), the day starts with a meeting with my boss Cyatharine, one of the Residential Directors (RD for short), but our conversation is not all business. We check in about each other’s weeks, how the halls are doing, and what
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TUE
The Grind This semester, I had the lucky chance to have four classes all scheduled on the same day! While this means I basically have Mondays off, Tuesday is often more of a wake-up call to the week than Monday. However, this week, all roads lead to the community barbecue that the Muslim Students Association (MSA) is hosting on Friday afternoon. With my eyes on the end goal in sight, a couple of lectures in between can’t hurt. On average, one class is only about 75 minutes of the day and 150 minutes of the week. Except, back to back to back, I spend several hundred minutes talking about immigration and homesickness in my Arabic class, a couple hundred on the finer details of the Western blot test for HIV detection in the latter half of biology class, and another solid hundred or so discussing the origins and purpose of parent-infant love and attachment style in my child study class. But I’m not done there! I finish my day off with my last 75 minutes of class in computer science, learning about how computers literally “stack” binary numbers within their hardware. While reminiscent of long, eight-hour days in high school, I still get to grab dinner with a friend before we do our coding homework together and then later catch up with one another as we listen to stories and music in Arabic for our next class. Highlight of the Day: A perk of being a sophomore—a close friend of mine in my child study class also happens to be my biology tutor! After our class, we get lunch, and I try the kosher deli Pax et Lox
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
SAT+SUN
programs we can host to promote community in the halls. This relaxed, friendly vibe follows me as I stop by the office of Cyatharine’s boss, Tim, who is the Associate Director for all continuing students living on campus, but despite being my boss’s boss, he and I casually catch up during his office-warming party, to which he invited all the continuing student RAs on campus. Just before my next class, I stop in for a lab meeting at DevTech in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development. DevTech, short for the Developmental Technologies Research Group, works under Professor Marina Umaschi Bers to understand how coding and early childhood education can mesh to prepare kids for the modern world, and it’s our first lab meeting of the new semester! All 20-something of us crowd around our center table and introduce ourselves and the projects we work on. When it’s my turn, I explain my summer research project under Dr. Amanda Sullivan and how we surveyed students and their mentors about gender engagement within the VEX robotics competition, assessing the effectiveness of current empowerment initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of girls in STEM. Highlight of the Day: Somehow, after Tim’s officewarming and before going to lunch with my friend Krithi, I manage to sit down with Nicole, my Time Management and Study Strategies advisor. Among the rainbow of Google Calendar events and endless lists of upcoming assignments, we take an hour to debrief on how I’m doing, how much time I feel I have, how I’m taking care of myself, and how I can improve in the week to come. These weeks would not be as efficient and balanced without her.
for the first time ever. We sit there in the Campus Center, eating and making connections between biology and child study together.
WED
Looking Ahead In college, it can be easy to forget why you are here. Sure, we declare majors and talk about the dream jobs that we put down in our Common Apps, but when you buckle down and you’re barreling, charging, tunneling through the week, college can often feel more like a treadmill with no “off” button than a mountain with a clear goal at the summit— especially when you’re only halfway through the week on Wednesday. To solve this predicament, I have two strategies. The first is remembering that, despite the many thousands of minutes in a week, our time on this Hill truly is finite. Whether it’s asking the grad students in my lab for life advice and hearing nostalgic recollections of their undergrad days or being mistaken as a senior by first-years just because I can lead them from our computer science lab in Halligan to dinner in Hodgdon, the people around us at Tufts put time into perspective. And it’s only possible because we’re all so closely packed together here—it’s refreshing how natural it is to reach out and have this secure base of people to inspire and energize you. The second is remembering that, despite having everything I need right on campus, there is indeed a world beyond Tufts. Of course, I love my STEM classes, but discussing real-world issues like programs for incarcerated new mothers and studying the arts like the impenetrable prose of Cicero both put our little area of the world into needed context. Even for day-to-day commitments like shopping for the food we’ll grill at the MSA barbecue, there are real skills I have to learn—from fundraising to budgeting to management. At every moment, I’m learning more than just the essential skills for my degree. I’m learning how to be a part of the world. Highlight of the Day: Another perk of a small campus—I keep running into an old friend with whom I no longer have any classes. Every time we bump into each other, we do something spontaneous: watch an outdoor film screening on the Residential Quad, play around on the pianos in the practice rooms of the Music Center, or, as we did today, take the shuttle to Davis Square to try the constant carousel of new restaurants popping up nearby.
