Tufts Social Life

[karey]

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Hey all. I'm cross posting this because my other thread is looking like it's about to die. I really would love this question to be answered (apparently I'm not the only one) because I feel like I'm dwelling on it too much at the moment since I just have no idea if it's an issue or not. So:

Can anyone at Tufts verify that there's some kind of social life there? One of the things I loved about Cornell was the fact that the students seemed to hang out together, play IM sports, go out on weekends, etc., but my tour guide at Tufts made it sound like everyone pretty much goes to class and then goes home, maybe with a night at the bars (whatever bars may be in the Grafton area) once in a while. A few snippets of our conversations:

Me: Sweet, a basketball court. Do you guys have regular games?
Guide: I've never really seen anyone playing there.
Me: Nice, a pool table and foosball table in the lounge. Do people hang out here?
Guide: Not really.
Me: So do you guys go out on weekends?
Guide: I guess sometimes.

This was scary to me. I like to do things other than studying and sleeping, so I just want to make sure that this tour guide was the exception rather than the rule at Tufts. Right now Cornell has the edge partially because I feel like the quality of life outside of class might be considerably higher. Obviously this is just one of many factors though. I just don't want to be sitting alone in my apartment in North Grafton for the 15th night in a row, wondering if I made the wrong decision...am I just being paranoid?

 

[rachroo]

Hey there, I don't go to Tufts but I think that in this situation I think you get what you make out of it. If you are being proactive about making friends and inviting others to do things outside of the classroom, I think that you would find more of what you are looking for.

I wouldn't let one tour guide's opinion determine your worth of the vet school! 🙂

 

[AlleyKat]

I don't go to Tufts (or any vet school yet for that matter) so this is an "outside opinion", but I definitely agree with rachroo about being proactive, inviting others to do things, etc. That being said, North Grafton is only 10-15 minutes outside of Worcester. I did my undergrad there, and while it is BY FAR not the nicest city there is, there is definitely no shortage of things to do as far as out-of-school social activities go. Plenty of bars/clubs/nightlife type options, a couple concert venues,restaurants, sporting events, etc. Also, Boston is only about 40-45 minutes away I believe. I don't know much at all about Ithaca and the surrounding area but in my opinion, a plus for Tufts would be its proximity to bigger cities. It may make it easier to jumpstart the social aspect of school, but again, just my opinion!🙂

 

[aussie86]

My tour guide at Tufts was extremely enthusiastic and talked about hanging out with other students outside of school as well as many activities with clubs on campus that they are involved in. She mentioned bars around the area, Worcester, and Boston.

Also, I agree that the school is what you make of it. I'm 90% sure I'm going to Tufts next year and I'm all about making it a fun and awesome time😀 Especially since we will definitely need outlets from our very hard, intense studying! So at least next years class will have a great social life!

 

[VetGirl2013]

I was also deciding between Tufts and Cornell but after visiting both schools I have decided to attend Cornell next year. I felt like the students at Cornell were much more unified and spent a lot more time with each other outside of classes. I liked that almost all students I talked to at Cornell lived with other students. At Tufts, every student I talked to lived with their significant others (probably about 5 or 6 students) and not necessarily that close to the school. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but being right out of college and not in a serious relationship, I plan on living with classmates next year and I think I would fit in more if the majority of my classmates were on the same page.

Also, for what it's worth, one of the nights that I was at Cornell for the admitted students weekend I went to a party at the vet school fraternity house. It was really a lot of fun and made me feel confident that I won't have trouble finding people to let loose with in between the massive amounts of studying that we will all be doing next year.

 

[eatpinkpenguins]

This is an excerpt from an email I received from a Tufts student- I had asked her some questions before my interview. Hope this helps!

"I went to Cornell undergrad as well and actually just went back there for an externship to check it out for an internship next year. I didnt want to go to Cornell b/c I didnt think i would like the majority of problem based learning (case based) in their curriculum. After taking a look at it first hand and talking to students (who all seemed to dislike their 4 years there), Im glad i didnt go.

Tufts is awesome and I wouldnt trade my experience for anything! The faculty are awesome and most are always willing to help, as are the administration staff. The clinicians are excellent and I liked the way the curriculum was structured. I have to admit, I thought cornell undergrad was tough but nothing like vet school. It is harder then I have ever thought possible but we all get through it somehow!

Dont worry about the single thing. I am too and it sucks b/c there are hardly any guys in class, but boston is right next door, and frankly there are no time for boys anyway lol. Plus most of my friends are single and we have a blast hanging out together."

