Help with Tufts vs bates vs wesleyan vs colby--confused

College Search & Selection
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<p>My child is trying to decide between ED at Tufts, Wesleyan, Bates and Colby.They seem so similar that we are all having a hard time differentiating between them Bottom line:</p>

<p>scores on ACT are fine for the schools, in midrange (31), GPA is probably a tiny bit low for the schools (3.6) but he has taken lots of honors courses (no APs at his school), GPA has been better every year (3.5 F, 3.6 S, 3.8 junior year)</p>

<p>is being looked at by coaches at all these schools pretty closely for his sport but we are not sure which one will pan out ultimately, we might know in the next two weeks, so far he has visited all the schools, some twice and done overnights at two</p>

<p>strong and very meaningful international experience directly related to his passions and reasonably strong leadership positions in school. Loves smaller schools were he can have direct relations with professors and wants some social life. is interested in international law/politics/middle east politics for future and has done a lot with that already and his essay reflects it very nicely</p>

<p>What are your thoughts about whether he has a chance at these three schools or will the GPA kill chance of getting in and also in deciding between the schools, probably would be extremely happy at any of them and I tend to agree...Also is it normal in certain DIII sports not to know at all about whether the coaches are fully supportive this close to the ED dates?</p>

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<p>What sport are you talking about?</p>

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<p>First of all, he doesn’t need to choose between them yet. Let him get admitted to all of them and then he can experience the delightful agony of too many good options. Or not - they may make the decision for him. In the meantime, check the common data set for each school (Section C) if you haven’t already to see how he stacks up against admitted students (with the knowledge that boys tend to get a bit of slack for being late bloomers compared to the girls). The upward trend and the sport are factors in his favor, certainly. Sounds like he just needs a good safety or two.</p>

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<p>This is a question you should ask on the athletics recruiting forum. Perhaps they can tell you whether it would behoove him at this point to tell each coach that he is trying to decide where to apply ED, and ask whether the coach would be able to provide support for his application, at least. It probably isn’t good strategy to tell the coach he is going to apply, no matter what, because then the coach might want to use his tips, if any, on other prospects.</p>

<p>All of the schools would seem to be good fits for him, if he can get in. Being recruited is obviously going to provide his best shot. Tufts and Wesleyan are reaches for him, IMHO, but Bates and Colby seem like matches or maybe low reaches. I think that being a male will be in his favor at both of those schools. You didn’t mention class rank…is it safe to assume that his school doesn’t rank?</p>

<p>In any case, he will need to identify a couple of good academic and financial safeties.</p>

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<p>Consolation’s advice is the way to go. If one of the coaches will vye for him, he’ll be pretty much a sure in. Having gone through this process before, you never know which coaches truly want/need him and have the sway to get him in, though with his stats the way they are, a nod by a coach will probably do it. So see if any of the teams are less gung ho vs being willing to label him as a recruited athlete for ED admissions.</p>

<p>Otherwise, you need to look at the ED admit rates, and his best chance is probably with the one with the highest rate. They are similar, with Bates/Colby lower reaches than Wesleyan/Tufts.</p>

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<p>Are you doing this just to know that he’s in somewhere, or because there’s a slightly better chance of getting accepted ED? If he’s not sure, maybe it isn’t such a good idea to apply ED at all. </p>

<p>Also, not sure about the others, but Colby has a second round of ED, where he can apply if he decides later that he really likes it there or if he applies elsewhere ED and isn’t admitted.</p>

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<p>On the sports end of things – is this sport impacted by weather? A D3 lacrosse school in Maine is going to be a different experience than a D3 lacrosse school in Connecticut or Boston. Swimming … not so much. </p>

<p>And Consolation is right on. What team does he want to play for – because the support of the coach may make all the difference in getting past the gatekeeper admissions committee.</p>

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<p>thanks to all who posted. The sport is squash which narrows the field of colleges he can apply to and he feels very strongly that he wants to play. I tried the recruiting forum, not able to get help</p>

<p>I think he just wants to do ED because he thinks coaches only have pull at that stage and he just wants to be done if possible. Second ED is a thought! </p>

<p>Agree with Consolation and others that direct talk with the coaches are helpful and that is what he is doing directly this month to try to finalize things if possible. I think it is still wait and see. Agree that Wesleyan and Tufts will be reaches to high reaches without a big nod from coach (Tufts doesnt even have a coach). Guess will wait and see how things progress. </p>

<p>Safeties include: Conneticut College, Hobart and St. Lawrence</p>

<p>THanks everybody for the hel[</p>

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<p>FWIW, my son had similar stats and went with his gut by applying ED to his reach school. He was not recruited but played on a team every year and overrode my somewhat cautious judgement as to what school he should use for his ED application. His GPA did not hurt him. Five years later I’m so glad he took control and did his thing…Bowdoin was great for him and your list is equally wonderful. You’re certainly within the ballpark and I’ve learned to just let them make a decision and support it…it all evens out.</p>

