Tufts 2008?!

[bearpaw]

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Yeah, anyone else going or really thinking about going? I am...it should be fun. I already put my deposit down for posner, i read it could be newer, but I want to live in the city and its the cheapest option right in the city. Plus its easier to meet people when you live in the dorms, if college has taught us anything.

I'm glad we don't have anatomy first semester, so we can actually enjoy boston when we get here and have time to get settled in.

Anyway, post away.

 

[bearpaw]

haha...i guess it's a bit early.

 

[ndspider]

ha ha, I am at tufts right now doing another program.
Posner is a freaking ****hole.
Tufts is expensive as hell, is that the ONLY school you got into that has an MD attached to it? If so...... well
I would suggest finding a roomate and living in the city. Downtown boston is dangerous at night and again, Posner is a freaking ****hole!
Do you know anything about boston? Live in cambridge, brookline, somewhere you can get on the T and you can get to Tufts in 15 min.
If you are a *****, you will go to posner. Really

 

[coldchemist]

Bearpaw--

I'd like to apologize for my fellow SDN'rs behavior here. I'm sure that, looking back, he realizes that his comments may have been offensive to you, or at least incredibly insensitive. You seem to look forward to going to Tufts--and you should. It's a good school and you'll have a great time regardless of where you live. Still, I lived in a dorm for 5 years, and I always felt that having social interaction was preferable to living in a nice apartment where I had very little in common with my neighbors.

The previous poster has only posted to SDN nine times; maybe that explains why he's so rough-around-the-edges. In time he'll realize that tact and sensitivity are in order.

CC

 

[tobiko]

Hi Bearpaw,

I'm so torn between Tufts and UVa right now...Living in Chinatown isn't so bad. My boyfriend lived across the street from Posner for a year and although there were some interesting situations (like walking in on a drug deal behind the building) , it's MUCH better than it was before. And now that they're building a huge condo/commercial space across the street, I'm sure it'll be even better by this fall.

Also you have the easiest access to awesome food and there are a ton of clubs that you can walk to/stumble home from (so you don't have to pay for a cab at the end of the night).

where are you moving from?

T

 

[ndspider]

Dear Bearpaw,
the above example is from a individual that we call, a social outcast. She is one of the many examples you will encounter at Tufts or whatever medschool you will enroll in. Individuals such as this HAVE NO SOCIAL SKILLS.
The fact that she has lived in a dorm for 5 years is like saying she stayed in the womb for an extra 9 months. Get out and grow up.
About the complex across the street. Unless you are willing to dish out 400 grand or pay 2100 dollars a month to live there, it is not an option. So disregard her suggestion.
The food...... is not that good, because all there are, are food courts! Unless you consider SBarro and Dunkin' Dougnuts nice then you are out of luck. But if you want to wake up every day, and I do mean every day, smelling like chinatown then you will safely achieve the nickname kung pao chicken.

To the other poster. UVA or Tufts. I hope you have a deep pocket for tufts, if you do then go there, if not, don't be an idiot. Tufts, ha! you are competing with 2 other medschools. You have to go to baystate for an extended period of time for your studies and you could possible end up in bangor maine! Use your head *****!
.spider
p.s. I was accepted to Tufts, and sent in the decline. I am smart enough to realize a good deal when I see one.
If any of you will be going to Darmouth, please let me know.

 

[absolutezero]

post deleted

 

[mdsiren]

Bearpaw is a really nice guy!!!

 

[TheRussian]

Originally posted by ndspider
Dear Bearpaw,
the above example is from a individual that we call, a social outcast. She is one of the many examples you will encounter at Tufts or whatever medschool you will enroll in. Individuals such as this HAVE NO SOCIAL SKILLS.
The fact that she has lived in a dorm for 5 years is like saying she stayed in the womb for an extra 9 months. Get out and grow up.
About the complex across the street. Unless you are willing to dish out 400 grand or pay 2100 dollars a month to live there, it is not an option. So disregard her suggestion.
The food...... is not that good, because all there are, are food courts! Unless you consider SBarro and Dunkin' Dougnuts nice then you are out of luck. But if you want to wake up every day, and I do mean every day, smelling like chinatown then you will safely achieve the nickname kung pao chicken.

