Welcome, Parents and Families | May 5, 2026

Dear Parents and Families,

We are looking forward to welcoming your student to campus and the Tufts community in August/September! Planning for Orientation is well underway, and our colleagues in Academic Advising and Student Life are busy preparing for their arrival.

On Thursday, May 21, at 7 p.m. ET, join Residential Life and Learning and the Student Accessibility and Academic Resources (StAAR) Center for information about campus housing. During this meeting, you and your student will learn about the housing survey and roommate assignments. Also, you will hear important information about deadlines for your student to apply for housing accommodations due to any personal medical considerations. Pre-registration is required, and please submit any questions in advance.

We also invite you to join us for our Welcome to Tufts webinar for parents and families on Thursday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET. During this live event, you will meet members of the Student Life and Orientation teams and learn about your student's New Student Checklist. Pre-registration is required, and please submit any questions in advance. This event is geared specifically to parents and families and not intended for students. Your student will be invited to a New Student Checklist 101 webinar just for them, which takes place on Tuesday, June 2.

NOTE: Don't worry if you're not able to attend the live webinars; they will be recorded and available on the Orientation website. 

New students who choose to participate in an optional Pre-Orientation program will arrive and move in on Friday, August 28. The application deadline is Monday, June 15, at 12 midnight ET and the fee is $550. Please refer to the Pre-Orientation web page for further details.

Students not participating in a Pre-Orientation program should plan to arrive on Wednesday, September 2. Undergraduate Orientation is mandatory for all new students, including new transfer students. A one-time Orientation fee of $515 is due Monday, June 1 and can be paid in your student's application portal. Orientation begins on Wednesday, September 2 at 3 p.m. and runs through Monday, September 7. The first day of classes is Tuesday, September 8.

There will be programming for parents and families on both arrival/move-in dates (programming is the same on both move-in days): August 28 and September 2, 3:30–5:30 p.m. Participation is optional, but parents and families coming for their student's move-in day are encouraged to attend.

Parents and families are also invited to the Matriculation Ceremony on Thursday, September 3 at 10 a.m., but are not required to attend. Matriculation is an hour-long event officially welcoming the incoming class. The Matriculation Ceremony will also be livestreamed to watch remotely.

During the summer, we will keep you updated with specific details on arrival, move-in, and the parent/family orientation programs and schedule. We will also send periodic emails and invitations to additional webinars to introduce you to various campus resources.

Please reach out to Student Services at 
617-627-2000, StudentServices@tufts.edu
or the Family Engagement contact Carole McFall at carole.mcfall@tufts.edu.

This summer, we will send an email each week to incoming students to help them stay up to date and on track for Orientation and to introduce students to various departments and resources at Tufts. All Orientation communications this summer will be archived online (including recorded webinars) in case students miss a message or would like to review information again. We will also archive communications to parents and families online.  

Your student has a few important tasks to complete over the summer; many can be completed online. We will list all items on their customized New Student Checklist 2026, which will open Monday, June 1 in their application portal.

The Tufts Parents Giving Program looks forward to welcoming you and your family to campus this fall to experience life as a Jumbo! Parents and Family Weekend programming will run from approximately 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, October 9 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 10. Sunday will be open to explore campus and the Boston area with your Jumbo. To get a sense of what to expect, you can view programming from past years on our website.

Next week's Orientation message will cover housing: how to apply for housing accommodations, the housing survey, roommates, and more. 

Family Engagement