heard Gotye (of “Somebody That I Used to Know” fame) speak to a room of 15 in the Music Center, listened to Kevin Love speak to a full audience about mental health and sports in Cohen Auditorium, and seen countless others, including current Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former US Representative Beto O’Rourke, and now, a justice of the US Supreme Court. Each time these role models of ours visit campus, drawn by our uncontainable force of passion, I’m reminded of our founder’s words when he inherited the hill, “I will put a light on it.” Internalizing that light, and feeling like Tufts really does having footing in pressing national issues, more than makes my highlight of the day, if not the week.
FRI
Bridging the Herd Today is a special day. Besides the end of classes for the week, today is the MSA Welcome Back BBQ. With the last few thousand minutes of the week, we can finally celebrate the start of another year at Tufts. But before that are Friday prayer services for Muslims, held on campus at the Interfaith Center. The Interfaith community at Tufts is probably my favorite paradox. Most, if not all, other student groups I’m part of are centered on shared identities (MSA, Pre-Med Society, my dance team), but Interfaith is completely based on coming together as a group solely because we are different—and it’s the most close-knit group I know at Tufts. After I finish catching up with the Humanist Chaplain and being greeted by my friend who led the last Shabbat services I attended, I join the Friday prayer service as everyone from administrators to first-years are
all packed together in commonality, equally adding to the spirit of the room. Almost like feeling the plane slowly touch down and land on the runway after a long flight, the week has finally come to a succinct end, and I’m ready to start preparing for the upcoming one. But just afterwards, it’s time for the community to come together with our non-Muslim allies and grill a lot of burgers. For over 120 minutes, over 100 people gather on Fletcher Field to break in the new year as a Muslim community within an Interfaith community within the Tufts community within the Medford/Somerville community, and so on. People from all of those circles share what they’ve been doing the last couple hundred thousand minutes since the summer started. These traditions come to bookend and mark the years, just as Friday prayers tie the bow on the week. You feel the Hill; you feel its light. Those experiences and wisdom, grown over millions of minutes of shared experience here at Tufts, are passed down over plates of food to a new generation of students, invited here after their long journey to becoming a Jumbo. Sure, the plane lands and the flight is over, but it’s not like we disperse in a million directions, perfect strangers until we meet again at the barbecue next year. No, we’re a herd, and one minute spent here or within any community on the Hill, making connections by pure chance, can alter the next 525,600 minutes of your time at Tufts until it’s your turn. Your turn to make a difference in someone’s life by reaching out with a burger hot off the grill and a smile to boot. That’s tradition at Tufts. That’s our light. Highlight of the Day: The satisfaction of going to bed at 9 PM on a Friday night after a long, long week because yes, I really was just that tired. And that content.
THU
The Outside World Comes to Tufts As the week thins out, so do all the responsibilities and commitments, and thus, Thursday is my lightest day—finally, most of the day’s minutes are mine to use! But seriously, with the free time I have, I can attend a visit to Tufts by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. That was the most unexpected part of college for me—all the celebrities you casually meet. I’ve
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ADVICE
WHAT NEXT? AN ESSENTIAL TIMEL
36
ILLUSTRATION BY AN CHEN
Whether your organization style involves a color-coded calendar or a flurry of desktop papers, the college search and application process is overwhelming for everyone. We’ve broken down the big-ticket items to focus on during your junior and senior years, in the hopes that this will help you invest your energy where it counts. Then all that remains is completing the biggest task ahead of you: enjoying your time as a high schooler.
