Advice for Transfer Students

Prepared by students in the R.E.A.L. Program

Time Management

This is the number one issue for students making the transition to Tufts. The Academic Resource Center can offer assistance (Dowling Hall).

E-Mail

Be sure to set up your TUFTS e-mail address. This is the official way that the university will communicate with you and it is essential that you access your TUFTS e-mail. If you prefer to use another e-mail address, have your Tufts mail forwarded to that address. Otherwise, you will miss important deadlines and information.

Transfer of Credit

  1. Transfer in everything you can, even if this exceeds the 17/19 courses allowed. You may decide later which to use toward your Tufts degree.
  2. Concentrate primarily on getting courses in, secondarily on whether they will apply to your major. But if you are promised credit for your major, be sure it’s in writing.
  3. Occasionally a course could fit into more than one department. Try both if necessary.
  4. If you’re promised exemption from the college writing requirement, be sure that this is clearly stated in writing.

Registration

  1. Your registration time will be e-mailed to you through your TUFTS e-mail address. Register as early as the computer says you can. If you are unable to register at your appointed time, a friend may register for you, or the form may be dropped off at the Student Services Desk at Dowling and they will register you at your appointed time. (Be sure to list lots of alternative courses.)
  2. You must be “released to register” by your advisor. Make an appointment to see your advisor well before your assigned registration time. Remember, your advisor has many other advisees and if you want time to talk, see your advisor early and often.
  3. If you’re closed out of a course at registration, don’t give up. Remember that some registered people will probably drop. If it’s a course you really want or need, go to the class anyway and speak to the professor.
  4. On the other hand, have alternatives in mind just in case.
  5. Check SIS On-line often to make sure that you are enrolled in the correct classes and that your credits have transferred correctly. You will NOT be automatically dropped from a class that you stop attending. You MUST do the paperwork---and keep a copy. See the Student Services Desk or your academic dean to make any corrections.

Schedule Planning

  1. Take into account that some classes may have weekly review sessions that are worthwhile attending. This may not be stated in the catalog.
  2. Labs may on occasion run longer than scheduled.
  3. If a course requires outside time in the language lab, the computer center, etc., allow for this.
  4. All courses are not created equal. Some require much more outside time than others. Current or former students may be able to give you specific information.
  5. Course requirements (exams, papers, etc.) are seldom listed in the catalog. Some departments publish their own course listing with this information, or you can ask the professor.
  6. Final exam schedules are listed in the “course offerings” booklet. This is subject to change, however; so don’t rely on it absolutely. Ask the professor.
  7. If you end up with something awful like three exams in one day, you may ask to take one or two at a different time. Some professors/departments are more flexible than others; however, there is no university policy on the number of exams scheduled in one day. Try to re-schedule with the professor who knows you best first.

Miscellaneous

  1. Read the Observer, the Daily, and TuftsLife.com for news and events.
  2. Check the academic calendar for important dates and schedule changes.
  3. Keep photocopies of everything, including important class papers you turn in add/drop forms, etc...
  4. Always take advantage of the simple, routine ways to do things (transfer of credit, add/drop periods, etc.) and avoid unnecessary petitions. This will save untold amounts of time.
  5. Also – there is no such thing as an automatic incomplete. You must have permission from the professor, who files a contract with the deadline and work due.
  6. Introduce yourself to your professors – especially in a large class. Don’t hesitate to consult them during posted office hours. . Tufts professors want to see students. They want to know you are interested in learning the material. Also, a faculty member who knows you can be a big help if you have a problem, and later on when you will be looking for letters of reference.
  7. There are no exceptions to the pass/fail deadline (except – possibly- being in the hospital in a coma!). If you plan to use this option, do not let the date go by. This is also a time for dropping a class without record of enrollment (four weeks into the semester). The deadline for withdrawing from a class with a “W” is always 5:00 on the last day of classes (before reading period begins).
  8. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, and try not to worry too much. The catalog can’t list every contingency, so if you have a special situation – ask, ask, ask!!
  9. Don’t risk parking in lots without a sticker – you will be ticketed. Get a map from campus police showing where you may and may not park. If you have attached your sticker and then have to use another car in an emergency, stick an explanatory note including your sticker number in the window where the sticker should be. You will be towed if you park in fire zones.

Some free services

  1. Academic Resource Center – study skills, tutors, old exams (Dowling)
  2. Career Services—also good for internships (Dowling)
  3. Counseling Center – 120 Curtis St., 617-627-3360
  4. Health Services – 124 Professors Row, 617-627-3350
  5. Academic Deans, 617-627-2000: for all Engineering students: Kim Knox
  6. ALL REAL students: Jean Herbert 617-627-2662 jean.herbert@tufts.edu