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

Yeah, but at the end of 4 years you’ve worked your butt off for a degree from a college everybody thinks is in Seattle. I’m sorry, w.u. sounds fabulous, but I know Boston well and its an incredible place to spend your college years. I vote:…TUFTS!!!

The following is what I posted on an active Tufts vs. Harvard thread:

"Just got off the phone with my Tufts sophomore D. She was attracted to the school for the same reasons you are. You might think the blush would be off the rose by this time. It’s not. If anything, it’s deepened. After two years at Tufts, she has become a learner, not a student. Someone interested in world affairs and in knowledge for its own sake, apart from grades. Someone buoyed and energized by her advisors and teachers, who reward her for her studiousness and push her to aim higher and deeper.

If Tufts is responsible for the change in her, or at least meeting her halfway along the course of her personal development, then I can’t help but recommend it."

As to your concerns about students not getting into Boston much… it’s not true. My D has favorite cafes/ tea shops/ thrift stores/ bookshops/ etc. in Davis Square, Harvard Square and Boston proper. She feels the entire area is her community. Tufts kids are “cool” in the best way–unpretentious, cause-focused, down-to-earth, whip smart, open-minded, friendly to a fault. No one culture dominates the school, which is why you find it described as both preppy and boho. Food ranked among the best. Dorms not as bad as people say. And yes, there are lots of things to do on campus, acc. to D. Even Bubble Tea Parties!

This Payscale College Salary Report measure might be of interest, though I know there are criticisms of it. Tufts is at #9 on Research U list; Wash U at #42.

http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors

Whatever the coin decides, congrats.

Interesting. I looked up payscale - the comparison is early career 51,900 to mid career 123,600 for tufts and early career 55,000 to midyear 107,000 for washu. So basically you make more at WashU starting out but at Tufts you make more mid career. It’s comparable and not really a big difference in the scheme of things. It also is an average of all majors that the school offers so it is like comparing apples to oranges.

For example if you look at Harvey Mudd which is a technical school their salaries start at 74k. That makes sense. However, why should it be higher than WashU. If they compared Harvey to WashU engineering school it’s probably similar.

So the payscale is a good idea but it really should be by major not by school.

Payscale does provide the data by major as well. The problem is that with smaller schools, there may not be enough data to provide a statistically significant sample in a given year. In general, California/west coast pays more than Boston/east coast which pays more than St. Louis/midwest.

For apples to apples engineering you need to use 2014 data because the sample size in 2015 is not big enough for Tufts Engineering or HMudd Engineering.

http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/engineering

Wash U has an undergrad business school that skews the starting salary data upward. Tufts has a higher percentage of fine arts majors that skews the data lower.

Our extended family (located in Mass) has sent kids to both schools

If you look up the average temperature diffference per month between the two cities Boston is 2-4 degrees colder, which is not significant.

The area around Tufts is perceived as safer with more to do. Half of Tufts is in the city of Medford and half is in the city of Somerville.

There is alot to do on the Tufts Campus, but I am curious where this bubble idea comes from. Tufts kind of melds into the city with a number of upperclassmen living in “off campus” houses that are within a block of the campus.

Technically my daughter spends more time “off campus” than on.

Somerville/Davis Square is the primary hangout. it is half a mile from campus and there is a shuttle running constantly in a loop - if you don’t want to walk. Somerville has the second highest density of young people in the country. It also includes several other squares. Powder House Square is next to campus. Ball Square and Teele Square are about a quarter to a third of a mile walk. Union Square is a couple miles away, but requires a bike, car or taking the bus.

Cambridge, which is next to Somerville, has the third highest density of young people in the country.
Harvard Square/Harvard/Charles River Walkway is 1.5 miles from Davis Square by subway. Kendall Square/MIT is two miles from Harvard by subway. Central square is between Harvard and MIT.

Boston is right across the Charles River. My daughter spent 20 hours/week first semester senior year working at an internship in Boston. That was above and beyond leisure time.

Two miles from Tufts on the Medford side is the Middlesex Fells - a 2,000 acre urban forest where my daughter goes hiking. (The Tufts Mountain Club will plan outings there as well). But if you really want to escape, the Mountain Club owns a lodge up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (two hours away) that anyone can use - and the Mountain Club also provides vans.

Upon further reflection, I think I may know where the notion of a Tufts “bubble” comes from.

I think there is a population of students who are attracted to Tufts’ “LAC-like” attributes that may prefer to live in a “LAC-like” bubble.

There is also a population of students who are attracted to Tufts’ “University-like” attributes that prefer to go out and explore the world around them.

This “LAC-University duality” is probably exibited by all schools, but may be more visible at Tufts than other schools because of it’s unique size and structure.

Although this “LAC-University duality” may seem paradoxical to those unfamiliar with Tufts, the uber-nerds out there will recognize that this duality principle is explained by the theories of quantum physics and Heisenburg’s uncertainty principle.

To those of a more pragmatic bent, the reality is that you have the freedom to choose which environment you want to create for yourself.

@mastadon…don’t toy with us…if Cambridge is #3 and Somerville is #2 in young people.density, what is #1?

1 is Hoboken, New Jersey - just outside of New York CIty.

It is basically a bedroom community for young poeple who work in the city. It is also the home of Stevens Institute of Technology.

Somerville’s population started to change when the subway (Red Line) was extended form Harvard Square to Davis Square in the '80’s. The change accelerated when Cambridge eliminated rent control in the '90’s, effectively driving out the artists and some of the young people.

Now Somerville is getting more expensive and work has begun on extending the subway (Green Line) through Somerville to the Medford side of Tufts. It will be interesting to see what impact that has on Medford, but it won’t be in place in time for this year’s applicants.

I just wanted to update everyone on my 11th hour decision yesterday (drum roll please):

I will be attending Washington University in St. Louis this fall!

I have a more detailed response on my other thread (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/admissions-hindsight-lessons-learned/1752713-my-semi-coherent-admissions-story.html#latest), but I just wanted to thank you all so much for your input! Your advice was invaluable during the last few panicked days.