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How to search for housing

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By Mara Tu, Urban & Environmental Policy and Planning MA Candidate

New city, new people, new neighborhoods, where do I live! 

Looking for housing felt like a huge task to me. I was moving to a new state, a new city, and I hadn’t looked for housing by myself before. The sheer amount of housing options felt as threatening and overwhelming as an oncoming New England hurricane each time I even attempted to start looking. However, after going through the experience of finding housing in a pricey, fast-paced market like Boston, I now feel much more confident and capable in finding housing in the future!

A quick note: My journey to find housing near Tufts was rather unconventional and honestly not recommended, so if you are looking for a helpful guideline and steps on how to find housing, feel free to skip this next section and scroll down to my suggestion on steps to finding housing near Tufts’ campus.

The summer before my first semester started, I had already secured one roommate through a mutual friend who also wanted to live in the Somerville area. After feeling each other’s “vibes” out and confirming that we wanted to live together, we discussed our checklist for a place to live: budget (less than $1000/month per person), aesthetic (good sunlight was a must!), transportation situation (neither of us had a car so parking was unnecessary but we did want to be near a T stop), preferred relationship with the landlord (we wanted to be communicative with our landlord and to be able to actually contact them directly/not a big landlord), pet situation (neither of us had pets but we hope to get a cat someday down the line!), and other must-haves. This was important and so helpful to have some guidelines to narrow down our search for housing. 

A month before moving to Boston, I had scheduled a day where I would drive up to Boston and tour as many places as I could. After hustling and emailing landlords/real estate agents through Zillow (no shame, I contacted at least 20 different people to schedule a showing- many did not reply), I filled up my day with 7 different viewing tours. Looking back, I recognize now that my roommate and I are much pickier than I’d originally thought, as none of those 7 places really excited us/felt like they were worth the rent. We, thus, entered September with no secured housing.

My roommate couldn’t move in until a month into the semester, so I had decided to crash with my sister’s ex for a month (don’t worry, they are still on good terms and have a wonderful relationship) while I continued to search for housing with an October 1st lease start date. I honestly don’t recommend this, since living temporarily with a friend threw me off in the beginning of the semester more than I had anticipated.

Yet, with a stroke of luck, I was able to get in contact with a real estate agent (a Tufts alum!) who was kind enough to show me about 10 listings within the span of 2 hours that included wonderful properties below our budget even (big shout-out to Maven Realty!). Within a few days, my roommate and I discussed the options, decided on a wonderful 3-bedroom home right in Davis Square at $875/person, and were able to sign the lease with a delightful third roommate. It felt like the wait was worth it and everything was meant to be when I found out that my landlord was, in fact, an alum of my program! 

Tips on Searching for Housing as a Tufts Graduate Student

Before looking for housing, it was helpful to get some context in knowing what situations other students were living in. The following website/social media groups were really helpful to find housing options, possible roommates, and open housing listings:

Suggested steps on how to find housing as a grad student at Tufts:

  1. Criteria: Figure out your criteria for housing. Consider things like budget, location, if utilities are included, types of utilities, apartment/bedroom size, if pets are allowed, parking, in-unit laundry, if broker’s fee is on landlord or tenant, aesthetics, kitchen appliances, number of rooms, etc. 
  2. Roommates: If you already have roommate(s) in mind, great! Make sure you’re a good fit and have clear communication on the housing you are looking for. If you‘re looking for roommates, you can either visit one of the listed pages above and look for people posting about an open room to see if you are compatible or you might want to look for housing first and be the one making a posting on one of those pages to pick and fill in your future housemate(s)!
  3. Search: With your criteria in mind, the internet is your oyster! Go ahead and get searching for housing through the abundant real estate websites/resources. A neat and very helpful tool I found was the Zillow Draw tool that allows you to “draw” a shape on the map of the geographical area you are looking in and save that search so that any time there is a new rental listing in your search area and in your search criteria, you can get immediate (or daily) emails about them. You can also potentially work with a specific realtor/real estate office if you want to make the process a little easier on yourself, so that they can use their database to connect you with properties that uniquely fit your criteria. If you are lucky, some landlords will pay for the broker’s fee, so you can ask your agent for landlord-covered broker’s fee properties only if you want to avoid paying an extra fee!
  4. Touring: I personally really like seeing spaces in person, so feel free to book a tour to places you feel are a good fit/are interested in. You might even look at places at different locations or budgets if you are flexible about those things to see what different properties look like when you give a little in certain criteria. The Boston rental market moves quickly, so if you find somewhere that feels right, I’d say go for it!
  5. Lease: When you have found the right living situation, make sure to go over the lease and even have a second pair of eyes go over it to make sure your needs/expectations from the landlord are met and that you are ok with the landlord’s requirements. When everything is all set, send over your deposit/rent, sign your lease, and get ready to move into your new home!!

