Three Students Share their Path to Tufts
A joy of being an admissions officer is sharing so much of Tufts with so many different students. We never know which part of our community will resonate…
My Tufts Pro/Con List 2.0
In the pre-decision stage of my college search and looking at the May 1st deadline looming in the near future, the pro/con list was my best friend. Now, after two years at Tufts, I've decided to revisit my trusty college decision buddy now that I'm "older and wiser." In the chart below, I've summed up my most influential pros and cons based on my personal experience, each numbered with a corresponding explanation below.
(And if you're a college senior dreading making a decision, remember to take a deep breath because everything is going to be ok. Remember this whole "decision" thing is suppose to be fun, right?)
Pros |
Cons |
1. Student Environment |
9. Multiple-choice exams in larger intro biology classes |
2. Academic Resource Center offers subject-specific study groups and time management tutors |
10. Disability accessibility (campus built on a hill) |
3. Varsity gym/access to trainers |
11. Time slots for classes |
4. Accessibility to Boston/The Fells |
12. Uphill to go dining options |
5. Dorm-style living options |
13. Housing (junior and senior year) |
6. Incredible professors (and overall professor/student relationships) |
14. Dining hall coffee |
7. Short commute to boathouse |
|
8. Food |
1. Student environment
My #1 “pro.” Hands down. Tufts students are passionate, intelligent, diverse, hilarious, and caring. I’m not just part of a curve here. Other students reach out to me, wanting to study for exams and work on problem sets together. Collaboration is the key to success.
2. ARC subject-specific study groups & time management tutors
Available to all students (free of cost) are meetings with graduate students or upperclassman tutors for time management and study strategies. The Academic Resource Center also offers subject-specific weekly study groups designed for larger enrollment intro classes, allowing for group discussion and practice problems, or tutors-on-call for specific subjects.
3. Varsity gym & access to trainers
As varsity athletes, students get access to the varsity gym (off the main Tisch gym). Our team’s lifts have been a highlight of my Tufts experience by having sport-specific workout programs and a committed trainer assigned to the team. The idea of an 8 am team lift terrified me as a pre-frosh but soon became my favorite way to start off a weekday morning and relieve stress.
4. Accessibility to Boston & the Middlesex Fells
This is something that didn’t originally make my pre-decision pro/con list, but access to Boston has been a valuable resource for internships, events, and art museums. Having art history field trips to the MFA Boston, Harvard Art Museum, and Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum, and the opportunity to see famous artwork in person cannot be overstated. The Middlesex Fells, which is basically a forest surrounded by the city of Medford, is an outlet to nature and has lots of paths for trail running and hiking.
5. Dorm-style living options
After freshman year of doubles or triples in halls, the housing options are numerous. I chose suite-style: 4 doubles and 2 singles around a common room, with some of my best friends. The many housing options spread all around campus allow students to choose their adventure of specialty housing, Greek housing, hall living, apartments, or suite-style.
6. Professors
Two words come to mind: accessibility and receptiveness. One thing I wish I had known before coming to college is that professors want students to come to office hours, seek help, have conversations, and create that personal relationship. In particular, Professor Kosinski (Intro to Global Health) and Professor Mirkin (Genetics) come to mind by integrating fun, academic demos and critical class discussion to further the depth of their classes. Professor Mirkin's Double Holliday Junction play-doh demo for chromosomal recombination will always be my #1 favorite.
7. Short commute to boathouse
5-minute commute to the boathouse. No more needs to be said.
8. Food
Dewick and Carm (the two main dining halls on campus) not only have kale, a wide array of foods for vegans, vegetarians, allergy-specific options, but truly the most friendly dining staff, who students often get to know on a first name basis. There's a big reason why I chose to write my whole Why Tufts? essay on the veggie burgers in Dewick.
Also…Magnificant Muffin in Teele Square: The best and cheapest breakfast sandwich in the northeast within minutes of campus. Yum.
9. Multiple choice in larger intro bio classes
Both intro biology classes, Bio13 and Bio14, have 4 exams with 25-multiple choice questions each. Whereas most other departments have fill-in tests, the biology department does not. Beyond these 2 intro classes, that’s not the case anymore, but for me, it has been frustrating in these intro classes because 3 incorrect answers on an exam and it’s already an 88.
10. Disability accessibility
Freshman fall, I hurt my shin sailing. Although I wasn’t on crutches for more than a day or two, it put the whole “Tufts is one giant hill” into perspective. TUPD can drive injured students around, but most dorm buildings and older academic buildings do not have adequate accessibility for students and faculty with disabilities.
11. Time slots for classes
Classes are usually offered in the same time slot(s) year after year, which makes it difficult to take a class if it’s always scheduled during practice. Academics do come first, but on this rare occasion, I’ll take a different class instead or take it over the summer. Ideally, a class’s time slot would change around each semester to increase the ability of students to take classes despite a strict schedule.
12. Uphill to-go options
All of the to-go dining options are downhill, closer to residential halls and away from some academic buildings. The one meal-swipe location, Hodgdon, is downhill and makes it difficult to get quick food when you’re in a rush. While it’s a 5-8 minute walk, sometimes it’s not enough when every second counts. Very few students find this a problem, but being a varsity athlete, pre-med, and tour guide, my busy schedule often puts me in this situation.
13. Housing (junior and senior year)
I’ve never heard of anyone not getting housing junior or senior year—if they’re willing to wait on the list long enough or choose a less popular dorm. Housing is only guaranteed two years and most students opt to live “off campus” (1-6 blocks from campus) to avoid deal with waiting or the chance they can’t live with friends.
14. Dining hall coffee
Something needs to be done about the bad dining hall coffee. Please. Though there are coffee shops on campus with better brews, I get disappointed when I have to go out of my way to get those life-saving caffeine molecules in the morning.
