Tufts University Top Questions

frats are a big part of the social scene for freshmen, however they are very boring and get old easily though once you find a good group of friends dorm parties can be a lot of fun there is always some type of event going on...a speaker, dance concert, some type of school organized event to see....tuftslife.com keeps the students very infomred most people are just hooking up rather than dating freshman year

While at other schools, it might be cool to date a football player or star basketball player, at Tufts it's cool if your significant other is on the frisbee team or in an a cappella group. There is always stuff to do on campus, and if that's not enough Boston is really close. Some might say the party scene is lame, but it's never failed me. Frats and sororities are pretty lame to the 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the population that is not involved in them. Just as easily as you can find some people getting drunk and high at once can you find someone just hanging out watching a movie or even studying on a Saturday night. Big traditions include painting the canon, putting pumpkins on buildings the night before Halloween, not paying any attention to the football game on homecoming, and releasing stress before December exams during the NQR.

I do a lot of dancing and healthcare activities. There are a lot of clubs of course and you can always create your own. Many of these clubs have regular and good attendance. All of the performances tend to be towards the end of the semester understandably. There are several events that happen yearly including the naked quad run and spring fling, which most students participate in. Athletic events are not popular at all but many students participate in their own sport. The freshman dorms are random and somtimes you luck out, but usually you can end up pretty isolated in terms of being in a group instead of a hall. People party 1-2 times a weekend and can be pretty noisy. The frats are pretty used but there are also a lot of house parties. It is often too hard to find events that dont involve drinking unless you go off campus to a movie. There is no dating and a lot of hooking up, which girls tend to find upsetting.

One of the biggest appeals about Tufts is the number of events put on around campus. There are too many to take advantage of. This is a great opportunity however, as you can pick and choose which events appeal most to you. There are multiple guest lecturers and speakers on a variety of topics. Some of these are academic and will appeal to your major field of study, and some are broad as in the semi-annual comedian show or politicians like Hilary Clinton. Probably the most signature Tufts event is NQR, the naked quad run. This happens on the last day of the fall term every year. Students drink and party in the oldest dorm - West, and then run naked around the Residential quad in the (possibly) snow. The event is not sponsored by the school, but it is regulated by the police and facilities to avoid injury.

tufts has 3 big parties each year (fall ball, winter bash, spring fling). those are always fun and most of the students go to each one. there are also famous parties that happen every year (in houses/frats) that lots of people go to. athletic events are not as popular (except homecoming or big championship games). dating scene at tufts is probably like any other college... in that people do date. outside the dating world, tufts is a bit of a hook-up culture so if you're into that it's there. party nights are thursday-saturday. there will be something going on (big or small) each of those nights. frats are a pretty big part of the party scene at tufts (especially for freshman/sophs). if you're not into drinking/partying there will still be tons of things for you to do on weekend nights. don't fret.

I am always awake at 3 am on any given day of the week. This isn't because I'm swamped with homework however. It's because I've been busy socializing or "studying" with a group of people in the downstairs lounge. Tufts students will usually leave their doors open and are always happy to have a conversation, even if they're in the middle of their homework. I'm not saying that Tufts students aren't studious, they certainly are, but there is always time to hang out as well. I think that Tufts students strike a good balance between working and socializing.

Apparently the Tufts Dance Collective is the most popular dance group on campus. Go there if you want to have fun. No dance experience necessary, trust me. There are no cliques. Athletic events aren't too popular, but then again, I was never interested in them anyway. Ooh, the dating scene. Because I'm an engineer, I don't get out much, but I've met all my girlfriends outside of engineering, so if you get out there, you will meet someone you like. Seriously, I have incredibly high standards, yet I was able to meet some really cool people. Parties get old after five weeks of straight drinking because your engineering life blows. Spice it up! Go work out or attend a LAN party. Or take a partner and explore the city. The world is seriously your oyster. Or however that saying goes.

Our sports teams are small but dedicated. Fans are mostly friends with the athletes. It's easy to make friends as Tufts athletes are not typical jocks. They're in your classes and are well-worth getting to know. Still, a cappella concerts and theatrical productions have bigger turnouts than most sporting events. Definitely more of an artsy school, but people on campus are fit and athletic on their own time. Tufts theater is fantastic and just keeps getting better. Everyone is incredibly dedicated. We keep pulling off bigger productions and a greater number of shows each year while still maintaining a high quality. IR rules half the school, so guest speakers always get a good reception. People work hard and play moderately. Partying is usually just on the weekends while studying is all the time. There is a large spectrum of party scenes, so you can usually find whatever you're looking for.

