Barnard, Georgetown, Tufts, or Wellesley?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone!
I feel incredibly blessed to say that I got into all 10 colleges I applied to! But with this comes the incredible burden of deciding where I want to attend school next year. Right now, I have no particular leaning to any one school and I was just hoping if you guys could talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each school to help me make my choice. I’m not looking to get my final and complete decision off of CC, I’m just trying to gather more information from people who might have it.

Here’s some information about me to help guide you:
Potential Major(s) and Minor: International Relations, Environmental Science, Women’s and Gender Studies (considering as a minor only)
Clubs/Orgs I’m interested in: A satirical newspaper, Model UN, Student Government, Black/Caribbean Student Association, club/intramural sports, service orgs
Other things I’m looking to do in college: Study Abroad and Internships

I don’t know what else to include to help you guys help me, but if you have any questions that you want to ask that can help me with my college selection, please let me know!

2

Are there any differences in costs? Run the numbers here: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml then talk the results over with whoever it is who is helping you pay for your education. What could you do with any savings?

Are there any differences in travel time/expense? Would you be able to get home more often if you chose one or another? Would your parents/friends/extended family be able to come visit more often at one or another? Do you want to be farther from home? closer to home? closer to possible part-time jobs or internship sites?

3

@happymomof1 I haven’t gotten back all my aid info b/c I sent in things late, but I’ll make sure to use the calculator when everything comes in, thank you!

I live in Florida, so the difference between traveling to schools D.C, or NYC, or Boston is probably not much, it’s going to be expensive, and I think by saying I live in Florida it’s clear I want to be farther away from home. I already know that if I go to any of the four, I wouldn’t be able to travel home for Thanksgiving, but I have plenty of extended family in NYC and Boston that I can be with over short breaks and holidays. I would love to be closer to part-time job opportunities and internship sites, but from what I have heard, all four schools offer this (anyone is free to help me out in this area).

4

Have you been to those schools? They are quite different from my recollection. Size, locations, and ‘vibes’ vary greatly. Wellesley is quite different than Georgetown, for instance, in terms of the vibe. And of course as a women’s college (though in a consortium of sorts with Columbia), Barnard is very different from Tufts.

Which type do you prefer…earthy, traditional/conservative?
What size do you prefer?
Urban or suburban?
Which visit gave you the best feeling?
Which has housing all 4 year guaranteed (if that is important)?
What are the classes sizes and how do you feel about that?
Diversity? School spirits? Alumni connections? Are any of those important and if so where do these places fall in that regard?

We looked at some of these schools with our two oldest. They seemed VERY different to me so in that sense you might be able to narrow down your choices after thinking through the questions I listed above. These are some things my kids had to think through.

Finally, what does the money look like? Georgetown does not give merit aid, correct? If you are getting scholarships as some, what are the criteria for the scholarships (to maintain them 4 years)?

You have 4 great choices, and very different choices. What drew you to those schools and which leads the pack now?

5

@ReturningFavor I have visited all four schools, some of them twice. I know they’re completely different vibes, but I’ve kinda fallen in love with their different vibes. Wellesley is a completely different kind of women’s college than Barnard but I like the atmosphere of both. Tufts is a lot more quirky than Georgetown but I find myself enjoying both (this isn’t helping me, I know).

To answer your questions:
Right now I’m leaning away from conservative/tradtional and more towards quirky/fun/creative minds, which I know is away from Georgetown.
I like the size of all four schools, they’re just right in my range of small/medium size undergrads.
Urban or suburban, I’ve visited all campuses and the location of all works for me.
Barnard, Tufts, and Wellesley gave me the best feelings when I visited. I just felt good when I was there.
I know housing is guaranteed all four yrs at Barnard and Wellesley, I think it is for Tufts, not sure about Georgetown.
All four tout having small class sizes, but you know that’s how schools are. I’ve seen the auditorium for Tufts largest classroom and it’s not horrible for a general course. No clue about the other schools though (If anyone has info on this it would be greatly appreciated).
Diversity is important as a black woman, but a close community of black students or women is just as greatly appreciated by me. School spirit is important, but not of the highest importance. Alumni connections is pretty important (I know Wellesley is probably at the top for this).