Extra Tips:

  • Find out about the communication style/effort/basic background of the landlord. It is totally ok to ask the realtors about this. A bad landlord situation is no good!! If the landlord gets to know all this information about you, you have the right to know about them as well. 
  • You will likely not find the perfect housing if you have budget constraints and that is ok! You might need to make a few compromises to match your budget.
  • The more roommates you have, the cheaper your housing likely can get. 
  • If your other roommates can’t make an in-person tour, take videos for them.
  • If it doesn’t seem like too competitive of a property, you can negotiate! You might be able to get the landlord to pay half of or even the whole broker’s fee to bring down the cost a little.
  • After moving in, I highly recommend joining different Facebook community groups like the Everything is Free Somerville or Curb Alert Page for cheap or even free furniture! The Facebook Marketplace site is also incredibly helpful.

Learning Failure as an Overachiever

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Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

We have all heard horror stories about grad school. We knew advancing our research and coursework, while balancing our finances and life outside of grad school, would be challenging. But knowing and experiencing something is different. Maybe as an undergraduate, we were one of those students who seldom struggled with the assignments. Maybe our friends and family used to point at us as the overachiever of the crew. Maybe we played sports, planned events for social clubs, volunteered at animal shelters, or got straight A’s and graduated in Dean’s List of Honor. We know we were more than capable of overcoming the struggles of grad school. But, maybe we thought it would be just like a breeze, that we thought we would be an exception. But are we really an exception?

Maybe you come here as an overachiever and the very first experiment you designed fails. Graduate level classes are actually really hard, and now you have to assist undergraduates about a class that you took 3 years ago and barely remember the basics. Then maybe your second and third experiments fail, and your self-confidence falls through the floor. You realize you are not giggling while incubating your bacteria and start questioning if you are actually happy or meant to be in grad school.

So here is the deal:

It is OK to experience failure in grad school. You are literally creating knowledge and performing cutting edge research – and that science is built by figuring out what doesn’t work as much as by figuring out what does.

It is OK that your experiments take more time than you thought they would. There will always be bottlenecks and inevitable setbacks on your timeline and sometimes they are not predictable.

It is OK that some weeks you will have to work day and night, but some weeks there will not be much to do. You will not be burnt out every single day. Having ups and downs is completely normal. Steady state assumption only works for solving hypothetical chemical engineering problems.

It is OK that your initial hypothesis on your thesis proposal was wrong. It would be a miracle if you guessed it right on your first time. I know it can be frustrating to come up with a new idea, but do not forget about what you have learned along the way. You deep dove in the literature and read a tremendous amount of research articles, did numerous experiments, defended your ideas in rigorous discussions. You know much more than you used to – even though you are not aware of it yet! You will be surprised how natural it will be to come up with a new hypothesis.

It is OK that you mixed up the bottles when you were preparing your solutions. So what? You can make them again! I guarantee you that even the third year PhD student in your lab, who you think is very confident in their work, once made the same mistake.

Everybody fails.

Grad school is a place where pretty much everybody is brilliant. Your group members are brilliant, your faculty is brilliant, your classmates are brilliant, your advisor is brilliant (probably the most brilliant person you have ever met in your life). Everybody has certain personality traits that brought them to grad school: time management skills, dedication, organization; the very same skills that brought YOU to the grad school! So please remind yourself that there is no smooth way to achieve your goals.  Even the people you consider successful scientists have failed many times on their way to where they are standing right now.

Luckily, Tufts offers numerous resources we need to balance our countless responsibilities as graduate students. I tend to see exercising and fitness as a “binding agent” for all my other tasks; moving my body always gets me through my daily responsibilities smoothly. The Tisch Fitness Center provides a safe and healthy environment for those who would like to use the exercise studios and gym equipment upon reservation. Counseling and Mental Health Service (CHMS) understands the unique challenges of being a graduate student and offers short- and long- term counseling, group meetings, and telehealth services. The International Center always has an annual calendar filled with events for Graduate Students and all students, even in the middle of a pandemic, to assist us in our journey and increase the knowledge of immigration laws and international student rights.

Last but not least, it is crucial to build a supportive community especially with the folks who go through similar experiences with you. Along with the welcoming environment of Tufts University, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) is always there as a representative body and a priceless catalyst for us to meet other graduate students and engage in valuable conversations with our peers.

My advisor once said if he already knew everything he had learned throughout his PhD before he started, his PhD would have only taken 6 months. There is a reason why PhD takes 5+ years. Just because you struggle with this aspect of your work, that does not reflect on you as a person. Making mistakes does not make you a bad scientist; it makes you a human. We are here to learn; this is a part of the process and should not be locked out of the experience. Failure is natural. It is organic. It is expected. The only superpower we need to have is hard work. We just need to learn how to pick ourselves up and move along.

