Tufts University Top Questions

Tufts is an amazing place to go to school -- specifically because of the community. This university is particularly open to pretty much every type of person, and it's super easy to be yourself and find your own niche. The size of the school is especially conducive to this: it's big enough that you're always meeting new people, but small enough that you'll see all of your friends in the library or the dining hall.

I absolutely love Tufts. It has offered me incredible opportunities in and out of the classroom and prepared me to be successful no matter what I decide to do after I leave. I have met the coolest group of people I've ever experienced here - everyone has a story, and everyone has a passion, and everyone is willing to share each others' experiences. It is certainly not perfect - no place is - but it seems to me like Tufts students are willing to talk about the things they are upset about and often to fight to make them better, so I think the school will continue to improve as students continue to push for the things that are important to them.

Tufts is definitely not worth the money. The best thing about Tufts was that it made me realize I could do better. It´s a university for victims of the Peter principle.

So When people ask me where I graduated from they're either impressed or clueless. I find it hilarious! Over all, I loved Tufts. It was just the right size with around 5,000 Undergrads who are definitely catered to by Administration. It's a real campus but close enough to resources to get away( ie. "The Joey" our shuttle, Public buses, Davis and Medford Squares, I-93, Rt.28, T- Station etc). It was as diverse as I could expect of an elite institution and with all the culture and special interest houses there was always a place that felt like a second home( ie. Latino Center, my real second home!) School pride is still there, no one denies being a Jumbo! Of course the school could use some changes, such as some of the old buildings or some of the Greater Boston Area- pest issues but over all: It's a great school and I'm so happy I spent the last four years and will become a Double Jumbo by staying another year for my Masters!

I feel that Tufts is the perfect campus. It is divided into 2 schools: the school of liberal arts (about 1000 per grade) and the school of engineering (about 200 per grade). This gives you the perfect mix of liberal arts and engineering students and personalities. It also gives you a wider variety of classes to choose from. The campus itself has around 5000 undergraduate students with about 4000 graduate students. One of my favorite things about the campus is that it is actually a campus. Everything is located really close together with only a few main roads running through or by the campus. It is also a short drive or even short train (T) ride from Boston itself. I grew up in Mass so I know what the weather is like and I love it out here. In the winter it gets cold and snows enough for you to go sleding on campus (the whole campus is on a hill). If you want to go skiing it is a pretty short drive up to NH, VT, or Maine. In the spring and the fall the weather is perfect. I hate the heat and it never seems to get too hot (unless you are here in the summer).

Pretty much anyone that's heard of Tufts reacts very favorably when I say I went there. The size of the school was just right for me-- small enough that you really have a place for yourself and can find a niche easily, and large enough that it's not like high school, and you're always meeting new people. On the other hand, it certainly is small enough for those "it's a small world" moments, when you meet someone for the first time and then find out that you know half of the same people anyway and can't figure out how you didn't meet before.

Tufts campus is a nice size and looks real nice, but the fact that you have to walk up and down a hill all day gets pretty tiring (literally). The school is a nice size where you get to meet a lot of people, but if you don't want to see someone, you can avoid them pretty easily. I wouldn't say that Tufts has a ton of "school pride", but almost everyone goes out and "celebrates" the big school events like Homecoming, Spring Fling, and NQR.

In my opinion, Tufts is a compromise between all different aspects of college, which more or less gives it the best of all worlds. We're medium sized - you're constantly meeting new people and have the resources of a bigger school, yet you'll see a half dozen familiar faces walking to class and have many small classes. We're just outside of Boston - we have quads and a campus bubble, yet all the best parts of Boston like big events, restaurants, internships, are accessible from the T. We have both a liberal arts and an engineering school - everyone interacts with shared classes and there's virtually no walls between the schools like you see at big universities. Last, there are plenty of research opportunities for science/social science majors, but small classes and engaging professors like a typical liberal arts school. Campus is gorgeous in the spring, summer, and fall, but little gloomy in the winter and on rainy days. Students mostly stay on campus, but some go into Boston a few times a week while others rarely make the trip. Everything you need is on campus, but it's nice to eat off campus/go to something cool in Boston. Generally, people are impressed by the Tufts "name" too. The "Tufts must be 'tuft' to get into!" joke gets old quick though. Outside of New England, there's less name recognition, but the more pretentious students will tell you that the people who matter know the Tufts name. Sometimes they'll joke about our endearing/somewhat embarrassing mascot, Jumbo.

best thing: the people. I'd change: the tuition. Just the right size!! When I told others they were usually impressed. I spent my time at the campus center, my dorm/house, friends houses, the quad in nice weather, the gym. Administration is corrupt, but the president is wonderful. Controversy all comes from the one conservative magazine. No school pride for sports, but pride in the school.

Goldilocks would have given TUFTs two thumbs up! We're not too small, not oo big; not too academic, not too athletic; we are ambitious but not enough to forget the social implications of our decisions. That isn't to say we're perfect, just that we are slightly better balanced; self-deprecating, yes but never losing sight of our dignity.