In terms of money, Tufts has named me a Balfour Scholar meaning I get no loans all 4 yrs, just grants, which makes the school look REALLY good.

After this, which has been really helpful, Barnard, Tufts, and Welleley are leading the pack (but I have no order of preference).

6

I say Georgetown. You seem really interested in government, and there will be a lot of opportunities in that area when you are in DC. Furthermore, Georgetown has a great international relations school. This is just my opinion; you should make your decision based on your thoughts though, not mine.

7

@ryanordy88 I don’t know…Georgetown seems to be falling off my list and moving to a list of schools I would want to be at for graduate school and not undergrad.

8

I have family members who have attended/are attending Tufts and Babson (which is part of the Babson/Olin/Wellesley consortium). One of them also was interested in Georgetown and a couple of visits were made. I know nothing about Barnard. The Babson student (a male) is really into sustainability and has taken a course at Wellesley related to environmental policy and will be taking a Babson- Olin- Wellesley team taught course in the future.

Wellesley has a beautiful, woodsy campus and a good environmental program, class sizes will definitely be smaller than the intro courses at Tufts and similar to slightly smaller for the specialty classes. This would be a good choice if you like being in an all female environment (plus a few males from Babson and Olin!). Wellesley is about a mile and a half from Babson, and Olin abuts Babson. Wellesley is a very wealthy suburban town, so it is beautiful. It has a cute town center (next to Wellesley College) but it is dry and there is not much for young people to do. Access to Boston is via a college shuttle bus. The subway runs to within a few miles of the campus, and Uber can be used to access it when the shuttle is not running. Wellesley also has cross registration with MIT.

Tufts has the Fletcher School which has one of the top IR masters programs in the world (along with Georgetown).
as well as one of the top undergrad IR programs. Georgetown has an advantage in location, but Tufts is a more liberal culture and, as a result, it is heavily into the area of environmental policy. Fletcher has partnerships and cross registration with MIT and Harvard which creates a government/policy academic cluster in Boston. Tufts undergrads can take classes at Fletcher, but not at MIT or Harvard. Tufts economics department is ranked around 50th in the world for environmental research output despite the fact that it does not offer a Phd program. Georgetown is similar in environmental research rank, but has a Phd program.

Tufts offers an environmental science major with a policy track and an IR major with an environmental track. It also offers an interdisciplinary major in environmental health and a major in environmental engineering. Sustainability and Human Health are two of the three interdisciplinary areas of research for engineering.

http://as.tufts.edu/environmentalStudies/curriculum/
http://ase.tufts.edu/ir/academics/
http://engineering.tufts.edu/cee/undergraduate/
Sustainability and Human Health
http://engineering.tufts.edu/research/

Tufts has a remote campus in the French Alps, which was the site of the signing of the first university sustainability agreement 25 years ago. If you like the outdoors then the Tufts Mountain Club has a “Loj” up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (in Dartmouth country) and a couple of vans for transportation. That is about as different as you can get from Florida- especially in the winter. There is also a 2,000 acre reservation a couple of miles from Tufts if you need a quick hike or mountain bike ride.

http://ase.tufts.edu/europeanCenter/
http://ase.tufts.edu/europeanCenter/programs/talloires/courses.asp
https://tuftsmountainclub.org/loj/

Club sports at Tufts are popular and some are regionally and nationally ranked. Tlarge number of schools in and around Boston, make it fun. What are your sports?
http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/information/club_sports

Tufts just hosted a university conference to commemorate the anniversary.
http://environment.tufts.edu/blog/2016/03/30/climate-change-the-role-of-the-university/

Tufts has an institute dedicated to the environment that partners with the Stockholm Institute Of The Environment (which has an office next to Tufts) Internships are available through these organizations, as well as others.
http://environment.tufts.edu/
http://www.sei-us.org/

