Tufts Blogs

Dear beloved international prospective students (or "prospies", as we lovingly call you),

Before I came to Tufts, I thought about (read: overthought about) the many ways my life would be changed. I’m sure you’re going through the same process now. Mainly, that included having to do my own laundry, needing to get a job, considering kind of clothes I would need (Helloooo, winter!), and missing my family. But now I’m here, realizing that it’s the little things that get you. Just so you’re better prepared than I was, here is a list of things that I didn’t think would be aspects of life that I would actively need to think about.

1. Currency

Obviously I thought about needing to convert money and all that, but did you guys expect to have to learn how to use coins?! When I first wanted to use a vending machine for some much-needed late night energy drinks, I crashed into a brick wall called “You don’t know what each coin means!” First of all, the writing on these coins are so tiny that I can’t even tell if that says ‘dime’ or ‘quarter, and secondly, who even divides up money into quarters?! Where I come from, money is counted in 5s, 10s, or 100s. I had to ask a neighbor to teach my the value of each coin, and now I’m working at a campus café handing out change like a pro.

2. Imperial System

If you’re from the 95% of the world that uses the metric system, you’re going to be confused. Maybe I was underprepared not knowing how to convert meters into feet, but every measure of most things is completely different because of the imperial system. Especially at Tufts, where the crazy northeastern weather makes temperature a popular topic of discussion, you’ll soon learn how to convert Celsius into Fahrenheit like a boss.  

3. Paperwork

It’s crazy. Not gonna lie. As an international student, expect to have to do twice as much paperwork as the US citizens at Tufts. I would say visiting an office only to be told at least twice you need more documents as an international student is a given. If you thought your load of paperwork what with the commonapp, transcripts, and financial aid forms was all over, think again. Whenever you have to fill out paperwork, always bring your social security card, your passport, your I-20, and your I-19 as your basic form of ID.

4. Multilingualism

But have no fear, because not all the surprises are challenges. The most intriguing phenomena I’ve experienced at Tufts is the past-two-am occurrences. The first time it happened, I was sitting in a suite style dorm with a group of friends from International Orientation. Suddenly, my friend and I had a realization that we both spoke Korean (he’s not Korean, he’s American) and that sparked a full Korean conversation. Then three of my other friends started speaking in French, and another two friends in Thai. Conversation was flying across the room, criss-crossing in three different languages at once. The funny thing is, this seems to only happen past a certain point late into the night/early into the morning. Being from an international school, I can tell you I never feel more at home than when this happens.

5. Culture Clubs

Some of Tufts’ most salient club activities are driven by the culture clubs, such as Vietnamese Students’ Association, Association of South Asians, and Pan-African Alliance. Not only are they very well funded, but they also are tightly integrated into the social scene at Tufts. You’ll be surprised to see how many opportunities there are to participate in mixers with a community you feel at home with, but more importantly, how many times in the year you get to eat food from your home country. (Check out http://ocl.tufts.edu/cultural/ for more represented cultures.)

I hope you feel more prepared for the diversity of experiences that you’ll have at Tufts and in the US as an international student. Hope to see you soon!