What are the most popular groups/organizations/clubs/teams on campus? The community service organization (Leonard Carmichael Society) is number one, and also a lot of people are involved in Tufts Dance Collective, which is a fun activity for people who aren't even serious or particularly talented dancers. Tell us about a group you’re involved with. I'm co-director of the energy club. Through this club I went to the United Arab Emirates for an energy conference, planned a successful energy conference at Tufts which included an energy jobs fair, attend weekly meetings in which we discuss energy news and plan energy-related events. Some events include inviting speakers to campus for talks and debates, watching energy-related movies, going on field trips to nearby energy plants, demonstrating new energy technologies, planning other research trips (this winter break some members are going to South Africa to look at their energy crisis, while others are headed to Israel to look into their electric cars). Many members go on to work in energy fields, including a bunch of guys who started a wind consulting company. Really fun atmosphere, and we don't espouse any kind of cause, like green energy for example - that's the environmental group's job. We just like to promote the dialogue on energy issues. Do students in dorms leave their doors open? Yes. But many lock, or at least close them, when they leave for class. How popular are athletic events? Not very. Homecoming is. Guest speakers? Too many! I always see someone amazing on the schedule and then curse myself for having class during that time period. Theater? Very popular, and the musical theater community is very self-guided and close-knit. Tell us about the dating scene. Freshman year has its fair share of random hookups, but by junior year many people find long-term relationships. How did you meet your closest friends? Half lived in my dorm, a couple I knew before college, and a bunch from my classes and clubs. If you’re awake at 2am on a Tuesday, what are you doing? watching my guy friends play Super Smash Bros/Guitar Hero, or maybe watching whatever's on Bravo or Comedy Central. What traditions/events happen each year? Naked Quad Run takes place on the last day of classes in fall semester - students are encouraged to strip naked in the snow and run laps around the academic quad. The administration actually sponsors it, and they set up a tent with performances and hot chocolate. Most people get drunk, but some do it sober. Spring Fling is a huge concert where the entire student body basically starts drinking at 10 AM. Fall Ball and Winter Bash are DJ-ed dance parties, thousands go. We also have a tradition of painting our cannon - students paint it to raise publicity about events they're sponsoring, or just personal messages like happy birthdays or even marriage proposals. Senior Pub Nights are also really popular - they happen throughout the year, in which Tufts runs buses for seniors to all go to a bar/club together. How often do people party? Most people, at least once a week. How important are fraternities/sororities? Well, I don't know about "important," but they dominate the freshman social scene. But the brothers and sisters are still the same smart kids in your classes, in most cases. What did you do last weekend? Well it's summer, so I went to visit my boyfriend up in Boston. Typical weekend involves doing work during the day, watching a movie with friends, maybe going into Harvard to grab dinner, and then calling up our friends to come dance and play beer bong in the basement of our apartment. What can you do on a Saturday night that doesn’t involve drinking? ...A lot. Boston is a subway ride away, so food and entertainment and your friends at other schools are always an option. Or you could maybe attend one of the FIFTY BILLION events that the various organizations are putting on. Do you want to see a play? A Thai culture night? The male step team's show? Live music at the campus center or Brown and Brew? Rap battle? A free movie courtesy of Film Series? And hey, when it's snowing out, ain't nothing wrong with staying in and watching a pirated movie. What do you do off campus? Well, most juniors and seniors live off campus. "off-campus" includes the restaurants and bars in the Somerville area, and also Boston. Boston is awesome for entertainment - in one weekend I went to a production of the Nutcracker, a Cake concert, and ice skating in the park. Lots of good food. Off-campus people go to grocery stores to buy food, from Whole Foods to Shaws to Foodmaster. A lot of clubs sponsor various trips away from Tufts, whether it's the mountain club heading up to hike at the Loj in New Hampshire, cleaning up the mystic river, or the Chinese Students' Club leading a trip to Boston's Chinatown for a dim sum lunch.

I would say that neither the Greek system nor sports in general are very important in Tufts' everyday life.