Staying 'home'

It's junior year, and it seems like all your friends have left campus behind: your best friend is studying abroad in Paris. Your lab partner is documenting sea turtles in Baja, Mexico. Everyone else you know seems to be spending a semester in Australia.

Though many students who remain on campus while their friends are abroad may feel like they're in the minority, only 40 percent of all Tufts students pursue coursework outside the country.

"There is some pressure in college to take advantage of every opportunity out there, but for certain students, [studying abroad] is not for them," said Julie Jampel, a supervising psychologist at the Counseling Center.

According to Foreign Study Advisor Sally O'Leary, some student decide not to study abroad for many reasons.

"Apart from the fact that some have no interest in leaving the campus, there are a few reasons," she said. "Some play sports, some try to complete double degree programs, and others maintain rigorous schedules, such as those in the pre-med track."

Despite such obligations, many students find it difficult to deal with life on campus in the absence of much of their social circles.

"I certainly do have students tell me they're concerned about how their semester will go because friends will be gone," Health Services Medical Director Margaret Higham said.

Jampel advises that those Jumbos feeling less than jubilant in the wake of their friends' departures contact the Counseling Center. "For anyone's who's really feeling a sense of loss, call and schedule an appointment," she said.

"My sense is there certainly is fear and anxiety about how their social scene is going to change, along with their support system," Higham added. "But most students do find other ways to fill in those gaps."

One way to "fill in the gaps" is to become more involved on campus. "While it was lonelier without some of my best friends, I took the MCAT and kept up with all my other extracurriculars," senior Neha Surana said. "So I was really busy -- it was almost better that they weren't here."

Senior Margot Thistle took a similar route when many of her friends left to study abroad: "I had no interest in going abroad, but many of my friends did leave," she said. "So I ended up going out into Boston most weekends and visiting friends from home." Thistle also became more active in her sorority, Alpha Phi.

Students who have not studied abroad may also feel excluded upon their friends' return.

"When my friends came back, it was hard because I felt I had missed out on the experience when they reminisced together," said senior Susan Carle, who stayed at Tufts in order to take specific courses for her teaching requirement. "But on the upside, I was able to hang out with others that I might not have otherwise."

"Everyone talks about their experiences in Chile or Spain, and I just talk about Medford/Somerville," senior David Frew said.

For most students, however, the decision to stay at Tufts is not one to regret.

"I didn't want to go abroad and put my life on hold for six months," junior Julie D'Andrea said. "I needed to keep a job here and I didn't think I knew enough Spanish yet. So instead, I moved into an apartment and was able to spend time with my new housemates."

Senior Matt Keller said that his football and fraternity commitments were the reasons behind his decision to stay in Medford.

"I played football, and in the spring off-season, it's a time when the juniors really step up and become team leaders," senior Matt Keller said. "It was a tough decision, but I was also the treasurer of Delta Upsilon so unfortunately, the opportunity to go abroad was outweighed by my priorities here at Tufts. Overall, I'm glad I stayed."

Some students, however, are glad they stayed in Medford for other reasons. "Studying abroad in Spain, I would probably party too much," Frew said. "I think it's easier to practice moderation here rather than in that type of environment."