Visited the University a couple of weeks ago with my daughter . Does anyone else feel the same way ? We understand that the academics are very strong but there seemed to be zero campus activity happening.
We visited too - liked the campus but very quiet in summer. did not love that CS / engineering were separate from campus - across the tracks so not all that convenient.
You claimed to have visited a couple weeks ago would be during the summer session when most students aren’t on campus.
It’s pretty busy and high energy when in session. As is the case with many more urban schools, many students use it as a springboard for the city, so the sense of community is different from a school in a less happening place.
The engineering building is hardly remote. The athletic complex is further “out”. Or the downhill dorms, depending on where you measure from. On any campus of this size, there are buildings that are more central than others.
Summer visits are tough (but often unavoidable). If you like the academic proposition, don’t rule it out based on how it felt “off season”.
Well…it’s summer. Most students are either home or living in apartments in Medford/Somerville. Generally, summer college visits arent all that helpful in terms of getting a vibe of campus activity. If possible, visit again in the fall. My first visit was in October and it was absolutely buzzing.
Agree with above posters. My daughter and I visited Tufts in the fall of her senior year (missed a day or two of school) and Tufts was definitely active; she was able to sit in on a class, she met some students & had lunch with them, and it cemented Tufts as her first choice. Our campus tour revealed a school in full swing. It’s a good idea to go when campus is in session, wherever you look. We also visited Hopkins at that time, and one of the things we did notice, even during the semester, it was a much quieter campus, with very little student activity (reflective of the more science/engineering student body, perhaps?).
Will definitely have to revisit during the Fall session thanks for all the feed back.
@gardenstategal makes a really good point about Tufts’ proximity to Boston (and Cambridge). My D definitely enjoys campus life at Tufts – kids hang out on campus, and do all sorts of things, but she also likes hopping over to the city for concerts and clubs and museums, and that was a good part of the attraction of the school. Some students want more of a completely self-contained campus life, which more remote, rural schools definitely offer.
I live in Medford and Tufts is extremely active during the school year, I live a couple blocks down, personally they have a campus life but they have davis and porter square so close thats where 99% of the kids hang out its where people love to go. P.s im sure any of ur kids if they have attended know where that is. Super quiet during the summer thats for sure everyone is home for the most part.
In general, if one is looking to assess the campus life of a college, one should try to avoid visits during the summer, during finals and during midterms.
The small number of people who inhabit campuses during the summer often are part of special summer programs and may be high school students attending academic or athletic camps or students from other schools participating in summer research programs.
In the case of Tufts, if you visit Tufts during Homecoming or Spring Fling you will see the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of campus activity. 
To get a full perspective of social life at Tufts, Davis Square followed by Harvard Square and then Boston are top hangouts for off-campus activity. Ball Square (Sound Bites) is also big for brunch. Union Square for gourmet doughnuts. Davis Square on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday night should be part of a tour of Tufts if at all possible.
http://www.livability.com/top-10/downtowns/top-10-best-downtowns/2015/ma/somerville
http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/specials/square_face_off/
Somerville has has lots of street festivals including the HONK festival in the fall…
http://somervillebeat.com/things-to-do/honk-takes-fun-and-activism-to-the-streets/
If you visit in the summer you must check out the local ice cream scene…
Or come during Artbeat…
http://somervillebeat.com/food/somerville-summer-snag-a-scoop-of-ice-cream/
http://somervillebeat.com/things-to-do/the-2015-guide-to-somervilles-artbeat/
I graduated a few years ago and for my first couple years at Tufts it wasn’t uncommon for me to go weeks at a time without venturing more than a couple blocks from campus (except on runs or to go to track/XC meets), but part of that may have been because I grew up in Newton so most of the area wasn’t especially new to me. I definitely felt like there was more than enough going on on campus.
Writing/reading this is actually making me nostalgic for Tufts in the fall now that I live in California…