The following reviews are the views of students or alumni at this school and are unrelated to the school data and other editorial content on usnews.com. These reviews neither reflect nor impact a school's position within the Best Colleges rankings.
Tufts is perfect in a lot of ways...it's a gorgeous enclosed campus, but it's right by Davis Square, which has a lot of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. Boston is really accessible by T or bus (20ish minutes), and Cambridge has countless fun little neighborhoods to explore. The school is a great size because I always recognize people at events and run into people I know on my way to class, but there are always people I haven't met yet. After four years at Tufts, I never felt claustrophobic--it's big enough that everyone can keep their own business private. The president of the university (Larry Bacow) and his wife (Adele) are SO adored by the student body. They are incredibly accessible and make an effort to be involved in all activities on campus. We can tell that they care so much about this school and its students, and that's clear in the fanclubs the Bacows have amassed over the years. Tufts is fairly old, so we do have some pretty stellar traditions (the Naked Quad Run is famous and it's my personal favorite). Although our athletics aren't well known, they have had a great run in the last 4 years. In general, the student body is friendly, smart, and really fun. Kids care about learning, but they're also here to have a good time. Tufts has a good balance of working really hard, but also knowing how to loosen up sometimes. There are a lot of kids here who may come across as ditzes or slackers, but then you have a class with them or read their papers and you realize they're actually closet geniuses.
Sarah Alum
Tufts is a rising star when it comes to universities and our degrees will mean A LOT more as the years go by because Tufts is getting more and more renowned. When I first told people that I was going to Tufts, nobody had heard of it! I was always really embarrassed when people didn't know about Tufts when it had been one of the biggest decisions of my life up until that point. The situation is different though when you get in and around the Northeast. People know Tufts, and they highly respect it. If you want a diverse student body with an excellent administration (everyone LOVES our President Larry Bacow), a tight-knit community of students that isn't too small but not gargantuan, and a perfect distance from a truly fabulous city, then come to Tufts! It will deliver!
Logan Freshman
Every day that I'm at Tufts, I realize how perfect the school is for me. The size is perfect: with 4,000 undergrads, you'll never be able to meet everyone and you'll definitely see people you don't know all the time. But you also can't go a day without seeing tons of people you know either, which I think is perfect. Tufts is also in the perfect location! We're outside of Boston, so we have our own beautiful campus, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. On the other hand, it's a piece of cake to get into the city- we're a 10 minute walk from the T and we have a bus stop on our campus. Plus, Davis Square, the town center near us, is really hip and has great little shops and restaurants to peruse.
Kara Junior
Tufts is exactly what I looked for in a college. Students are passionate about their interests and motivated to learn, but at the same time recognize that college is about growing. Everyone realizes that we are at college to learn and expand our horizons, but at Tufts you see that this is best done both inside and outside of the classroom. Our professors are great and we learn a tremendous amount in class, but the relationships you make with friends and peers make college what it is. Tufts brings together a diverse student body of people who come from different backgrounds, have different interests, share different views on all issues and so on. Tufts students care about working together to make a difference and learn for the sake of learning. The typical student is competitive within himself, but never at the expense of another student. The student body is a collaborative and integrated group which forms a warm, welcoming community. On a more basic level, Tufts is the perfect size - 5000 undergraduates. The school is big enough that you have resources of a school five times its size but small enough that you can get around easily and stay close with friends and professors. Being 20 minutes from Boston is an amazing thing. The city is incredible and opens up Tufts students to anything they may want. It is a "small big city" that has a very young feel to it. Overall, Tufts is a very special place. Students are not afraid to admit its shortcomings. It is not hard to come across administrative red-tape and sometimes things take longer to fix or get done than students may hope. Residential Life at Tufts is often a huge pain - a well-known fact. And yes, we don't have an overwhelming sense of athletic school spirit. But does an school with only 5000 students? These few features, however, become insignificant to Tufts students. We're on a beautiful campus near an awesome city with a student body who is motivated, active and extremely happy. People are sometimes turned off to Tufts because it doesn't get the name recognition that Harvard or some other Ivies do, even though Tufts is equally as competitive as all of those school. This should never deter a student from considering Tufts, where they would get phenomenal academics and a very energetic student body.
Adam Sophomore
In my opinion, Tufts is a compromise between all different aspects of college, which more or less gives it the best of all worlds. We're medium sized - you're constantly meeting new people and have the resources of a bigger school, yet you'll see a half dozen familiar faces walking to class and have many small classes. We're just outside of Boston - we have quads and a campus bubble, yet all the best parts of Boston like big events, restaurants, internships, are accessible from the T. We have both a liberal arts and an engineering school - everyone interacts with shared classes and there's virtually no walls between the schools like you see at big universities. Last, there are plenty of research opportunities for science/social science majors, but small classes and engaging professors like a typical liberal arts school. Campus is gorgeous in the spring, summer, and fall, but little gloomy in the winter and on rainy days. Students mostly stay on campus, but some go into Boston a few times a week while others rarely make the trip. Everything you need is on campus, but it's nice to eat off campus/go to something cool in Boston. Generally, people are impressed by the Tufts "name" too. The "Tufts must be 'tuft' to get into!" joke gets old quick though. Outside of New England, there's less name recognition, but the more pretentious students will tell you that the people who matter know the Tufts name. Sometimes they'll joke about our endearing/somewhat embarrassing mascot, Jumbo.
Emily Junior
Tufts campus is a nice size and looks real nice, but the fact that you have to walk up and down a hill all day gets pretty tiring (literally). The school is a nice size where you get to meet a lot of people, but if you don't want to see someone, you can avoid them pretty easily. I wouldn't say that Tufts has a ton of "school pride", but almost everyone goes out and "celebrates" the big school events like Homecoming, Spring Fling, and NQR.
Eddie Freshman
Reviews provided by: UnigoVisit Unigo to see 109 other reviews and videos on Tufts University.
