Tufts University Asks What #YOLO Means To Applicants On Admissions Essay

BlutarskyTFM12 years ago

I really don’t remember what applying to colleges was like. I don’t remember what I had to fill out, send in, or write, but I do remember that the entire process was a huge pain in the ass. I remember writing about the Battle of Gettysburg for an essay on the SAT, but that’s pretty much it. I’m sure I had to write some kind of personal statement in which I discussed all my leadership roles, community service, academic and athletic achievements, and other bullshit that would get me to the pinnacle of youthful freedom, better known as college.

Though I’ll probably never be able to tell you what I actually had to write about, I can be 100% positive when I say that I’m glad I didn’t have to answer one of the questions asked of applicants to Tufts University. The university, which is located in Medford, Massachusetts, gave applicants five possible essay questions, of which they had to answer three.

I’m sure some of them were your standard “Discuss a time you overcame adversity” crap that academic institutions these days seem to love. One question, however, was so profound and disgusting that decorum almost prohibits mentioning it here. Almost.

The ancient Romans started it when they coined the phrase “Carpe diem.” Jonathan Larson proclaimed “No day but today!” and most recently, Drake explained You Only Live Once (YOLO). Have you ever seized the day? Lived like there was no tomorrow? Or perhaps you plan to shout YOLO while jumping into something in the future. What does #YOLO mean to you?

Are you fucking kidding me? You asked them what YOLO meant to them? And you included the hashtag? Holy shit. If I were an ancient Roman, I’d be pissed. It’d be one thing if you asked them to explain what “carpe diem” meant to them. That’d be fine. Instead, you went with YOLO.

Maybe it was a trick. That would make sense. Maybe some guys up at the admissions office were sitting around thinking, What’s a question we can ask that will allow us to gauge if someone is a complete dumbass? Maybe they’re denying admission to anyone who answered the question, regardless of the content of their response.

Regardless of the stupidity of the question, you know there are bound to be some great responses. If you ask an 18-year-old that question, what kind of answer are you expecting to get? In their eighteen years of living a mundane, suburban life, what exactly have they done that made them think, “Hell, I’ll do it. You only live once, right?”

You know who’d have a great response to this question? Veterans who recently left the service after tours overseas to pursue higher education. They can probably tell the admissions folks up at Tufts a thing or two about YOLO.

[via Huffington Post]

Image via wsspaper.com