Is Tufts the school for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>I am a current high school senior and I fell in love with Tufts after visiting it twice and talking to my friend who is currently a freshman after his experiences there. I wanted to apply ED I, but my parents would not let me because of the price. So, I applied ED to HumEc at Cornell instate and all was going smoothly, but I had a severe medical issue and missed a month of school and did not finish my 1st trimester grades. I was deferred by Cornell, possibly because of this situation and now I am considering ED II to Tufts and my parents are more open to it this time around. Im not too superstitious, but this entire situation just makes it seem like Tufts is meant to be for me. Maybe if I applied ED I, I would not have ended up in the hospital and would already have been accepted to Tufts.</p>

<p>I am looking for some inside information from current students about programs I would like to study and how life at Tufts is. I am interested taking a course of study with an international focus and fulfilling premed requirements. I also want to take random interesting courses, which I know Tufts offers a lot of. I know it does not make sense to commit myself to particular majors before I am even admitted, but would it be feasible to be an IR/community health double major (I can place out of a lot of the language requirements as I am currently a post-AP Spanish student) with a minor in philosophy, while fulfilling the premed requirements? I am just interested in so many majors at Tufts and I want to combine the social sciences and natural sciences with an international focus, which I know Tufts would definitely allow me to do. I would also consider majoring in bio, biopsych, biotech, biochem, economics, environmental studies, cognitive & brain science, and peace & justice studies.<br>
I also want to have a social life at Tufts and I know I would get a great education at Tufts, but I would be glad to go somewhere where the reputation is that the work doesn't kill you, like at Cornell (literally). How often do students go into Boston? What kinds of internships do students with my interests usually have? How are the semesters in DC and study abroad programs (would love to go to South America)? How is diversity? What do students talk about a lot of the time? How is advising? What do students do on the weekends? I play jazz piano and I would love opportunities to perform in formal programs and also casually jam for fun. I know what the stereotypes of Tufts students are, so don't treat me like I am hearing them for the first time and will be surprised. I just want to hear about unique, individual experiences of students with interests similar to mine.</p>

2

<p>Still no replies…
I have decided to apply ED II, but I would still appreciate some inside info.</p>

<p>Also, with the medication I have to go on after my surgery, I cant drink too much. How would this impact my social life at Tufts?</p>

3

<p>I’m confused - if you have so many questions still unresolved, why are you applying EDII?</p>

4

<p>I am applying ED II because I love Tufts and wanted to apply ED I, but I didn’t because of financial concerns that my family has now worked out. I’m sorry if I’ve given off the impression that I’m ill-informed about Tufts. I know about Tufts’ academic offerings, that it has great programs in areas I want to study, and the right academic focus for me. But like most students still in their senior year of high school, I am not sure of what I want to major in specifically. I know that is a decision that I can make further down the road, but I just wanted to hear about unique experiences of students studying what I’m interested in. I also have a good idea of what student life is like at Tufts, as I have a friend who is a freshman this year and loves it. But again, I wanted to hear about some unique experiences of students. After the discovery of my medical condition this year, I going to have to have certain accommodations that most college students do not need, which would impact my experience at any college, not just at Tufts. I am still learning more about how best to manage my condition every day and there are different things I have to think about in what I want out of my college experience that do not lessen my love for Tufts.</p>

5

<p>An IR/Community health major is definitely feasible—in fact it’s fairly common. The community health major was designed as a double major. Although I’m not studying community health, I know many people who are and they find it very manageable. The IR major is flexible enough that you can really do anything with it. You talked about combining IR with a natural science and I know people who are doing IR and biology, IR and environmental studies, IR and psychology and basically any other combination. Some are pre-med, some are not. Essentially, if you have the drive and the passion, you can design any combination of majors for yourself and still be pre-med. At Tufts, you are DEFINITELY not limited.</p>

<p>One of the things I love about Tufts is that people are passionate about what they’re studying but it’s not all about studying. I found the work load to be extremely manageable, although I did purposely take a lighter schedule for my freshman fall (most students take 4 courses for their first semester at Tufts). You can definitely fit in everything that needs to be done and still get 8-9 hours of sleep every night. I actually found that more people lacked sleep because they stayed up talking to friends and getting to know hallmates than because they were studying. It’s really all about time management. If you don’t procrastinate and get things done during the day, you’ll find that you have more than enough time for everything you want to do.</p>

