We visited and there isn’t much school spirit from what I saw and no one wears the apparel which is usually a sign of something negative.
I was there 2 weeks ago visiting my son who is a sophomore. Plenty of the students seemed to be wearing something with Tufts or Jumbo on it.
Nobody enjoys Tufts; it’s actually empty.
(sorry, couldn’t resist. It’s just such a silly question.)
Tufts isn’t a rah, rah school like Umichigan is. It’s a more cerebral, community service oriented school…that is where tufts’ spirit resides. And yes, kids wear tufts apparel, my kid included. Perhaps your kid is looking at the wrong schools if you’re judging school spirit by just taking a tour of the school and calculating how many kids are wearing a school hoodie. Maybe you should be considering state schools with big football, and forget about mid-size schools or LACs.
My child enjoyed it. It was just something I noticed. I’ve always felt that it means something when many students wear the school apparel. I guess I’m wrong
Just to echo some other comments, most of my friends enjoyed Tufts and I think many of them did frequently wear school apparel (although I’m coming up on my 5th reunion so my memory for specific campus fashions is fading). I also agree that what students wear and their attendance of sporting events are probably both poor measures of the school spirit and general student enjoyment, at least at Tufts.
Many students choose Tufts because they like being able to take advantage of Boston. It can siphon some of the rah-rah off campus, but it’s also the experience those students wanted. They will report that they are happy, and many probably can’t imagine themselves at a school with a big sports tradition, or in a remote towm. I know you’re asking about the students you saw, but you should ask yourself whether it is a place where you would be happy.
@mondaymom- You need to look really carefully to get an accurate count…
Sometimes Jumbos (including the president) will go for the more understated “Banana Republic” look 
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/search.do?searchText=elephant&redirect=true
I know a lot of Tufts undergrads who love their school and who have been very happy.
The reason tufts students don’t wear a lot of tufts apparel is because it’s a relatively urban campus where students dress fashionably. Most kids here wear jeans, sweaters, and dresses over sweatpants and t-shirts. I have plenty of tufts apparel, but I wear it to the gym or to bed, not to class. Apparel seems a very strange way to gauge student satisfaction.
I would not characterize the Tufts campus as “relatively urban”. Suburban, yes, urban no.
@suzyQ7 I would disagree. Tufts definitely is relatively urban. Somerville is considered a part of the Boston area. Of course it is not as urban as NYU, for example, but being a short T ride away from the downtown definitely qualifies it as at least “relatively urban.”
Somerville is a suburb and is across the river from Boston (but one of the most densely populated suburbs in the country). But most of Tufts is in Medford, which is suburban. I consider Tufts suburban but as close as you can get to urban while still being suburban, ha ha! I’ve lived in the area for 20+ years.
We visited last week for the first time and both, my D and I, perceived the campus as suburban. We had breakfast at a cute cafe in Medford and then drove up to campus. We both liked it a lot. It’s a beautiful setting. Urban campuses we visited are, among others, NYU, BU, GW, but even USC (Los Angeles) or American.
@redpoodles I said relatively urban- not urban like NYU but Somerville is a (small) urban area in many aspects and as rent prices in metro Boston continue to skyrocket it is quickly become less a suburb for families with small children and more a hotspot for young professionals. I’ve lived in the area my whole life (in the real suburbs!) and we considered Somerville and Cambridge to be part of Boston.
@Qwerty568 I understand that but people IN Boston do not really consider Medford to be Boston, or consider Tufts to be in Boston. Somerville is cool and appealing to students and has a very large population density with every 25 year old wanting to live there, and great T stops etc., BUT MOST OF TUFTS IS IN MEDFORD. LOOK UP THE ADDRESS. The closest T stop (in Somerville!) is a solid 20 minute walk away.
This is a stupid thing to argue about. “relatively urban” vs. "“suburban but as close as you can get to urban while still being suburban.” We are arguing about this, really???!!!
In a way, everyone is right. To Bostonians, Medford and Somerville are not Boston, and it’s not in the city. To most of the rest of America, suburban suggests something that neither Medford nor Somerville is. Wellesley or Weston might fit a more traditional view of suburb.
Tufts is not a "city school ", and Boston certainly has those. Nor is it suburban like Princeton. IF you are interested in Tufts, go visit and decide for yourself.
@gardernstategal Well put!
@redpoodles Tufts refers to their main campus as the “Medford/Somerville Campus” so I think it’s fair game to refer to it as being in either:)
@redpoodles, I GO to Tufts. I know where it is! The T stop is a ten minute walk from my dorm. I’ve timed it, because I take a class at BU three times a week. I don’t know why this “argument” is making you upset, seeing as you started it. Tufts is not in the suburbs, not is it in the city center. Thus, “relatively urban”. You were the poster to originally deviate the conversation away from its topic. Considering how upsetting it seems to be and how it tends to drive the conversation away from the point at hand, I would respectfully suggest you not do so in the future.