Tufts University Top Questions

I feel that Tufts is the perfect size school. Its not too big or too small. Unfortunately, around my area not too many people know about the school. It is not very popular in New York. Tufts is situated in the perfect place. The area is nice and quiet. But if you want to go into the city its only a 30 minute train ride away. I also like the fact that Tufts is situated around a number of other colleges. So there is always something going on. I really like the administration and professors at Tufts. They are very easy to talk to and ultimately want the absolute best for you. The hardest thing I faced at Tufts was the culture shock. Being a minority from a community full of people who look like me, it was very hard for me to adjust at Tufts. The majority of the students are white and are people that I am not used to being around. Most students are very accepting of me despite my difference in appearance but are few are very prejudice and racist. Yet I try not to let these few ruin my experience at Tufts. I'm not too big on the food. The parties are okay. And I wish the library was bigger. But other than that I absolutely love Tufts. I am glad that I came here

The best thing about Tufts is Spring Fling. This outdoor concert in Spring is usually the highlight of my year with artists such as Common, The Dropkick Murphy's, T.I., and Spoon being past acts. Additionally, Tufts dining services are wonderful compared to those of other schools. One thing I'd change about Tufts is the advising system. I found my advisor to be completely useless and basically had to figure a lot of stuff out on my own based on trial and error. This was especially hard at first since I am in the combined degree program between Tufts and the SMFA and there is little to know communication between the schools, and our individual advisors at both schools know little about the other school. I like the size of Tufts in general. I think I'd prefer it to be a little bigger, but it is definitely big enough that there are always new people to meet. However, I am always surprised at how everyone seems to have mutual friends and is interconnected. When I tell people I go to Tufts I get in general two reactions--the first is "Oh you must be smart! That's such a good school." The second is usually just total lack of recognition of the school at all. I guess at least those who do know of it think highly of it! I spend most of my time on campus either in class, the library, the dining halls, and in the dorms. Davis square is cute and relatively easy to get to--although when it gets cold everything seems incredibly far. I will say that I thought Tufts would be the perfect combination of campus and city. While I'm glad to be on a campus, it does take longer to get into Boston than I would like--roughly 30-45 minutes travel time if you don't have a car. Additionally, public transportation shuts down so early that often times my friends and I just opt to stay on campus or within walking distance. I would definitely like to explore Boston more. Tufts administration is kind of slow. You really need to be on top of your side of things and preferably early with paperwork, etc. as they will certainly not be. There is little school pride I'd say. Well, most of us take pride in the school, but we are certainly not a "ra ra" school. Few people attend sporting events besides Homecoming. The most frequent student complaints seem to be about lack of social life. There is often (especially during the winter) going on on campus--or if there is it is not well advertised. Off campus and frat parties tend to get broken up really quickly.

People are very nice at tufts....the size is just right, personally i would want it a little smaller just because i went to a very small high school. People either are very impressed by tufts or do not know the school at all. i wish the student centers and facilities were a little nicer, i never really hang out in hte campus center. davis square is very cute, and the t stop is right there, but it is not a college town...maybe the bus into boston should be a little more regular.

Its the perfect size - small enough to walk across campus and see familiar faces but big enough that you still meet new people all the time. People are generally impressed when you say you go to Tufts, but some people have never heard of it. It's got a great location, close to Boston, but still has a campus feel. The student body is decently diverse, at least as far as experiences go, but is still pretty white. You can find someone interested in just about anything.

Great size, beautiful campus that is close enough to the city but still tucked away. The borderlands are somewhat more dangerous then i thought as there have been muggings, assaulta, and even a stabbing of a tufts student this year. The very close davis square provides many good restaurants as well as the necessary cvs and starbucks. There is little school pride and not a great comradarie amongst the students but people are all involved in activities, great academics, and partying. People who are well educated are very impressed when you say you go to Tufts, but the average Joe has never heard of it before.

