APPLICATION ADVICE

ADVICE LET’S CONNECT!

Decisions, decisions. Whether you are in the beginning of your process (deciding where to apply) or at the end (deciding which school to call yours for the next four years), we are here to help! You may be wondering how you can make an informed decision, and it’s rather simple––stay connected with us! We gure you have a bunch of questions, so read below for some answers.

At this stage of the pandemic, most of us have mastered the art of social distancing, staying home, and mainly avoiding physical contact with many people—including the ones we love most. For you, prospective student, this challenging time is exacerbated by the fact that the college search must continue while we continue to stay apart. Though it sounds cliché, there have been some silver linings. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that even though we are asked to stay apart, it doesn’t mean we can’t stay connected. Even if traveling to campus is not possible at the moment, it doesn’t mean you can’t get to know us.

So we welcome you to join us in the new world that is still mostly virtual. In a way, we have never been so accessible to as many students all over the world. Staying connected means taking advantage of our online content, including reading blogs, attending student panels, listening to virtual information sessions, and many other opportunities that are in the works (stay tuned!). But remember, staying connected means that you allow yourself the opportunity to breathe, too. It is hard to engage virtually if you are bombarded with so much content 24/7. We know it can be consuming and draining all at once. So while we will outline ways you can stay connected to Tufts and learn more about us, we trust you will balance it out with self-care (we even have tips for that in a blog!). We know that nothing about living through a pandemic has been normal, but we know you are trying your best. And please know that we are rooting for you during your college search and college application process—good luck!

Here are some ways you can connect with us during your admissions experience:

HOW CAN I CONNECT WITH MY TERRITORY MANAGER?

On our website, you will nd the “Meet the Admissions Team” page. You can scroll down to nd the person who reads applications from your region. If you are in Massachusetts and can’t nd the speci c person for your area, feel free to call or email our of ce. The Diversity Admissions Council is a group of current students who work closely with the Of ce of Undergraduate Admissions to plan on-campus and virtual visit programs, create web content, and represent Tufts at events for prospective students. We invite you to contact these students to learn more about the many facets of diversity represented on our campus.

HOW CAN I MEET THE DIVERSITY ADMISSIONS COUNCIL?

DO YOU HAVE ANY VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING AVAILABLE?

To see what online options are available to you, look into our Virtual Visit opportunities. For example, you can sign up for a virtual information session, check out a pre-recorded virtual session, nd where to register for a virtual campus tour, and more. You will also nd more reading materials as you continue your research on Tufts.

HOW CAN I CONNECT WITH TOUR GUIDES?

Connecting with tour guides is another great way to get to know Tufts. Check out our “Meet Our Tour Guides” page to nd a list of all our tour guides, plus their activities, majors, and hometowns. Their email addresses are also provided in case you nd someone you’d like to reach out to.

HOW DO I LEARN MORE ABOUT STUDENT EXPERIENCES?

If you want to read blogs about the current Tufts student experience, “Jumbo Talk” is a great place to start! Blogs include anything from My Journey to Majoring in the Humanities as a Pre-Med Student to Places to Eat on Campus.

WHAT IF I WANT TO SPEAK TO A STUDENT THAT IS MAJORING IN THE SAME FIELD I AM INTERESTED IN?

We encourage you to reach out to the admissions of cer from your area because they will be able to provide you the contact information of a student with the major you might be interested in. However, you can reach out to anyone in the admissions of ce to provide you with that information.

HOW CAN I CONNECT WITH SOMEONE IN THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE?

If you have any nancial aid-speci c questions, we encourage you to reach out directly to the Financial Aid Of ce. By visiting their website, you can nd a Financial Aid Of cer to reach out to, or if you prefer to email, you can contact them at studentservices@tufts.edu.

RENÉ LAPOINTE JAMESON ’22

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING MAJOR FROM GREENWICH, CT

René LaPointe Jameson ’22 rmly believes that when you care about and love something, you want it to continuously improve. James Baldwin felt the same, she tells me, but whereas Baldwin was talking about America, Jameson thinks this way about Tufts.

Jameson’s college career has been all about enacting change. When she arrived as a rst-year, she had no idea she’d be heading for a major in environmental engineering. She’s a humanities and social sciences person at heart, but that’s exactly why she thinks it’s important she’s in the engineering space. “I think a lot of times engineers think that engineering is neutral and objective, but it’s not,” she says. “Engineering has often been used to perpetuate systems of oppression and it’s not often practiced equitably, centering those that are most vulnerable.” Jameson is most passionate about addressing racial injustice and environmental injustice, but their intersection is environmental racism, which is how Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. At Tufts, she found the best way to combat these issues is through studying environmental engineering.

But just studying environmental engineering isn’t enough—it must be studied and practiced equitably, with an understanding of the social roots of environmental issues. This is why Jameson formally petitioned the School of Engineering to allow her to craft her own degree path, studying environmental engineering with a focus on race and justice issues, and is working to alter the engineering curriculum to include conversations on systems of oppression and how they relate to engineering. Jameson recognizes there are national, systemic issues Tufts can’t control, but the university can control its hiring practices, search out diverse voices, and recognize that knowledge doesn’t need to be validated by big institutions to be important and shared in a classroom.

Outside of the School of Engineering, Jameson independently works as a racial equity consultant and speaker, is an Africana Peer Leader, and has been a Tisch Scholar since her rst year. Her Tisch Scholars project works to evaluate and improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion training of the different Tufts pre-orientation programs that rst-year and transfer students can sign up for. “My goal is really to empower rst-years with the language to effectively and respectfully discuss social issues, consider ‘How does this tie into my time and into our community of Tufts?’ and want to combat those issues and support marginalized community members,” she says. Ultimately, she hopes her work further fosters a more thoughtful and engaged Tufts community, and has already been encouraged by seeing people want to do better and show up for each other.

As an Africana Peer Leader, Jameson is a support base for incoming students who are members of the Africana community. She answers questions, helps navigate course selection, and serves as a resource for anything else they might need. She describes her big role at Tufts as “taking up space and making space for others,” and in the Africana Center, she does this by “making that transition to Tufts for different Africana community members as smooth as possible and as supported as possible.”

Jameson is leading discussions, building curriculums, designing programming, and challenging institutions. She’s also working with an organization in greater Boston to build a hydroponics system to make fresh produce available to communities that haven’t previously had access due to racist and unjust urban planning (yes, really, she’s doing that, too), all while taking a full 22-semester-hour-unit schedule as an engineer and living life as a young adult. She logged into our Zoom interview tired from having stayed up until 3:00 a.m. watching all the Hunger Games movies (and crying over the last few), and then proceeded to tell me the many ways she’s already impacted the greater Tufts community and the ways she plans on continuing to do so. This interview was merely a glimpse of her world, as well as the world she will positively change. —SUSANNAH MURRAY ’24

“A lot of times engineers think that engineering is neutral and objective, but it’s not.”