<p>Ask away :)</p>
<p>Hello: </p>
<p>I am thinking about applying to Tufts for a PhD prgram. Is the subway / campus area safe? Is it hard to get a student parking pass? Is it even worth driving to campus or is the traffic horrible?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The area generally is pretty safe, although about once per year (on average) you hear of a student getting threatened for his cash. Normally Tufts is considered safe and I've never had a problem, but I'll admit, hearing the robberies are a bit disconcerting. The T at night is generally pretty safe in getting students back to Tufts because the Joey comes and picks people up at the T stop before dropping us back on campus. Parking is not difficult to get as long as you have money, but it's nowhere near the price of what you'd have to pay if you were a grad student at Harvard. What PhD program do you plan to apply to? The science ones pay much better than the humanities, at least from what I hear.</p>
<p>What was your SAT score, class rank, and AP or IB courses ?</p>
<p>snuffles:</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I am thinking about the biomedical engineering program. There is a professor doing some research that I am interested in. I am not entirely sure how good the engineering programs are. I have heard they are good and not too difficult to get into. Have you heard the same things?</p>
<p>How is the campus? I saw some pictures and its really nice looking. Is the library nice?</p>
<p>BTW...I'm moving from Honolulu...so are the winters as bad as everyone says they are?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Professor Kaplan? I did research with one of his post docs on silk scaffolding :) I think the BME department is a good investment because Kaplan's research brings in lots of grant and research money. He's got tons of resources and a lot of people seem to enjoy what they're doing when I was there last semester. Granted I didn't end up liking it, but that's what it was for right? I have no idea what PhD admissions standards are as I'm only familiar with undergraduate statistics.</p>
<p>As a californian, I find that the weather is cold, but there's something about the weather that allows you to adapt to it within half the season. You feel cold, but you don't care about it anymore, and you're much more tolerant to cold weather. I actually found that I was colder when I went back to CA (because we never turn on the heat) than I was in boston - ironic.</p>
<p>Library's nice, but it's no cathedral.</p>
<p>I am currently a junior, class of 07.</p>
<p>740m 700v Is
760, 710, 680 IIs
5 APs (music theory, bio, chem, calc AB, BC) and an honors
No class rank, but my GPA was probably around a 3.9 or so.</p>
<p>Granted even three years ago when I applied the admissions standards were not nearly as high as what they are now, you have been warned :) My year the avg SATs were around 1340 versus the ~1420 it is now. The top 10% my time was around ~70%, whereas nowadays it's 85%.</p>
<p><a href="http://admissions.tufts.edu/admstat.htm%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.tufts.edu/admstat.htm</a></p>
<p>snuffles:</p>
<p>Dr. Fantini is the professor I was thinking about. Have you met him? He is doing some medical imaging research.</p>
<p>Good to here that I'll adjust to the cold weather. Today was a cold 65 - 75 degrees~ I can't imagine what 30F will be like!</p>
<p>Can you estimate my chances?</p>
<p>Cumulative GPA: 3.6
5 honors so far
2 APs so far
planning to take 4-5 APs next year
SAT: 2150-2200 (estimate)-low 600s CR, mid 700s Writing, 800 math
PSAT: 216/99% in CA, if that counts for anything
My school doesn't report class rank.
Extracurriculars: Amnesty International, Environmental Club, JSA, Symposium Committee
Private school in CA. I guess pretty hard. It's apparently pretty well-regarded on the west coast.</p>
<p>Willing to apply ED I or II.
First choice school, followed closely by University of Michigan and NYU.
BTW, I'm a junior now, HS class of 2007.</p>
<p>I think I've heard somewhere that Tufts is notoriously tough and grade-deflated, and this concerns me, as I need to get a high GPA for Business School. Is there any truth whatsoever to this?
How is Tufts' career services?
Is it hard to transfer to ivies from Tufts, assuming I get like a 4.5?
I'm planning to double major Econ and IR (international relations) or Political science, and I plan to go into investment banking, and kiss enough ass to get my employer to sponsor my MBA, hopefully this time in an ivy league school (like Harvard, Columbia).</p>
<p>bcas, if you grew up in Hawaii, you're going to find it very cold anywhere in New England or the upper Midwest. That being said, I was good friends with a couple of Hawaiians who adapted to Boston winters very well. One is now finishing med school at Yale, so she wasn't too traumatized.</p>
<p>Grade deflation - I wouldn't say it's any less than any other school though it's more of the concept that everyone works hard for their grade. The sad reality of college at any institution is that someone must get the C. People when they come to Tufts may have been very bright in high school and never learned a good work ethic, thus crashing in their first semester or year. In terms of the humanities the grades ARE better than the sciences though you'd be hardpressed to find people with 3.8s without breaking a sweat.</p>
<p>Transfering - it's really not a good idea to go to a school with the intent of transfering to a place that's more prestigious and for the name. A lot of people who do this end up setting themselves up for disappointment, expecting the school to be terrible so they'll have a reason to leave. To be frank, it doesn't make that huge of a difference as long as you do well at the institution you're at. A lot of admissions officers will be able to tell why people transfer as it comes out through the essays etc.</p>
<p>In general I'd say you have a decent chance. Difficult to predict a definitive answer as I'm no adcom, but the better the ballpark statistics are the less reason they will have to let you down.</p>
<p>Edit: No i'm not familiar with Dr. Fantini's work. I'm done with research now, no more!</p>