Tufts University Top Questions

On my way home for Thanksgiving break, I was sitting next to 2 girls who went to 2 different schools in the Boston area. One was unhappy because it was an all girls school and the other was unhappy because the school was so big (especially compared to her 30 person high school). Before the research opportunities and career goals, look at what the campus is like on a day to day basis. How is the food? How nice are the dorms? What are the people like? Where is the campus? How big is the school? I'm always surprised with how much people gloss over those things in favor of something else. Majors change but the everyday situation is always there. Take life step by step and pick a college that suits you NOW.

Look at why you want to go to college: is it just what your parents say you should do? are you going to college to follow the same paths laid down for you in high school to reach a certain career, or are you looking for an experience that lets you tailor your courseload to get you where you want in life? The first question is the only one you want to watch out for if your answer is "yes." Don't waste your money or your parents money if you don't have a vision of where you want to go with college.

At the end of the day, most colleges are pretty similar. There is no need to stress about decisions between two nearly identical schools. As you select potential schools to apply for, you should have some basic criterion in mind-- how big? how urban? You should also visit to get a sense of the vibe-- friendly? artsy? sport-centered? Greek-heavy? After these basic questions have been answered, you can rest assured that whatever school you are accepted into will meet your basic needs. Relax. It doesn't have to be this hard. Even the most well-adjusted, motivated, and talented students will find their first year of college something of a transition. You won't be able to put your finger on it exactly-- you have friends, you're doing pretty well in classes, you're involved in some fun clubs-- but what is that nagging sense of not-quite-right? Again, relax. This too shall pass. College not only prepares you for a career, it teaches you to become an adult. This is one of the most valuable skills you will learn at college-- treasure the journey.

Follow your gut.

I would say that it is important where the student feels at home. The student is the one who is going to be living at the college for at least four years and has to feel invested in his/her education.

Take your time. I can't emphasize enough that had I the patience in high school that I did now, I would have explored far more choices and really took the time to consider what I wanted. Don't be influenced at all by where your friends are going or where your parents want you to go. Ultimately it comes down to a feeling of a school. You'll know it when you get it, but it really takes time.

Visit the campus, ask as many students from diverse backgrounds as possible about what they think of the school. Ask students from all grades and those who have backgrounds and interests similar to yours. Also, if you need financial aid, see what the school says about the long term availability of funding and not just that for freshman year, since the amount may change.

You really need to priortize what you are looking for in a college; there is most likely not one college that fits every single criteria you think you want. And on that note, realize that college is a big change, it's okay for wants to change throughout the search process. Start off with a big list and narrow it down, through this you will realize what is really important to you in a school. You should explore all options until you find a place where you feel comfortable. Don't do what your friends want, or parents wish, go for a school that fits who you are, not who you want to be or who someone else wants you to be. Then you will be happy and able to fully enjoy the experience. Once at college, take advantage of every opportunity. Try everything and then decide on a few favorites to dedicate your time to, but don't miss a chance to expand your horizons!

The best advice I can give to prospective college students and their parents is that your future school will likely have a diverse population, with many opportunities to choose from. Therefore, relax! It may take time to settle in, but if you open your mind to the new experiences available, you will meet amazing people who change your life, learn from inspiring professors, and get involved in activities that push you out of your comfort zone. Your college experience will become less about the school that you end up at, and more about the experience that you make for yourself once you're there.

You get out of college what you put into it. It's easy to come to school and hate it, but easier to come and have the best time of your life. If you're willing to enjoy yourself, you will.

Visit schools and take notes. After visiting 36 schools and interviewing at 23 of them I found the right place. The college search is a huge hassle, but it will be your life for four years. It is here you get your formal education, make friends, and network for future careers. Look at how students are interacting... are they looking at their cellphones or listening to music? Or are they saying "hello" to eachother on the road? Look at how teachers interact with their students - are they lecturing or discussing? Ask questions at the department you are most interested in. Make connections with current students - ask him/her questions about college life. Stay overnight to see the social aspects of the college. Undergrad is meant for both social life and education - make sure you will be getting both. Lastly, an arbitrary but important point. When you visit a school - write down what the weather was like. Take into consideration whether it was a beautiful day and if that is the reason you liked the school - or did you actually like it? Take the time to make the right choice - you will be glad you did.

sociaty might measure where you graduated from and with whom who have done your research studies with, but if you really handle your business well and you know what you are doing, you will be able to find your way. being afraid of taking breaks is a silly mistake. give yourself some time and take a break, away from your practical academical stuff, and get to know yourself better before you jump into the field deeply.