Boston/Cambridge/Somerville is home to one of the largest Clean-tech business clusters and there is an Cleantec incubator called Greentown Labs a couple of miles from Tufts.
http://greentownlabs.org/

The current head of the EPA is a Tufts Alum (environmental health and policy) and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (for work on climate change on the IPCC) just moved from Fletcher to the School of Engineering.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_McCarthy
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/Fletcher_Directory/Directory/Faculty%20Profile?personkey=67A797D9-CB21-4684-ADAF-388F7ED0DE39

In terms of Gender Studies, I assume Barnard and Wellesley are strong in this area. Tufts has a wider offering of courses than Geogetown, probably due to the more liberal culture.
http://ase.tufts.edu/wgss/documents/courseListFall2016.pdf
http://wgsp.georgetown.edu/courses/current

Good Luck - the world can certainly use more people who have both environmental and policy expertise…

Feel free to ask more questions

9

All four are excellent.

Some advantages of each school:

Tufts:
As Mastadon pointed out, you can combine IR and ES. Also, Tufts is kind of a hybrid, combining some of the advantages of a LAC with some of the advantages of a university.

Georgetown:
In terms of program prestige, the School of Foreign Service is tops on your list and is probably the top IR/FS program in the US. Also, being in DC, there are going to be plenty of internship opportunities.

Wellesley:
Wellesley is the most prestigious college/university on your list. It is probably the prettiest campus of the four. And you are able to take classes at MIT.

Barnard:
Barnard is located in Manhattan, so you are privy to all the culture, entertainment, and awesome delis (and other types of food…) that NYC has to offer. You are also able to take classes at Columbia.

You cannot make a wrong choice as long as you follow your gut (and brain) and choose the best fit for you. You’ll have a fuller picture once the FA offers come in.

10

@Mastadon Thank you for all the links! This is an overflow of helpful information! @prezbucky Thank you. Hopefully I’m able to choose the best fit sometime soon!

11

If you got into SFS, it’d be tough to turn it down, it’s like the Harvard of international relations.
However, along those lines, Tufts is like the “next Ivy” of IR. And you’re a Named Scholar there, which is a very big deal.
Barnard is well-located and has a super strong network but those two above would probably win in my opinion even over Barnard.

12

Prestige wise Tufts, Wellesley and Georgetown are quite equal. Anyone who tells you a degree from Wellesley or Georgetown will be valued more than one from Tufts was probably rejected by Tufts and is just a case of sour grapes. As someone who has lived the most part of my life in the US and the last 2-3 years outside the US, I can tell you a degree from Tufts is nationally respected and even more so outside the borders (at least where I live now). Since you didn’t like the vibe at Georgetown, I think it all boils down to the issue of an all girls education at either Wellesley or Barnard or a mixed one at Tufts. Personally, I’d pick Tufts over the other schools you have on your list and the fact you were named a Balfour scholar indicates just how much Tufts wants you to come. This award is given to only a select few of all admitted students, and a debt free graduation should also be strongly considered when making your decision. Also Tufts IR is probably top 3 or 5 in the nation and is very well respected outside the borders of US. If you have to take loans at any of the other schools, pick Tufts without even thinking twice!

13

If you’re leaning away from Georgetown, I would definitely recommend Tufts for IR. Wellesley and Barnard are both great schools (I almost committed to the former), but they’re not my top choice out of the three for your major.

14

Definitely Barnard as it is an Ivy League school (undergraduate college of Columbia). Plus, you get great internships from being in NYC!

Also, @prezbucky at Barnard you don’t JUST take classes at Columbia. Barnard women also get degrees from Columbia, graduate at Columbia graduation, join as many and any clubs/ sports teams/ sororities / societies at Columbia. Also, all the libraries, academic buildings, and cafeterias are open to Barnard women and vice versa to students at Columbia. Your understanding of the other colleges were great though :slight_smile: