<p>Hey, seeing that I'm gonna be in tufts in a couple of days, can anyone give me some tips on how college life is gonna be and how to survive? Help with anything would be appreciated (literally anything). Also, I've never visited Tufts so I have no idea on what the students are like. Can anyone tell me how the people are?</p>
<p>haha, im gonna be a freshman too, but dont be worried. I've visited twice and have a friend that goes there now, and its great!</p>
<p>the people there seemed friendly....like, very friendly. It seems like lots of students and alum have HUGE school spirit and pride. Any time I bump into an alum that finds out im going to Tufts, they get all excited, offer me advice, and assure it's wonderful there.</p>
<p>Oh, and I found the campus beautiful. I wanted to be near a big city (like Boston), but being directly in the city was not for me. The Tufts campus is about 5 miles outside the city, but very nice and has that "college campus" feel. </p>
<p>as for all the other technical stuff....well, i cant help you there. but from what i know, the people are very nice and the campus is beautiful.</p>
<p>My big tip...</p>
<p>People WANT to help you. Your RA, your academic adviser, your professors, upperclassmen... they all want to help you. So ask! This is especially true of the upperclassmen around you. If you want help finding good classes, good restaurants off campus, whatever, bother some random upperclassman you see and ask.</p>
<p>He speaks the truth. I mean, I bothered DAN when I was freshman for advice on things like that, and he knows basically everything about Tufts. But he wasn't the only really helpful upperclassman; on my first day, the sophomore girls across the hall invited me to go see the O-show, and throughout the year I could always ask them and the senior next dear for advice. Professors can be extremely helpful too, so take advantage of their office hours.</p>
<p>These were the things I wish I knew going in:
1. Actually care about picking your classes. Ask around for the good professors, check the professor rating sites (as unreliable and polarized as they are), consider what you want from your schedule (free Friday? free Monday? early morning classes? classes spaced out throughout the day, or one right after the other?).
2. Keep the requirements in mind. When you're picking classes, make sure they fill some kind of requirement, if not for your major then for foundation or distrib. I signed up for a really early Calc II class, decided I didn't want to take it, but when I signed up for a new class I didn't think about requirements. The Calc class would have filled a math, which is why my Orientation Leaders suggested it. The class I ended up replacing it with filled no requirements, which was annoying.
3. For a few weeks it's totally okay to just invite random people to lunch, walk around your dorm and knock on doors to introduce yourself. Take advantage of it! It's a chance to meet new people by the drove, and you'll prob. get a better cross section of people, and therefore a better chance of finding a group (or just a person) that's right for you.
4. Check Tuftslife.com regularly. In the first few weeks, all the different clubs and activities will post their General Interest Meetings on tuftslife.com. If any of them spark your interest, attend these meetings and decide if you want to participate in these clubs and activities. I lamented, after my first semester, that I was too busy adjusting to college life to even think about joining groups. I really wish I had gotten involved earlier.
5. College may mean more freedom, but up to a point. It's easy to stay up til 3 am and skip your 9 30 class, esp. when you have no parents waking you up for school. It's easy to go play video games next door until dinner, and spend no time doing your reading. It's easy to not pay attention to the syllabus, and forget that you have three exams in one week coming up. But it may come back to bite you in the ass. I'd say, remember that sleep is important, and that if you don't get enough sleep, that even when you GO to class you'll be too tired to absorb anything useful. Get organized, find productive study habits (like, remember that you can do work BETWEEN classes; if your dorm is too distracting, go to one of the libraries or the campus center or Brown and Brew, etc). College may be about a new lifestyle, but theoretically you're really there to learn, so remember that.
6. Care about your health! I'm not saying just to exercise and eat right, but when you're late for class and run out the door without checking weather.com and realizing you need a warm coat, you might pay for it later. (Unless you're one of those Californians who wear flip flops in a snowstorm. I don't think I can get through to you :) ) Because let me tell you, freshman year I was constantly sick and it totally affected my grades. I would be sick for exams, for papers, and would be too sick to get reading done. The next year I was done with that, and made sure to prioritize my health above basically anything else. When I was healthy, my grades improved tremendously.</p>
<p>Those are some general things. If I remember some Tufts-specific little tidbits, I'll post later. Hope this helped.</p>
<p>I'm going second #3, because that may be the most relevant thing in this thread. That window is somewhat longer than a few weeks IMHO, but the point is that everyone around you will want to meet you. Resist the urge to hang out a lot with the people immediately around you and branch out as much as you can. You'll find your entire four years a little more enjoyable if you push yourself out of your social comfort zone during the first few months. Go to a Hillel event even if you are Christian, attend a meeting at the women's center even if you're a guy... it may feel weird at first, but it's worth it. </p>
<p>My policy during my first semester at Tufts: Never say no to an invitation without a REALLY good reason. (Sleep and class count as really good reasons). I did that even when people weren't really talking to me, and I got to meet a lot of interesting people that way. </p>
<p>Also, never forget that everyone is just as nervous as you, even if they don't show it.</p>