Hey there,
Overall, Tufts is a really great place to do your veterinary training. Honestly, no matter where you go, vet school is going to be really challenging/wonderful/exhausting/exhilarating/frustrating/all of the above. 🙂 But when it comes down to it, we are following our dreams/goals and I can't imagine being at any other school. Overall the experience here is incredibly positive. The faculty/staff are very supportive, students help each other (share notes, study guides via facebook and Tusk), it doesn't feel competitive between the students, and there are so many available opportunities. If they don't have it available here, they are generally very good about helping you find a way to make it happen. I struggled in some classes first year, so last year, with the administration, we created a tutoring program. 🙂 They are very receptive to finding ways to make the school better.
I live in Grafton and do like it - it's a very beautiful, quiet town. *If you are more of a city person, it may not be a good fit, but if you like fields, woods and farms, it's a great place to live. *I really love hiking, the changing of the seasons and smaller towns, so Tufts environment/community really fits me well. We are very connected though so that if you want to escape, it's very easy to get to Worcester or Boston or even Providence. *Some students choose to live in Boston or suburbs halfway between so that they are more connected to city-activities or their spouses/significant others. However, so much of your time here is spent in classes/studying that this is not really an issue for most people. We find ways to have fun - the local pub has trivia night on Tuesdays, Worcester has a bunch of bars and restaurants, there are TONS of hiking trails, a movie theater is less than 10 minutes away, there are BBQs, weekly soccer games, students have parties at their houses (tonight there is a big costume party happening).... it's really what you make of it. Grafton in spring/summer is GORGEOUS so if you like to go for walks/hikes to take a break from studying, it's heaven!! *It's a nice environment to be in when studies get stressful. *One thing I'd say against Grafton is that if you are a foodie - finding really good food around here can be a challenge, but Boston has TONS so we try to make occasional weekend trips to spoil ourselves with better dining.
*In the end, it comes down to where you think you will be happiest for four years. *No matter where you go, you will get a great veterinary education. But if you are going to choose a vet school, Tufts is a great place to do your training!!
If they don't like it, haters gonna hate. I might commit to cutting it down this weekend when I revisit my app after a month of negligence, but right now i'm leaving it. After all, Tufts is one of my top schools so I'll probably try to minimize any and all reasons for them to cut me early. I don't know where the 50 words I have to cut will come from though.