 

[DocDVMD]

I'm going to attempt to be as unbiased as I can... 😀

I just graduated from Cornell and I work at the vet school, so I know quite a bit about the student life. The students at Cornell seem to be very close and friendly, and yes, the vet fraternity OTS seems to be a big social outlet. Earlier this semester I went to a drag beauty pageant (hilarious) that the vet students put on, and they really all seemed like a big happy family. The biggest thing I might be worried about at Cornell is the competitive atmosphere, but it probably varies from class to class. I personally think Ithaca is a great town with enough to do to keep you busy and happy, but many of my friends dislike it here and think it's too small and isolated. Although there's a pretty decent bus system, you'll definitely want a car (and parking is EXPENSIVE on campus). Also, the fact that Cornell has other graduate schools on campus (law, business, etc) might come into play because there will be more people to meet and socialize with (The Chapter House is a popular grad student bar).

Tufts is my top choice for academic/program reasons, but I also have similar concerns to those raised before me. It does seem like many of the students live with SOs or families, and they're more spread out. A friend of mine who goes there said that all the guys in his class are either married or in serious relationships! I also agree that it's what you make of it. If you seek out friends and make sure to schedule in some fun time with them I'm sure you'll be fine. Tufts is also closer to city-life, so there are probably more things to do, places to shop, etc. Worcester is a somewhat crappy city (high crime rates in parts), but it does have everything you'll need, plus Boston is close.

 

[eatpinkpenguins]

I too was surprised by the number of married/engaged/serious relationship ppl at Tufts, but then I realized that this was the case at Cornell and Penn too. I just mean that there were a lot, not exact proportions. And even on SDN (just surprised by all the married/SO references)! The majority of Penn students and V'13 I met are also w SO's. I mean, I know vet students are awesome and therefore people want to date them, but I definitely thought there would be more single students out there (like me 😍)

 

[karey]

I completely agree that the social life is probably what you make of it...I just wanted to make sure that in general people seem to be up for it, and I guess we just won't know until we see the makeup of the specific class. I'm a single guy, and I've been warned that the relatively few guys in the class will mostly be married or close to it, so I'm just hoping there will be a group of girls willing to humor me by grabbing a few beers and watching a Sox or Patriots game once in a while (whether it's at Tufts or Cornell).

Thanks for the responses...they're definitely helping.

 

[DocDVMD]

Not Patriots!!

 

[karey]

...maybe I should wait until I actually start school before I start offending people by being a Boston sports fan.

 

[kristininboston]

I won't be coming to Tufts straight from undergrad, and I'll probably live with my boyfriend, but I definitely am planning on having some kind of a social life next year, and hope that other students want this too. Tufts seems isolated but it's really close to Boston, Worcester, New York, etc...Cornell just seems so damn far from everything except gorges and Moosewood.

(Also, I've lived in Southie for the past two years, so I am absolutely used to the crazy Boston sports fans.)

 

[Quaggi]

Hey Karey (and anyone else considering tufts!)

I am currently a late third/early fourth year student at tufts, and I actually also did my undergrad at Cornell. I'll preface this by saying i LOVED undergrad at cornell, i think Ithaca is a really cute town and I miss it sometimes - so just know this post won't be biased towards Tufts 🙂

1. Don't expect to find a boyfriend in your vet class, because odds are pretty small that you will. in my first year class, all of the guys were either in serious relationships coming in, were gay, etc. I think it's the same in most of the classes, but some girls do find boyfriends at school here, so its not impossible.

2. From what i've heard about the vet classes at cornell, they are super competitive with eachother. Some of them may be close and hang out etc, but there are others that are really hardcore. One of my good friends is there now and says its hard to find good friends there - but from the facebook pics I've seen, it looks like at least some of them are having fun together. My experience with tufts is that very few are competitive with eachother, no one really talks about grades etc. Of course there are a few exceptions, there always will be, and the classes below me are a bit more intense than my class.

3. I have a great group of friends in my class and we hang out all the time. i don't think you will have trouble finding that here. Whoever you talked to on tour day sounded like a loser and is in the minority ;P also people totally do use the sports fields in nice weather.

4. There are plenty of opportunities to have fun in the tufts area. Worcester may not be the best city in the world but i always have fun when i go out with my friends to the woosta bars (i even met my boyfriend at one!). theyre working on sprucing up the city and there are some fun areas, especially great restaurants. and boston is only a short drive away (35-40 min).

5. As far as the living situation, yes everyone lives like 10-15 min away from school (which i think is great because you need to get away), some people live with roomates and some live with boyfriends/husbands. I lived with roomates for the first 2 years, and now I live with my boyfriend, and my friends are in similar situations. I do think that because its a small campus, it might have less of that big university/dorm room life/frat house feel than cornell would, but hopefully everyone got that experience in undergrad, and by the time you're 23-24 (or older in many cases) you're ready to move on.

if anyone has any other questions feel free to PM me, i'd be happy to give anyone advice etc, and if anyone is coming here and looking for the good places to go out i'd be happy to help with that too! good luck with your decisions!!

