I am a part of the 20% - one of 8,000 females who took the AP Computer Science (CS) exam this year. No female students took the exam in Montana or Wyoming, and only one female student took the test in Mississippi and one in North Dakota. If these numbers seem critically low, then good. They should! The lack of females taking this AP signifies a bigger problem throughout society: biased cultural and gender norms against women in science, technology, engineering, and...

As a woman interested in STEM, I set out on mission impossible - finding a school that celebrates and encourages my learning in computer science. I found this at Tufts. The high representation of women in the School of Engineering excites me. This, along with Tufts's "low walls" between disciplines, would allow me to embrace my nerdy side as a girl who loves both coding and playing cello, all within the musical hub of Boston. Based on everyone I've met...

Growing up as the youngest of four, I witnessed many sibling debates during dinner each night. Often, my creative sister and my emotional sister argued over who-knows-what while my analytical brother tried to explain why they were BOTH wrong. These debates would keep escalating until my younger self decided she had to step in and diffuse the situation the only way she knew how - by understanding each sibling's current temperament and then making a joke. In the midst of...

Bowling is my life. I live, breathe, and die competitive bowling. There is nothing better than heading to the alley after school and pickin' up a few spares with my pals. My lengthy bowling career began freshman year, after signing up for my school's team, relieved that there was finally a way to fill the void in my heart where bowling belonged. Stepping into the one-and-only High Performance Lanes on the first day of practice, I put on my stylin'...

The other two supplemental prompts I wrote about were "There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised—your family, home, neighborhood or community—and how it influenced the person you are today." and "Celebrate the role of sports in your life."

I have three older siblings, so the college application process is not new to me. I went in to this already having an idea of the...

Not sure if this is the correct topic, but I think it's worth saying I had a college counselor in high school who was absolutely lovely...

If you are able to travel internationally for a service project, I would do it. National Geographic has many programs...

My "Why Tufts?" supplement covers this, but ultimately I chose Tufts because of the large representation of women in their engineering school (30% - twice the national average!). Also, I am a very active cello player but I don't want to major in...

I procrastinated...... a lot. I didn't even know what prompt I was going to do my Common App essay on until two weeks before my application was due. Full...