LINE FOR THE COLLEGE SEARCH JUNIOR FALL Staying Active(ly Involved) As you approach high school’s halfway mark, now is the time to dive deeper into the extracurricular acti vities you’re already a part of, even taking on a leadership position if one calls to you. But know that it’s not too late to join a new club! Exploration doesn’t stop when the college search process begins. Consider taking on a summer job or internship if pos sible. School-year jobs are also valuable commitments.
JUNIOR SPRING Start taking notes on colleges you research, and come up with a system to stay organized in your search. Ace Academics Add some rigor to your curriculum, creating a schedule that challenges you but is sustainable over the next two years. When it comes to grades, focus on continuing strong in junior year. Remember that junior year grades are the last full academic year that admissions officers will see when reviewing your college application.
Visiting Campuses Begin with local schools. If you’re able to, sign up for an info session or a tour of a nearby school. If you’re able to travel farther away, check out different types of schools. You might be surprised by where you can envision yourself. If you aren’t able to visit, not to fear! Most colleges have virtual tours of their campuses online and mailing lists that students can join— both of which are excellent ways to learn about a college!
Take the ACT or SAT Research the testing requirements of the schools you are applying to. Tufts requires either the ACT or the SAT. Taking an exam in the spring of junior year will check this item off your list early, while leaving you time to retake the exam if you would like. Closer Look at Financial Aid Research the financial aid policies and practices of the colleges on the list you’ve begun to build. Some, like Tufts, meet 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students (see p. 39), while others do not. Some provide only needbased aid, while others offer merit or athletic scholarships.
Building the List Start finding the filters you want to apply to colleges. Big or small? Rural or urban? Far from home or close to home? As you consider these types of fit, also think about the affordability of each college (not just the sticker price, but the types of aid they provide).
Plan the Senior Year Schedule Make sure your classes are fulfilling the requirements of the schools you want to apply to. Challenge yourself in your course choices, but know your limits—remember that senior year is about finishing strong while still enjoying your final year as a high school student.
SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR
SENIOR FALL
SENIOR SPRING
Stay (Academically) Strong Continue to work hard in your classes! Colleges will review quarter, trimester, and semester grades in their process and will want to see the same academic performance in senior year as in your first three years.
Applications Are In Phew. Your work is mostly done. Remember to check your applicant portal and your email—colleges will email with important updates or if any materials are missing. This is the main way that colleges will contact you.
Request Recommendations Give your teachers plenty of time to write your letters of recommendation (preferably a month)! If you have specific skills, life experiences, or qualifications you want them to mention in your recommendation letters, feel free to share that with them— they’ll find it helpful.
Financial Aid Forms Make note of the deadlines to turn in financial aid forms. These deadlines are different from the application deadlines—typically two weeks to one month later.
Visiting Campuses The summer before senior year can be an ideal time to visit campuses as you finalize your college list. But visiting is not the only way to have your questions answered, or feel supported in your search. Many institutions, like Tufts, have an adm issions officer assigned to read applications from each region of the country and world. Oftentimes, this person’s contact information is listed on the website. We welcome you to reach out with questions, and we can put you in touch with current students who will have the best insight into campus life and communities. Finalize Your List You need to love your list, because you’ll be going to one of these schools. While there is no magic number of schools to apply to, most applicants find that 8–10 is a reasonable range, allowing them to apply both to “target” and “reach” schools. Early Decision? Maybe there is a school you already know that you love. If you can imagine a scenario in which you are accepted
to every school on your list, and you would still want to attend that school, Early Decision might be right for you. Early Decision is a binding agreement an applicant makes, saying that they will attend a college if admitted. Tufts offers one round of Early Decision with a deadline of November 1, and a second round with a deadline of January 1. Drafting the Personal Statement If you intend to apply to colleges using the Common Application, the prompts for the personal statement go live in August. You can begin drafting this essay so that you’ll have one less thing to think about come fall! Research Fly-In Programs Many colleges offer fly-in programs which allow students to come to campus in the fall (typically with travel assistance) and stay with a current student, visit classes, and learn about campus life. These programs require a short application and typically have deadlines in the early fall. For more information about the Voices of Tufts Diversity Experiences, visit admissions.tufts.edu/voices.
