I remember when I was trying to decide on a college… I weighed factors like location, quality of education, cuteness of the mascot, etc. And these factors are totally legitimate, but viewing it from the other side, as a graduating senior, I have a completely different set of reasons why I am glad I DID choose Tufts.
1) The Community Health Program (and opportunities for Undergraduate research!)
I came into Tufts, like many, many other students thinking I was going to be a pre-med. But I also wanted to double major in Community Health and Latin American Studies. If you think this sounds crazy… you are right. BUT it turns out that Community Health was just what I needed. Since deciding to major in community health, I have been involved in research with a professor for 3 years, I have been published in academic journals and I have discovered the love of my life: public health! And all of this has undoubtedly contributed to my being accepted to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University for the fall.
2) My friends
My friends and I all have very different academic and extracurricular interests, but they have taught me so much! Among my ten best friends, there are 5 different countries represented. And every day, I learn something about life or myself or politics or social theory or pop culture that I didn´t know before, and would not have learned in a classroom.
3) My year abroad in Chile
Tufts really supports students to study abroad and to make the most of their time there. I spent an academic year in South America with the Tufts-in-Chile program. Not only did I make incredible friends and hone my Spanish skills, I also got class credit for my Sociology major and completed research, which provided the basis for my senior thesis.
4) My social-justice minded peers
I have learned more about being a meaningful ally and effecting social change in one day of talking to my peers at Tufts than in any semester-long class on social theory. They challenge me to be a conscientious citizen of the world who is aware of her privilege, cognizant of structural injustices, and active in trying to address social inequities and disparities in health.