<p>You mentioned that you’ve heard of the Tufts stereotypes, which means you’ve probably heard that we’re quirky. I personally don’t think that’s the most accurate definition of the Tufts student body. I’d say we’re generally fun, playful, accepting, liberated, and happy. We’re probably defined as quirky because Tufts is a place where you’re free to be yourself. Therefore we feel free to show our “weird” sides and our quirks but those traits are not all we are.</p>

<p>How often a student goes into Boston really depends on how often a student wants to go into Boston. If you’re a city person, you will find people who will join you on city adventures. If you’d rather go rock climbing, you’ll find people with those interests too. I’ve gone into Boston at least once a month. At least for my friends and I, it was easier to go to Davis, Porter, or Harvard Square. There were already enough things to do nearby that we didn’t really feel the need to go into Boston. Students do a wide range of things on the weekends but the most common activity is going to a party. I’ve heard that people tend to party a lot less after freshmen year but as a freshmen, this is what a good portion of your peers will be doing. There are the people who go out Thursday, Friday and Saturday night but that’s not extremely common. Most people go out on one or two of the nights. I’ve spent weekends going into Davis, Harvard Square or Boston. I’ve also spent nights watching movies, sitting around talking, playing sports, or just hanging out in our dorms. Partying is definitely not the only thing to do on the weekends but if you want to party, that’s there too. Even with your medical condition, you’ll be fine. I don’t drink just because I don’t find it that fun and I’ve never come across a situation where people tried to pressure me. I still go out and honestly, no one cares. People who drink do it because they enjoy it but if you don’t drink, people recognize that that’s your own choice and they respect that. Not being able to drink will have no impact on your social life whatsoever. You will not by any means be socially limited.</p>

<p>Your advising experience will be based on what you want out of it. If you need advice, your pre-major advisor will be more than happy to help you. Mine gave me really good advice at the beginning of the year about my course load and all that. Things went really smoothly for me so I didn’t seek my advisor out later. We still meet every once in a while just to touch base and make sure everything is working out. If you come across any problems or just want to talk to your advisor, they are there for you. I did host advising, which means I have an advisor who meets with me periodically to discuss things. There are other forms of advising, which you get to choose from. Here’s a description of them: [Undergraduate</a> Education at Tufts University - Pre-Major Advising](<a href=“Academic Advising | AS&E Students”>Academic Advising | AS&E Students)
I don’t have a major advisor yet so I can’t really talk about that but I’ve heard great things about them.</p>

6

<p>You’ve probably already heard over and over again that Tufts is a diverse campus. I have friends who are of all different ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. I have friends who come from right outside of Boston and also friends who are from different countries. At Tufts, you will make diverse friends. The people who come here have had such different life experiences that diversity is inherent in social groups. That being said, it also depends on how willing you are to put yourself out there. When you come in as a friendless freshman it’s definitely easier to find people who remind you of your friends back home. So I guess I learned that it’s best to have an open mind and try to befriend some people who you wouldn’t expect yourself to. But at the same time, without really meaning to, I’ve befriended a really diverse group of people just because of the inherent diversity on campus. </p>

<p>On a personal note, I’ve been on campus for barely four months and I absolutely love it. I didn’t apply ED but I know I would not be this happy anywhere else. Tufts is place where you will find it easy to be happy. If you think it fits you, you will grow to love it even more. Transitioning from high school to college was a lot tougher than I expected it to be but my transition at Tufts was as smooth as it could be. The friendly vibe made me feel right at home and it’s easy to be happy somewhere when the people around you are happy.</p>

7

<p>I’d say that an IR/community health double major would be totally possible. The IR program at Tufts is very interdisciplinary. I’ve met quite a few upperclassmen IR majors who have told me that by fulfilling their IR requirements, they’ve come extremely close to “accidentally” fulfilling the requirements for another major as well. The overlap makes it pretty easy. I’m not sure on the specifics for community health though. I would also like to point out that one of the concentrations that you’ll have to choose from in IR is on health and development in terms of international affairs. I believe it’s the newest concentration within the IR major but it seems to be pretty on point with what you’re looking at. It includes a lot of science-oriented classes that I believe would overlap well with a lot of the med type classes you would want. Based upon your long list of other potential majors, I would think that you’re in a similar boat as me. Unlike most people, I seem to be interested in a variety of things for a major rather than not being able to find something I like. It’s a situation that a lot of people I’ve met at Tufts are in. I think the interdisciplinary approach is great for helping to narrow it down and give me a sense of what I’m really in for there.</p>