Drafting Supplements Don’t wait until the last minute to start your supplemental applications for the schools that require them. Most colleges ask a couple of additional essay questions, which are specific to them, and these essays are often the greatest window into your voice, personality, and fit for that school! Think about the vibe and culture of the school as you craft your responses.
Relax During the Wait Remember all of those things that are not applying to college? Your pets, your family, that class you love, the musical you’re practicing kick lines for, your friends? Those things—huge and minor and basic and insignificant and fabulous—are your real life. The college process is on hold until all the offers are on the table, so take this beautiful moment to focus on everything else.
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ADMISSIONS INFORMATION WHAT TO SUBMIT: HERE’S THE LIST. FIND MORE DETAILS ON OUR WEBSITE!
1
Common Application or Coalition Application
2
Tufts Writing Supplement
APPLICATION DEADLINES AND NOTIFICATION DATES Early Decision I Application Deadline: November 1 Notification Date: Mid-December
3
High School Transcript(s)
4
Senior Year Grades
Early Decision II Application Deadline: January 1 Notification Date: Mid-February Regular Decision Application Deadline: January 1 Notification Date: By April 1 Transfer Admission Application Deadline: March 15 Notification Date: Mid-May
TUFTS CLASS OF 2023 STATISTICS
5
Testing We require either the SAT or the ACT. We do not require SAT Subject Tests, the SAT Essay, or the writing section of the ACT.
6
Letters of Recommendation We require one from a school counselor and one from a teacher. You may send us one additional if you’d like.
7
Art Portfolio Required only for students applying to the Combined Degree (BFA/BA or BFA/BS) and BFA applicants to SMFA at Tufts.
8
Financial Aid Documents If you are applying for aid, you will need to submit: 1. FAFSA 2. CSS Profile 3. Federal Income Tax Returns For more information, read the next page of this magazine or visit go.tufts.edu/finaidapp
+
Optional Materials • Alumni Interview • Arts or Maker Portfolio: Students applying to the School of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering may submit an optional arts or maker portfolio to highlight talent in studio art, drama, dance, music, or engineering.
22,766 3,404 15% 100% 11% 15% 50%
Applications Acceptances Acceptance Rate of Demonstrated Financial Need Met First-Generation Students International Students Women in the School of Engineering
Score Ranges of Admitted Students 32–35 Middle 50% ACT 700–760 Middle 50% SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 730–790 Middle 50% SAT Math
TUFTS UNDERGRADUATE STATISTICS 5,643 4.8 20 28 300+ 40% 45% 39% 81 33%
Undergraduate Enrollment Miles from Boston Average Class Size Varsity Sports Teams Student Groups Women in the School of Engineering of Juniors Study Abroad Need-Based Aid Recipients Countries Represented US Students of Color *As of July 8, 2019
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THE REAL DEAL: FINANCIAL AID AT TUFTS THE BASICS
WHAT IS NEED?
TUFTS MEETS 100% OF DEMONSTRATED NEED FOR ALL ADMITTED STUDENTS, REGARDLESS OF CITIZENSHIP STATUS, FOR ALL FOUR YEARS.
(
Cost of Attendance
)
Tuition and fees Room and board (meal plan) Books and supplies Personal expenses
(
Expected Family Contribution
)
Parent contribution Student contribution
(
Financial Need
)
Your award may include: Grant aid* Student loan Work study
Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount your family is expected to pay for college for the 2020–21 year. It is calculated from the information provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), CSS Profile, and your family’s federal tax returns. Your financial need is the difference between the annual cost of attendance and your calculated family contribution. Your financial aid package will make up the difference, for all four years—even if your family’s situation changes. We generally do not include student loans for students whose families earn less than $60,000 per year. All Tufts financial aid is need-based—we do not offer merit-based scholarships or athletic scholarships. *Grants are need-based gift aid that do not need to be paid back.