Tufts is a fairly small school. This of course has a lot of implications. It means that you know a very big percentage of your graduating class. This is a lot of fun, especially during senior year. It means that when you tell people that you go to Tufts about half of them say, "Oh that's a good school," and the other half have never heard of it. There is a lot of school pride in the fact that there is always a lot of Tufts apparel being worn on campus. On the other hand, it is a Div III school so there is little in the way of sports team pride.

we're a work hard play hard kind of school. kids go out and party but know when to get their business together so they can get down to work. i really like the size of tufts (about 5000 undergrad). its not way too big that you get lost but you definitely meet new people all the time. when people hear i go to tufts i get one of a few responses. 1. never heard of it. 2. oh wow that's a good school. 3. oh tufts? haha *chuckle to themselves* is it pretty "tough" over there.. then they nudge me knowingly (this is usually somebodies dad who thinks he is way too clever for the mortal world). being so close to boston is really nice. granted i wasn't able to get into town as much as i would've liked (my own fault i suppose) whenever i did get into town i had a blast and its really easy to get in (campus shuttle drops you off at a T station). the "college town" is boston. eat your heart out, everyone else. as far as the administration goes, i don't really pay too much attention to the inner-workings of tufts but one lady did embezzle 300 grand from the school last year (it was really intense and she got fired, obviously). moving on, school pride! tufts kids love tufts. jumbo is our mascot and everyone is in love with him (it's an elephant). you'll feel patriotic about pachyderms when you come. don't worry about it. as far as things i dont like about tufts.. not really anything. some kids bitch about crappy dorms (only 1 or 2 in particular and you only get stuck in those if you have a bad housing lottery number.. so keep your fingers crossed and maybe pay someone off.. whatever)

Whenever I tell someone from back home that I go to Tufts, I normally get a blank face or a "So a UC wasn't an option?". Not many people know of Tufts in California; it's not exactly a "brand name" school in the west. Even though I have to end up explaining where and what Tufts is a million times, I would never think of going anywhere else. I love Tufts. I love the size (you often see people you know around campus, but if you really wanted to, you could be anonymous), I love the people (everyone is interesting and friendly), and I love the academic environment (it's studious but relatively laid back).

The Big Picture, eh? College town; I mean, no shit, it's Boston. Size is fine for me; being an engineer, you don't meet many people anyway. When I say I'm from Tufts, most people ask where it is. I don't blame them because I'd never heard of them either. It was just luck. Where I spend most of my time?! I'm an engineer! I spend my time in my room doing homework or in the lab doing research! I don't have time to sip on a mocha latte at Brown and Brew discussing the latest in Middle Eastern politics! Outside of the lab and my room, I spend most of my time outside, probably hacky sacking, seriously enjoying the little time in the sun that I have. Tufts' administration can go to hell. They continue to make increasingly retarded decisions about how to spend our money, and I've heard multiple cases of an administrative body taking zero responsibility for their mistakes. Not to mention our tuition continues to rise. As if forking over 40 something grand a year isn't enough... Recent controversy? Look at the Primary Source. They got targeted because they wrote some pretty offensive crap targeting African Americans and Muslims. What angered the hell out of me was how Larry Bacow himself threatened to shut the newspaper down, which he later recanted. I mean, I was kinda scared that an organization was about to lose their freedom of speech because they were "offensive." Thank God Bacow ended the argument with, "The appropriate response to offensive speech is more speech, not less." School pride I haven't seen, but then again, I spend most of my time working. The Alumni Association I believe is making a movement to help students feel "more attached" to their university because alumni donations have dropped by a pretty crazy amount. It's all about the moolah, baby! Overall, academics are strong. Common sense, on the other hand, is not.

The best thing about Tufts is the student body. Everyone is friendly. I took one of my friends on a tour as a prospective student, and he was frightened by how "nice" people were. I'd say we're all a bit quirky to boot. The proximity to Boston, Davis Square, and Harvard Square is a huge plus. Even though students complain about the lack of a "social life" at Tufts, there's a different social life in every sphere if you look for it. It's a cozy size, so people get to know each other but can still continue meeting others for the entirety of their four year academic career.