<p>With social life, I go into the city pretty often. It’s pretty accessible and it’s usually not hard to find somebody to go with. I’d say I made a pretty rough error in assuming that I was more ready for college classes than I was though. I went to a pretty intense high school and was always told by alumni how much easier college was in comparison. Because of that, I may have overloaded my schedule quite a bit. Still though, I managed to make it into the city at least once a week, even if just for an errand. You really don’t need to go into the city that often though. There’s always something to do on campus or just in the surrounding area. Depending on your classes though, you can still get a fair amount of work; I won’t lie to you there. But you’ll definitely have time to live happily and there’s such a great network of people to help you when you need it that it won’t kill you. I didn’t really look for an internship this past semester but I know of a couple other people in my building who are working on a team regarding the new government in Libya as freshmen. From what I gather, Boston is not DC with its plethora of IR internships, but the school and the people at the school will definitely help you maximize all of the opportunities it can offer. However, I have started talking to people about internships in IR and the school’s reputation in the field certainly is noticeable. I can only assume that it’ll help you in both IR and medical related internships. I’m still a freshmen so I can’t really tell you much about study abroad apart from the fact that it seems that a lot of people go their junior year. A lot. And they all seem to have these great stories coming back about how amazing it was. Also, I know that the study abroad programs here are consistently ranked among the best. The diversity is actually shockingly ingrained. Not only is the school itself diverse, but the people themselves seem to have this very diversity accepting mind-set that’s great. People know so much about the world and seem so excited to learn about other cultures without crossing that line of being excessively intrusive. I can honestly tell you that even though I went to an international school for high school, I’ve learned so much already about the world from that hill in the few months I’ve been here. That being said, people talk about pretty much everything. I hear a lot of long conversations that in the course of an hour will cover politics, international crises, the best Pixar movie, sports, technology, the past weekend, the next weekend, and the best burrito place without missing a beat. On the weekends, it’s a choose your own adventure. You can honestly find people who want to go out to parties, or get dinner in the city, or just hang out in the dorms. And it’s totally okay to do whatever. Nobody’s going to pressure you to go anywhere or think you’re being lame by staying in. I know of two guys that live two floors up from me who can’t drink at all for medical reasons and it doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. Not to get into detail but nobody seems to care whether they do or not and it doesn’t seem to exclude them from the fun in any way. I’m a musician myself and though I don’t really like being in formal programs (I can’t commit to prescheduled practice times like that), I know there are a lot around, with varying degrees of formality. From the practice rooms to just jamming in my room, I’ve been approached multiple times to jam with other people and it’s been great. It’s actually crazy how many of the people here seem to have musical backgrounds.</p>

<p>Advising appears to be a varied experience. You get to make preferences on what type of advising you get which is pretty straightforward and you have that link above. I was also host advising and I absolutely love my advisor. She’s awesome, both as an advisor and just somebody in conversation. I know of some people who have not so great advisors, not in that they’re bad people, just they’re usually professors who have a lot on their minds. It’s not really an issue though. It’s not hard at all to just ask somebody else. Even though I love my advisor, she doesn’t work in the IR department at all. She’s a math professor. So I’ve had to consult other people at times and it’s been great. The professors will usually bend over backwards to help you.</p>

<p>On my own personal note, I too have only been at Tufts for a couple months and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Not to come off wrong here, but I did get accepted to multiple “Top Ten” schools and turned them down. It was a decision I got a lot of flak for at home and as matriculation approached, I started doubting myself. It came to a point that I opened a transfer application before I got here. I can tell you with full honesty that I have zero regrets about my decision to come here. So don’t be bothered by any other pressures and just choose for yourself.</p>

8

<p>How, thanks so much for all of the helpful information. I have sent in everything to Tufts and I am anxiously waiting for their response. Your post has made me even more excited to go to Tufts, but at the same time I will be even more down in the dumps if for some reason I do not get accepted.</p>