Why and How: An Introduction in Two Parts

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Written by Abigail Epplett, M.A. student in Museum Education

Hello, readers! My name is Abigail Epplett, and I’m a master’s candidate at Tufts University in the Museum Studies program with a concentration in Education. I also love American History, so I’ve taken classes about that as well. I actually entered the Museum Studies program through the certificate track, but I moved to the master’s track over the summer.

Today, I’m going to talk about two important parts of my experience: why did I choose Tufts over other programs, and how do you transfer from the certificate to master’s track?

Part One: Why Tufts?

I was specifically looking for a museum studies program within commuting distance of my home and my current job. Tufts is about 60 to 75 minutes by highway from my house, depending on traffic and weather conditions, and I anticipate the traffic being much lighter in the coming semester because of COVID‑19. I enjoy taking on-campus classes, because it gives me the chance to talk with other people in my field before and after classes. Additionally, all the on-campus courses I have taken have been scheduled for a three-hour session once a week. This is super convenient for someone with a fairly long commute. Of course, I have to mention that the center of Tufts campus is so pretty, regardless of the season! I love the statue of Jumbo the Elephant in front of the Barnum Building, where I took my first on-campus class.

I also appreciated that Tufts had online learning options even before the pandemic. My first semester, I took an online class about Digital Technology & Museums, which was taught online using Canvas. I had experience taking online classes in middle school and high school, so this was easy for me to learn. Plus, the topic lent itself really well to being taught online. One tip to succeeding with online learning is to go into the course module as soon as it opens and look everything over. Every professor organizes the module in a different way, so knowing how to navigate the virtual space beforehand is super important.

The third reason I chose Tufts was because of the Practicum, which is required of both certificate and master’s track students. This is an opportunity for Museum Studies students to work with a museum or non-profit organization and hone the skills they have learned in class, along with making connections with other people in the field. I took my practicum over the summer with Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc., a non-profit organization that works in collaboration with the National Park Service to preserve the history and environment of my area. It was a great way to see how non-profits and public agencies can work together to support local communities.

Part Two: How do I move from a Certificate to a Master’s program?

Because of COVID-19, museums are currently laying off workers, rather than hiring them, so I decided that entering the job market was not a good idea. Once the market improves, a master’s degree will be considered more valuable to employers than a certificate. I had also made a lot of new friends and connections while in the program. Another important factor was that I was not going into serious debt to earn the degree, so the investment was financially feasible.

Moving from the certificate to the master’s programs is advertised on the Tufts Museum Studies website, but the actual process is individualized and takes some pre-planning and organization. I imagine that the process is similar for other departments. Here are some things to keep in mind during the process.

Start by talking to your advisor and/or the head of the department. These people are professionals and have helped many other students transfer between tracks. They can often connect you with whoever you might need to talk to in Graduate Admissions or Financial Services.

Make sure you know what tests you need to take. Some departments require GRE or GMAT scores to be submitted with the move to a new degree program. Because COVID-19 has stopped much of this testing, this requirement was waived for me. Your application also requires a final transcript, which you already submitted when applying to the certificate program. Email Graduate Admissions to make sure this document is transferred between applications.

Once your transfer is successful within Graduate Admissions, you still need to manually transfer your credits in SIS, the online database that controls all of Tufts billing, financial, class schedule, course selection, and feeding times for Jumbo. (Okay, I made that last part up…) This is also called “petitioning to the head of the department,” and it can be somewhat confusing. For example, Museum Studies operates within the spheres of Education, History and Art History, so I had to petition to the Chair of the Education Department even though I had taken all Museum Studies classes, some cross-listed in different departments. Just remember to transfer your credits, or they will look like they have disappeared from your account, not to mention that your billing will not be correct.

In the Museum Studies program, certificate classes were paid per credit at a discounted rate. Master’s classes are paid in bulk in the first two semesters of the program, while only fees are paid for the second (or third) year, although the amount of fees might surprise you. If you feel as though you cannot afford to pay for the entire program up front but find payments over four semesters more feasible, start with the certificate program and then move to the master’s program.

Another layer gets added if you are eligible for scholarships and federal work-study. When moving to the master’s program, be sure to ask your advisor if there are scholarships available. This can take a lot of money off your bill. Make sure you fill out your FAFSA ahead of time, even if you aren’t sure if you will receive aid, because this information is often required to receive scholarships. You also have a chance to receive Federal-Work Study hours. Once you receive your bill, make sure to look at it right away – if you are not understanding what you see, contact Financial Services. They are really good at explaining each item on the bill and explaining future billing. For me, my second semester bill will be pro-rated to account for the classes I took while in the certificate program. Please note that there is currently a three-day waiting list for Financial Services emails on account of COVID-19, so be patient and kind while emailing them! They will certainly return the favor.

