Need some extra cash this semester? Don't expect to get it by becoming a Tufts admissions tour guide. In the field of guiding tours at Tufts, two characteristics that are typically mutually exclusive in the job market - highly competitive and non-paid - are present.
Although Tufts tour guides have a similar job description to guides at other schools, Jumbos who lead tour groups are unpaid and the process of applying for the job is much more rigorous. Despite their lack of financial benefits, however, most volunteer guides agreed that a love for Tufts provides their motivation, not money.
Assistant Director of Admissions Kerrin Damon, who is in charge of appointing tour guides, stressed the importance of the job. "We want to see that the student is serious about being a tour guide," she said.
For Jumbos, the process of becoming a tour guide begins in November and lasts until just before fall semester final exams. Potential guides complete a written application, answering about a dozen questions about their experience at Tufts and their interest in the position.
The prospective tour guides are then interviewed by admissions officers and current guides and asked to share personal stories as if they were giving a tour. Following the interview round, applicants are narrowed down and must give a mock tour to admissions officers.
"Candidates are asked to study an aspect of Tufts and give a mock tour while fielding questions from current tour guides and admissions officers," Damon said.
Once the process is complete, less than half of the initial applicant pool is selected. For the 2007-2008 school year, 50 tour guides were accepted out of 111 applicants, according to Damon, who said that there is no set number of guides.
Other schools, including Skidmore College and the University of Pennsylvania, have a much simpler process.
University of Pennsylvania tour guide Katie Savarise noted two steps to her application process. "We had to fill out a written application that asked about who we are - then, we had an interview with admissions officers," she said.
Skidmore's method of selection is similar, with an application and interview. While Skidmore's admissions office states that "touring is not a primary source of employment," the school pays its guides $8 an hour for their first year.
While those at Tufts are not paid an hourly wage, the admissions office does reward exceptional guides. "We do give out bookstore gift cards as bonuses for those who go above and beyond," Damon said.
Tufts' volunteer guides aren't required to commit to three hours during the school week, like those at Skidmore, but they must give at least one tour a week in addition to committing to weekend hours. Despite this, Tufts' guides don't find the time commitment difficult to fit into their schedules.
Junior tour guide Adam White said the time commitment isn't a burden. "It is only an hour a week commitment plus a few special tours, which is often very manageable," he said.
White said he enjoys his position and that being a guide allows him to promote a positive image of Tufts. "I really like Tufts and telling people why I like it and about all of the cool things I've had a chance to do here," he said. "I've heard many tour guides who say that the tour guides they had when they were here were either great or awful, and they want to be a guide now because they want to perpetuate the good feeling, or do a better job."
Savarise agreed with those reasons when commenting on the rationale behind being a tour guide at UPenn.
"I like meeting new people, plus I love Penn and want to spread the knowledge," she said. "Money wouldn't matter."
White said he feels that the volunteer aspect raises the quality of tours that the guides give as opposed to detracting from them. Because they sincerely want the position they hold, they devote themselves to it, he said.
"I often hear parents and prospective students talk about how the Tufts tours are one of the best. I think part of this can be attributed to the fact that it is a volunteer position," White said. "Everyone is doing this job because they like Tufts and want to help others see why. There aren't any other motivations."
The tour guides' perspective on the compensation issue is important to the Tufts admissions office, and while payment has been considered, Damon didn't think it would help or hurt the program.
"We have [considered paying the tour guides]; it's just an added expense," Damon said. "For the most part I think they like that they are doing it to help prospective students."
