Profiles

Meet the Schiller family: 3 different personalities, all happy with their Tufts choice


When Denise and John Schiller brought their oldest son, Zak, to Tufts in 2003, they didn’t imagine they would be making the same college journey with their other two children. But, in September 2008, the family from Pittsburgh will have three children at the university at the same time.

“We have three different kids and Tufts appealed to each independently,” John said. “They are not the same kid by any stretch. But, they all love Boston and Tufts met their criteria in so many ways.”

“They are really enjoying each other,” Denise added. “It’s nice that they’ll end up all together.”

Zak graduated with a biology degree in 2007 and is currently enrolled in a two-year biomedical engineering Masters program. Jessie is a sophomore, majoring in community health and clinical psychology, and incoming freshman Jacob is interested in majoring in chemistry.

“Zak loved it here,” Jessie said, “so it was easier to see myself here. I’m happy here. It’s big enough that I can do my own thing, but small enough to have a real community.”

Zak views David Kaplan, professor and chair of biomedical engineering, as a mentor. “He is well known in the biomedical field. And, Boston has a great science community. It’s the home of cutting-edge research in areas like stem cells and tissue regeneration,” he said.

Jessie, who studied with Tufts in Talloires, France last summer, appreciates the strong international community—and having family members close by. "My roommate is from France and I love the international diversity on campus," she said.

Jake, who applied early decision, said that he didn’t initially think of Tufts as his first choice, but that the more schools he visited, the more he realized that Tufts was the right choice. "It started off that Tufts was one of the schools I had to apply to, but when I looked at other schools, I realized that Tufts had everything," he said. He is particularly excited about the chemistry department.

Zak was also a pioneer for other students, generating enthusiasm in the public school they all attended.

“All three kids looked at lots of schools from Boston to Chicago, but they all decided that Tufts was the right place for them,” John said.