Exactly how important are essay/recs for Tufts?

<p>I appreciate your impressions. And I am slightly freaking out that my S did not show his true depth in any of his applications… but of course, his counselor assures me his applications are strong. Thing is… we, as a family, really bought into the fact that this was HIS process and not ours, and so pretty much stayed out of it beyond formatting a resume (that he wouldn’t even consider expanding on). Of course this was BEFORE I found this website and saw how much time, money and energy other parents put into the process. I am slightly concerned that his humility (for lack of a better word) will surely work against him through this process, and I can only hope that his teacher recs and other aspects of his application speak to all of the things he thinks coming from himself look arrogant. We’ve spent so much time encouraging him to be a team player, he really doesn’t know any other way. He is evolving into a man of true character who leads by example and not words on a page. Give him an analytical essay and his brilliance is clear. Give him the opportunity to tell you why he is brilliant and he becomes a mute! :)</p>

<p>And as I write this, I realize that while everyone else may still be sane, I might be slowly going off the deep end!!!</p>