Conclusion

I hope that answers the questions you may have about why I chose Tufts for my master’s alma mater, and how to move from a certificate track to a master’s track. If you have any more questions about my experience or the process of moving to a certificate to a master’s program, feel free to reply in the comments, and I’ll try to answer you in a timely manner. Enjoy your time at Tufts!

Historical Happenings in Tufts University’s Backyard

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Written by Ruaidhri Crofton, History and Museum Studies M.A. student

Most Tufts students will likely know of the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s Ride, and the Battle of Bunker Hill, just a few of the many significant historic events that have taken place in and around Boston throughout the city’s nearly 400-year history. However, many are surprised to find out just how many cool and quirky historic claims to fame can be found in their own backyard. Though Boston may often overshadow its smaller Medford and Somerville neighbors, these two cities are themselves home to a number of interesting historic sites. With many within walking distance or a short bus ride of the Tufts campus, a visit to any of these sites is not only a great way to get to know your new community, but a fun opportunity to do some exercise in the process!

Please note that given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency in Massachusetts and around the world, I would strongly advise against planning a visit to any of these sites until the situation improves.

Jingle All the Way…to Medford Square! (Medford)

Inspired by popular sleigh races that used to take place on Salem Street in Medford in the early 1800s, James Pierpont is said to have penned the now iconic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” at Simpson’s Tavern in Medford Square in 1850. This seasonal claim to fame is rather dubious as the city of Savannah, Georgia, where the song was copyrighted in 1857, also claims to be the where the song was first composed. However, a small plaque now marks the site of Simpson’s Tavern as the site of the song’s birthplace and is sure to bring some holiday joy to Tufts students looking to take a short stroll from campus to see it.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.7 miles, 14 minutes

Just Call Me #1! (Somerville)

Charles Williams, Jr. arguably had the easiest phone number in the world to remember: 1. In April 1877, the Williams family home at 1 Arlington Street in Somerville became the site of the first permanent residential telephone line in the world. The owner of a telegraph manufacturing facility in Boston, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson experimented with the telephone in Williams’ shop and eventually installed a phone line connecting his house in Somerville to his office in Boston. What was the first conversation held over this line? A brief message from Williams to his wife after work: “Caroline, I’m coming home!”

Walking Distance from Tufts: 2.4 miles, 49 minutes

“To Grandfather’s House We Go!” (Medford)

In yet another claim to lyrical fame, Medford is also home to the Paul Curtis House, said to be the “Grandfather’s House” in Lydia Maria Child’s beloved poem “Over the River and through the Wood” written in 1844. Originally published as “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day”, the work recounts the author’s childhood memories of visiting her Grandfather’s house during Thanksgiving. An unknown composer eventually set the poem to the tune that remains popular today.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.7 miles, 14 minutes

Powder House to Pickle Factory (Somerville)

First built as a windmill c. 1704, the Old Powder House in Somerville was eventually converted into a gunpowder magazine in 1747 by the colonial government of Massachusetts. In the lead up to the American Revolution, Governor Thomas Gage ordered the removal of military stores from arsenals like the Old Powder House in an attempt to prevent the outbreak of war amongst colonists. On September 1, 1774, a force of approximately 260 British Regulars removed all of the gunpowder held in the Old Powder House before returning to Boston. This led to panic amongst colonists throughout the countryside amid rumors that bloodshed had occurred, resulting in thousands of militiamen mobilizing and streaming toward Boston in response. Since then, the property surrounding the Old Powder House has been used as a farm by the Tufts family, a carriageway, and even a pickle factory. Today, the Old Powder House stands in Nathan Tufts Park near several restaurants popular amongst Tufts students and next to another eccentric landmark: the “Museum of Modern Renaissance”.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.5 miles, 10 minutes

The Royall House and Slave Quarters (Medford)

The Royall House and Slave Quarters preserves the 18th century home of the Royall family, the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts, along with the only remaining slave quarters in the northern United States. Visitors are welcome to visit the site from mid-March to mid-November where they can take a guided tour of both the mansion and slave quarters to learn more about the property’s role in the history of race, class, and slavery in North America. Though the stories preserved and interpreted by the site can be troubling to hear, a visit to the museum provides an impactful means of learning about this country’s past and its significance today. Admission is typically only $10, but Tufts students are able to visit for free.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.2 miles, 5 minutes

Fluff (Somerville)

Although not exactly a historic landmark you can visit, Somerville is the birthplace of perhaps one of the most famous guilty pleasures in the Northeast: marshmallow fluff! In 1917, Somerville confectioner Albert Query began marketing the sweet, sticky concoction door-to-door before selling his recipe to candy makers H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower in 1920. Today, the Durkee-Mower factory in nearby Lynn, Massachusetts continues to produce marshmallow fluff to be enjoyed on its own or as a key ingredient in a New England take on the peanut butter sandwich: the fluffernutter. Every September, Somerville hosts the annual “What the Fluff?” festival in Union Square to celebrate the local invention. While you’re there, be sure to check out The Mμseum – perhaps the smallest art museum in the world!

