Advice from Other Students

Moving can be tough, especially from another state! I found my first apartment through other Tufts students. I lived with three other Tufts first year graduate students, we were all from different departments. It was a great experience because we were all starting at the same time and could empathize with each other. I felt that living with them opened me up to wanting to get to know graduate students in other departments. If you can find fellow Tufts graduate students to live with, it makes the transition into grad school a lot easier.

I'm glad my roommates and I looked at places more than a 10 or so minute walk from campus. Undergrads seem to think that a 15 minute walk means you’re at the end of the earth, but we found that it meant we had a few more options. We started looking in May for our September 1 lease, and I’m glad we did. So many apartments are on June 1 or September 1 leases, and while we still had to move quickly once we found the place we wanted, we did have a few weeks to check out the market.

Studying and working at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts has been a personally and professionally enriching journey. The faculty's regular mentorship and interactions made my experience of creating and understanding contemporary art with a deeper understanding extremely satisfying.

I suggest incoming students find an activity to be a part of, whether intramural sports, a departmental club, or graduate student council events. Tufts is a small and top tier research university where you will get as much out of it as you’re willing to put the effort in.

When I was admitted to Tufts, my first thought was about housing, and my inability to apartment hunt from a remote location. Luckily I was able to get graduate housing – a dorm-like building for graduate students only offered for one year. This provided transitional housing for me, but since then, I have still had to move three times in as many years. Finding a good place to live can be difficult, but by far the most effective method is by talking to other Tufts graduate students.

I recommend looking for housing in early May if you want an August 1 move-in date and in early June if you want a September 1 move-in date. However, beware the September 1 move-in date. I live in Beacon Hill and it was a very busy day because so many other students are moving that day, too. One another note, keep in mind that many apartments will not rent to you unless they can meet you or one of the people you are renting with in person. Be prepared to have cosigner, too, because many landlords require one of student renters. Just be patient and something will work out!

Talk to your other incoming students and your professors–they can help put you in touch with other students.

I moved to Tufts from across the country, and I wasn’t able to come up to Boston to look for apartments. Through my department I was able to talk to second year graduate students who told me more about the area, and made it easier to narrow down the places that I should search for housing.