Thoughts on choosing Tufts or BC? Son coming from Hawaii. Undecided major - bio or econ (maybe pre-med). Wants fun social scene, sports, strong academics. Sister at MIT. Obviously concerned with COVID and impact on freshman year. Neither school has plan for the fall. Large price tag at both for “remote learning.” Could do gap year, but unlikely to be able to travel or get a job with current situation.
@kahawai8877. I looked at Tufts. Very different schools. Tufts has a top Pre Med program but falls very short on social scene, EC’s, sports and school spirit… Good luck.
Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to two great schools! We’re from a suburb of Boston, and my daughter is likely going to attend BC in the fall, still deciding. I looked at both BC and Tufts for my older son (who’s now completing freshman year at Georgetown) so I’m very familiar with Tufts as well. Tufts and BC are very different. Tufts I would say has a slightly more academic and intellectual reputation than BC. It’s a notch up from BC in the intellectual prestige category if that makes a difference to your son. That said, BC is still very strong academically. BC definitely has the edge over Tufts when it comes to big Division 1 sports; hockey, football and basketball. BC has a ton of school spirit and attending sporting events are a large part of the social scene and fun on the weekends. This is not the case at Tufts, where sports aren’t really at a focus at all. Both schools have huge price tags (as you know!) I think that Tufts’ campus is not near as pretty as BC’s campus; BC’s campus is immaculate, really rare. Tufts is very liberal, BC is mix of liberal and moderate with some conservative thrown in there. We are also hoping that there is not remote learning in the fall…my son was sent home early from Georgetown due to COVID and is finishing classes remotely and it’s sort of sad. As far as the COVID issue for the fall, Massachusetts is peaking right now in COVID cases, so the hope is that we are seeing the worst of it now, and that by August it will be back to school. Good luck on your son’s choices, both excellent schools!
@summer928 Nd the t
Not sure what you mean @privatebanker ?
My post was the victim of a glitch. Lol. Just went blank and posted the gibberish.??♂️
It was good post too.
@summer928 and the other posters are spot on.
I do not believe there is any noticeable separation academically or reputation wise at all. Both will be incredibly demanding for a premed. Each school has its known strengths.
Carroll and lynch at bc. International relations and sciences at tufts. Premed is tops at tufts too.
One interesting update is the new 200mm Schiller integrated sciences building and school within mcas at BC. They just announced a new engineering major as well. All of these sciences can be paired with new minors soon to major eligible like global public health and the community good. This includes epidemiology. It’s going to be a great time to be there over the coming years. You also have a new 100mm student rec center. It’s amazing as well.
Being from Hawaii. BC is really part of the fabric of the city. The marathon goes by campus and is big deal for the students. They play the Red Sox every year. There’s the beanpot hockey tournament that legend. ACC football and basketball. Fun to watch nd, duke, Clemson, Florida State and uva etc come to play. They row in the head of the Charles regatta. Women’s lacrosse is a national power and it’s fun to follow as well.
I think the BC campus is the most beautiful and traditional feeling in the city. Both tufts and bc are hilly. But tufts is much smaller school and super nice as well.
Good luck. You can’t go wrong either way.
From the Left Coast and a higher prestige category was my initial impression as well, but then I see that BC is ranked in the top 30 for Econ and to 50 for Bio, with the latter moving up with the changes to the Bio program a few years ago. So while the public rep may still be there, I’m not sure that academics see much of a difference any more at least for undergrad. Tufts is about 50:50 for undergrad-grad, while BC is ~2/3rds undergrad, so each campus has a different feel IMO.
We made 3 trips to Tufts, the last was a half day affair with class visits, as my D was thinking of ED and she wanted to confirm that choice. But the next day we toured BC and Tufts went from a likely ED to off the list entirely. After a few hours on campus, BC was a place that she felt calling home for four years. (She got sucked into that Jesuit education philosophy, including strong academics, service to others and school spirit.)
tufts for your major.
Our son went to BC and our daughter went to Tufts. Each had an amazing experience, in terms of:
a) solid education, which led them to great jobs after graduation.
b) lots of activities and great experiences.
c) Many life-long friendships.
You can’t go wrong with either school.
You do not mention that BC is Catholic and Jesuit. That is a plus or minus depending on your son’s preferences.
No college has announced plans for the fall yet. All colleges should be planning for all contingencies.
Thank you all for your thoughts and additional information. Stay well.
As far as BC being Jesuit, they really do it in a great way that provokes critical thinking.
After our son finished religous education in 10th grade of high school, he never wanted to set foot in a Catholic church again. Half way through his 2nd year at BC, he said he was so glad he went to a Jesuit school.
I toured both schools with my DD last fall. I agree with all the positives about BC. New STEM building with state of the art facilities opening in fall, 2021 with other new academic buildings in the works. New athletic and recreational facilities. Recent new dorms. Tufts’ facilities looked tired by comparison.
Big plus for BC is location. There’s a T stop at the edge of campus for easy transportation downtown. Very nice for an out of towner. Tufts said the T stop was a 15 minute walk. The Chestnut Hill neighborhood around BC has restaurants, a movie theater and other amenities. Not much around Tufts.
Both have great academics. You really can’t go wrong with either one.