<p>Hey guys. I formally committed to tufts yesterday. I am excited to join such a phenomenal class. I do have a few questions:
-when I visited tufts, one of the only things I was concerned about was the age of the residence halls. Are there any newer dorms that the freshmen can live in, or any recommendations on the best?
-the food. It wasn't a deal breaker, but I am curious how it is?
-I turned down some pretty top schools to come to tufts. I love tufts, but when I was telling my friends today, they seemed shocked that I would choose tufts over ivies. (they didn't even know where tufts was. lol) Are there people at tufts who made the same decision? Is there anyone who is willing to help me get rid of my cold feet and tell me that I made an excellent decision and why? I don't know why I am so nervous/cold footed. I guess it's just weird that I have selected my home for the next four years and I am a bit nervous.</p>
<p>Hi MethodicSquirrel - welcome!!!</p>
<p>My daughter committed and I can give you some background. She picked Tufts over some schools that may have been ranked higher, but keep in mind that is purely an opinion. It was all about fit for her. She stayed over in a freshman dorm and it was ‘huge’ one of the biggest one’s we’ve seen on our tours. I toured the dorms the next day and can attest to the fact that they are clean and well kept. The food was pheonomenal - a huge selling point for her. She ate in both of the main cafetarias and I ate in one. She had butternut squash ravioli one night, yum. The selection was amazing and I wished I had tried more stuff. We also ate at the cafeteria on a prior visit and were equally impressed. She proudly wears her Tufts sweatshirt every day now and has gotten so many compliments and made connections with so many others who either were/are a Jumbo or knows a Jumbo. Its been nothing but positive feedback.</p>
<p>Trust your instincts, Tufts is a great place, you’ll love it and the education is top notch!! I think you may be feeling anxious at making such a huge decision right now, but you made it for a reason and go with your gut. We all feel that way sometimes. I wish you all the best. GO JUMBOS</p>
<p>Hi MethodicSquirrel!</p>
<p>I’m a freshmann at Tufts and I should be writing a essay for IR now … anyway. GLAD that you’ve committed to Tufts!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I live in Hill Hall, a freshman dorm. Hill was renovated last summer and the rooms at Hill are huge. Seriously. 3rd, 4th and 5th floors are healthy-living. The worst dorm (as rumored, because I’ve never been there), Lewis will be renovated this summer. So I guess bad dorms are got rid of. But I thought freshman cannot choose their rooms? So unless you want to play a little part in the housing process - choose healthy-living. You’ll be placed in Hill Hall. Metcalf Hall has a Bridge program for students interested in current affairs (something like that). I’ve got several friends in Metcalf, and I’d say the rooms are pretty decent. </p></li>
<li><p>Hm, food. Food at Tufts is great. I’ve got Freshman fifteen even though I trained with the marathon program here … so you can guess how much I ate. A lot of variety, and I’m a vegetarian. There’s always this Dewick vs Carmichael debate … I’d say Dewick has more options … but in terms of quality, I think both dining halls are great. </p></li>
<li><p>Honestly, there are no right/wrong options when choosing the college to attend. I was not admitted to any Ivies, so I can’t really give you comments on your question. However, I was a little worried in the beginning too when I chose Tufts over Mount Holyoke, because I’m an international student and I didn’t visit any of the colleges here. Just think about what you really want to do in college. For me, I’m very interested in public policy and volunteer work, so naturally I chose Tufts because of its “active citizen” reputation. Tufts has indeed offered a lot of programs on this aspect, so I’m glad that I came. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know people will be appalled when they know you choose Tufts over an ivy. But remember, they often are the people who have neither come to Tufts nor any ivies. So are you going to be convinced? College is really what you make of it. I have a friend who goes to a State University in US, and she is very happy because she knows exactly what she wants (studying Biology). She actively looks for opportunities and is already in a research project at her school. </p>
<p>Will you fare better in an Ivy? I don’t know. But now you’re committed to Tufts, and that you sound so enthusiastic about your decision, stop worrying about having chosen the “wrong” college. You have the answer already as I saw in your response. You only want reassurance. I’d say start reading those “how to succeed in college” that sort of books, and start learning about college life if you don’t have finals, like me. </p>
