<p>Is it true that housing is only guaranteed for two years at Tufts? I just read this somewhere. What is surrounding Medford like?</p>
<p>Town relations are strained as with any college university, but off campus housing is very available, albeit expensive. Medford is a blue collar community but it's not to say that the people in the surrounding area live in poor hovels. The real estate is expensive, even if the feeling is not one of affluence.</p>
<p><a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/reslife/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://ase.tufts.edu/reslife/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Is it true that you only have 2 years of housing on campus?</p>
<p>anyone have any pics of the dorms at tufts, or know where to find pics of them?? i cant seem to find them on their site....</p>
<p>2 years of gurenteed housing. I believe there are still a lot of uperclassmen who get dorms, but not all of them.</p>
<p>haha um well..medford is pretty boring. and i can say that because i live in MA. then again..most of massachusetts is boring, save maybe boston and the cape. lol oh well, i'm sure you'll enjoy it there regardless. there's probably plenty to keep yourself entertained with haha</p>
<p>I went to Tufts (BA, 1973). I still live in the area and can tell you about the housing. Tufts is 50% in Medford, MA and 50% in Somerville, MA. Somerville is more "urban" while Medford is more "suburban". There is not a lot of new construction in either community. Somerville has more apartment buildings and Medford has more single family homes. Somerville has lots of "three-deckers", i.e., buildings with three apartment units stacked one on top of the other. A three decker apartment usually has 3 bedrooms and one bath. Medford has more two family homes (i.e., two units, either side by side or one on top of the other). Somerville is very tough for parking because of the higher population density. Medford is more likely to have driveways.</p>
<p>Housing in all of metropolitan Boston is very expensive, and apartments within walking distance of Tufts can be costly. Because of the red line subway, parts of Somerville are residential areas for Harvard and MIT students as well as for Tufts students. So, don't expect lots of new, beautiful, inexpensive rental choices close to Tufts...there are not any. But there is an extensive rental property market and if you start early, follow leads, work hard and find roommates you will do fine.</p>
<p>When I toured at Tufts the guide mentioned the two year guarantee. It sounds bad, but he said that almost all of townhouses that we could see across the street were inhabited by tufts students, mostly upperclassmen. And also, lots of juniors go abroad anyway, so that's one year. I wouldn't really worry about it, I'm sure we'll have places to stay. =)</p>
<p>Wow I find this to be a huge negative! Its one thing to go off for your junior year but I don't like that senior year everyone is off campus in different locations.</p>
<p>Not true. All seniors have the option to come back on campus if they wish. So really it's like 3 years of guaranteed housing.</p>
<p>Thanks snuffles but what do they mean by 2 years then?</p>
<p>okay here's the thing.</p>
<p>Freshmen and sophomores are guaranteed housing. Juniors, since quite a lot of them go abroad, pretty much get last licks. However, housing is most certainly reserved for juniors and seniors. There are quite a few juniors and seniors occupying singles in my dorm (South - the newest after Sophia Gordon, which opens next semester). Speaking of which, since Sophia is reserved for upperclassmen, it has helped ease the housing crunch somewhat. My friend who is an RA came back from the housing assignment day and told us that every single junior who wanted on-campus housing got it. It's not as bad as it seems - it'll prob. be worse when MY class is juniors, b/c we're unusually large for a Tufts class. But I think they're remedying the situation with you guys, which I'll explain in a different thread.</p>
<p>I lived off campus for 2 1/2 years. I lived in Medford for a year, Somerville for a year and Cambridge for 1/2 a year. All were great situations and met my needs at the time....</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, I think my tour guide said that Tufts has campus owned off-campus apartments that are available to juniors and seniors. The rent is about the same as board on-campus, but having to pay a monthly rent prepares you for the real world. Also, he said that you can still live off-campus and have a meal plan.</p>
<p>absolutely true!</p>
<p>I have lived off campus for two years and I love it. My friends all live within walking distance so it's really not a problem. Plus my bedroom is twice the size of a single in the dorms and I have a double bed. Yes, utilities are expensive, and you often have to shovel your own steps/driveway, but it's worth it to live in a house with your friends.So please don't worry about living off campus, it's not as bad as they make it sound.</p>