<p>So, then what about international students? Even they will have to find housing outside??</p>
<p>^^As juniors, I would assume yes (IF they don’t get on-campus housing through the lottery; some juniors will, but it’s not guaranteed because they run out of rooms).</p>
<p>My son was in a forced triple freshman year. Great roomates, but WAY too crowded. As payback, Tufts gave him a guaranteed great lottery pick to use any of his three remaining years. He and his friends lived in a suite sophomore year, then moved off-campus for junior year, where they will happily remain next year as well. So-- the great lottery pick went to waste. Would rather have had a chunk of his housing fee refunded, as some other schools do.</p>
<p>I think last year all the juniors that wanted on campus housing wanted it. For the vast majority of people it REALLY is not an issue, as most choose to move off campus as juniors anyways.</p>
<p>An issue that is everything is amicably resolved in the end, is an issue nevertheless.</p>
<p>I suppose I never really regarded it as an issue in the first place - almost everyone would prefer to live off-campus. Seniors are (mostly) guaranteed housing, and still almost none of them take on-campus housing. Having your own apartment is often less expensive, more private, more responsible, and more adult. I visit my friends at other colleges who still live in dorms, and it just seems so. . . infantile.</p>
<p>The more I think about it, quite frankly I don’t see the lack of housing for juniors as a major problem. Living off campus seems cheaper, and then you can do all the illicit things you want without being threatened by the presence of RAs!</p>
<p>That is true. I, however, would like to make the choice rather than have it forced upon me. But, if the option is given then it’s fine I guess.</p>
<p>You’re kinda sposda go abroad your junior year, anyway. It’s like a rule. Not a real rule, but. . . <em>like</em> a rule.</p>
<p>Is that so? I figured that since I am an international student, studying in the US itself is ‘study abroad’ for me :D</p>
<p>Fair enough. I just meant that its customary for (American) Tufts students to go abroad in their junior year, and the administration highly encourages it. That’s actually why juniors are the only class not guaranteed housing - as a little boost to help convince you to leave the country.</p>
<p>I didn’t study abroad. And can’t say that I ever felt pressure to do so.</p>
<p>That sounds good enough. But I guess it would depend upon one’s chosen major doesn’t it? Mind you, I have no idea. I am just asking people and getting to know the US edu system better.</p>
<p>Yup, definitely depends on the major. Engineers typically don’t go abroad; IR majors very often do. But Dan’s right - it’s not that there’s pressure to go. It’s that Tufts makes it very easy to go, and often bangs on about the value of an international perspective and being a citizen of the world and whatnot. Going abroad is quite popular amongst students - I think we were actually ranked somewhat recently by something (gotta love that specificity, yeah?) as having either the best study abroad programs, or most people who studied abroad, or something like that. Dan, do you have any idea what I’m talking about? Did I dream this?</p>
<p>Anyway, if there’s any pressure, it’s the good kind of pressure - like going abroad would be possible and fun and worthwhile and YAY!, rather than, say, go abroad or else.</p>
<p>Kind of a moot discussion for an international student, though. Where are you from Maelstrom?</p>
<p>Yeah I certainly accept that it is the good kind of pressure. In fact in my country there are colleges that have actually made it compulsory to have some kind of a study-abroad thing. I am pretty sure Eco majors don’t really go abroad or do they??</p>
<p>And I am from India.</p>
<p>Econ majors go abroad a fairly average amount, I’d say. More than engineers or bio-chem majors, less than IR or anthropology majors. I think Econ majors disproportionately study in countries in the Anglosphere, however, where the economics curriculum is fairly similar.</p>
<p>Going to a place with a similar curriculum seems like a waste to me. So, Econ majors mainly go abroad only to experience a different curriculum?</p>
<p>You mean a different culture?
The issue is primarily that when you go abroad, you want classes that will count towards your major for graduation. Non-neoliberal and non-Keynesian economics classes will count as credits, but won’t satisfy specific requirements in the major. So yeah, they go to experience a different culture. But, it’s not as if I’ve taken a survey. This is just what I’ve personally seen. I’m sure many Econ majors go abroad to other places and just use the time to satisfy language and distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Oh I get it. So is it just basically a culture experience?? Different country, language and everything?</p>
<p>I add a small wrinkle to Snarf’s comments about where Econ majors go. When they go and intend to take classes for their major they tend to stick to English speaking programs, though not necessarily English speaking countries. </p>
<p>As it turns out, there are a LOT of international econ/business programs that are English speaking. For instance, I know of an econ major who went to Shanghai and took econ oriented classes for her major while interning at HSBC. And the experience was easy to arrange.</p>
<p>Though, I’ve known a fair number of econ majors who left for a semester (and one or two for a full year) to take classes and experience a culture totally different from their own without intent to take any econ classes. There’s a continuity to what you can do, and generally speaking, it’s possible to find a program that meets your desires. It may not be 100% perfect, but as an experienced traveler, I can tell you 100% what you <em>think</em> you want is never the way it goes.</p>