Editor’s Note: Defne Olgun is a staff writer for the Daily. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
Tufts plans to offer more on-campus housing to transfer students for the 2025–26 school year. Rising junior Defne Olgun, a 2024–25 TCU trustee representative; Christina Alch, director of residential life and learning; and Perry Doherty, associate director of residential operations, have been involved in the effort to expand housing for transfer students.
Olgun began meeting with Alch and Doherty in October 2024 to brainstorm ways to make the transition to Tufts easier for transfer students, especially when it comes to housing. Typically, transfer students receive their acceptance letters in early to mid-May, and with their acceptance, students get an email with information about housing.
“We are able to make a housing guarantee to some, but typically not all, transfer students who receive admission into Tufts,” Alch wrote in a statement to the Daily. “If transfer students do not receive a housing guarantee, they are placed on a waitlist for housing.”
Students who are not guaranteed on-campus housing can join the transfer student Facebook page and begin to meet new students with whom they could possibly room. From there, the Tufts off-campus housing website is an available resource for students to look for housing.
Angy Sosa, associate director for off-campus engagement, also provides assistance in the search for off-campus housing. She has hosted webinars, shared resources and met with students to make the process smoother, according to Alch.
Securing off-campus housing can be accompanied by more challenges for transfer students because they have to sign their leases in a hurry, often leaving students stuck with higher rents. Additionally, many students live too far away to tour houses before signing a lease, so they have to rely solely on online images.
“Securing housing and finding a sense of community can be challenging for some students,” Alch wrote. “I recognize that living in university housing can help to ease both of those.”
To combat some of these issues, Tufts is offering housing for accepted transfer students from July 21 to Aug. 1 at a price lower than most hotels in the area, so students can tour houses and get a sense of the surrounding community before signing their lease.
Even with the challenges that come with living off campus as a sophomore transfer student, some students do still have good experiences. Helen McCarty, rising third-year transfer student in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, does not mind her 25-minute commute on foot to the Medford/Somerville campus from her house in Magoun Square. She often takes the Green Line up to Tufts.
“To be honest, I think it’s a lot better than dorm life,” McCarty said.
On the other hand, Olgun has heard complaints from friends and other transfer students about long commutes.
“I had seen so many of my friends commuting back home really late at night, like two stops on the Green Line, or having to walk 20 minutes to get back home after class, and it was just really inconvenient,” Olgun said.
Olgun met with Matthew Bellof, the advising dean for transfer students, to learn more about how transfer students build community and adjust to Tufts.
“He was able to share with us that a lot of the students who felt disconnected from the community or didn’t feel included at Tufts, or were having a hard time socially, were usually living off campus,” Olgun said.
Rising junior Thomas Bulzacchelli, a transfer student who lives off campus, says he has had a smooth transition to Tufts and has been able to make good friends, starting during orientation week. He does, however, acknowledge what he misses out on as a result of living off campus.
“I have seen the Haskell [Hall] suites, and it feels so community oriented, and there is a part of me that wishes I could have had that this year,” Bulzacchelli said.
Another problem with off-campus housing is that orientation for transfer students starts the same weekend as undergraduate orientation, around Sept. 1, which is also the day that most students’ leases start. That means that many students have to miss some of the scheduled activities designed to help them transition to Tufts, meet new people and get a sense of campus before classes begin.
Olgun said she has brought this conflict to the Office of Residential Life & Learning and hopes they consider this when planning orientation in the future.
“Honestly, orientation was one of the most important parts of [the transition to Tufts] because most of my friends are transfers,” McCarty said.
Rising junior and transfer student Aidan Liwanag says his experience living off campus has been generally good. He began looking for housing early and was able to secure a place close to campus. He attended a seminar where he was able to write a letter and give advice to a future transfer student.
“When looking for houses, I think people have to remember just to not stress out too much and not listen to the property managers on everything,” Liwanag said. “They’ll try to stress you out — you have to remember that [there are] always options.”