HOW DO I APPLY?
WHO CAN HELP?
COMPLETE THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
To estimate the amount of financial aid you might receive if admitted to Tufts:
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)* https://fafsa.ed.gov/ Tufts code: 002219 Cost: free *Note: not required of international or undocumented applicants for financial aid
College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/ Tufts code: 3901 Cost: $25 initial fee plus $16 for each additional college. Fee waivers are available for students who qualify for an SAT fee waiver or whose family incomes are below $45,000. Non-Custodial Profile (NCP): if your parents are divorced or separated. The requirement may be waived by the Tufts Financial Aid Office under very specific circumstances.
Federal Income Tax Returns Applicants should submit all documentation to IDOC (idoc.collegeboard.org/idoc), an electronic imaging service of the College Board. Your account will be created at idoc.collegeboard.org once you submit the CSS Profile. Please do not send tax returns directly to Tufts Admissions or Financial Aid.
BY THE DEADLINE: Application Type Early Decision Round I Early Decision Round II Regular Decision
CSS Profile November 15 January 15 February 1
FAFSA November 15 January 15 February 1
2018 Federal Tax Forms Through IDOC December 1 February 1 February 15
If you are applying for financial aid at Tufts and have a Social Security Number, please make sure to include that information in your application for admission so your materials can be properly matched.
MyIntuition http://admissions. tufts.edu/myintuition Tufts Net Price Calculator https://npc.collegeboard. org/student/app/tufts For questions while applying: CSS Profile 305-420-3670 FAFSA 800-433-3243 “Chat With Us” Service IDOC 866-897-9881 (US and Canada) 212-299-0096 (International)
Ready to get started? Go.tufts.edu/FinAidApp 39
PROGRAMS With nearly 150 majors and minors, 30 interdisciplinary programs, and the courses of the ExCollege, Tufts’ offerings require more than a brief skimming, so you can find an expansion of this quick list on our website. But in the meantime, skim away. Just note that Tufts’ undergraduate programs are offered in three schools: Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts. Students may take classes across schools, and many students do. SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MAJORS
Africana Studies American Studies Anthropology Applied Environmental Studies Applied Mathematics Applied Physics Arabic Archaeology Architectural Studies Art History Astrophysics Biochemistry Biology Biomedical Sciences* Biopsychology Biotechnology* Chemical Physics Chemistry Child Study and Human Development
German Language and Literature German Studies Greek Greek and Latin History Interdisciplinary Studies International Literary and Visual Studies
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MAJORS
Sculpture
French
Sound
Geology°
ABET ACCREDITED
Welding
Geoscience
Biomedical Engineering
Woodworking
Geosystems
Chemical Engineering
FIVE-YEAR COMBINED DEGREE PROGRAMS
Civil Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science
International Relations
Electrical Engineering
Italian Studies
Environmental Engineering
Japanese
Mechanical Engineering
Judaic Studies
ADDITIONAL DEGREE OPTIONS
Latin
Architectural Studies
MINORS
Latin American Studies
Data Science
Mathematics
Engineering
Africana Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Engineering Physics
Anthropology
Music
Engineering Science
Arabic
Music, Sound, and Culture
Environmental Health
Architectural Engineering
Philosophy
Human Factors Engineering
Architectural Studies
Political Science
Art History SMFA AT TUFTS AREAS OF STUDY
Asian American Studies Astrophysics
Psychology
Greek Greek Archaeology
Tufts/New England Conservatory: BA or BS and Bachelor of Music Tufts/SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts): BA or BS and Bachelor of Fine Arts
Physics
German
Greek Civilization Hebrew History
Judaic Studies
Human Factors Engineering° Italian Japanese Latin Latin American Studies Latino Studies Leadership Studies Linguistics Mathematics Multimedia Arts Museums, Memory, and Heritage
All BFA students at SMFA at Tufts focus in interdisciplinary art. They may explore many of the following areas of study while pursuing this interdisciplinary art education.
