Tufts University Top Questions

Tufts is an amazing community that provides students with so many opportunities. Its not a huge college town type of school and its not like the other NESCAC schools (Bates, Bowdoin etc) which are very small. For me, Tufts is the perfect sized school that isnt so large that you feel lost and insignificant and its not too small where everyone knows everyone by the end of the first week. I will always remember staying up the whole night to paint and guard the cannon(a tufts tradition where anyone can paint a cannon for any event/group/birthday etc). We painted it to wish our softball team good luck at the conference tournament. While it was absolutely freezing outside, it was totally worth it.

Tufts is a good suburban school, you have access to Boston but most people don't actually use it because there is plenty to do around campus.

I would say at first glance Tufts looks pretty homogeneous, a sea of brown fleece. Although there are lots of preppy types and over achievers Tufts also has hidden coves of different, interesting people. Given the opportunity you can meet some pretty kooky people, but don't expect Tufts to be a hub of hipness. There are lots of rich kids. There are a fair number of people that I would identify as "uptight" but who you meet has a lot to do with where you live and who you hang-out with. Both the Arts Haus and the Crafts house(to themed houses where you can live starting freshman year) are places of interest and oasis' from the l.l. bean and j. crew crowds.

campus is alright. It's all on a hill - hard to avoid the hill. College students are generally lazy walkers unless you're a go-getter. Right outside the city - very close to public transportation. The locals, whom Tufts students call "townies" try to bully tufts students. Those students who are mean, ignorant of the locals - to me it's like a dog sense - if the locals can tell you are scared or you're not real they'll be rightfully all over you. But if you're a real person who doesn't mind respecting and talking with locals you'll be alright. School is cliquey (like AAfricans hang with Africans, Europeans hang with Euros and so on) but there are a good amount of people who are past that and reach beyond their ethnicity. There's not much talk about on campus, but like i say if you're a go-getta you can do. People won't do anything beyond their norm unless someone initiates - so the opportunities are there. If you're not from New England, I wouldn't reccommend it. Don't get me wrong, coming to a school in Boston, I reccommend the experience, but the social life gets old fairly qucikly. Be careful with the "pre-frosh" invite. Tufts does nothing all year and then try to dress up the school to basically 'sell' Tufts to students. They try to make it all exciting, vibrant and happy when normal days aren't like that. There is no school pride (our biggest event is a Naked Quad Run - ask somebody about the dumb event), but a whole lot of individual pride. If you are applying to colleges, PLEASE VISIT as many Pre-Frosh invites as possible. Cuz U'll get a better idea of how the school is trying to "sell it" to you and what's reality. I'm from DC and I wish I never went to the school, but at the same time Boston (and the colleges) is very unique. It's a place where you would want to say "I've been there." There's a big disjunct between students and admin. Unless you're already an A student, the admin seems to be out to fail students. One more advice, IF you know you are a Family Person and You Know Thy'll Support U, Don't Go to School Far (more than 3 hrs.) from HOME, especially if you're not from NE. It's one of the worst places to stay if you have that situation. The people of New England are just like the weather, VERY COLD-HEARTED. They won't even speak to you, unless, like I said, you are a GO-GETTER. You have to be a real Go-getta to survive socially (even academically) at Tufts. So I know you want to go to college far from home, but I please know that family support situation. Nobody really likes NE, except NE. I reccommend you don't go to any school more northern than NYC. But do find a friend who goes to school in NE because, like I said, NE is a place where you would want to say "I've been there. And seen that." Peace

worst school ever

The size and location of Tufts is perfect for me. There are enough students that you can make lots of friends but still be able to meet new people all the time, but it's not so big that you're just a number. We're so close to Boston, but don't have to really deal with the city and the T unless it's just for a day. I find that Tufts didn't used to be a name that people knew when I told them where I was applying. That's changed considerably in recent years, with a lot of Tufts grads making important contributions to the real world... Now when I tell people where I go, more often than not I get both recognition and respect. The most frequent student complaints are the things you hear on any college campus-- dining hall options/hours, the housing system, living costs, etc. Tufts handles them as well as any other university. Walking up the hill to class in winter isn't exactly a blast, but what can you do about that? It builds character, anyway.