To the other poster. UVA or Tufts. I hope you have a deep pocket for tufts, if you do then go there, if not, don't be an idiot. Tufts, ha! you are competing with 2 other medschools. You have to go to baystate for an extended period of time for your studies and you could possible end up in bangor maine! Use your head *****!
.spider
p.s. I was accepted to Tufts, and sent in the decline. I am smart enough to realize a good deal when I see one.
If any of you will be going to Darmouth, please let me know.

Wow you are really bitter. I don't really know what you have against Tufts but you must have had a bad experience at your interview. Tufts was one of my favorite interviews and only one of two times where during the presentation I just got so excited about being a doctor that I just wanted to run to the bookstore, buy up all the books and start studying.
You are mis-informed about the rotations. Nobody HAS to do that. My interviewer told be that if you don't really want to go to Maine or Baystate then you can arrange it so you don't have to do that. besides having those hospitals is an advantage because it allows you to experience medicine in different settings both urban and rural. If you plan on doing all your rotations at Dartmouth in Hanover or White River Jct I would say that that is not a very smart decision because Hartford offers experiences you will never have in NH or Vermont.
Also lay of the dorm thing. I agree with you that the ones at Tufts are not very nice but just because you have one opinion about it, doesn't mean that it's right or that others can't have different opinions. Maybe some people enjoy living in dorms. That doesn't make them any less intelligent and it doesn't mean that they lack social skills.

BTW, As of yesterday I'm planning on going to Dartmouth unless of course I get a better offer. If we do become classmates next year I hope that you don't take this the wrong way. I simply think you should be more considerate of other people's opinions. You are not always right.

 

[ndspider]

I just got back from a long plane trip.
I know because 3 of my roomates are at Tufts Medical school now.
I am in the school of nutrition.
Nothing against Tufts, I never attacked the educaiton, only the cost.
I personally fell like there are better options, especially UVA!
Maybe we will be classmates. Unless I get into MN!
.spider

 

[TheRussian]

Originally posted by ndspider

Nothing against Tufts, I never attacked the educaiton, only the cost.
I personally fell like there are better options, especially UVA!

The cost is extremely high, but in the end it's only money and in the grand scheme of things it is not significant and it is more important to go to a school where you'll be happiest.

For example: I would have a very hard time deciding whether to go to Tufts or UMass, most expensive vs. one of the least expensive.

 

[ndspider]

A doctor is a doctor is a doctor is a doctor.
As I said earlier. If you have a deep pocket, choose the school you love. But if you are like me, and self sufficent, I cannot pay over 55 grand a year to go to school.
I want to be a doctor, and serve the underserved. I will work in primary care, not a big time surgeon. I will not make a super amount of money. I want to have a family young.
Money does not grow on trees.
I have to think about being happy being a doctor, and benig happy at medical school.
Priorities.
cost not an issue... you're crazy.

 

[coldchemist]

Originally posted by ndspider
Dear Bearpaw,
the above example is from a individual that we call, a social outcast. She is one of the many examples you will encounter at Tufts or whatever medschool you will enroll in. Individuals such as this HAVE NO SOCIAL SKILLS.

I'm a dude, dude!

 

[TheRussian]

If you are really that sure you want to primary care then why don't you apply for the primary care scholarship (I forget what it's called) then you get a full ride wherever you decide to go. Thus cost won't be an issue. Besides when you are comparing two private schools the difference is not going to be more the 6 or 7K a year. To me that is not a huge difference.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Originally posted by ndspider
A doctor is a doctor is a doctor is a doctor.
As I said earlier. If you have a deep pocket, choose the school you love. But if you are like me, and self sufficent, I cannot pay over 55 grand a year to go to school.
I want to be a doctor, and serve the underserved. I will work in primary care, not a big time surgeon. I will not make a super amount of money. I want to have a family young.
Money does not grow on trees.
I have to think about being happy being a doctor, and benig happy at medical school.
Priorities.
cost not an issue... you're crazy.

