Help me pick my school? WashU vs.Tufts vs. W&M

College Search & Selection
1

Hello CCers! After two years of this crazy college process, I’ve finally reached the summit of the mountain and have to decide where I’m going this fall!

I was admitted to 7 schools, but I’ve narrowed it down to three - William and Mary, Tufts, and WashU. I’m undecided wrt major, but thinking maybe Psychology or IR. Cost is not a factor.

WashU

Pros:
Beautiful campus
Right in the city
Lots of cool things going on around campus (Forest Park
They paid to fly me out
Fantastic facilities (dorms, laundry rooms, cafeterias, everything was really nice)
Has a club gymnastics team

Cons:
Have to fly there (I live in NJ)
Not sure I’d want to be in Missouri after graduation
No strict IR major, but they do have an International and Area Studies Major, which sounds similar
No color guard
Tornadoes (should I actually be concerned about this or is my mom being a worrywart?)

William and Mary:
Very strong in both IR and Psych
Nice campus
I kind of connected with all the admissions mailings, which signaled to me that the vibe there would suit me
Has a color guard and club gymnastics team
King’s Dominion and Busch Gardens are close :stuck_out_tongue:

Cons:
Certain areas of campus are dated (Student center, dorms etc.)
Not super excited about Williamsburg
I think internship opportunities during the year may be pretty limited
6 hour car ride to get there :-/
Concerned about the recent suicides - W&M seems to be kind of a pressure cooker (although that’s probably true for a lot of these schools)

Tufts:

Pros
Has been a top choice since last year
Could really picture myself here
Easy train ride on the Acela to get there
Boston is close - lots of internships, cool stuff to do etc.
Very strong in IR, seem fairly strong in Psych
People very enthusiastic
Tufts Dance Collective!

Cons:
Conflicting reports on whether or not there’s a bubble on campus
Medford didn’t thrill me
Dorms were not that great
Certain areas of campus seemed dated
Wasn’t quite as nice on revisiting
No club gymnastics or color guard

Any help at all would be very much appreciated. I’m very much split between WashU and Tufts at the moment, with William and Mary in third, but I feel like it would be foolish to pass up any of them! Anyone with information about any of these schools, or just advice about deciding in general would be awesome :).

2

Sorry, but this is a decision you and your family will have to make. Nobody on this site can tell you where to go better than yourself, and those who are close to you.

3

@madal1 While you’re right that my family and I will make the ultimate decision, I always appreciate the insight and perspective of others, especially those who are more familiar with any of the aforementioned schools than I am.

4

While you might not be thrilled about Medford, keep in mind that it is a T ride away from Boston! In my opinion, Boston is a much better city than St. Louis, and it’s also closer to home for you. It might actually be better to not be right in the city because it creates more of a campus culture even though you still have access to downtown Boston by public transportation. With William and Mary you are also close to Richmond, though that’s probably not as exciting and I don’t know about public transportation.

I doubt there’s much of a difference between International and Area Studies and IR. A fantastic school like Wash U is strong in almost every area anyway.

I wouldn’t be concerned about the suicides. Most good schools are very high pressure environments and suicide happens. I mean, look at Cornell or MIT.

I think ultimately what you’ll have to decide is whether color guard and club gymnastics or being close to home is more important to you. If those sports are things you’ve been doing your whole life and they mean a lot to you, then you could be sacrificing a lot by going to Tufts. On the other hand, if you feel very connected with your family and hope to visit a lot, going to Wash U might be hard. In that sense, William and Mary might be a good compromise, though the location isn’t as exciting as Wash U or Tufts.

Congrats on getting into such great schools, and know that you can’t really go wrong with any of them. Good luck with your decision!

5

Re Tufts: Don’t worry about not liking Medford, since you have Boston close by.

Re WashU: You don’t have to worry about tornadoes any more than someone going to Stanford has to worry about earthquakes. As to not wanting to stay in Missouri after graduation–my son graduated recently and only 1 of his friends stayed in Missouri. The rest got jobs and went to grad schools all over the country, my son in the Northeast.

I don’t know anything about W&M, other than its being a good school.

Good luck with your decision. My daughter is also struggling with her decision right now.

6

It sounds like Tufts would be the best place for you.

7

You might not be thrilled about Medford, but you should be thrilled about Somerville/ Davis Square, which is REALLY the social hub for Tufts students. A great area with theater, shops, cafes, restaurants, clubs, and it’s a “Joey” hop or 10 minute walk from campus; easy peasy access to Cambridge and Boston. Somerville has the largest concentration of young people in the country, or something to that effect. Oh, and in a couple of years, there will be a direct-to-Boston line at the edge of the Tufts campus, from what I understand.

Not sure what you mean by “bubble”. If you mean socio-economic, it’s not something my D has noticed. Tufts is not a “showy” place, in that respect. It might have to do with the cause-oriented focus of the place.

8

Based on the information you provided, W&M does not seem like the best option for you. W&M seems to be the weakest in terms of surrounding area, internships, and facilities, and you seem to value them as important factors (even though W&M is still an amazing school.)

I’m not really qualified enough to give my opinion on Tufts v. WashU, but just based on the tone in your original post, it seems like Tufts would appeal more to your interests and ultimate goals.

