It was great to get back to Tufts University, in Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. Tufts holds a special place in my heart, as I’m an alumna. The campus feels very familiar – the canon that studenta paint to celebrate anything is still there. But it also feels modernized, and it is, with many new facilities. There’s also a different vibe there today. It was a “work hard/play hard” kind of place back in the 1980’s, but in talking with current students, while it’s still a “work hard” place, I think the students are more serious in their pursuits, it’s certainly not a party school by any measure, and social life is a bit quiet for non-athletes.

They've built more residence halls since I attended, but they’ve also increased the size of the undergraduate population. As such, housing is required and guaranteed for 2 years, and many students move off campus after that. There are apartments within a short walking distance, as Tufts is situated in a residential neighborhood. I’m told moving off campus is also less expensive. 70% of all undergraduates live on campus. A student of mine received a single as a freshman just by asking; I’m guessing those are the singles that used to go to upperclassman who now live off campus. There aren’t a lot of universities where you can get a single as a freshman!

The admissions presentation was not strong; there were no slides, and much of what they had to say is true about any mid-sized selective institution. But here are a few takeaways:
1.     I was reminded that Tufts, like its neighbor, Brandeis, is one of the smaller R1 institutions. That means that there’s a lot of research going on, a lot of funding for it, and very few grad students standing in the way of those opportunities.
2.     Tufts is embracing reality in this crazy test-optional landscape. They're acknowledging that score inflation is out of control. They know that students are afraid to send scores outside of an ever-increasing mid-50th range. So despite the fact that the 25th percentile of SAT scores was 1470 for admitted students in the graduating class of 2024, Tufts is now recommending that students submit an SAT score at or above 1300, and an ACT score at or above 28. Sanity prevails! I’d love to see other institutions follow Tufts’ lead here.
3.     The engineering school is very collaborative. When submitting work, students can expect their professors to ask, “Who did you work with?” Or, for us humanities gals, “With whom did you work?” But that’s a conversation for another forum.
4.     Tufts has a beautiful campus in Talloires, France. I’ve been there myself; it’s a very special place. This gives Tufts students the opportunity to spend 6 weeks abroad taking Tufts classes from Tufts professors without missing a semester in Medford/Somerville.
5.     The Why Tufts essays matters. A lot. Be specific and be personal.

 What a wonderful visit to my alma mater, Tufts University, on the border between Medford and Somerville Massachusetts! Although there are a number of very impressive new buildings built since I graduated, the campus still felt like home. But the student experience is very different than it was back in the day. When I attended, there were around 4000 undergraduates on campus, and today there are 6000! 75% of them are in the School of Arts and Sciences, 15% in Engineering, and 10% in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. There are far more distribution requirements for arts and sciences majors than I ever had to take and, quite frankly, far more than many other colleges today. For instance, as a humanities major, I had to take 2 classes in either math or science. I thought that was fabulous because I was able to avoid math altogether! Students today must take 2 math classes AND 2 science classes. They also take 2 freshman writing classes, 2 social science classes, 2 humanities classes, 2 arts classes and 6 - count them: 6 - semesters of language. This is crucial for prospective students to know! Engineering students, interestingly, don't have a language requirement but they must take 8 classes in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. In fact, Spanish is the most popular minor for engineering students here. One thing that hasn't changed is Tufts' Ex College, or experimental college. It's a department that offers many interesting interdisciplinary courses, like "The Art of Live Storytelling" and "Video Games as Visual Culture." The students love them, and some even teach them!

In my day, we were thrilled to jump on the 96 city bus which took us to Harvard Square and from there we took the "T" (Boston's subway system) into Boston. Today, there's a free campus shuttle every 10 minutes that brings students about a mile to Davis Square, which has become a very hip neighborhood with restaurants, shops and its own T stop. But it gets better! There's a brand new T stop that just open on the Tufts campus. So although the university is 6 miles outside of Boston, students have access to the whole city at their fingertips.

Regarding admissions, well, in this regard it has also changed a lot. I really appreciated the candor of the admissions officer at the information session. She said, "We will get your transcript and your school profile and we'll look at the classes you have opted to take compared to what's offered at your high school." While we know this is true of every college admissions office, I loved that they declared it to the students who were visiting. Because they don't always know. She also said that students must take a handful of the most advanced classes available, and that 4 years of the 5 academic subjects are preferred. Again, we know this to be true with the superselectives, so I really appreciated the transparency. She acknowledged how selective Tufts has become and that many of their applicants are impressive - and that the supplemental essays are "where I find my best thermometer for fit." Indeed, the "Why Tufts?" essay is taken very, very seriously. With a 9% acceptance rate, top grades are just the first hoop to jump through! I absolutely loved my 4 years at Tufts, and really enjoyed going down memory lane! Tufts still has a somewhat nerdy, intellectual vibe, it's still as individualistic as I remember it, but it's far more diverse and the social life is no longer ruled by fraternity parties. And that's a good thing!