Walking Distance from Tufts: 2.4 miles, 50 minutes

Amelia Earhart’s House (Medford)

Before she became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, Amelia Earhart worked as a teacher and social worker at a Boston settlement house during the 1920s. During the week, Earhart worked to teach classes and hosted programs for new immigrants and their children at Denison House. During her time off on weekends, she gained experience doing what she is now most famous for: flying. Originally from Kansas, from 1925 to 1928 Earhart made her home in Medford with her mother and sister in a small house on Brooks Street. A small plaque in her honor can be found outside the private home today.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 1.5 miles, 31 minutes

Moving to Tufts

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Don’t know where to start in your move to the Greater Boston area? Check out posts by graduate students and alumni in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, all whom came to Tufts from afar.

Boston skyline

Making Friends and Building a Community when Moving to Boston, from an international student’s perspective

Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

When Home is 2,500 Miles Away

Written by Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. Candidate

So you think you want to move to Boston… Now what?

Written by Lennon Wolcott, M.F.A. 2017

Moving to Tufts

Written by Michelle Connor, Music M.A. 2017

Why Attend Graduate School?

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Written by Alia Wulff, Psychology Ph.D. student

I was fairly young when I discovered that getting a doctorate meant something other than becoming a medical doctor, which meant that I was fairly young when I decided that I was going to get a doctorate. I’ve been working towards this since I was five, and even though the path to get here was hard and full of unexpected gap years and tough situations, I am very happy to finally be here.

But my story isn’t everyone’s story. Not everyone learns about doctoral programs when they are five years old and decides to get their Ph.D. before they even start going to full-time kindergarten. Some people might be considering this fresh out of undergrad, wondering if they need graduate school or even if they made the right decision to apply. So I asked some friends for their stories, gathered up ideas, and wrote a list of common reasons why people should (or shouldn’t) go to grad school.

You have a dream job that needs a graduate degree

This one is very common. If your dream job is to become a professor at a university and mentor undergraduates or graduates while working on your own research, it is almost guaranteed that you need a Ph.D. Similarly, there are many lab manager, industry professional, and administrative positions that require a master’s degree, at minimum. Research what you need in order to succeed in your field and go for that. 

You need to advance in your career

On a related note, sometimes getting that master’s or Ph.D. will help you go further in a career you already have. That is awesome! I know many people, especially teachers, who go this route. Getting a graduate degree can help advance your knowledge of the field, increase your salary, or even land you a promotion.

Side note: don’t get more than you need if the previous two reasons are why you are attending graduate school. If you need a master’s, don’t go to a Ph.D. program. It will take at least twice as long, is much more likely to be full-time, and may even make you overqualified for your desired position.

You want the opportunity to improve your research capabilities

While there are plenty of industry jobs that require you to do research, they generally don’t give you the same educational support that grad school does. If you’re working on Project X for a company, you might learn exactly how to complete the necessary tasks A, B, and C. If you’re working on Project X in grad school, you might learn the theoretical backgrounds of tasks A and B, the reasons why task C is so important to the project, and how to do related tasks D, E, and F, along with the research another professor is doing regarding Project Y. And, maybe you work with them for a bit to see if that is interesting, and if it will help you develop Project Z for your dissertation. The breadth of knowledge and understanding you develop for your work is built into the graduate program. You might get this depth of experience in industry depending on your field, so it’s up to you to decide if a graduate degree will get you an education your field cannot provide you with.

You love to learn

This does not mean the same thing as “you like school.” Graduate school isn’t set up to be the same school experience as high school or even undergrad. It is more challenging, more demanding, and designed to expand your mind more than it is designed to teach you things. If you have a passion for learning and growing, and love what you are learning, grad school is likely worth it. This is the reason I decided to go to graduate school when I was five, and it is still one of my most important reasons for staying. I love being here, I love learning, researching, and growing every day. It’s hard, but I don’t regret it.

Of course, these are not all of the reasons to attend grad school. There are many, many, many more. And there are just as many reasons to not attend grad school. What matters is that you make the decision for yourself, based on your own desires and goals. You can talk to your advisor, your friends, current graduate students, potential schools, or your employer, but when it comes down to it, the decision is yours to make. Make sure that you know you are doing what is best for you, so that you are as prepared as possible should you decide to pursue applying to graduate school.