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I don’t know the full picture. Hope I helped!

9

You’re right- Medford is not the most exciting place. However, Tufts students mainly spend time outside campus in Somerville and Cambridge, which are two FANTASTIC places to be a college student. Very hip, very fun, and chock full of young artistic people. I wouldn’t worry about location at Tufts.

10

No place is going to be perfect…only you can decide whether a kick-butt dance collective outweighs the absence of color guard/club gymnastics.

11

Hi Congratulations on your acceptances!! All of them are really great choices from what I read I feel like Tufts would be a good fit for you because it has been your number one choice and because you can picture yourself there. Dorms are not great, but you can always get an on campus apartment later! Because you visited I would say pick the one where your gut tells you is the right place! Please comment on my situation in my thread and I hoped this helped somewhat! Thank you!

12

In terms of the WashU cons, you don’t have to stay in MO after graduation (most students don’t and there are alumni networks in every major American city). You might hear a tornado siren test, but you’d be EXTREMELY unlikely to encounter issues with an actual tornado.

IAS at Wash U is basically International Relations, just with a different name. They also have an Int. Business minor that is fairly popular to pair with IAS. Wash U is also very strong in psych., which you did mention.

If you’re worried about going far from home, I do think WashU does a great job of trying to prevent homesickness. There’s a lot of resources and they can even pair you with St. Louis families for a homecooked meal.

13

Just from reading what you wrote, I think Tufts would be a great choice for you.

14

Even though I might personally pick William and Mary (just because I’ve loved my visits there), I think Tufts sounds like it might be the best choice based on the criteria you’ve described. Anything near Boston is a great location, and they are strong in your areas of interest.

15

If I were you, I’d take W&M out of the equation. To me, part of college is being around diversity and exposure to different opinions. By nature of being a public college, W&M lacks the diversity you will find at WashU and Tufts.

Echoing the comments of others, the Somerville area near Tufts is very vibrant, great dining, etc. Strong IR reputation at Tufts. All colleges are a bubble to some extent. Tufts is not more so than average and probably better than a lot of schools. I would think W&M would be a bigger bubble.

I think WashU is a great school all around. You can’t lose with your choices. Congrats!

16

Thank you so much for all of your advice!

After a lot of thought, I think I’ve made the decision to drop William and Mary. Of all three, William and Mary is the one I can most say “no” to. I know that I’m sure I’ll be missing out on a lot of great experiences there, but I think some things that are really important to me can’t be found at William & Mary. So progress is being made!

Anyone familiar with Tufts:
I referenced a bubble, which I think may have been the wrong term, but one of my concerns is that Tufts students tend not to take the T into Boston very often. I’ve heard from two current students that Tufts students tend to stay on campus for the most part. Not sure if this is true, or if it’s even a bad thing (I’m guessing that means there’s a lot going on on campus), but if anyone knows anything about this, I’d be interested to know.

Also, for everyone who said it seemed like Tufts would be best, was there anything specifically that made you say that, or just kind of a gut feeling?

I feel like WashU is the logical choice by all accounts, but I have some lingering attraction to Tufts. I’m just not sure if that’s left over from months of thinking/hoping I’d be going to Tufts, or whether that’s because on some level Tufts is what I really want.

Honestly, I’m thinking it might come down to a coin flip lol.

Also, sorry for the late response, I’ve been having a crazy week. :stuck_out_tongue:

17

Why would you say that Wash U is the logical choice? They’re peer schools, so your decision should really come to fit. To me, you just seem like a Tufts student. Plus, Saint Louis, MO is not exactly where I would want to be a college student.
My friend that attends Tufts takes the Red Line into Boston about once a week (less when finals are approaching).

18

I don’t want to echo everybody but I think you would LOVE Tufts…and I would not turn down the chance to be in boston…you can break through that bubble :slight_smile:

19

I sent you a pm. Did you get it?

I would recommend WashU for you because you said you like the California climate. WashU is by far warmer than Tufts. Also just reread what you wrote about WashU and Tufts. It’s seems very obvious you feel like WashU is home. Comfort seems very important yo you. It’s a super easy plane ride and cab ride to campus and students are from all over the world and you can get a job wherever you’d like.

20

Oh hey butterfreesnd! Congrats on two amazing choices!!!

Edit: I’m not even going to try to be unbiased. Go to WashU!!!

The place is beautiful, the academics are outstanding and the people are friendly. Can the same be said for Tufts? (I really don’t know, didn’t apply there.)

I also do not think it really matters that you have had Tufts in mind for so long; people change a lot from sophomore to senior year and your dreams from then may not fit for you now.

Good luck. Both are excellent choices and you really cannot go wrong :slight_smile:

But I’ll just leave your WashU pros here (with a couple extras)

Pros:
Beautiful campus
Right in the city
Lots of cool things going on around campus (Forest Park)
Fantastic facilities (dorms, laundry rooms, cafeterias, everything was really nice)
Has a club gymnastics team
-collaborative instead of cutthroat
-great food
-accessible professors
-they have a ping pong team
-outstanding pre-med opportunities (if that’s your thing)
-the Loop
-freshmen programs
-WILD
-hammocks
-Thurtene Carnival
-Holi

Also this link:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/684907-101-reasons-to-attend-washu-p1.html