<p>Tufts is strong academically in most departments. Probably best known for IR , Child Development and the Ex-college. I do not have any knowledge about the English department specifically.</p>
<p>Many, many vocal music opportunities. There is an opera ensemble, along with a Chorale and a Gospel chorus. The a cappella scene is huge and very active. The Drama Department puts on three shows per year - usually a musical every other year - this year was Rent. Torn Ticket II (student musical theatre group) puts on at least one major and one minor performance each semester. Three Ps, the umbrella student theater group, also does at least one major drama production each semester. There are also many other drama and performance opportunities including Shakespeare, a mime troupe, improv theatre and a children’s theater group. All are open to anyone to audition Check out JulesandMonty - a web series on You Tube for a example of a totally different type of student drama initiative .</p>
<p>You can walk from Tufts to dozens of coffee shops, restaurants,etc. Davis Square is very popular with students and locals, and is a few blocks from Tufts. Theschool runs a shuttle from campus but the walk is only 10 minutes. Davis has a T station (subway) where a very short ride gets you to more coffee shops in Harvard or Central Square in Cambridge. T also offered a short ride to downtown Boston, the airport, the Amtrak station, etc.</p>
<p>There are private lessons in Opera, too. I know a Comp Sci student who took the opera classes we offered alongside private voice lessons for opera specifically focusing in on German langauge stuff. And, for clarity, though it’s called an ‘ensemble’, they perform opera scenes. It’s not just standing and singing in a room. </p>
<p>The closest coffee shops are the Danish Pastry House and Tamper on the Medford Hillside (the opposite side of campus from Davis Square) and True Grounds in Ball Square. Diesel Cafe in Davis is the most famous (my favorite) but there are a few others in Davis Sq. as well. Crema in Harvard Square and 1369 in Central Square (between MIT and Harvard) are also well known and accessible via the T. The Brown and Brew and Hotung Cafe are on campus.</p>
<p>^for your daughter, it is easy , but is it safe for her alone…in teh day …in the night? when does davis sq / davis sq–> Tufts kind of shut down? is it like ‘the city that does not sleep’ or 8,8pm lights out and after that call security to get a ride home?</p>
<p>Somerville is a city that sleeps. But as is true of ANY small, mid-size or large city, a student might not want be out alone late at night. Perfectly safe in daytime and at night. D walked or Joey’d back to Tufts from Davis Square around 9 p.m. last Sunday night without concern (and my daughter is on the cautious side). After a certain hour, the Joeys stop running, so most kids are back to campus by then, I would imagine. But there’s no “lockdown by this-or-this hour”. My D traverses the campus late at night without worry. And Somerville is a bedroom community with a lively, thriving, youthful energy. </p>
<p>visited? no, not yet - trying to get arrangements now. any suggestions for safe cheap accomodations, even dorm / hostel types? </p>
<p>for a person coming in on an airplane, is a rental car needed? this might depend on where I wd stay. D wd stay on campus for the admitted pgm.</p>
<p>This hostel/dorm reference prompts another question I had which is somewhat related to the ethos mentioned in another thread I started, and that is, how shall I say, how ‘rich’ do the students act and how well might someone without as much $ fare with the other students? Again, there is a notion at fancier private schools such as Tufts , especially in “tony Boston on the east coast”, that it is a bastion of people with means. D wd be coming from less than m.c.</p>
<p>So two questions on ethos:</p>
<p>*how well might someone w/o means be treated at Tufts (marginalized? or wd this factor be at worst indifferent?) </p>
<p>*how well do non east coasters fit in?</p>
<p>related: To what extent is there a ‘clique culture’ at Tufts? D struck amherst from her app list after a conversation with a trusted friend from chicago who went to amherst and said Amherst was very clique-ish with ‘east coast cliques’ , so I thought I 'd ask this for Tufts. I am sure amherst was not as bad as the friend said - tho she went there; I didnt - D needed exclusion criteria working. :)</p>
<p>No issue with west coast versus east coast.</p>
<p>Money…yeah, it can be an issue, though not necessarily a serious one. There are certainly students who can easily go off on ski weekends or retail therapy, who can order dinner in (instead of having to cook for themselves) or go out to eat without any concern about the cost of the restaurant. And it does require a bit of time for students on both sides to learn how to negotiate this–possibly more an issue with strictly social interactions than with the friendships that arise from being jointly involved in activities or majors. </p>
<p>I’d suggest that you post this question as a new thread so that more folks see it and can respond to it from a variety of economic backgrounds. We’re full pay and well off enough, but D1 is on something of a budget and she does notice some difference. That said, her closest friend comes from a very wealthy family…so the difference isn’t a wall. </p>
<p>There doesn’t seem to be an issue with things, meaning wearing specific clothing labels. </p>
<p>Every private college has a certain number of very wealthy students. That’s how these schools survive and protect and grow their endowment. Some kids are showy about their wealth, while others have better manners and are more low-key. Having said that, I’d say that at Tufts, the “wealth factor” is less oppressive than it was where my older son went to college (UPenn). In my experience, Tufts attracts a much more grounded student. </p>
<p>As for where to stay, Priceline’s Name Your Own Price option is your friend. That’s how we usually book out hotel, and its possible to stay fairly close to Medford-Sommerville, in a clean, safe hotel, for under $100/night. But you do need a car. If you are unfamiliar with how Name Your Own Price works, check out BetterBidding.com. </p>
<p>As for a “clique” culture, I just don’t see it at Tufts. My son’s friend group tends to come from his extracurricular activities, but he also has close friends from living in the dorms, from friends-of-friends, and from class. And it keeps expanding. He’s living with two guys next year – one is from his suite this year and one is a friend-of-a-friend . . . an entirely different group from his closest friends. BTW, he is not in a frat, but his friends who are in a frat are still his friends. </p>
<p>I am being a sort of devil’s advocate in some of my questions to see what this community’s experiences are. I mentioned the Amherst person who was soured on Amherst coming from the MW which prompted the question on cliques. But my daughter’s good friend from chicago is a current Tufts student and she loves Tufts.</p>