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
College of the 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.
First, Congrats for getting into Tufts! It’s still a bit surreal for me regarding my acceptance as the admit rate was just 14 percent this year. One thing you have to keep in mind is- Tufts does not admit anyone who won’t be able to handle the course work. You got in because you worked hard and you are definitely academically qualified. Regarding diversity, Tufts is definitely the most diverse of the three schools you are considering. Also you were named a Balfour scholar which I think is awarded to only a select few of all admits. Tufts students are also some of the friendliest people I’ve come across.
Tufts is also the most prestigious of all the schools on your list and the fact you will graduate debt free is also a big plus. Are BU and Holy Cross worth taking almost 30k loans over a debt free graduation at Tufts? Not in a million years. If I had your options I would easily pick Tufts. And remember, the atmosphere at Tufts is COLLABORATIVE and not competitive.
It would be almost impossible to justify taking 28k in loans for BU or Holy Cross over a debt free graduation at Tufts. We’ve all heard stories of how some college graduates become miserable from paying back loans. Graduating with almost 30k in loans is almost unthinkable when you can graduate debt free at Tufts (which is a better school in general).
If class size matters to you, BU is almost 4 times the size of Tufts in terms of undergrad population. That means bigger classes and less student-professor interaction.
Though not really related, Tufts’ food is AMAZING!
Pick Tufts and don’t look back!
@hellohellow54-
This is your decision. Being comfortable is important.
The diversity at Tufts is not as good as it should be. But, there is a strong commitment to improve it, as well as to ensure that any minorities that are admitted, succeed.
Toward that end, Tufts was funded by the NSF to research STEM minority retention rates. One of the critical factors was ensuring students that students are comfortable. Tufts net attrition rate from engineering is positive (i.e. more transfer in than out) and the techniques used to achieve that are being applied to areas outside of engineering.
Here is the research report:
http://engineering.tufts.edu/me/erel/documents/pubs/2004_ModelForMentoring.pdf
Here are the support programs that were put in place based on the report.
http://stemdiversity.tufts.edu/
http://engineering.tufts.edu/best/
http://as.tufts.edu/BLAST/
I think you will find a very welcoming and supportive community at Tufts.
The most important thing to remember in any STEM discipline wherever you go is :
Don’t try to do it alone!*****
Reach out to others and avail yourself of all the services that the school offers to help you succeed.
Best of luck
Ended up choosing Tufts. Thanks for all the insight everyone. I figured debt free & a school like Tufts is hard to pass up. Yea it doesn’t have everything I wanted in a school (more diverse, larger) but it’ll be what I make of it & how I utilize my resources there. My fears of not being able to compete academically are still there, yes, but I think that over these last few months the people who surround me have helped me guide the way into a more positive attitude and yea I hope to maintain this ideal. Yea hopefully this post helps someone else maybe in the same situation as me. Follow your heart but also don’t let your emotions clog your mind.
Mastadon, with all due respect, can you elaborate: “The diversity at Tufts is not as good as it should be. But, there is a strong commitment to improve it, as well as to ensure that any minorities that are admitted, succeed.”
Are you suggesting that “diversity” is race based? So if everyone at a school was of the exact same “club” or “party” but were from all different races, would that be diversity? Are you saying diversity and minority status are the same thing to Tufts? Every school strives for diversity, but do they tout race or thought when advertising it? It would be interesting if there were some stats on number of clubs, memberships in clubs, etc to get a real feel for Tufts or any campus. Or, professor voting party affiliation or not, etc.
I also like your metric research in past posts - so do you have any stats on the percentage of qualified minorities (I assume you mean race) that apply and the percentage of those who are accepted vs the comparison to the general population same data set? Is it a matter of Tufts acceptance policy or number of qualified minority candidates - and are candidates looked at blindly or by race? Are there higher acceptance rates for one group over another based on any criteria - that can be measured? Also wondering how they “ensure that those admitted, succeed” vs the non-“minority” student. I am in no way attacking you, I have just been curious about this issue at all colleges.
Just wondering if you have some data on Tufts in this area, if any - thanks