From the Classroom to the Field

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Written by Ruaidhri Crofton, History and Museum Studies M.A. student

As a graduate student, much of your time will no doubt be spent attending classes or dedicated to other forms of research and study. However, being able to take what you have learned and apply it to “real world” scenarios through internships, fellowships, jobs, and other positions is another great learning experience that many students at Tufts will have the opportunity to engage in during their time at the university. Not only does this help to reinforce the information you have already learned through study, it also allows you to gain valuable new skills and knowledge outside of the classroom. This summer I was lucky to have an opportunity to do just that while working as the Camp Director of the Chase Ranch Museum in Cimarron, New Mexico. As someone pursuing a master’s in History and Museum Studies, this seasonal position provided me with a great way to put many of the topics I had covered in classes to use, while simultaneously learning about the rich history of an often overlooked yet incredibly unique historic site in the rural Southwest.

When many people think of New Mexico, they likely picture a hot desert. Although the state is certainly is warm and often arid, much of its land has been used for ranching and agriculture for a considerable portion of its history. This was particularly true in the Northeast corner of the state where the small village of Cimarron, population 903, is located. Having grown up in another town just an hour and a half or so south of here, I am used to “small town living”. However, living in Cimarron for three months was quiet even for me. There’s everything you may need: a couple of gas stations and restaurants, a few stores, a hotel, and a three-officer police force, but it’s certainly different from life in a city like Boston. Despite its size, Cimarron was once a bustling stop on the Santa Fe Trail, and home to trappers, ranchers, cowboys, miners, loggers, outlaws, and railway workers. Today, its main claim to fame is Philmont Scout Ranch—a 140,000 acre wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and visited by thousands of Scouts on hiking trips annually. In addition to their wilderness programs, the BSA also runs four museums on the property tasked with sharing the history of the area, including the one where I had the privilege of working this summer.

On a dirt road three miles outside of town sits the headquarters of the Chase Ranch. Originally hailing from Wisconsin, Theresa and Manly Chase first moved to the New Mexico Territory in 1867 and eventually purchased 1,000 acres of land in 1869 where their family would remain for the next 143 years and four generations. At their height, Manly and Theresa were managing an extensive cattle, horse, and sheep operation on over one million acres of land, in addition to running a dairy, a coal mine, and tending to an orchard of 6,000 fruit trees producing over 500,000 pounds of fruit annually. In the generations that would follow, the Chases continued their legacy of ranching and contributing to the Cimarron community. Gretchen Sammis, the last member of the Chase family to live on the ranch and the great-granddaughter of Manly and Theresa, was herself an award-winning rancher in addition to being an accomplished soil and water conservationist, teacher, and sports coach. Awarded Cattleman of the Year in 2008, both Gretchen and her Ranch Manager, Ruby Gobble, were also inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1982 and 1996 respectively.

Following Gretchen and Ruby’s deaths in 2012 and 2013, ownership of the ranch was passed on to the Chase Ranch Foundation, which today partners with Philmont Scout Ranch in a 50 year lease to open the now 11,000 acre ranch to Scouts on trek, maintain operation of the property as an active cattle ranch, and transform the historic 1871 ranch house into an educational museum open to all. This summer it was my task to ensure that the historic house museum was open for the 5,000 plus Scouts and other visitors we hosted over the course of three months. This included, among other things, training staff, leading tours, historic research, developing education programs, artifact care and cleaning, gardening, and occasionally helping to corral a runaway cow or two! As you can imagine, this was no small task, and I was very thankful to have a staff of fantastic colleagues to support the museum’s mission along the way.

I was also thankful for the insight professors and classmates in both the History and Museum Studies departments at Tufts had equipped me with throughout two semesters of coursework examining collections care, Southwestern history, and museum education, among other topics. Thanks to this baseline of knowledge, throughout my summer I gained experience in putting this information to work “in the field,” as well as a considerable amount of additional knowledge that helped me better understand best practices and approaches to museums and management. It was an incredible opportunity to not only work in this special place, but to also build upon what I had learned in the months leading up to it. Although certainly not everyone has an interest in working at a remote historic house museum, there is no shortage of opportunities that will fit your specific interests and goals, regardless of your program, and a similarly extensive number of resources at Tufts to help you find them. So do some research! You never know what cool experiences you might be able to find.

What Makes a Good Graduate Program?

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The most prominent factors I considered when looking at graduate school programs

By Audrey Balaska, Mechanical Engineering: Human-Robot Interaction Ph.D. Student

As you may have figured out, I am a graduate student at Tufts University. Specifically, I am a first-year student in the Mechanical Engineering and Human-Robot Interaction joint Ph.D. program. Before coming to Tufts, I received my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in May 2019.