As a tour guide for my school, I always tell prospective students that is about finding a school and feeling at home there. Spend as much time on each campus as you can. However in the end, most people will be happy in most places. And if you are not happy, then you transfer, as more and more students are doing. The most important thing is just to be aware of what you generally are looking for in a school: public or private, big or small, urban or rural, liberal arts or something more specific. Once you make those decisions, the rest should come down to how you feel. Are the students you meet there students you want to spend four years with? Does the campus seem like somewhere you'd enjoy spending your time? Does the academic program follow what you are interested in? Does the social life fulfill what you are looking for in the college experience? I think that if you can answer these questions positively about any school, you're in a good place! In the end, it's just about being happy. You'll get a good education almost anywhere.

Never ever underestimate yourself. The school I ultimately attended was my reach school, as was the case of many of my friends. I ended up getting in and getting my full financial needs met at a college where my guidance counselor doubted I would get accepted to. Also, you will change your mind a million times about the college you really want to attend, and for this reason, keep going back for visits finding out as much information as possible. Eventually, during one of those visits, you will step onto the campus and get that special, "I'm home," kind of feeling. That's the right school for you.

Be mindful. Look past the US News and World Report rankings to what each institution is and has to offer. Be mindful of the climate of the institution, how will you experience a school predominantly Republican, Protestant, or Caucasian? How might you manage a $200,000 tuition debt when you are you burning to join the Peace Corps after graduation? Be mindful of how closely the institution meets your goals and think less about what your aunt/teacher/friends will think of the schools you?ve applied to (You?ll see that questions about school?s you?ve applied to is the most common topic to be asked of high school seniors.)

Make sure that you critically evaluate your choices. Remember that you are not going looking for a job right now, so don't worry about career placement.

To prospective students, i would advise them to physically go to the campuses of the universities they are considering. In walking around campus, one can really get a feel for the environment in which one will spend the next four years. Another important aspect of finding the right college involves getting to know the rest of the student body. It is incredibly insightful to hear what the current students of an institution have to say. By talking to them, prospective students can glean a far more accurate perspective on the colleges they are looking at.

Visit the college or university and spend the night there on a weekend to see what the social life is like. Attending classes didn't help me very much because there are many different professors who teach the same class and may not teach it every year. Every school has study abroad programs, likes to boast about their diversity, and helps you find a job after college, and the majority have small class sizes if you look for them. None of this matters, it's all about the feel of the school. What it comes down to is asking yourself "Can I see myself enjoying several years of my life here?"

For a high school senior, chosing the right college seems like the most important decision in the world. For a parent, it can be just as terrifying a choice. The best thing to remember is that any school can offer a myriad of study abroad options or the major that you are so sure you want to study, but only the right school will click with you when you step foot on campus. It may be a subtle experience, but for me at least there was a huge parade that marched through my head when I took a tour of my current university. The perfect school may never exist for you or your child, but there is a school out there that will simply feel right. Education (especially with the price of tuition) is of course extremely important, but don't forget the value of finding a place that gets under your skin, making you feel like there is nowhere else in the world you would rather spend four of the most mind expanding years of your life.

I made the mistake of never visiting any college during my senior year in high school. I had no idea what the campus was like, what kind of students went there, what professors teach their, or the resources available to me. I assumed everything would work out just fine no matter what school I went to. Even though I am now in a good position, some of those applying to college might not be so fortunate. One of the most important aspects about your "perfect" college is the kind of people that attend the university. What kind of people can you befriend and are they really a match for you? The only way to find out is to go and see for yourself and make those friends. Without good friends, your mood, but also how well you do and how much you can really get out of the classes you're taking, could all decrease. In summation, making the right choice about your college is not easy. Remember, to make the most out of college, you have to be healthy, happy, and most of all, enjoy yourself, and get a little bit of work done, too.

My strongest advice to prospective students and their parents is not to stress out. Do not ruin the last year or two of high school by obsessing over finding the perfect college. There are a great many good schools out there and chances are that you will be extremely happy at any one of them. I would recommend looking for a college which is diverse among its students and faculty, but also among its different programs and opportunities. College is not just about academic learning, but also learning about yourself, about how to live on your own, and about the connections you make with other students. These friends will be with you for the rest of your life. It is important to experience and see the variety of different disciplines that there are, even if you do not think you are interested in them at first. Most kids going to college don't really know what they want to do with their lives and viewing a variety of different opportunities will help you greatly. Again, I urge you to take a step back and relax. The college process is daunting, but ignore the hype and find a place to enjoy.

I would let students know to look into their university options to see if what the schools offer actually fit in with their personal goals. Look in to see if the school has a strong department in the field you want to major in. Check to see if the professors are more involved with helping their students or with their own research. Also, when you get into college, take classes that you are sincerely interested in and not just things that will meet requirements. Don't be afraid to have only one major. A lot of people think double majoring is the be all, end all. But, completeing just one major will allow to learn things for fun. Lastly, enjoy it! Don't just hide out in the library. You'll make lifelong friends -- enjoy yourself!