The great thing about Tufts is that it is big enough that you don't bump into that crazy ex-girlfriend or boyfriend (or both, depending on your preference) all the time and have that awkward glance but it small enough that you at least recognize most people in your class. One of the major reasons that I decided to go to Tufts over some other comparably ranked schools I got into was because it has a campus (with lots of grass and trees) but is still very close to a major city (Boston). You get the best of both worlds. Potentially the most unusual thing at Tufts is our annual Naked Quad Run (NQR) where the student body lets off steam before exams by running around the quad naked in December (which is a bit cold for us guys).

Tufts is a great school to attend. Everything you could possibly want is within reach and you get a top notch education. The student body is very accepting of all cultures and I had no trouble making many different groups of friends during my time at Tufts.

I really liked the size of my graduate program at the Fletcher School and thought that it was an appropriate size and scale for what I wanted. There is certainly some tension between the Fletcher School and the University and it is often stated that Fletcher is exclusive and shut off from the remainder of the University. There are some initiatives to overcome this barrier, and I think and hope that it is changing. I thought that the student traditions at Tufts were really fun, and there seems to be an international presence and interest at the school that is really notable

This school is the perfect size. It isn't too small so it's a change from high school, but it is small enough that the students don't get lost in the shuffle. It's in the perfect location. It has a campus, but is 15 minutes from the great city of Boston. The administration at Tufts is available, but not overbearing. Mostly, there are people pulling for ya every step of the way and help is readily available when college becomes (and it will) a little overwhelming.

I think the great thing about Tufts is that it's sort of what you wanted high school to be like but never was. It's filled with everyone who really took school seriously (they wouldn't be there if they didn't) but who know how to take a breather once in a while. The size is perfect, for me anyway. I wanted a school bigger than my high school, which was a little over two thousand. I looked at and applied to a fair number of the excellent small liberal arts schools, but I think they'd just be too small. Tufts has a little over 5000 undergrads and around 9000 with grads -- no where near a state school and large university, but still enough that you'll always be meeting new people. I guess the first thing that drew me to Tufts, as shallow as it is to say, is its name. I'm a sucker for rankings, though I feel that Tufts deserves to be higher than it is. It's a tough school to get into and not so easy to do well -- but I think the students going there realize this and want that challenge. The environment is pretty good. I wanted to be in a big city, and Boston definitely has a lot to offer, although I can't stand Red Sox fans. They're absolutely awful. Tufts itself is in walking distance of Davis Square. Davis Square itself is alright -- good restaurants but not much else unless you want to go into Boston, which is only about fifteen minutes away by T. Unless you want to go to parties, though, there's not much to do on campus on the weekends, but there has been a huge initiative to change this and improve "community."

Tufts kids tend to be pretty active, so there are plenty of events going on all the time, but many of them are geared towards a pretty narrow audience, and uninteresting to just about everybody else. A couple times a semester there will be some decent music or a comedian, and some lame speakers. A lot of our facilities are pretty outdated. Some of the science labs are nice (but not all), but we don't take very good care of our athletes. The basketball gym isn't qualified to host an NCAA tournament game. Nobody as far as I know goes to watch any of the football games. School spirit is pretty low. Kids don't leave campus very much. There are a couple bars nearby that will fill up on a Tuesday night, but that's about it. People will say Tufts is "in Boston," but its a good 10 minute walk and 25 minute train ride to get into downtown, and since it's pretty cold most of the school year, most kids don't even bother. The frats will through parties almost every weekend, but it's not always easy (or possible) to get in. As an upperclassmen, there start to be more house parties as kids move of campus.

There is always way too much to do on campus. I love it. Its truly great

I wish the student body had more school spirit. We're really big on the arts, though so there is usually something happening on campus. I think the size is very nice. Most people in the Midwest don't know what Tufts is, but I've noticed that the really educated people tend to know about Tufts. I spend most of my time in my dorm because of the sense of community there.

