Advice

MIRROR AND WINDOW: HOW TO FIND YOUR COLLEGE FIT

People are always talking about “fit” in the college search process, but what does that actually mean? To give some insight into how we think of fit at Tufts, Admissions Counselor and recent Tufts alum Ellie Miller uses the metaphor of the window and the mirror to help prospective students consider the many factors that will make up your ultimate college decision.

BY ELLIE MILLER ’22 ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR

The window is something you can see through to a world of possibilities—where you want to go, who you want to be, what you want to do. These are things that you can probably put concrete reasoning behind: how far away from home do you want to go? Do you want to go into college ready to pursue a very specific subject right off the bat, or do you want to explore your options before deciding on a major? Is it very important that you can pursue a specific club or activity in college, and will it be accessible to you? Do you want to be in the middle of a city or would you prefer a quieter, suburban campus? What makes sense for you and your support systems financially? I know these probably bring up more questions than they answer, but this process is all about finding what is best for you.

Let’s now look into the mirror at the aspects of fit that are harder to conceptualize. When you look out a window, you are seeing with your eyes and might even see some of your reflection, but you are ultimately looking out at the world in front of you. Your reflection is there, but it’s more like an outline of yourself. When you see your reflection in a mirror, though, you get all of the little details that are lost out the window. Those details are the less tangible parts of fit. When you think about who you want to be and who you want to surround yourself with, who are those people? Are you someone who wants to learn for the sake of learning, or are you someone who cares more about the community impact of your work? What kind of diversity are you looking for? Do you want to be surrounded by people who share your values or people who challenge your values? People who are focused on academics first and foremost or people who strive for balance? People who are passionate about the things you are passionate about, or people who are passionate about things you’ve never thought of before? Some of these things truly do come from the “vibe” of a place, but a lot of them can be found in the way a school is structured: are there a bunch of separate colleges by subject matter or are they all mixed together; does the school promote conversations about potentially controversial topics; how does the school uphold its own values and protect its students at the same time; what does a conversation between students revolve around at lunch?

One thing I want to emphasize here is that the answers to these questions will not always fit together like a puzzle. For some of you, one place might stand out as the perfect fit. But for most of you, I would guess that there will be a few different places that feel like they fit in some ways, but that you also have some reservations about. That is completely normal, and your likes and dislikes will only become clearer with more time and information.

SO WHAT ABOUT TUFTS?

So you’ve done some research and some soul searching (something that at Tufts we might describe as “me-search”), but all of the information about all of the colleges you’re looking at is starting to blend together. Let me try to help you out by giving you a rundown of Tufts.

First, Tufts has the culture of a liberal arts college but what does that mean, and how does it differ from other liberal arts programs? Though we are an R1 Research Institution (which means we are part of a collection of US universities that produces the most research in any given year), at Tufts, our liberal arts culture is also closely tied to our value of intellectual curiosity. We believe that allowing students to explore subjects outside of their major accomplishes several important goals, including giving students time to explore and discover topics they might not have considered before, allowing students to pursue a variety of interests, and creating well-rounded individuals. Engineers should be able to communicate with their community, artists might inform their work with context from history, and social scientists can benefit from an understanding of biological sciences. Every student can also benefit from our language courses and requirements, and get to use those skills if they study abroad (which about 45% of Jumbos do, typically in their junior year).

Another thing about the liberal arts education is that it can feel a bit scary. For instance, Tufts doesn’t offer a nursing or business degree, but many students will study biology and go into medicine, or economics and start their own business. That being said, if you have your heart set on a Bachelor of Business Administration, Tufts might not be the place for you. On the other hand, getting a liberal arts education doesn’t mean you’re destined to be in the world of academia forever (unless you want to be). Study international relations and psychology and gain the skills to become a policy manager at a state-wide domestic violence coalition; major in biology and go on to be a pediatrician, armed with the knowledge you gained from your child development minor; get an engineering degree with the real-world knowledge and motivation to create social change through experience as a Tisch Summer Fellow.

Another thing to consider is your passion. Tufts is a place where people are passionate. Now when I say that, I don’t mean everyone has that one thing that they love and are good at or know a lot about. Some people are like that for sure, but a lot of people are just passionate. Passionate about making change with their work, passionate about understanding the material they learn in the classroom, and passionate about applying that knowledge. Passionate about taking what they learned in Spanish class and using it to translate a sign they are putting up in the community, or passionate about understanding their roommate’s lab work on the neutrino even though they are a humanities major. These passions fit well into a few of our other values at Tufts, like collaboration and civic engagement. Being a collaborator doesn’t just mean being a leader or being an extrovert. Your extracurricular list doesn’t have to show that you are class president or that you led a protest. Being a collaborator means you know and value the perspectives and work of others. It means knowing that sharing your own knowledge and perspective strengthens your work. It means taking the diversity of knowledge that comes from a liberal arts education with a diverse community and making connections. Similarly, being civically engaged can take forms from working on political campaigns to conducting research on how systemic issues like health care or food access affect local communities.

With all that being said, only you will know whether Tufts is a good fit for you, both through the window and in the mirror. Some of the best ways to get a sense of this is by visiting campus, attending virtual admissions events, or getting into contact with current students. It can feel like a lot, but don’t forget the possibilities through the window and the powerful reflection in the mirror.