I got rejected from Northwestern ED round one, and I’m considering changing my application to ED round two for either Wesleyan or Tufts to increase my chances of getting in. I’m really drawn to both schools and am super stuck on which to choose, or if I want to ED-II at all!
Wesleyan Thoughts
I LOVE the open curriculum, exactly what I’m looking for in terms of class flexibility and interdisciplinary studies
I visited over the summer and absolutely adored the campus, but I fear Middletown may feel a little too small/trapped (I live in a pretty big city on the west coast and love the freedom)
Exactly the vibe I’m looking for, like liberal artsy and kinda pretentious lol
It genuinely makes me emotional to think about it (positive)
I’m afraid it may be a little too rigorous to have a lively social scene (please correct if i’m wrong!!)
Tufts Thoughts
basically the entire maternal side of my extended family went there, so legacy is a boost
I love the location, so close to Boston and the city, and Medford is super alive and feels like a real town
Social life seems A+ from what I’ve heard from cousins and videos I’ve watched
Just the right amount of rigor academically for me
About Me
I’m a white girl from the west coast. I love the humanities, special interest in English/Literature and Educational Social Policy/Political Science vibe. I listen to Clairo (i feel like this helps). 4.0 UW GPA and like a 4.5 Weighted. 34 on ACT. Strong personal essay about learning to let go of control in my life. Strong LOR from English/History teachers and one from a mentor who knows me extremely well. In leadership in multiple clubs at school. I read a lot and enjoy Youtube.
Ok thats all, thanks so much for any help/commentary!!!
What about the size of these colleges? Wesleyan in a liberal arts college with 3,200 students, while Tufts is a research university with 5,800 undergraduates, and about as many graduate students.
Since your first choice was Northwestern, I lean towards recommending that you apply to Tufts.
However, I would guess that you would do well at either school, and a 4.0 GPA in HS tells me that you won’t have any difficulty with the rigor. If you weren’t afraid of the rigor at Northwestern, then you don’t have to be afraid of the rigor at Wesleyan.
Agreed - I’d say you’re s slam dunk for Wesleyan - ok, not a slam dunk but you have great odds…but it would seem like Tufts is the better fit as @mwolf says.
Just out of curiosity - who else is on your list in regards to match or safety? I’m thinking Rochester would fit nice - and could come with merit aid. May not be the social life but…
Just curious - I didn’t factor in the legacy that @Luckyjade2024 did. So that’s a plus.
I do think your ACT helps you into Wesleyan - because they have a high TO rate.
My two safety schools are Loyola Chicago and Pitt, which I both got into already (w/ merit aid from LC). Definitely like Pitt more out of the two. I guess i could also consider University of Vermont a safety but I don’t really categorize schools that way, I just apply where I’m interested.
Rochester has an open curriculum and would seem to fit. Grinnell and Middlebury too - but obviously much smaller.
At least Pitt isn’t full tuition - full meaning like Tufts so in that sense it’s lower.
Have you looked at Macalester?
If you’re ok with either Pitt or Loyola, then you can apply where you want - you already have safeties. I assume you’re ok or you wouldn’t have applied.
But when you apply to the top schools, you always need a fallback.
Kenyon - not the town - but the school might fit your interests although it’s too small.
If you are good with Pitt tho - take your two shots at Wesleyan and Tufts. If you’re ok with Pitt but would prefer others, find schools a notch below - like Rochester, Denver, Elon, W&M…whatever they are…and take your shot.
Sounds like you’re in a great position - with Pitt which you like and UVM - if you decide you like it more than Pitt.
Have you actually visited Tufts? It’s campus is smaller than Wesleyan’s. That in itself would not be a big deal but for the fact that it also contains twice the number of students. The beef is that it feels a bit cramped compared to some of the other NESCACs.
I don’t think you would be disappointed by the social life at Wesleyan. If I’ve heard any complaints, the most common is that there are too many things going on at the same time and that there is a lot of FOMO. This can be especially acute over holiday breaks when people go home and suddenly realize they don’t have an endless merry-go-round of events and quirkily charming personalities at their beck and call. Don’t let their small size fool you; these secluded New England campuses know how to “work hard and play hard.”
Your description seems to clearly indicate a preference for Wesleyan except for its location. My experience is that students tend to spend most of their time on campus and hanging out with friends. So, in your case, what do you envision doing in and around Boston that would make this location a key component of your college experience? Restaurants? Clubs? Music? Concerts? Theater? Walking around and people watching? Other? Keeping in mind that Tufts is in a quiet, residential neighborhood so it would be necessary to take public transit to downtown Boston 40 minutes away or to Harvard Square 25-30 minutes away. Wesleyan actually has more off campus within walking distance than Tufts does.
Both are great schools for what you’re interested in. You can’t go wrong with either. You might benefit by asking Admissions to set you up with a phone conversation or zoom call with student(s) from both schools so you can ask questions and get their perspective. I’d ask an admissions officer to set me up with a student from California if possible.
