<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I got into all four of the above schools. I was quite shocked, to be honest because they were all reaches and my plan was that I would go to whichever one if I happen to luckily get into.</p>
<p>But I got into all four and I am quite torn. Any advices?</p>
<p>I want to study Art and either Econ or Bio. But I am still kind of undecided.
I have never experienced a winter with snow before
I am an International student.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>CMC has a great econ program and you probably won’t see much snow.</p>
<p>Hi there! I’m a current Vassar student (sophomore), and as such, am going to be biased. In addition, I’m obviously better acquainted with Vassar than the other three schools on your list (although my sister is considering Tufts right now… she’s a senior as well). That being said, here are my thoughts…</p>
<p>If you really can’t handle the thought of snow, Claremont McKenna is probably your best bet. We definitely get snow at Vassar, although it’s not a ridiculous amount. I think the most snow we had this winter at any one time was 5-6 inches. I believe Tufts and Middlebury are liable to get even more snow than this.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I’m not all that well-versed in Art at CMC, Tufts, or Middlebury. I can tell you that the art department at Vassar is quite strong, however. It begins with a year-long foundational course and following this you move up into more advanced, specialized classes. In addition to the art department’s strength, the art history department at Vassar is fabulous. I have a friend who is considering a major in it and she’s amazingly happy with the department. Anyway, if you haven’t yet checked it out, I’d recommend visiting the Vassar art department website: [Home</a> - Art Department - Vassar College](<a href=“http://art.vassar.edu/]Home”>http://art.vassar.edu/).</p>
<p>For biology, Vassar is quite strong, as is Tufts (I don’t know all that much about Middlebury or CMC). Tufts has a bigger department which has its pluses (more course variety) and its minuses (less student opportunity). Vassar’s economics program is also excellent (I know several majors and they’re big fans), but once again, I really can’t comment much on your other schools. </p>
<p>One of the things you should really think about with these four schools is the environment in which you’ll be. As a school on the outskirts of Boston, Tufts gives its students prime city access. Of course, this works both ways. You’ll be able to get downtown quite easily; however, it also means that a percentage of the student body probably goes downtown on weekends rather than stay on-campus, which could negatively affect student culture. Vassar offers you occasional access to New York City as well as access to Poughkeepsie, which has a number of attractions (however, it’s no Boston). This means that you probably won’t be going into the city every weekend if you go to Vassar. It also means, however, that pretty much everyone is on-campus during the weekend. Middlebury, to the best of my knowledge, is in a rather rural area, which means it might feel a bit isolated, but should also be quite active on weekends. Seeing as I don’t really know the CMC area, I can’t comment on that.</p>
<p>Lastly, consider the type of campus culture you’re looking for. Tufts has some frat life on-campus and may be a bit more conservative/“preppy” than, say, Vassar, which is frat-free and more liberal. Vassar also has a rich music/art scene which contrasts with more sports-focused Middlebury. That’s not to say that Vassar doesn’t have sports or Middlebury doesn’t have arts/music: it’s just that, from what I’ve seen and heard, one student body is more focused in one direction. Again, I’m afraid I can’t compare CMC since I’m not as well-versed with West Coast schools.</p>
<p>Honestly I’d say that Tufts exist somewhere between Vassar & Middlebury in the preppy/artsy hipster spectrum. Middlebury is more preppy while Vassar is more hipster, while Tufts has a sizable amount of both types of students. </p>
<p>Tufts is a bigger too, but not too big. Vassar has about 700 freshmen, Midd has around 550, and Tufts has about 1275. So definitely consider that.</p>
<p>For these reasons, you should pick Tufts =) … i’m a bit biased since i’m a freshman there, LOL.</p>
<p>Vassar is great too, definitely VISIT, get a feel and pick what feels best for you!</p>
<p>Time to represent Middlebury! Okay, I’m not a student there, but I have been heavily looking into it being a junior in HS myself. Recently, Middlebury put a ton of money to revamp all of their science labs and I have heard that they are amazing now, so their biology program may be tough to beat. Also, Middlebury has their own ski slope… I can’t resist that personally ;). The thing about CMU is that I don’t think that you would want to be just another person in a huge city… and the crime rate there I am sure must be high. When I went to visit Tufts, I found many of the kids to be somewhat snobbish… but that’s just personal. And Vassar… great school as well. Best wishes!</p>
<p>Only that the OP didn’t mean CMU.</p>
<p>Personally I wouldn’t go to Tufts. But that’s just personal because I wouldn’t be able to bear with being in the vicinity of MIT and Harvard. </p>
<p>CMC is prime for econs. But I’m not so sure the art thing is going to work that great there. But if econs is your thing, CMC is the place to be.</p>
<p>Not so sure about Midd, but from what I no, it’s not too urban and its sort of the epitome of LACishness. Decide if that’s for you.</p>
<p>I’m currently researching Vassar myself and it sounds like a great place to be, especially given your art-econ-bio interest set.</p>
<p>I would go to Tufts. It’s the perfect hybrid, you know?</p>
<p>if you’re looking for a good mix of everything, then tetrisfan is right: go to tufts. but be forewarned of several negative things about tufts first. but such cons exist for any college so the best thing you can do is to read/visit and decide for yourselves. the next four years of your life can’t be decided by a bunch of strangers’ recommendations on an online forum.</p>