What a nice way to convey your opinion about Tufts and Boston For $ 32,000 + living expenses, I guess you did see something great about Hanover. Must be the diversity?

You mentioned that money is an issue. Why didn?t you get your a$$ into a state school? Can?t get in?

I agree. Money is YOUR issue. However, it might not be an issue for others. As long as somebody is happy about the school choice, why do you care? What would you do if you have a choice between Umass and Harvard? Please do tell me that you will go to Umass!!

 

[bearpaw]

Hmmm, I was pretty excited when I saw all the Tufts posts, but after reading them... whatever I guess.

Ndspider, go to Dartmouth. You're from Wyoming, so it won't be much of an adjustment (other than the fact there is *gasp* hot water). I politely turned them down for undergrad because I thought I didn't want to be so isolated, but I understand not everyone would rather live closer to crackheads than squirrels.

Yeah, I am still living in the dorms, I want to be able to roll out of bed and go to class. I like the city, and as far as Chinatown goes, where Posner is might be shady for Boston, but its nothing compared to DC, Baltimore, Nyc, or Philly ghettos. I am choosing Tufts over many medical schools, I was granted 9 interviews and I declined 4 interviews and one waitlist. No rejections, so I guess you can do the math. Money is not realy an issue...unless you're getting grants (which I am not) Tufts is not really much more than other privates, in fact its only like 3 or 4 grand more per year. the year they froze tuition gave other schools a year to catch up.

I hate living in a apartments, way too much responsibility for my tastes (what phone bill!?). Maybe later I'll move out, but I want to get settled in first. Besides, I'm not the kind of guy that spends too much time in his room, so me paying a lot of money for an apartment is foolish. I basically like the idea of being able to go to class, the library and the YMCA gym (which i hear is nice) anytime I want. It's not easy keeping these 6 abs in beautiful symmetrical harmony, so I need all the help I can get ^_^.

There are plenty of good places to eat. Try getting sloshed on hot sake at Apollo's (like I did the day before my interview). I mean, I have never lived that close to a sushi place my whole life! Its hard to find places that have good toro (fatty tuna), so I appreciated their effort. And I've been craving their soft shell crab ever since November!

I am so excited, you have no idea.

 

[fuzzylogic]

sorry. i meant to wish everybody luck at tufts in my previous post. i am not sure if i will be attending there. but, it is a great school. you will get a great training at tufts. you can rotate through several great hospitals in town and get exposed to what being a physician is all about.

you don't have to live in the city of boston. there are other towns where you can find reasonable housing. there are a lot of stuff to do in boston. if you are interested, you can always pm me. i will do my best to answer your question.

again, good luck to you all.

 

[tobiko]

Hi Bearpaw,

I hope you don't have your hopes up too high for a great Y...it's just aight...nothing spectacular...
but definitely easy access from Posner and TUSM.

For sushi, Apollo's ok. but Ginza is much better (and more $$) You'll have to check out Coolidge Corner and Porter Exchange for japanese when you get up here. THE best is Oishii in Brookline...

Are you thinking of doing that summer program at Tufts?

T

 

[bearpaw]

Originally posted by tobiko
Hi Bearpaw,

I hope you don't have your hopes up too high for a great Y...it's just aight...nothing spectacular...
but definitely easy access from Posner and TUSM.

For sushi, Apollo's ok. but Ginza is much better (and more $$) You'll have to check out Coolidge Corner and Porter Exchange for japanese when you get up here. THE best is Oishii in Brookline...

Are you thinking of doing that summer program at Tufts?

T

haha, man, everything is getting shot to pieces! I work out pretty regularly, but I don't need a whole lot of equipment...I am more into being cut and toned then being too jacked. 40r baby, nothing more or less. Hey, do you know anything about Posner gym? I basically just need a power tower, treadmill, a bench, and like a few barbells.

Uhhh, what summer program? I applied for an MD/ MBA, but I don't think i am going to do that anymore...its not like i've heard back either.

