Tufts asks two short answers: how you have learned about and engaged with Tufts during your college search (75-150 words), and a second question that depends on your school or program (100-200 words): a favorite school assignment for Arts and Sciences, an engineering or science project for Engineering, and a portfolio piece for the BFA and combined-degree programs.
Tufts' admissions blog is explicit about the first answer: rather than an overview of Tufts in website language, say what actions you took to learn about Tufts and what made it stick with you (an event, a video, a blog post, a conversation).
Tufts's questions at a glance
| Question | Limit | Who answers it | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you learned about and engaged with Tufts | 75-150 words | Required | Why this college |
| A favorite school assignment | 100-200 words | School of Arts and Sciences only · Required | Intellectual curiosity |
| An engineering or science project | 100-200 words | School of Engineering only · Required | Activity |
| A piece in your portfolio | 100-200 words | Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) only · Required | Creative prompt |
| A portfolio piece and your academic interests | 100-200 words | Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS) only · Required | Creative prompt |
Which questions you see depends on where you apply: School of Arts and Sciences; School of Engineering; Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA); Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS). Answer only the ones for yours.
How to plan the Tufts supplement
- 1List every contact you have had with Tufts: visits, info sessions, student conversations, blogs, emails. The first answer is built from these.
- 2For the second answer, pick the assignment or project where you can show your thinking, not only the result.
- 3Make the two answers show different sides: the first is about curiosity toward Tufts, the second about how you work.
1. How you learned about and engaged with Tufts
Tufts's wording · 75-150 words · Required“Please describe how you have learned about and engaged with Tufts during your college search process.”
What it is really asking. The actions you took to learn about Tufts, and what you learned that made you eager to apply. Tufts asks for your experience, not a summary of the school.
How to approach it
- 1Name one or two real actions (a session, a visit, a conversation, a post you read).
- 2Say what stuck and why it matters to you.
- 3Keep website language out.
Mistakes to avoid
- Facts any visitor could copy from the homepage.
- A list of actions with no effect.
Full guide: How to Write Tufts' "How You Engaged With Tufts" Essay
2. A favorite school assignment
Tufts's wording · 100-200 words · School of Arts and Sciences only · Required“Tell us about one of your favorite school assignments in the past two years. What was the assignment and why did you enjoy it?”
What it is really asking. One of your favorite school assignments from the past two years, what it was and why you enjoyed it.
How to approach it
- 1Describe the assignment precisely.
- 2Show what you did with it that went beyond the brief.
- 3Explain the enjoyment: what it tells Tufts about how you learn.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing the assignment with the best grade instead of the one you enjoyed.
Full guide: How to Write Tufts' "Favorite Assignment" Essay
3. An engineering or science project
Tufts's wording · 100-200 words · School of Engineering only · Required“Tell us about an engineering or science-related project that you have helped build, design, create, or iterate in the past two years. What was the project and what was your role?”
What it is really asking. An engineering or science project you helped build, design, create or iterate in the past two years, and your role.
How to approach it
- 1Name the project and the problem it solved.
- 2Make your role exact ("I" not "we").
- 3Show one iteration: what failed and what you changed.
Mistakes to avoid
- A team project where your part is invisible.
Full guide: How to Write Tufts' Engineering Project Essay
4. A piece in your portfolio
Tufts's wording · 100-200 words · Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) only · Required“Tell us more about a specific piece in your portfolio. What were the ideas you intended to explore, and how did those ideas inform the process of making the piece?”
What it is really asking. A portfolio piece: the ideas you meant to explore and how they shaped the making of it.
How to approach it
- 1Write about intention and process, not only the result.
Mistakes to avoid
- Describing the piece without the ideas.
More on this kind of question: College essay tips that apply to creative prompts
5. A portfolio piece and your academic interests
Tufts's wording · 100-200 words · Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS) only · Required“Tell us more about a specific piece in your portfolio. How did an academic course, project, or interest inspire the ideas that you explored in this piece? Or, how did making this piece influence your academic interests?”
What it is really asking. A portfolio piece and how an academic course, project or interest inspired it, or how making it shaped your academic interests.
How to approach it
- 1Build the bridge between the art and the academic interest explicitly.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating the two halves separately.
More on this kind of question: College essay tips that apply to creative prompts
What our grader checks in your Tufts answers
Every answer is judged against a checklist for its kind of question plus one check written for Tufts's own wording. Each area comes back Met, Partly or Missing, and those verdicts (with the word limit) set the answer's readiness: Ready, Nearly there or Needs work. There is no score out of 100.
| Question | Tufts's own check |
|---|---|
| How you learned about and engaged with Tufts | Names the actions the applicant took to learn about Tufts and the event, video, post or conversation that made it stick, not an overview in website language. |
| A favorite school assignment | Names the assignment and why the applicant enjoyed it. |
| An engineering or science project | Names the project and the applicant's own role in building, designing or iterating it. |
| A piece in your portfolio | It does every part of what Tufts's question asks, in the college's own terms. |
| A portfolio piece and your academic interests | It does every part of what Tufts's question asks, in the college's own terms. |
The type checklists are on the supplemental essay grader page.
Check your Tufts supplemental essays
Paste the answers you have, leave the rest empty. One report covers all of them: a checklist and a readiness verdict for each, a note on every sentence and a revision plan. Half a token, or your first review free. We never write a word of it.
Check your college supplemental essays
Your first full review is free. Every answer reviewed in one report.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Common App or any college.
Open the picker and search for a college to see its 2026–27 supplemental questions.
No card needed · one free full review per student · we never write your answers