Tufts Blogs

Junior year is a great time to get started on making your college list. While you don’t have to do it alone (there are school counselors, art teachers, and admissions counselors to help out along the way), it should be primarily motivated by what you want to get out of your college experience. It is your list, after all!

A good first step in making your college list is to identify the top priorities for your college experience. To help you get started on making your list, we invited Soph, a current SMFA at Tufts student, to share her perspective on a few key points that you may also want to factor in:

Location & Opportunities

Soph says: When I started looking at colleges, I asked myself: Do I want to be in a city or a suburb? How far from home do I want to be? Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, I knew I wanted something different from my college experience—access to museums, the ability to explore new cities, and the convenience of hopping on a train to travel. I also wanted to immerse myself in a larger community. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose what I love about my hometown: the strong sense of community and the warmth of its people. Tufts turned out to be the perfect fit, offering the balance I was looking for. The Medford campus provided the close-knit suburban environment I wanted, along with labs, galleries, and green spaces that excited me. Meanwhile, the SMFA campus in the heart of Boston gave me direct access to the museums, studios, and urban energy I craved. With both campuses, Tufts offered a place where I could engage with a vibrant city while staying connected to a strong, supportive community.

Tufts campuses in and around Boston give our students more than just the opportunity to get boba tea at all hours of the night (although that’s a perk, too). It’s important for prospective art students to know that our location and the opportunities that come with it have a big impact on your creative future. The SMFA Fenway campus puts you in the middle of world-renowned arts institutions where you can make connections and explore careers. Right next door, our namesake and OG partner, the Museum of Fine Arts, offers students exhibition and internship opportunities plus the chance to study art while immersed in the Museum’s massive collections. Across the park, the Gardner Museum offers an internship program reserved for SMFA students. Our peer schools in the Pro-Arts Consortium allow you to cross-register and network with students from all sorts of artistic disciplines. Down the road, you’ll find SMFA students and alumni exhibiting work and exploring careers in the SoWa Arts District. It’s important for artists to be surrounded by the arts scene. But when you’ve had enough of the big city energy, you can always hop on the shuttle and relax in the relative serenity of the Medford campus. Don’t worry – there's boba tea over there, too.

Academic and Professional Opportunities

Soph says: It was really important to me to have access to a diverse range of academic offerings and strong professional preparation opportunities. When I started looking at colleges, I laid out some non-negotiables about what I wasn’t willing to compromise on when it came to my education. Maybe for you, it’s having access to a well-rounded curriculum or a good psychology program. For me, it was the ability to take both studio art and science classes while engaging in research and hands-on learning. The ability to pursue my academic interests without limitations was my top priority. Tufts’ interdisciplinary approach stood out to me, allowing me to explore the connections between my artistic passions and my interests in design, technology, and problem-solving.

At SMFA, you’ll be getting the depth of a specialized art school and the breadth of an R1 research university with 150 majors, minors, and programs. Our BFA curriculum doesn’t require students to complete a pre-set core year or declare a major, so your educational pathway is customized to your interests and goals. An interdisciplinary education without boundaries is the best preparation to enter today’s workforce, where you’ll be tasked with thinking outside of the box and working with people from diverse backgrounds.

Community and Support

Soph says: One of the things that initially drew me to Tufts was its community and support. I went to a small high school, so forming close connections with peers and faculty was really important to me. When I toured for the first time, I was really encouraged by the emphasis on collaboration rather than competition, and how Tufts supported a community where it was easy to connect with faculty and peers. I wanted an environment where I was encouraged to ask questions, seek mentorship, and grow academically and personally. With more than 6,000 students, over 300 student organizations, and countless events across campuses, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll find a way to get involved at Tufts. You might consider what kind of activities spark your interest, like illustrating for a school publication, cheering at a homecoming football game, or going on birdwatching adventures, and check that the schools you’re looking at can support those interests. Honestly, most colleges out there will offer lots of exciting ways to get involved on campus. What’s unique about SMFA is the way we put community at the heart of your academic experience, too. When students are each on their own personalized academic pathways, collaboration and support take the place of direct competition. It makes for a place where students are free to show up authentically, ask for the support they need, and make lifelong friends.

There are about four thousand colleges and universities in the United States, and you might find something interesting about each and every single one. But your college list — and the priorities that inform it — will help you narrow down your options based on what's right for you. Jumpstart your college search by getting to know SMFA at Tufts: take a tour, join an information session, or reach out and let us know how we can help you start your college list.