Tobiko, are you going to school in boston or something? There were mad kids from harvard there when i came up. If you don't mind, could post some of the advantages and disadvantages of boston, focusing on stuff that i'd care about (bars, clubs, lounges, cheap to mid priced restaurants, meeting people...stuff like that).

Thanks...

 

[tobiko]

I graduated from MIT a few years ago and pretty much stayed in Boston since then (except for 10 months when I was near DC). Boston?s a great town! It?s small enough to easily get around. It?s young because of all the colleges. And it has tons of stuff to see and do.

There are a bunch of bars and clubs (both dive and upscale) near TUSM in Chinatown/Theater District. And a few nearby at Downtown Crossing. You can also go clubbing on Lansdowne or bar-hopping in Allston or Faneuil Hall. I?m sure you?ll find your hang outs in no time. The crappy thing is that everything closes at 2 because places can?t serve alcohol later than that. Although maybe you already know that if you?re asian and nice to the waitresses you can get soju at Apollo till 4.

As for food. There?s just so much! Of course there?s Chinatown (A lot of places here are open till 4). The South End has a ton of trendy/hip places. The South End is easily accessible on the Silver line. The North End has good Italian. I already mentioned the Japanese areas. But the best thing is that there?s good food from all over (Ethiopian, Afghani, Italian, French, Southern, etc etc) all around town. (I eat out a lot?and sadly the food is one of my main reasons for wanting to stay in Boston) AND there?s great quality for all budgets.

I think TUSM is probably the most actively social of area med schools. They set up a bunch of inter-med school parties at area clubs including this year?s way overcrowded Halloween party. So I?m sure meeting people won?t be a problem.

The other bad thing is that Boston is expensive. You can definitely live within a budget, but it?s hard when there?s so much to do.

If I end up going to Charlottesville, it?s going to break my heart to leave this town?.but I?m sure I?ll be back some day...

Ask me any questions! I LOVE talking about Boston?

-T

 

[mdsiren]

sorry bearpaw,
I am really gonna have to break it to you...sushi in Boston sucks!! I mean majorly. It is so bad. I don't know why. They should be able to get decent quality fish but every place I have gone to tastes like crap. Ginza is bad too. Good places to eat are Elephant walk (cambodian and french), all the italian places in the north end where they solicit you to eat their food (the best tiramisu), Le Marche (pricey but okay), middle eastern food in Water town, Sea food in Gloucester, and of course my favorite Top of the Hub at the Prudential. You know...come to think of it...the dim sum in china town is not that great either. Way too much flour and pasta. Any other places people can think of. I'm getting hungry.

 

[nrosigh]

I have to strongly disagree with the previous poster - sushi in boston is incredible if you know where to go!

Try coolidge corner's Takeshima for some mid-price deliciousness, or porter exchange in cambridge for a really cheap, delicious sushi bar with an four adjoining udon and ramen shops. There's really tons more - in fact boston is one of the best sushi cities in the states (ok, SF and LA have it beat, but aside from those...)!

 

[mdsiren]

What about Miami? Excellent sushi. Sorry, Boston does not compare.

 

[tobiko]

I prefer Oishii in Brookline and Fugakyu in Coolidge corner. I had a HORRIBLE experience at Takeshima a while back (a place I used to like) and I will NEVER eat there again... Ginza is better than most in Boston, but still crap for what you pay...

 

[pre-money]

just a quick question...
what made you guys decide tufts over other schools
i'm still waiting for their decision, but i really liked it there when i was out there...my only other option is rush...and the price tag is pretty much the same ball park $60 vs $50..just wondering what put tufts over the edge compare to other schools..

 

[tobiko]

I sort of have the same question... I'm trying to figure out what distinguishes Tufts from other schools (other than a few thou...) I know they're famous for their nutrition program and other combined degrees, but I'm not all that interested in those.

They do seem pretty student friendly (other than barring you from taking public health/business classes).

And of course it's in boston.


What other reasons do y'all have?

