R.E.A.L. Talk: No guarantee

Each R.E.A.L. student is different and each story is unique. I recently had the chance to speak with Rachel Fridman about her story. Rachel is in her third semester at Tufts as a political science major. She moved to Massachusetts from Florida and currently lives off campus in Medford. But like most stories from R.E.A.L. students, there were a few twists and turns along her path to Tufts.

Rachel grew up in Argentina, where the education system is very different to what we have here. She explained to me that in Argentina, access to a college education is open to any student who has completed high school. This takes the pressure off students, but in some cases, like Rachel’s, you only do the work that is necessary knowing that college is a guarantee.

Being an average student in Argentina did not prepare her for college life in the States. She was not ready for the culture shock of admissions and rejections from American colleges. She attended Miami Dade College (then Miami Dade Community College) in preparation for college life, to save money on tuition and to give her a better shot at getting into a good program.

Rachel was unable to transfer to a four-year program right away. Financial burdens kept it just out of reach, but she kept trying. She had made it this far and intended to complete her journey.

During her second round of applications, she researched political science programs and Tufts ranked high on every list. With a little bit more research, she found out about the R.E.A.L. program. She was hesitant. American University, her first choice, was competitive, but the R.E.A.L. program was even harder to get into. American University had a 25.7 percent acceptance rate and Tufts was only 14 percent. It was daunting.

When she was accepted into the R.E.A.L. program, her feelings about the program changed. She received a phone call to welcome her to the program. No other university had treated her with such a human response. Someone was there to answer questions and to walk her through the process. She was no longer an ID number or a faceless email.

She does not regret her decision to move from Florida to attend Tufts. Her experience here has been amazing and she has taken advantage of the opportunities given to her. Last semester, Rachel was one of five undergraduate students chosen from Tufts to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Germany. This is an amazing opportunity for any student, but for a R.E.A.L. student especially. This is what make Tufts so different from other universities. We are students just like everyone else.

Rachel had to fight hard to get where she is today, and she has to fight every day to stay. She remembers there was a sense of alienation and a sense of loneliness during her first semester. Being new to the school and to the city was overwhelming for her. One suggestion she made during our conversation was to start a peer network for R.E.A.L. students. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you it will be okay.