The interview day at Tufts is structured differently than any of the other schools I had been at. I heard a lot of complaining about it, but to tell the truth it isn't that bad. Basically, you meet in the lobby of the Stackler Building--Careful, there are really TWO Stacklers, one for Biomedical Sciences or something like that, and another, much bigger one across the street--the bigger one is the one you want. Anyway, you wait in the lobby until they come and get you and bring you to a huge conference room. There were 40-50 interviewees on my day, but this may vary. They serve a really nice breakfast (with coffee, which was most needed)and then the day begins with several speeches by the dean, the director of admissions, and so on. These speeches are not the usual blah, blah, blah you get at other schools, they tell interesting stories, let you know their philosophy about interviews, and stress that the interviews should truly be non-stressfull. In fact, the dean says that if any interviewee feels uncomfortable with a question he/she was asked or even with the interviewer, to tell him right away. They give a financial aid talk which was, again, really helpful, enlightening, and upfront. The only part of the day that dragged a little bit was the part about the dual degree programs, mostly because I am not appling to them. After the three dual degree talks, we had lunch, there in the confrence room, and then the interviews started.
Here is where it differed from other schools. You were randomply assigned an interviewer who same into the room, was given your file and a few minutes to review it, and then calls out your name and takes you to another location for the interveiw. The drawback to this was that people who didnt have interviews right away were left waiting around, but its no big deal, in fact it was kind of nice to have a chance to talk to the other interviewees.
As for the interview themselves, they are pretty short, 20-30 minutes, and straightforward, conversational, and stress-free. Nothing that tricky, nothing confrontational. Of course, every interviewer is different, but noone I spoke to had a bad experience.
After your interviews are done, you are given the option of going on a tour.
Tips: If you are looking for a hotel, stay at the doubletree--its brand new, really nice, right across the street from the school, and they even give you a warm cookie when you check in! Also, make sure you have the map with you that came with your invitation. It can be a little difficult to find the right building.
Hope this helps!
CJT