<p>Righttt back to work … Probably won’t reply till next Tuesday. French exam in the morning. </p>
<p>GOOD LUCK, AND WELCOME TO TUFTS :)</p>
<p>Like people have said, choosing your school is all about fit. There are people here at Tufts because this was the best school they got into, and then there are people who turned down plenty of Ivies. I know someone who turned down Harvard to be here. But people generally don’t even talk about this stuff once school starts: once you’re here, we’re all the same. And if this is the right school for you, once you’re here you’re not going to care.</p>
<p>As for the food, I believe that our dining services was ranked top 10 on Princeton Review, and constantly received good reviews. Did you not enjoy the food when you were here?</p>
<p>Congrats on your selection! Tufts food has been ranked as high as second by the Princeton Review. Indeed, on a comparative basis with other institutions, Tufts food is really good (For the record, Harvard’s sucks…even my Harvard friends agree. They said that Tufts food is way better). Plus there is trick-turning. You will find out about that later. But you will be thankful for it.</p>
<p>Some dorms suck but others are great. The seniors who are lucky to get dorms get really good ones. The dorm system works as a lottery. If you have really good freshman and sophomore numbers, then you will have nice dorms those first two years (and the dorms aren’t horrible). If you have poor numbers, senior year you will live in some really really great dorms. But even if you have poor numbers, there are great off-campus houses which literally are on campus (like the some are right behind an actual dorm).</p>
<p>A lot of people have turned down ivies for Tufts. There are some who probably didn’t. You get a mixture. But you aren’t in the minority. Usually people who are uneducated or are from from the Northeast haven’t heard of Tufts. But once they hear about it, they tend to see it everywhere. Congrats, and be happy you got into one of the best schools in nation.</p>
<p>My son picked Tufts over acceptances at Pomona, Brown, Penn, and a few other top-notch LACs. He was so clear and sure about what Tufts offered him that nowhere else did. He has zero cold feet and doesn’t care a fig about rankings or what other people think - for full disclosure we live in a highly-educated community that knows and thinks highly of Tufts. My son had a lot of exposure to current Tufts students and Tufts alum, sat in on multiple classes, as well as having visited the campus, twice, so he feels that he has made an informed decision. Some of the smartest, most iconoclastic thinkers he knows picked Tufts over some other very lofty acceptances.</p>
<p>Of the food, we ate at the cafeteria that had food stations, and the food was yummy, so much so that we wondered if the food were better simply because it was tour time at Tufts - LOL.</p>
<p>The dorms, whose corridors we saw, only, were the least appealing (even depressing) part of Tufts, esp. after seeing the lovely dorms at Wash U. My son didn’t care. He attached to Tufts like no other school and can’t wait to get started. </p>
<p>If one more anecdote is of any help to you, my son’s very close friend (a girl) had gotten into Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Tufts. She narrowed down her choices to Tufts and Berkeley, feeling that the two campuses had an excitement and warmth that Harvard and Stanford both lacked; in fact, she joked that she must have hit Harvard on a day when everyone had not taken their meds (she met quite a few depressed sorts). Ultimately, she chose CAL because she didn’t want to be so far from her family in Southern California. She is a thrilled freshman having the time of her life, but she is really clear that Stanford and Harvard held no thrall for her while Berkeley and Tufts did.</p>
<p>Actually healthy living will be in Lewis next year, which is why it’s getting renovated. I would just do freshman housing. Honestly, they are all pretty decent I wouldn’t worry about it much.</p>
<p>S2 is in Lewis now – I hadn’t heard it’s getting renovated! He will be happy – he’s got a single there next year.</p>
<p>He says the food is good, but it gets repetitive after a while, just as it would at any school. He says they do make a real effort to have a good variety and tasty stuff, though. Trick-turning is one of his favorite parts. :)</p>
<p>S2 turned down UChicago for Tufts. Was a very tough decision, but he is happy.</p>
<p>Is Metcalf a good dorm for freshmen? I only ask because I have some concerns about all freshmen dorms. One of my concerns is that freshmen tends to slack off and are not as experienced as the upperclassmen. Is it in my best interests to be in the same dorm as upperclassmen?