 

[nrosigh]

Good things about Tufts:
- Excellent Neuro attendings, especially at St. E's and Lahey Clinic
- Interesting Psych research: New England Society of Clinical Hypnosis is affiliated with TUSM, and there's some interesting dream research
- very many hospitals to choose from in 3rd and 4th year, from urban to suburban to rural
-Brand new library
-you can match wherever you want if you do well
- great location (super-easy T access, chinatown, many bars/cinemas nearby)
- ping pong table in student lounge

Bad Things (aside from cost):
- No on-campus gym
- No wireless (come on tufts, a WiFi router is like $70!!)
- no videotaped lectures
- area can be slightly shady at times
- you spend your first two years in the same building
- kind of cumbersome online reference system, not as good as Harvard's

 

[bearpaw]

man, they don't even have wireless internet? wth? are sure about that?

that's still cool though, its not like i brought my laptop with me to the library or anything.

 

[nrosigh]

they have jacks you can plug into. i'd really be shocked if they still didn't get wireless by august though!

 

[raralista]

I am also coming to TUSM next fall - and even after reading some of the weirdness in previous posts, I am definitely happy about the decision. I wanted to post a message here (I posted a similar one on another SDN forum) as I am moving to Boston early (around June 15th) and I am trying to find some other TUSM students who might be in a similar situation (btw, I am looking to live off-campus). Please let me know! Thanks!

 

[bella04]

I too will be starting at Tufts next fall and am very excited...I'm not sure yet what my living situation will be or when I'm moving...but I'd like to meet some of my future fellow classmates.

 

[NJEMT1]

Hey All! I will be starting at Tufts in August and would love to get to know people beforehand, so feel free to PM me. I also have some housing questions that I posted in the Allopathic forum, but maybe someone here can answer them...

Regarding Posner Hall: How much does the rent come out to be per month? Is it true that the neighborhood is not safe at night and there are prostitutes behind the building? Is there a supermarket nearby? How's the kitchen? (I hear it's a mess) How is the phone and computer access/hookups? What months of the year are you able to live there? What else can you tell me about Posner? Do you recommend Posner or living off campus?

If I choose to live off campus, what neighborhoods have the most Tufts Med students? Would you pick Somerville over Brookline or vice versa?

Thanks!!

Lauren

 

[Odaroloc]

I would say somerville is a little far away. I went to the ugrad which is in somerville/medford and depending how close to Davis square you are, the T can be a bit of a trek. However, if you are interested in the area Tufts has a great site for housing available on the main website, just look under student services/housing off campus...you can pm me with questions if you want.

 

[irlandesa]

I'm currently a third year at Tufts and enjoy it for the most part. I lived in Posner first year and it is a dump and there are most definitely hookers behind the building. And the dorm "social scene" was much overrated. I now live off the Green Line near Fenway and the Harvard-Longwood area and love it. My favorite things about Tufts are that I love Boston, and there are a whole variety of clinical sites to rotate through. Do NOT do all of your rotations at Tufts-NEMC during third year! NEMC is great for Surgery and Psych, but mediocre at best for Peds and OB. Do Medicine at Faulkner (Brigham residents know how to teach!) or Lahey. And if you want to match in the Boston area, you definitely have a leg up going to TUSM. But, I still would have gone to my state school if they hadn't waitlisted me. The debt is crippling.

 

[Mr.Tweed]

The cost is extremely high, but in the end it's only money and in the grand scheme of things it is not significant and it is more important to go to a school where you'll be happiest.

For example: I would have a very hard time deciding whether to go to Tufts or UMass, most expensive vs. one of the least expensive.

Ummmm, there are MANY medical schools that are equally as expensive as Tufts.

 

[TheRussian]

Ummmm, there are MANY medical schools that are equally as expensive as Tufts.

My understanding was that Tufts is one of the most expensive schools in the country because not only is their tuition very high but the cost of living in Boston is also one of the highest so the total cost would be higher than at most schools.
There are schools that have higher tuition (Albany) but the cost of living at these schools is a lot lower.

I could be wrong though. If in fact there are schools as expensive as Tufts, what are they? Just curious.