Biotechnology Engineering°
Animation
Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Russian Language and Literature
Bookmaking
Colonialism Studies
Ceramics
Computer Science
Economics
Science, Technology, and Society*
Drawing
Dance
Education*
Digital Media
Drama
Sociology
Engineering Psychology
Film and Video
Economics
Spanish Cultural Studies
English
Graphic Arts
Education
Spanish Literature
Environmental Geology
Illustration
Engineering Education
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Installation
Engineering Management°
Jewelry
English
Science, Technology, and Society
Metals
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Sociology
Painting
Spanish
Papermaking
Environmental Science and Policy°
Performance
Film and Media Studies
Photography
Finance
Printmaking
Food Systems and Nutrition
Chinese Civic Studies* Classical Studies Cognitive and Brain Sciences Community Health Computer Science Drama
Environmental Studies* Film and Media Studies French Geological Sciences
*Available only as a co-major °Available only to students enrolled in the School of Engineering 40
Psychology/Clinical Concentration Quantitative Economics Religion Russian and East European Studies
Chemical Engineering Child Study and Human Development Chinese
Music Music Engineering Native American and Indigenous Studies Peace and Justice Studies Philosophy Physics Political Science Portuguese Religion Roman Archaeology Roman Civilization Russian
Studio Art Urban Studies Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
. Y E H
JUST STARTING YOUR SEARCH? HERE’S WHAT TUFTS IS ALL ABOUT. WE DO OUR RESEARCH
WE ARE INTERESTED
Tufts is a student-centered research university, which means that we like to dig into our passions deeply and figure things out for ourselves—whether that involves using silk to regenerate tissue or spending a fully-funded summer exploring the political implications of Shakespeare’s plays through the Summer Scholars program. Students and professors come together, across disciplines, to ask questions and create meaning.
…in a lot of things. Tufts students don’t limit themselves: they combine biology with philosophy, compete as nationally-ranked D3 athletes, pursue Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees in studio art at our School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and solve problems as engineers. They’re part of a community that embraces the unconventional and the uncategorizable.
WE ARE ACTIVE CITIZENS
WE DON’T TAKE OURSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY
Jumbos use their skills and ideas to better people’s lives, whether they are teaching engineering in local elementary schools, creating sustainable businesses, or spending a year doing full-time service as a 1+4 Bridge Year Fellow. They understand that they are citizens of a global community, and they embrace that responsibility.
This is a place where students are as excited to debate Game of Thrones fan theories as they are to apply mathematical theorems—as intellectually playful as they are powerful. We believe that ideas can have a profound impact on the world, and those ideas can be born around the seminar table but also in the dorm common room.
Sound about right? Read the stories here to learn more. Also check out our website: admissions.tufts.edu
PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Equal Opportunity Applicants for admission and employment, students, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with Tufts University are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, veteran status, or national origin in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries or complaints concerning Tufts University’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, or Section 504 is directed to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity on the Medford/Somerville campus, 617-6273298 or 800-611-5060 (TDD 617-627-3370). This office has been designated by Tufts University to coordinate the institution’s efforts to comply with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 504. Any person may also contact the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202, or the Director, U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region One, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, regarding the institution’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, 34 C.F.R. Part 100; Title IX, 34 C.F.R. Part 106; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 45 C.F.R. 90; or, Section 504, 34 C.F.R. Part 104. In addition, Tufts has formulated an administrative policy that educational and employment decisions are based on the principle of equal opportunity. The consideration of factors such as sex, race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, veteran status, or disability unrelated to a person’s ability, qualifications, and performance is inconsistent with this policy. In accordance with both federal and state law, the university maintains information concerning current security policies and procedures and prepares an annual crime report concerning crimes committed within the geographical limits of the university. Upon request to the Office of Public Safety, 617- 627-3912, the university will provide such information to any applicant for admission. The report is also available online at https://publicsafety.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/90689-Tufts-ASR-2019-2020.pdf.
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OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University Bendetson Hall 2 The Green Medford, MA 02155 -7057 617- 627-3170 admissions.tufts.edu