Based on what you are looking for, and given that Northwestern was your top choice, I would have said Tufts sounds like the obvious choice… And ED2 would probably give the most leverage to your legacy.
But you seem to love Wesleyan, and it sounds like that’s where your heart wants to be. If that’s the case, that’s your answer!
I don’t think anyone here can really advise you. It’s likely you’ll be making this decision in April if you don’t make it now. The rigor at both is similar, so I disagree with the "negative " you’ve found for Wes.
Two thing that could be relevant and D22 found out in her research re Wesleyan: 1. Wesleyan has a significant alumni network in SoCal due to its superior performing and media arts programs, in the likely event you want to go back to the west coast, and 2. Wesleyan’s College of Letters has a strong reputation nationally and among graduate English programs if you decide to go that route. We visited Tufts and it came off the list when we realized how tiny the campus is and scratched our heads how could they fit that many students in so little space, especially when directly compared with Vassar and Wesleyan.
I think Wesleyan feels a little bigger than it is because there are a lot of “cardinal red door” houses in the residential neighborhood immediately surrounding campus (we were told it denotes Wesleyan owned student or faculty housing) and Middletown ‘s Main Street is literally two blocks away from the edge of “campus”. The walk to Davis Square from Tufts seemed too long and somewhat seedy; and Davis Square itself did not impress (less than Middletown Mains Street TBH). Boston does otherwise have a lot of pluses.
On academics and reputation, we also found from our research that Wesleyan is at least as strong if not stronger in the humanities (and career tracks usually springing from that such as academia or law).
If you love Wesleyan, apply there. If you want to maximize your chances, I’d suggest Tufts. Both are fantastic schools and it’s hard to make a bad choice. In terms of campus size Tufts definitely has a smaller footprint - that is because it is adjacent to one of the most expensive (and densely packed) real estate markets in the country.
My son was considering two schools of like size but one had a smaller campus. It definitely felt livelier and like there was more energy. It took a while to realize that it was size alone that seemed to cause this feeling!
At some larger schools, it’s harder to get from class to class or dorm to library, etc. Or there’s a lot of ground to cover in bad weather to just do daily life… There’s not a right answer here, but it makes a difference to some.
I have to say - as a student living on campus - it doesn’t feel tiny at all. Nothing is ever overcrowded. We have nice small class sizes (other than intro classes). I would describe it as a perfect size, very walkable with a great surrounding town. Medford and Davis square surround the school and feels like an extension of campus. I walk to my gym which borders Cambridge without a problem. Plenty of shops, cafes, and things to do in the area. Then of course Boston is nearby. I go to Boston most weekend for movies, food etc.
Since the conversation has turned to comparing the size of the campuses, I just want to point out that there are some factors to take into consideration.
Wesleyan - About 20 years ago, Wesleyan purchased a property adjacent to the campus, which doubled the size of the campus. It was formerly a juvenile detention center. Very little of the property has been developed for student use and for all practical purposes, the campus that the students operate on is the same as it was previously, which is about the same size as the Tufts campus.
The Tufts campus is actually quite large for a college in a major metropolitan area. Tufts was a small liberal arts college until it began to transform into a major research university in the 1970s. By that time the campus footprint in Somerville was pretty well set. It should be noted that the Medical School and College of Pharmacy are not housed on the Somerville campus but at a separate complex in downtown Boston. Likewise the Art School is not in Somerville but also in Boston along the Fenway and near the Museum of Fine Arts. Student residence facilities are here as well.
Vassar - I have visited Vassar and have walked around the campus. It certainly doesn’t feel like 1000 acres. The college was founded on 200 acres and that’s still the heart of the modern campus which functions on land about twice that amount. Although Vassar owns more than 1000 acres, much of it is set aside for open space, such as the Vassar Farm and Ecological Center. Would any group of 2300 college students really want to wander around on 1000 acres to get to & from class, dorms, dining halls, etc?
Much of the land owned by these colleges is a function of their locations and what land was or was not available as they grew.
Maybe an acre or two of the Long Lane property are devoted to a solar power station (which to the uninitiated may look “undeveloped”), however, the bulk of the 125 acre site is devoted to basketball, indoor track, and squash facilities as well as a football practice field, a softball field and a woodsy cross-country route - not to mention the Wesleyan Farm. I can assure you that these are integral parts of the college.
Yeah, I know about all that. I live nearby. I didn’t say they haven’t made use of the area, but other than athletic facilities, there isn’t much that impacts the space in which students circulate in their daily life. It’s not like they built dorms or new academic buildings on that property. They relocated plant operations over there, which freed up space on the main campus to be repurposed for student use. That’s the point. Students still spend the vast majority of their time on the main campus. Their activity is not spread out over 300+ acres. More like half that.