 

[Odaroloc]

Aside from UCHSC these schools are all within 3-5 thousand dollars or so of each other. Tufts has a high tuition because of a low endowment...this problem extends to its undergrad as well.

Boston University
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Southern California
Tulane University
Northwestern University (Feinberg)
Indiana University ? Indianapolis University of Iowa
Columbia U. College of Physicians and Surgeons
Case Western Reserve University
Tufts University
University of Florida
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

 

[Ginza]

Congrats to all of you who've decided to come to Tufts in the fall. I'm a first year, and absolutely love it here. As for some of the 'issues' in this thread so far.....

- it's not that the tuition at tufts is far more than other schools, but the cost of living in boston is pretty high. There are definitely more affordable options though, like living in somerville or allston (about 30 minutes from school door to door) rather than right downtown.

- the neighborhood isn't all that bad. It's comparable to nearly any other urban medical school/hospital setting. Just don't walk down side streets after dark (which you would never need to do anyway.) The neighborhood used to be really bad a few years ago. It's not perfect, but it's dramatically better. In my opinion, it's in a better neighborhood than BU is.

- The administration is super student friendly and has a complete open door policy. They're really big on making sure we know the deans and talk to them whenever we want. They're also really big on making sure we're all 'adjusting well' to medical school life.

- The library has just been completely redone, and wireless internet should be all set this summer from what I hear.

Good luck to everyone whose making decisions on where to go!

 

[bearpaw]

hey, i was just wondering: what is that summer program some people posted or pmed me about? I didn't hear about any program...were you guys talking about the combined degree programs? I just got into the MD/MBA incase anyone is waiting, but i declined it for whatever reason.

 

[Odaroloc]

How recently did you get accepted?

 

[bearpaw]

How recently did you get accepted?

Uhhh, I think they mailed it on the 7th (so I got it a few days later) and I had to respond back by the 20th...its kind of a rolling basis thing though.

Anyone have info about the summer programs? Thanx.

 

[duvals101]

Bearpaw:

How long did it take to find out you were accepted to Tufts post-interview?

Thanks

 

[DMBUGA34]

I just called the financial aid office and I was told that award letters for those with complete files were going out today. We should get them by the end of the week.

 

[duvals101]

Has anyone received news from Tufts lately?

I know the admissions office said "no later than mid-may".

Just curious.

Thanks

 

[TheRussian]

Has anyone received news from Tufts lately?

I know the admissions office said "no later than mid-may".

Just curious.

Thanks

Nope. I thought it was no earlier than mid-may. In any case I just hope that "mid-may" is not May 14th, giving me one day to pick a school.

 

[Odaroloc]

Adcom meets end of April and we get letters sometime in the first 2 weeks of May...so plenty of time to choose...not so much

 

[kkrew417]

to those accepted ........how did you hear? email? snail mail? phone call?

i ask because some people say they got an email and others didnt.

 

[Mr.Tweed]

to those accepted ........how did you hear? email? snail mail? phone call?

i ask because some people say they got an email and others didnt.

I heard by snail mail first, then by e-mail about a week later.

 

[tobiko]

I would highly recommend choosing where to live based on your commute. There is no bigger waste of time in Boston than waiting for a stupid, supremely unreliable bus or switching from train to train. Harvard Sq and Brookline would probably be around 45 minute commutes...

The closest is chinatown, of course, and if you're lucky you can find a pretty cheap place, albeit dumpy. There are some newish apartments in the area that are probably really expensive, but I haven't really looked into them. There's also the south end. The silverline (pseudo above ground subway) is really efficient but sometimes smelly. It runs along Washington St. South end prices are going to be similar to Back bay which is another decent option. from back bay you could take the orange line (Back BaY) or the green line. Kenmore's on the green line too and would be about 20 minute commute.

good luck scouting out places...check out boston.craigslist.org for apartment/roommate ads. It's a great site.

 

[Indebt4Life]

Tobiko,
I see that you are not going to Tufts anymore. Good luck at UVA!! Boston will miss you.