Since I’m such a new student, the application process is still fresh in my mind. One of the steps I found the most challenging was deciding which schools to apply to and then which position to actually accept. I’m going to talk about my personal journey, and if this doesn’t resonate with you, that’s ok! There are many paths one can take to get to graduate school

Deciding where to apply to

When I was considering schools, I learned about them in a variety of ways. Some I found through online research on labs which had rehabilitation engineering as a research area. Others I remembered from my search for undergraduate programs. Some I learned about because faculty recommended them to me based on my research interests. And some, like Tufts, I learned about at a graduate school fair.

Rather than inundate you with further information regarding every school I looked at, I’m going to explain to you why I decided to apply to Tufts, and why I ultimately decided to come here for my graduate degree.

Like I said, I learned about Tufts University from a graduate school fair – specifically, the one at the Tau Beta Pi (the oldest engineering honors society in the United States) National Convention in Fall 2018. While a decent number of schools were represented at this fair, I did not apply to all of them. I first decided to look more into Tufts because the representative from Tufts University showed genuine enthusiasm for the school, and was able to tell me some specific aspects of Tufts University I might find interesting after I told her my research interests. Having someone so knowledgeable about the school at the fair reflected really well to me. Just because someone you meet from a school isn’t in your research area, doesn’t mean they don’t reflect the university’s community and environment.

Meeting someone from the graduate admissions staff wasn’t enough to get me to apply, though. That occurred when I researched the program more and found classes and research labs closely related to my own research interests.

Deciding to Attend Tufts

Then, I got into Tufts University, along with a couple of other schools. That was when I had to make the big decision of where to spend the next 4-6 years of my life.

One thing that I didn’t consider much when applying to schools, but definitely did at this stage, was the location. I realized after some thought that I really wanted to be close to a city, or even in one. That caused me to decline one school, and pushed Tufts even higher on my list.

Another thing that I really liked about Tufts was the graduate student environment. Tufts University has some awesome graduate student organizations, and hosts multiple professional and social events each semester. Not all universities have this, and it was something I was excited to see existed at Tufts.

Most importantly, however, was my advisor. I got to speak with him via Skype during my winter break after I applied, and then got to meet him in person once I had been accepted to the program. Both times I found that I liked his personality, his research, and his leadership style. Honestly, having met him, it became very easy to say yes to Tufts. If you are applying to doctoral programs, make sure you take the time to try and meet your potential advisors. I had other potential advisors whose research appealed to me, but found that when talking to them our personalities were not a great match.

Ultimately, when deciding on a graduate program it is crucial to decide what is most important to you. I realized I cared a lot more about my location than I initially thought, but some people I know really had not cared about where their school was. Before deciding on a school, take the time to decide what is actually important to you. Maybe, one day, the school that you pick will be Tufts!

Finishing That Pesky Dissertation

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Written by Brenna Gormally, Biology Ph.D. student

Graduate school — and in particular Ph.D. Programs — are strange because at times you feel like there is an indefinite amount of work to do and that you might just be in school forever. But at the same time, that feeling of permanence can be comforting. Once I settled into my routine, Tufts became my home and I’ve loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And with that comes a whole bunch of emotions — the excitement for the next step, the sadness for leaving my Tufts community, and the stress of finishing degree requirements.

I am currently right in that sweet spot. Over the summer, I had the good fortune to accept a postdoctoral fellowship which will begin in early 2020. That means that I get the opportunity to finish my Ph.D. Without the added pressure of finding a job. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my success in finding a job is a testament to the experiences I’ve been afforded at Tufts. Not only did I receive world class mentorship, but the professional development opportunities (Graduate Institute for Teaching and the NOD Workshops) helped me hone my marketable skills. I am incredibly excited for my next step, but over the next few months I have a LOT to take care of — namely finishing all that writing. I’ve decided to give you some of my tips for getting down to business and finishing that pesky dissertation.

1. Schedule, schedule, schedule

I cannot overstate the importance of planning. When I have a lot of projects going on, it sometimes seems easier to just do things and be productive. When all you have to do is writing, it can be difficult to focus. Staring at a blank page and thinking about how you have to ill it up is… daunting. I have found that the best way to avoid this feeling of desperation is to have realistic, scheduled goals. Focusing on one section in the morning and one section in the afternoon has helped me not get bored with the material and continue progressing.

2. Write in different places

Although I love my desk, sometimes you need a change of scenery. Luckily, there are at least 5 different coffee shops within a 10 minute walk of campus. My favorite coffee shop for writing is Tamper: it’s nice and quiet, serves delicious food, and offers beer options for later in the day. I’m also a huge fan of working in Tisch Library. There’s something about being surrounded by stressed out undergraduates that motivates you to get your own work done. By switching up my physical writing space, I have been able to make progress even when it doesn’t feel like it.