It just seems like I’m trying to balance my life academically and socially without sacrificing one or the other. Advice would be greatly welcomed. :)</p>
<p>Metcalf is fine but really small. One half of it has larger rooms, which you probably won’t get as a freshman. You can balance yourself without living in a mixed dorm–you can even get a mixed dorm even if you put all freshmen (I did), as Lewis and Miller will both have older kids.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys. You guys are proof of how friendly and welcoming the tufts community really is, and I think that the friendliness is what drew me in. Are there any other suggestions with regard to housing or words of advice, or anything pertinent about the transition the summer before (placement exams, reorientation programs)? General knowledge about that kind of thing would be great.</p>
<p>My son was in Miller this past year. I thought the doubles were quite a decent size and the lounge spaces were pleasant and well used. Lots of closet and drawer space. By the way the “plans” up on the housing website are not to scale. His room was nicer and bigger than it appeared to be on the plan!</p>
<p>I did the FIT preorientation and loved it. If you are remotely into sports, you would probably like it too. Everyone that did a PreO program loved them, and it is also nice to be on campus a little early, move in when it’s not so hectic, and get to know the campus a little bit.</p>
<p>S2 did the Spanish placement exam (he had Spanish through AP/IB SL, did not take it senior year) and placed into Spanish 21 (third year level). He chose to start a new language better suited to his long-term interests, but plans to audit a Spanish course or two to keep his skills.</p>
<p>Didn’t take any other placement exams.</p>
<p>From someone who just finished their Freshman year…</p>
<p>1) I had the misfortune of living in Lewis Hall this year. It’s considered the worst dorm on campus, and living there was a bearable-but not especially pleasant-experience. There are some rather nice places that freshmen can get into, but you have no control over whether you will get there or not.
2) I’m a bit of a culinary snob, but IMO, the food is somewhat industrial. I’m glad to be back home where I have an easily accessible and well-stocked kitchen, and I look forward to having such a place in my future years.
3) I picked Tufts over a higher-ranked, and strongly appealing, university. I just thought that Tufts was the best fit for me in both social aspects and in how they approach education. There are a good number of folks who are at Tufts because it was the highest-ranked place they got in. Bullocks to them. Tufts has some absolutely amazing opportunities which you would not be able to find as an undergraduate, even at a higher-ranked institution. Check out the Institute for Global Leadership.</p>
<p>Thanks again guys. Any other recommendations about housing would be well appreciated as i am filling my housing form out now. I hear that healthy living is still in Hill this year, but if there isnt enough room extra people will be put in Lewis. I would much rather live in Hill than Lewis. Should I try and “outsmart” the system by selecting Healthy Living? I would prefer to live in Hill as opposed to the other freshman housing. Also, does the time when I apply for housing (today or tomorrow may be pretty late compared to others) influence where I get placed (first come first served) or is it completely random.</p>
<p>fwiw, all halls technically have the conditions of healthy living (no drugs or booze allowed on premises). It was much less enforced in my experience in Lewis last year, but if you’re cool with not taking part in that stuff, or at least doing so not in your dorm, then I’d definitely consider it wise to maximise your chances of living in Hill instead of lewis. Hill is in a bit more inconvenient of a location, but its rooms are so much bigger and nicer, and it’s just a much nicer place to live</p>
<p>…except that Lewis is being used as healthy living next year (it’s getting some renovations)</p>
<p>@kackac Can you please give me the link or tell me where you are getting the info that healthy living is going to be in lewis? Because the facebook group and housing site both say hill but extra people in lewis. Although they may be out of date…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Looks like freshman healthy living will still be in Hill.
[Healthy</a> living?s move downhill draws opposition - News - Tufts Daily - Tufts University](<a href=“http://www.tuftsdaily.com/news/healthy-living-s-move-downhill-draws-opposition-1.2167461]Healthy”>http://www.tuftsdaily.com/news/healthy-living-s-move-downhill-draws-opposition-1.2167461)</p>