Tufts Grad Students

[VGalica]

I was recently accepted at Tufts for Fall 2014! I was admitted into the Child Psychology Masters Program. I am trying to decide between Tufts and one other school but Tufts is currently my top choice. Can anyone tell me anything about the program, the school, or the area? I have never been to Medford or Boston but I live in CT. To be honest, this will be my first time moving away from home so I'm a little underprepared in how things like finding an apartment work. Really, any information would be helpful!

[chitchat2016]

I went to Tufts for my undergrad degree in child development, so I can provide a bit of information. One of my favorites aspects of Tufts was my professors. They were extremely knowledgeable yet approachable and down to earth. My best friend majored in clinical psychology and had a similar academic experience. Since you are interested in children, I'll note that Tufts has it's own school and preschool facilities with mixed classrooms of children with and without a variety of disabilities. I loved the hands on experience and observations I was able to do while studying the material!

Tufts is about 20 minutes from Boston via public transportation. I can't speak to the graduate students' social life, but most seniors hang around Davis Square bars, go to downtown Boston or take the 10 minute train ride to Harvard square. It's very easy to get around the area without a car and there are so many schools in the Boston area that there is plenty to do. All of the nearby squares are cool places to hang out - Davis, Porter, Harvard, etc.

Housing is variable depending on if you want to live close to campus and/or if you want your own apartment. Most Tufts students live in the Medford/Somerville area and rent a room in a house with 2-3 roomates. Check out www.tuftslife

[chitchat2016]

*www.tuftslife.com. People occasionally post housing options there and you can see the day to day events at Tufts. I am sure you will love it if you end up attending! Best of luck!

[Jjjjjbird]

I was also an undergrad at Tufts (Class of 2012), and I majored in psych (with a concentration on developmental psych) and child development. I personally think everything having to do with Tufts is seriously amazing I spent a lot of time at both the Psychology building and Eliot-Pearson (the Child Development school), and had wonderful experiences at both. I worked for a grad student in the psych lab who did a couple of studies involving children and their views on race - we did testing at Eliot-Pearson, and Tufts also has a partnership with the Museum of Science in Boston, so we went out there a few times a week and tested kids there as well. Also, the Psych department is very intimate. I know that the grad students become very close with their advisors, and at Tufts in general the professors and the administration are extremely accessible.

 

As far as the school itself and its location, I think it's basically perfection. The campus is absolutely gorgeous, and it's located about a ten minute walk from Davis Square, where you can hop on the T and be in the center of Boston in less than fifteen minutes. Housing is super easy to figure out - like chitchat2016 said, tuftslife.com is an incredible resource. You can find housing from $550 - $900...and as a grad student you'll be fine living a little further from campus (and by that I mean like literally two blocks away probably), where housing runs on the cheaper side.

 

I really can't talk about how much I love Tufts enough! And the mascot is Jumbo, so really, enough said

[pears]

Another Jumbo here! Based on the graduate students I met as an undergrad, everyone in a grad program at Tufts seems to be brilliant, but not overbearing, conventional, selfish, or competitive. I'm pretty convinced that the students at Fletcher are going to save the world. Everyone seems to be very passionate about what they do, from incoming freshmen to tenured professors; I sorely miss the positive, engaged learning environment that was fostered on campus. I'm sure that sounds like a line out of a cheesy pamphlet, but it really is a magical place full of wonderful, quirky nerds!

 

As others have said, TuftsLife is probably the best resource for housing; as an undergrad, I just moved into houses that my friends moved out of, but I'd trust the posts on TL if friends' old houses hadn't been an option. Medford/Somerville can be a really expensive place to live without housemates, but all the people at Tufts are so nice that it's worthwhile to live with at least a couple other students, especially if you go a bit further off campus. I love the areas around Davis, Porter, Harvard, & Central. Pay a visit, if you can. Boston is wonderful & really livens up in the springtime!

[X-Thor]

Hi! 

 

I will also enter Tufts this Fall. I'll join the Fletcher (MALD) community and I'm incredibly excited about it.   Especially because pears' impression seems to be general.

 

I'm also looking at housing options, so I really appreciate the TuftsLife link.