As soon as I stepped onto Tufts' campus, I knew it was my first choice. There's an unexpected and foreign feeling you get when you're visiting a college and you realize it's where you want to spend te next four years of your life: comfort. The years of struggle in high school, the GPA boosting, the resum? building, the AP classes, and the exhausting SAT preperation suddenly feels worthwhile. All the boring campus tours, nerve-racking interviews, and seemingly endless car rides from university to university are forgotten. Everything the tour guides and admissions representatives say seems to click with you, and all of a sudden for the first time you can remember, a true genuine smile begins to appear. It took me twelve school visits to find this feeling, but if you work hard enough in high school and get to know yourself well enough, you too can experience the truly unique sensation I experienced at Tufts. Whether it's halfway across the country or five minutes away from you, you'll know exactly when you've found the right place for you.

For most people, it will be ultimately important which college they attend. The more competitive one's career field is, the more important it is which college one attends. That said, there are hundreds of top-notch schools in America alone. At one time, I was devastated that an Ivy League school did not accept me. After spending some time at the school I chose to enroll in, nothing could make me change my future-alma mater. Anybody should be able to find a one-of-a-kind experience at any school in which they enroll. College is a fun experience, but that is not what college is about. College's primary function is for educating. Like high school though, it serves a secondary function of being a source of entertainment, hilarity, and friendships for four years straight, and beyond. If one does not pick a college based on the education they expect to receive, one is going to college for the wrong reasons. One finds fun at every college, but only certain colleges can educate at the highest level in any given field.

Find a college that fits your personality and interests!!! Size and location really matter and the type of students and their desires and focuses really affect your experience, so choose wisely!

It's not about the rankings of the university or its prestige. You really have to find what's important to you and find the right place for you that has those values. Don't focus so much on numbers or statistics but meet people on campus and make a connection. Talk to as many people as you can and visit as many collleges and just be open-minded. Your experience is whatever you make it.

Finding the college is all about that first visit. Upon arriving at the right school you just get that feeling that "this is the one." Also, don't be to quick to go across the country for school. Even if you're 20 minutes away from your parents, you're still away at school. As far as making the most of the college experience, nothing is more important that having an open mind. Be open to making friends, trying new things, joining clubs, etc. College is the perfect place to fully immerse yourself in a new extracurricular that was never offered at a school you've attended, or that you were never sure you wanted to/could do. It's all about balance. Schoolwork, extracurriculars, social life: it is all equally important in making it through four years in the most enjoyable and successful way possible.

In the search for the perfect college, parents and students are influenced by many factors that are not essential to undergraduate success. Examples include ivy-league status, price tag, list of prominent alumni, or other measures of selectivity. I recommend choosing based on life on campus, and decided to spend the night at each college on my list, ?shadowing? a student for day. Most importantly, I visited outside of the normal recruiting weekends, and got to see schools in their true light (i.e. without 200 other high-schoolers). By immersing myself into each college for 24 hours, I evaluated first hand what they offered. After my week of touring, the choice became clear: I would enroll at Tufts University. As a freshman seeking to make the most of the college experience, I went to Professors? office hours, spoke to student leaders, and met with university staff. These interactions guided me towards the programs most suitable for me, where I was able to thrive. Without the input from a diverse group of people, I would have missed out on this class or that activity. Remember, you are never bothering people. So go ahead, and just ask!

Don't worry about grades, but try to have fun and learn the most you can. Making friends is the most important thing about going to college, so make some!

Start researching schools by at least junior year and visit a good amount of them in the summer before senior year in high school. Overnights at schools are also a great way to get a feeling about what life at that school is like and to see if it is a place where you want to spend 4 important years of your life. If you have your heart set on a certain school, dont let money stop you from going there. Do as many activities as you can at college see which you like the most and continue with them. Sleeping well really is very important to doing well in classes and for not being absolutely miserable all the time, but still make time to have fun and relax with friends. Try to get good at at least one popular video game before getting to college because they are a great way to bond with people on your floor. Having a close floor, especially freshman year, makes college life a lot better.

I would tell the parents to step back and let their son/daughter think about what they truly see themselves doing for the next 4 years. Excellence is great, but variety gives you growing space. Are all of you possible majors offered? What's the student to teacher ratio and average class size.? Make sure the school's housing and financial aid system is something you you can handle. Most importantly, try new things. Find yourself at where ever you choose to go. Being open to new people and exprinces is key to enjoying any and every college. Even if you find yourself at your last choice, make the most of it even if you plan on transfering. Life's short, youth is shorter. let in as much as you can and be happy whenever possible.

There is no right place to go to school. There are general factors that you should take into consideration (big or small, rural or urban), but there is no perfect university! You would be wonderfully happy at many different schools, so choose one that's got the basics you're looking for, like approximate size, location, program of study, but don't stress over "the feeling" you're supposed to get when you set foot on the right campus for you. It may never happen, but that doesn't mean the college isn't a good fit. Stay overnight and really get an idea of whether or not you could be happy and satisfied going to school there.