I love Tufts. I loved it from the moment I took my first tour. It is the perfect size school- not to small and not to big. In one day you can see many familiar faces and also many that are not familiar. Its nice to be able to go into Carmichael Dining Hall and know that you will recognize someone but not everyone. Tufts campus is beautiful. It is a suburban campus that is also so urban- only miles from Boston. The located of the campus is perfect; you have a smaller suburb, Harvard Square, and a booming city. Being an athlete, I have been subjected to school spirit more so than other students. I'm a biased opinion when it comes to this because I see the spirit first hand being on a team but many other students don't even know what sports teams we have. I think each year the school is paying more attention to sports and people are starting to follow them more often. School spirit lies most heavily with our mascot Jumbo, not our football team. In fact, at homecoming I went down to tailgate the football game, but didn't even see it. As my freshman year comes to an end I have so many new amazing memories and I don't think I would be able to pick my favorite. I can say that the things I remember most are the loads of freshman out on the res-quad playing Frisbee during orientation, my first college class, my first frat party at ATO, and my first swim meet.

A lot of people have heard of Tufts in passing, but don't know where it is. I think the board is trying to change that, so we do have a bigger presence in the household. A reliable source did tell me that Tufts is well-known among the Ivy Grad schools - which is a good thing! I love Tufts. It wasn't my first choice, or my second, or my third. To be honest, when I first arrived, I was not excited. After talking to people, however, my opinion has completely changed. The people has are not pretentious, down-to-earth, and really motivated to pursue their interests. I've heard a lot of inspiring stories from students. I have a love-hate relationship with the campus. We're "the light on the hill". This hill can seem like Mt. Kilimanjaro on certain days. Walking from the gym to my dorm takes about 10 minutes, which can seem like an eternity in the bitter cold New England wind. During the fall, though, the changing leaves was absolutely breath-taking, and the Academic Quad is gorgeous! Landscaping needs some improvement though as does the general architecture.

The best thing about Tufts is the people I have met here so far.I've been able to meet unbelievable people that I never would have had the opportunity to get to know elsewhere. I would definitely change the residential life services here if I could change one thing. Tufts is the perfect size; with about 5000 undergrad it's large enough that you don't feel constricted to one field or group of people, but it's small enough that you see familiar faces everywhere and have a clear sense of community. Tufts' size was a definite factor in my choosing to attend it. On campus I probably spend most of my time in my room during down time during the day. At night during the week I usually hang out with my friends in a neighboring dorm. Boston is not FAR from Tufts, but that doesn't make Medford a college town by any means. Davis Square in Somerville is a nice place to go to get away from campus or go to dinner and the T takes you right into Boston from there, but other than that there isn't much here. Most students complain about the food, which is good but gets old as any cafeteria food would after a while. There are also a lot of complaints about Residential Life.

Most people don't really know what Tufts is, and until the "peer" schools, meaning the Ivy's, start to see Tufts as an equal, most people won't really know what/where Tufts is.

I think that this school is pretty small - there's a huge division between "uphill" and "downhill" so if you live in either place those are the people you will see all the time. When I tell most people from California that I go to Tufts they have no idea what I'm talking about.

Coming from London, not many of my English friends knew the school, but parents knew and definitely people in the States are impressed. The school can be a little on the small side. if you don't know someone, you know someone who does. and the same people go out to parties, so you see the same people a lot. however, boston and all its schools are right here, so there's plenty to get out and see. as an upperclassmen i spend my time on campus in the campus center (also as i work there). a lot of seniors live in houses surrounding the campus, so evenings are spent hanging out there. There is a surprising amount of school spirit considering going to school games is not the thing to do. i love having the city right next to us, yet feeling like a liberal arts college. the most recent and large controversy is the Student Activities Director embezzling money. The weather can suck in the winter and there are no towels in the dorm bathrooms.