I am an international student interested in possibly attending Tufts University for my undergraduate. I have a few questions if any current students kind enough to answer:
What are the students like?
How are the dorms and food?
What is the social scene like? Is there lots of partying and going out? How lax are the drinking laws in Boston?
How hard are the courses compared to other schools? Is it difficult to attain a high GPA?
Thanks to all those who take the time to answer any of the questions above.
1.Students are extremely friendly for the most part. At least as long as you find the right people, which most are. Lots of interesting and quirky conversations that you can’t find at other schools. There are some students who are little more introverted (which is 100% ok) and few people who are unfriendly, but happens anywhere and definitely much less so at Tufts. And of course, everyone here is at least somewhat nerdy/studious lol.
2.Dorms are okish, not great. Largest freshman dorms Houston and Miller are going under renovation next semester so they’ll definitely be nicer. All I can say about food is that it is awesome, definitely best in Massachusetts behind UMass Amherst (they’re #1 food in the nation).
3.Party scene is actually decent at places like Ihouse and Greek Row, where I’ve gone to. Though some people think Tufts’ parties are not that great, personally I have found it as fun as a Penn State party that I went to. But again, that’s just my biased opinion and I’m not really a party sort of guy. Drinking? (LOL tbh here and any other college it’s pretty lax, just don’t do stupid stuff (my friend at UPenn did get arrested tho but that’s Philly)). Lots of students go to Boston over the weekends to visit museums, concerts, movies, students at other schools, or simply for a meal.
4.I’ve heard that Tufts does not really have any GPA deflation or Inflation and the average GPA is about a 3.3-3.4, which is decent and definitely higher than places like Cornell or Berkeley, but not as inflated as places like Harvard. Personally, I got in with slightly higher than avg stats and have 0.1-0.2~ lower than the GPA I got in high school, which is not too bad at all for college (I’m Premed). Also, at least everyone I know here is doing at least ok (3.5+ and many planning to apply to MD/PhD programs).
Totally agree with the above post. Getting good grades here isn’t as easy as Harvard or Brown, for instance, but it’s easier than Berkeley or Princeton. Really depends on the classes and major.
I, personally, am doing well academically, and I wouldn’t say it’s too strenuous. Ask a premed or engineer, though, and they may have a different answer. Average GPA last semster for the student body was a 3.2 I believe. 3.4 is Dean’s list, 3.5 is cum laude (around top third of the class, 3.65 is magma cum laude (around top 12%), and 3.8, summa cum laude, is top 6-7%, for reference. My numbers may be outdated — not sure.
But, overall, Tufts is an amazing place to spend your undergraduate years. Couldn’t be happier with my choice!