So as of now I think these are my 3 choices due to finances.
BU has been my dream school (along with northeastern but it’s too expensive) since Sophomore year. When I visited I really liked it. I could see myself being friends with the people, being involved on campus,etc ect. I really do like the BU campus (or lack of it). Honestly, I would commit to BU if it wasn’t for the presence of grade deflation, especially gen chem being the weed out class, since I am pre-med. IDK I don’t ant to work my butt off only to earn mediocre grades. I’ve heard various opinions on the presence/ non-presence of grade deflation at BU, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it exists, and a handful of students at BU have told me the same. I know I’m a good student, but I think that the reason I get good grades is part intelligence and part hard work. I think im averagely smart, but I definitely make up what I lack in intelligence in hard work, but I am afraid that at BU that won’t cut it. BU out of pocket: $24k + 7k/year in loans
Holy Cross- It was ehhhh. There’s a strong lack of diversity and it’s way too close to home. I think the only reason I’m still considering it is because it’s affordable, and that they have a strong pre-med program. HC out of pocket: $23k + 8k/year in loans
Tufts- I visited this past weekend and it was ehhh. There is also a lack of diversity on campus. I feel like everyone wants me to come here because it’s the best academic school that I got into, and being pre-med i know that it’s a really good school for that. Tufts was my reach school, and I was shocked when I got in. Everyone at Tufts is beyond brilliant, i really do not understand how i got in. I feel like if i go to Tufts I’m going to be like the dumbest person there. When I went to Tufts and told people that I was choosing b/w BU, Northeastern (at the time) and Tufts, everyone looked at me and was like what??! Tufts is the obvious answer. My parents want me to go to Tufts as well, and so do so many other people around me. I value my parents’s opinions but lets be real. They are not the ones that are going to be studying, going to classes, and living there for the next 4 yrs. The people at Tufts were okay. I think I was so focused on Northeastern, that I had a closed mind when I was at Tufts, but I couldn’t see myself as being friends with some of the people (Maybe due to my closed-mind at the time?). I think my main thing with Tufts is that I feel like I am not academically able to perform well there (esp. since grades are the #1 things med schools look at). Everyone tells me I’ll do great wherever I go, but idk, will I? If I go to Tufts, i’ll graduate debt free, because they turned all of my loans into grants for being named a Balfour Scholar. $23.5k + no loans - graduate debt free
Nevertheless, I am very blessed to be in such a situation but any input is needed. Thanks in advance.
Another thing I want to add is, will i be missing out on opportunities by choosing BU over Tufts? I know there’s things at small schools that you just can’t get at big schools, Also, just the name “Tufts” will give you a foot forward in comparison to the name “Boston University”
Although they’re all great choices, it would be hard to justify taking on ~$30k in loans at BU, when Tufts is loan-free, especially with med school on the horizon. Tufts wouldn’t have admitted you if they didn’t think you could do the work, and the reality is that you can make friends anywhere. Good luck with your decision; let us know what you decide.
Graduating with $30K less in debt from an excellent school like Tufts is pretty hard to turn down. Would be for me, anyway. I find the environments at Tufts and BU to be not that dissimilar too. And as someone previously noted, they wouldn’t have accepted you if they weren’t assured you could succeed there. Have faith in yourself. Tufts is a great school.
Tufts really doesn’t give you much of an advantage over BU at all. They’re both amazing schools and are more or less on the same level. Both schools obviously have difficult classes and I can only speak for BU but the “grade deflation” is really only known to be in the gen ed classes. once you get past second year chem it gets a lot better (or at least thats what I’ve heard). also, I am not sure what you mean when you said “I know there’s things at small schools that you just can’t get at big schools”. usually people tend to think there are a lot more opportunities at big schools than small
Don’t be fooled by Holy Cross’ Pre-Med program, by the way. They control who can apply to medical school, and they advise people to wait sometimes before applying. You seem to like BU the best; however, you are correct in saying that Tufts will give you an advantage/a leg-up compared to BU. The massive grade deflation at BU should also be a deterrent, seeing as you will need to maintain a high GPA in order to be competitive for medical school. A low GPA will shut doors for you, causing you to take gap years to repair your application, which you don’t want to do.
While BU and Holy Cross are excellent schools (I got into both too, so trust me on this), Tufts is way better. Not only does it have its own medical school, but you can apply to Tufts’ Early Assurance Program your sophomore year (at least I believe its your sophomore year) to gain early admission to Tufts Medical School. This means no hassle in studying for the MCAT (which is a grueling and difficult test), thousands of dollars saved by not having to apply to tons of medical schools to have a shot at getting in, no hassle in med school interviews, and certainly no hassle in applying to medical schools to begin with. You’ll be in medical school even before you officially started; I’d say that’s pretty damn compelling.
Even if you decided not to do the early assurance program, Tufts Medical School gives major preference to undergraduate students from Tufts; a majority of their class is from Tufts undergrad. So you already have an advantage in the med school application process, simply by going there. However, you might say that BU has it’s own medical school too. I personally asked one of the BU med school admissions faculty during admitted students day on whether or not they give preference to BU undergrads–the answer was an astounding no. No advantage there, but there is one at Tufts. Again, the famous grade-deflation will screw you over.
Not to mention that you will graduate debt free from Tufts and will have to pay a lot of money at the other schools. If I were in your shoes it would be a no-brainer: pick Tufts.
Whether or not you want to attend BU or Tufts is certainly your choice, and I respect that :). Just be sure to go wherever you will be happy and healthy. That’s extremely important for pre-meds like you and I. And don’t feel like you are an outlier at Tufts, with other kids being “smarter”–you’ll fit in, and will do well if you put in the effort. Tufts believes in you; if you got in, you can do the work.
@suzyQ7 Yea I showed Neu the FA of other schools that I got into, which was higher than NEU’s, but they said they don’t match. My mom also had a meeting with my FA counselor on monday to see if there was any changes they could make and she showed them Tuft’s FA,but she said, sadly, there wasn’t anything that they could do.
Good point… Just reread the post. OP, what would Umass cost compared to the other (i know you don’t want to go there, but just to compare and have full info).
My mom also had a meeting with my FA counselor on monday to see if there was any changes they could make and she showed them Tuft’s FA,but she said, sadly, there wasn’t anything that they could do.