Want to see your chances of admission at Tufts University?
We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.
Tufts University’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts
Why This College Short Response
Please complete the following statement: "I am applying to Tufts because..."
SMFA Short Response 1
Please complete the following statement: "I am applying to SMFA at Tufts because..."
Select-A-Prompt Short Response
Please use one of the short-answer prompts below to tell us more about yourself, your interests, and your experiences. We care about the ways in which your interests and experiences and will contribute to the Tufts community. Pick one of the following.
Option 1
It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity, and why?
Option 2
How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today?
Option 3
Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community.
SMFA Short Response 2
Please answer the following question – we encourage you to think outside the box. Be serious if the moment calls for it but feel comfortable being playful if that suits you, too. Your response must be between 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’d like to explore in your work?
Common App Personal Essay
The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.
Option 1
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Option 2
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Option 3
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Option 4
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Option 5
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Option 6
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Option 7
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
