Tufts Supplemental Essays 2025-26 - Prompts and Advice

Tufts Supplemental Essays 2025-26 – Prompts and Advice

July 1, 2025

Tufts University has long been a highly selective school. Yet, the acceptance rate has been hovering around 10% for several years now. As at any college that rejects more than 9 of every 10 applicants who apply (the overwhelming majority of whom are supremely qualified), aspiring Jumbos need every single component of their application to shine brightly. The Tufts supplemental essays are one such area of focus.

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Given Tufts’ unprecedented level of selectivity, the supplemental essay section offers applicants a crucial opportunity to showcase their writing ability by generating powerful and detail-rich essays that will stand out to an admissions officer. Below, we’ll review both essays for the 2025-26 cycle as well as provide tips for penning a winning composition.

Tufts Supplemental Essay Question #1

We will ask all applicants to complete this sentence in 250 words or less:

鈥淚 am applying to Tufts because鈥︹€�

Tufts University is getting right down to business with this prompt. Although they’ve increased the word count limit from 100 words to 250 words (friendly of them!), view this essay as akin to ending up in an elevator with a potential investor with 20 seconds to sell your million-dollar idea. Count on doing a fair amount of school-specific research and a good deal of editing to keep your essay under the word limit. Some additional tips:

How to write a winning 鈥淲hy Tufts?鈥� essay

What appeals to you about Tufts’ mission, curriculum structure, or academic offerings?
How will you take advantage of the university鈥檚 vast resources both inside and outside of the classroom?
How will you become an active, contributing member of the student body?
Cite specific academic programs, professors, research opportunities, internship/externship programs, study abroad programs, student-run organizations, etc. (as in the examples below).

Below are some examples of unique facts about Tufts University that you may find helpful as you brainstorm your response:

There are 41 arts and performance groups on campus for the artistically inclined.
There are in which you can participate鈥攑ick one or two to elaborate on.
Students are able to double major across colleges.
With a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, two-thirds of undergraduate sections are kept under 20 students.
There are numerous and scholarships at Tufts. Which one appeals to you and what would you research?
40% of juniors study abroad and Tufts boasts a number of in Beijing, Chile, Ghana, London, and more.
Tufts has a flexible curriculum structure.
The is a one-of-a-kind program.
Tufts offers to a number of non-profit and government posts.
An annual Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium presents an exciting opportunity to present your original work to faculty.

Of course, these are just 10 out of the countless features that could be part of a successful essay. As you enter the prewriting stage, you鈥檒l want to decide which elements will provide the most needle-moving value.

Tufts University Supplemental Essay Question #2

There is also a second required short-answer question, which varies depending on the program to which you are applying:

Think outside the box as you answer the following questions. Take a risk and go somewhere unexpected. Be serious if the moment calls for it, but feel comfortable being playful if that suits you, too.聽

Applicants to the School of Arts & Sciences or the School of Engineering, please respond to one of the following three prompts in 200-250 words:

A)聽It鈥檚 cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity?

In our experience, this is the prompt that applicants tend to select most often, especially if they feel they don鈥檛 feel they have enough space to talk about the academic discipline they hope to study in the above “Why Tufts?” essay.

Whether it鈥檚 a general love for math/science or literature or a specific interest in aerospace engineering or 19th-century French novels, use this opportunity to share what makes you tick, the ideas that keep you up at night, and what subject inspires you to dream big. What topic makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? Share the manner in which you relentlessly pursue knowledge. Whether it鈥檚 falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about the nature of time or consuming thousands of hours of podcasts on game theory, this is a chance to illustrate the ways in which you are an obsessive learner with an endless thirst for information.

The admissions reader should emerge with the sense that you are a sincerely curious person with a strong intellectual drive. If that curiosity can be tied to your intended area of study, all the better!

B) How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing 鈥� your family, home, neighborhood, or community 鈥� shaped the person you are today?

This essay encourages you to describe how your environment/experiences have shaped you into the present version of yourself. Perhaps your family/home (parent, grandparent, sibling) was a powerful force in your growth and development, or a specific community鈥攂e it ethnic, religious, neighborhood, or sports-related, among many others鈥攚as particularly impactful. Alternatively, an experience you had or a challenge you faced could have been quite formative. Whatever you choose, use your writing ability to show the admissions officer how your environment and/or experiences contributed to the person you are now. How did it impact your perspective and the way you engage with others?

C) Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community.

Some students may have more direct experience with social justice than others, but鈥攏o matter your background鈥攖his is an opportunity to demonstrate that you care about justice and fairness in your local community as well as the global community. If applicable, you can speak about a time when you spoke up for a peer in a moment of need. Or, alternatively, share an instance when you got involved in a larger cause or movement (politics, activism, volunteer work, etc.). If you don鈥檛 have a deeply personal story to tell in this realm, you鈥檒l want to select a different prompt. While there鈥檚 nothing wrong with simply articulating your basic beliefs in the values of inclusion, equity, tolerance, and diversity, it doesn鈥檛 necessarily make for the most compelling essay.

If you do choose this essay prompt, draw on past evidence of your commitment to being a positive force in your community and speculate how that is likely to manifest on Tufts鈥� campus. Research and cite Tufts鈥� student-run organizations, local nonprofit groups, or anything else you are drawn to. Drawing the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here.

Applicants to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), please respond to the following prompt in 200-250 words:

Art has the power to disrupt our preconceptions, shape public discourse, and imagine new ways of being in the world. What are the ideas you鈥檇 like to explore in your work?

Here, Tufts鈥攁nd SMFA in particular鈥攊s giving you an opportunity to discuss what you hope to explore and/or communicate with your art. What ideas or concepts are important to you, and why?

Most importantly, note that SMFA chooses to highlight art’s power to disrupt, shape, and imagine. Clearly, the school is on the hunt for applicants who intend to push boundaries, challenge pre-existing ideas, and make a statement, so strive to do just that in your essay.

How important are the Tufts supplemental essays?

Tufts views six factors as being 鈥渧ery important鈥� to their applicant evaluation process. These are: the rigor of one鈥檚 coursework, the GPA earned, class rank, recommendations, character/personal qualities, and鈥攎ost relevant for our purposes here鈥攖he essays.

For all essays, we recommend heeding the advice of one Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Tufts University who stated: 鈥淏e yourself. When writing your essays, you don鈥檛 have to sound like you already have your PhD (spoiler: we know you don鈥檛鈥攜ou鈥檙e applying for an undergraduate program). Instead, employ a voice in your writing that feels authentically you, exploring the topics you actually care about. That鈥檚 the voice that will help you stand out in our process.鈥�

Tufts Supplemental Essays – Want Personalized Assistance?

If you are interested in working with one of 国产第一福利影院草草鈥� experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Tufts supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote听迟辞诲补测.

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College Admissions

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).