3. Get the blood pumping

Most people know that when you are stressed, making time for physical exercise is crucial. This becomes even more important when you’re writing your dissertation, which should be a marathon and not a spring. I try to make time and head down to the Tisch Fitness Center or go on a run along the Charles River. These are great opportunities to clear your head, which always helps with writing.

4. Don’t forget to have fun!

Most importantly, I think, is remembering that writing your dissertation should have some elements of fun. This can be the hardest task, because you’ve spent years in your program and you might feel jaded with your topic. But after all, these will be the final months of your time at Tufts. For me, it has been the perfect opportunity to reflect and remember where my passions first began. Tufts has been a fantastic chapter of my life that I will remember fondly.

Ready-to-Use Advanced English Learning Tips

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Written by Amanda Wang, Innovation and Management M.S.I.M. student

I still remember my first day as a Graduate student at Tufts: doing self-introductions with my 33 classmates in M.S. Innovation and Management, which to me was something way outside of my comfort zone. Despite almost 20 years training in English and a decent TOEFL score, I could not even do a self-intro with confidence and fluency.

One year later after the orientation, I no longer have to organize sentences in my mind several times before I start speaking. Looking back, I wish I could have known some of the ways to improve my oral English before I came to the States. This is how I got the idea for this blog: to help my peers consider multiple ways to improve their English speaking. I picked four of the most important rules that I found essential. You do not have to follow what I suggest here, as they can be very personal experiences that may not apply to everyone. However, hopefully you can still find something that ‘clicks’ for you, and figure out your own magical way!

Rule #1. Mistakes ≠ Failures

Yeah, I still make mistakes sometimes, but after all, I am not a native speaker, so it is totally fine. Being afraid of making mistakes is due to our high self-consciousness: ‘I MUST sound like a dumb person.’ Let’s take a step back from this scenario – have you ever talked to a non-native speaker of your mother tongue? Did you think in the same way about them as you imagined people would think about you before talking in English? No, because we tend to overthink that we are ‘being judged.’ Therefore, keep in mind that making mistakes is very natural. Plus, do not feel embarrassed if someone kindly points out your mistakes – that actually helps you improve way faster!

Rule #2. Talk, talk, talk

This sounds like a nonsense: how can I keep talking when I am not THAT good at talking? Or after all, I am an introvert. I don’t even enjoy talking to people endlessly using my native language. Why do I have to do that?

The best way to learn a language is to live in an environment where you have to use that language to live. Now you are a student in a university in the United States, which means you have the perfect opportunity to practice. Try to speak up in the class, talk to your professors and peers, or greet the barista you meet every morning. It is not difficult at all if you follow Rule #1. Being an introvert, I finally realized that ‘introvert’ means that you spend energy when you gather with a group of people, like at a party, but you can still want to do small talks. Lower your ego, don’t be too self-conscious, and start the chat. The merit of talking is that you also gain input from other people, so your brain will pick up some colloquial expressions and turn them into your output in no time. Talk is a great and easy way to learn new terms, as you do not have to memorize a vocab list.

Rule #3. Build a real network

Sometimes, becoming an international student also means you left most of your old friends at home. Do not let loneliness in a new place overwhelm you. Instead, build a real network here so that you really feel like part of the community. How is this related to language skills? First, you have more chance to talk, as said in Rule #2. Second, you can talk about the things that you have a real interest in, make new good friends, and enrich your life experiences.

At the same time, as you naturally catch up with people in your network, you will feel that your feet are more to the ground, and more confident because you are more an insider of life here. I tried to catch up with my professors, mentors, and friends this summer, and I can feel that I am improving again. More specific to English skills, I also get to know people’s interests and passions, and opportunities keep popping up during conversations. If you’re not sure how to start the networking, check graduate school calendar and go to events to add people to your network!

Rule #4. Reading and writing as a daily routine

You are being educated, and you want to speak intelligently. Sometimes, small talk seems to be fine, but what if you have a presentation or interview coming up? My suggestion is to benefit from reading and writing, and make it a habit. In the Tisch Library Tower Café, you can find all kinds of magazines and newspapers to keep yourself updated. Or simply download some news apps (FYI: all Tufts students have access to the New York Times through the Tisch Library). Do you have some novels written by American authors that you liked when you were a child? Find the English version and re-read it in English, you will remember better as you have the scenes in memory. The ability to generate pictures while using a language helps internalize the language and apply it quickly when you speak.

Like listening and speaking, reading and writing are great companions. I have honed my English skills by being a blogger at Tufts Graduate Blog. Writing as a practice gives me the time to organize my thoughts in a logical way, and thinking in English while writing is a ‘double language drill’ for both speaking and writing. I am always talking to myself in English while writing, and so both things become natural gradually.

To sum up, make the most out of your graduate journey at Tufts, and always be confident as you are already a bilingual person (yay!). As you practice, you will see a door to a broader world opening in front you.