Tufts University Visit Report by mathmom

Visit Activities:

Information Session: No - Presenter was pompous, room was stuffy. Too much talk about trying to figure out why you want to go to college. Empahsized "research one university" and international experience. I got irrit

Campus Tour: No - Luckily the tour was much more engaging that the info talk. Choice of 3 tour guides with different majors, they each introduced themselves and let us choose. We chose the one with the loudest voice.

Classroom Visit: No - We didn't even walk by one.

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Campus:

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Very nice people everywhere, even the parking garage!

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Very pleasant.

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A little bit of graffiti (hearts on Jumbo), and the students like to chalk the sidewalks. Stinky mulch was being laid down on all the beds. Quite a bit of art and sculpture on display.

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Everything was clean and neat. The library was exceptionally nice,though very modern.

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We walked through an older one, narrow halls, didn't see a common area. There was a double open that I would say was somewhat larger than average.

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The usual blue lights. It felt safe, nice neighborhood.

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I'm somewhat bothered by the campus on the hill feel, but a nice traditional quad at the top with more quirky buildings outside the main area.

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Off-Campus:

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An attractive area.

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I'd always thought Tufts was more suburban than it is. It's very close to Davis Square which is a happening place and also just two stops away on the Red Line from Harvard and a few more to

Campus Visit Notes for Tufts University

Visit Description:

The elephants are the first thing you notice at Tufts. They are everywhere, though sadly the original stuffed Jumbo (which is the ONLY thing I remember from touring the school in 1972) was lost to a fire in 1975.

There was a lot of emphasis on Tuft's international-ness - whether it was the many study abroad options, or the many foreign students. Research opportunities are available. They were a little coy on the issue of TAs preferring to say that almost all courses are taught by professors and acting as though the breakout sessions and labs aren't integral parts of the courses.

We ate at the largest cafeteria for lunch and it really was excellent. Many, many options - from breakfast items, to vegetarian, to grilled steak (Yummy), a make your own sandwich station, an extensive salad bar, pizza, a couple of soup options, more than the usual drinks, ice cream, cookies and cake. Everything we tried was very good.

Our enthusiastic tour guide was very involved in drama, it seemed like there were lots of opportunities there both on stage and behind the scenes. In fact there was less talk about the academics than I would have liked. The info session was surprisingly off-putting. The presenter seemed more interested in telling us we needed to figure out why we were going to college than in telling us why Tufts was special.

We have a friend whose daughter is there, studying engineering who is very happy there.

Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:

Check out Davis square.

Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):

Close to 93, not quite as close to the Turnpike. Easy access to public transportation into Boston.