I have a child at Tufts…generalizations that she heard about Tufts that made her interested in applying ED included: a quirky student body, hard working, smart kids, and “not a party school”. After her first year there, she would say those generalizations do ring true. Of course, kids who are dying to party can find a party, and I hear most of the party scene revolves around athletic teams, but if a student is looking for a vibrant party/social scene, Tufts is not it. We have also found that the dorms are not very social (and you’ll see that mentioned on the Tufts parent pages too).
As far as Boston is concerned, it is a relatively easy commute, but aside from her art classes at the SMFA campus, my daughter only went into the city a handful of times, including once to attend her very first frat party at MIT. Yep, MIT has a much better party scene than Tufts.
Fortunately, she has loved her first year there, but Tufts does appeal to a pretty specific student, so I would never encourage anyone to accept a spot there without visiting.