 

[DollyyLlama]

ok, so i figure that the vet students have enough to keep themselves occupied with studies and socializing with other students. so for all of you who have SO's there too, what do they do? if i'm still with my SO in a few months, and he wants to uproot and come with me, i worry that he would be bored and lonely while i'm busy with vet school stuff. i feel like it may be too much to ask him to come with me if there's nothing for him there. (maybe the SO's should form a social club!) maybe it sounds silly, but i'm airing out my anxieties on the forum today...

 

[karey]

2. From what i've heard about the vet classes at cornell, they are super competitive with eachother. Some of them may be close and hang out etc, but there are others that are really hardcore. One of my good friends is there now and says its hard to find good friends there - but from the facebook pics I've seen, it looks like at least some of them are having fun together.

See this is what I find interesting...everyone outside of Cornell seems to think that it's super competitive, but at the admitted students weekend they made a point to trot out a bunch of current students to say that isn't the case at all. I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for the response, it makes Tufts sound a lot better than I'd been thinking in terms of having a life.

 

[nyanko]

(Also, I've lived in Southie for the past two years, so I am absolutely used to the crazy Boston sports fans.)

Condolences. 🙁

(Die hard Steelers fan who did undergrad at Northeastern and was there one year the Yankees played the Sox in the ALCS)

 

[kristininboston]

Thanks for the condolences, nyanko; it actually isn't too bad for the most part. I am a Giants fan, so it was hard not to gloat last year after the Superbowl, but otherwise there haven't been any problems. (Today might be a different story - the St. Patty's Day Parade ends RIGHT next to my apartment. You have no idea how many people barfed in my trash can last year...)

DollyLlama - my boyfriend is a "Linux sys admin" (fancy computer programming stuff I don't know about) for a company that runs websites for liberal politicians and organizations. They did Obama's campaign and transition websites, SaveDarfur's site, a bunch of other cool stuff...He works in Boston so if I go to Tufts he can keep his job...if I go to Cornell he might be able to work part-time for a while, over a computer, but it wouldn't be the same. He keeps telling me not to worry about that when making a decision, but making him move to Ithaca would weigh heavily on my conscience.

 

[sambone]

Personally, I think "competitiveness" shouldn't be a factor in choosing the vet school you attend. What exactly is competitiveness? Are we talking about ripping pages out of books and breaking kness, Tonya Harding style?😀 Because I doubt any school is like that. Or are we talking about wanting to do as well as the people sitting next to you? and who doesn't want that? Yeah, there will be some obnoxious people, but those people are at every school. Surround yourself with the people who aren't like that (like me! and I'll be at Cornell🙂). I also doubt that any school can guarantee you a totally nurturing and supportive student body where you're never inclined to compare yourself to those around you. Getting sh***y grades feels like crap, whether or not you're surrounded by competitive people.
At the Cornell admitted students weekend, I met a ton of really cool people, who in addition to being cool were obviously intelligent, hardworking, and had some ridiculous accomplishments under their belts. Surrounded by people like that, I'll have to work my ass off - nothing new, really! And every vet school will have people like this - just look at the Successful Applicant thread - holy bejeezus!

 

[bunnity]

Condolences. 🙁

(Die hard Steelers fan who did undergrad at Northeastern and was there one year the Yankees played the Sox in the ALCS)

Go Stillers! I lived in Philly for a few years during high school and took a lot of crap for my black and gold attire... and now I'm going back!

 

[kinkajou]

I spent a decent amount of time on this forum before starting veterinary school so I guess its time to give back...
I'm a first year at Tufts.
Absolute bottom line (and I know you've heard this) the social life is what you make of it.
The unfortunate truth is that yes, its a commuter school and thus the overall social life suffers. Many people come to class, then drive home to do their work and live their separate lives. Many are married or in serious relationships (a given anywhere). But that doesn't mean everyone is like that. You will definitely make friends with people in both your class and others, who want to do the same things (whether snowboarding, going to the bars, weekend parties, dinners, or what-have-you). That's how I get by and we all have a sick time. But don't expect anything like an undergrad social scene. The fact is, Medical students have more free time and go out more than we do. I dont know what that means...and it's probably true across all veterinary schools with the exception of the Caribbean.
The education here is pretty good and there are many opportunities to follow your interests within the veterinary profession.
If you have any specific questions...let me know.
Good luck with your decision.