<p>best to you on this process.</p>

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<p>So the info on the Tufts Lacrosse website is obsolete? It does list a coach…</p>

<p>[Tufts</a> University Athletics](<a href=“http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/mlax/coaches]Tufts”>Men's Lacrosse Coaches - Tufts University)</p>

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<p>thanks Morandi, glad you told me about your son, We looked at Bowdoin too, what a wonderful school. You are absolutely right, I am letting him make the decision, he is a smart kid who knows where he thrives and understands his learning dynamics well and knows how to decide so ultimately I will let him decide.</p>

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<p>Thanks Beantown girl, it is actually squash that he is looking at, but there is no coach, I think they are looking for someone though, thanks for looking into it for us!</p>

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<p>These schools are all great but the cultures are different. Did he have different feelings culture wise? When I visited, Wesleyan had very off beat kids. Tufts next. Then Bates. Then Colby. Just a thought about feel and fit.</p>

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<p>Thanks Murphy 600 agree with you in general though he is a very very happy go lucky kid and super sociable in almost every situation so he thinks really on a social level anyone of the schools would be fine. I am trying to keep my own bias out of it and let him decide but I think he thought he fits in with the Baties perhaps the best but overall he was extremely gung ho with all after the overnights</p>

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<p>True enough. Most kids will fined a group of friends wherever they go there is just a “primary culture/vibe” at each place. Bates = extremely nice … sounds like a great fit!</p>

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<p>Curious - did you sense a different feel between Colby and Bates?</p>

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<p>Does environment matter? Colby and Bates are closer to smaller cities and rural areas, and there aren’t urban areas very close. Wesleyan and Tufts are closer to larger cities - so a weekend trip to NYC or a day trip to Boston are not out of reach. I’m imagining there’s also a significant weather difference between Connecticut/Massachusetts and Maine (I’ve never been to Maine, though).</p>

<p>Also, there are cocurricular activities - Wesleyan is close enough to Yale for research with professors there or a class at the graduate school, and Tufts is nearby a lot of schools in Boston. Colby and Bates are more remote, which may be a good thing - more time to concentrate exclusively on academics and building an experience at a very small school.</p>

<p>I went to a school College Board says is “medium-sized” - closer to the size of Tufts or Wesleyan, but the spirit of the college was probably more like Bates or Colby. There’s nothing like a small LAC for really fostering your academic interests and discovering your passions. The professors are there because they really want to teach, and they are passionate about working with undergraduates (in fact, Colby or Bates would be dream colleges for me to teach at). Tufts is a RU/VH university, which means that the professors there may be more research-focused and probably get rewarded more for innovative research than innovative teaching - not necessarily a bad thing, since research informs teaching, but in my experience that tends to lead to professors who put a little less time into teaching than a professor at a place like Colby or Bates. The trade-off is that it’s easier to find a professor doing cutting-edge research at a place like Tufts if he’s interested in graduate school. I would imagine that Wesleyan is somewhere in between the two.</p>

<p>I also agree that Tufts and Wesleyan are more reach for him, so he may want to use his ED at a school that he has a lower likelihood of getting into - he’ll probably get into Colby or Bates RD.</p>

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<p>I think Bates and Colby are more alike than different and that most of the differences in “feel” have more to do things like with who gave the tour or the weather on the day of the visit. While I’ve seen Colby described as more preppy than Bates I’m sure others would say the opposite.</p>

<p>My DS looked at both and I graduated from one (and absolutely loved it). Many of my friends attended the other school and I think most people would be hard pressed to find any major differences between the graduates of the two.</p>

<p>Both have strong academics, active alumni, engaged faculty, excellent grad school placement, and varied options for study abroad. They’re in the same sports league (NESCAC) and neither has frats or sororities. They jockey for position in the rankings. Bates has a slightly lower rate of admission, usually a 3-5 percent difference. Colby has a larger endowment.</p>

<p>Some minor differences-</p>

<p>Testing- Bates is fully test optional, Colby doesn’t require the SAT if the applicant submits subject tests.</p>

<p>Geography- Both are in icky Maine towns. Bates is a little closer to town, Colby a little more isolated. Colby’s a little closer to the best ski mountains, Bates is closer to Portland (unlike Lewiston or Waterville, a beautiful little city).</p>

<p>Academics- Both have strong science and economics departments. Colby is particularly known for its environmental science programs. The Bates Department of Economics ranked second among liberal arts colleges for the number of times its faculty’s scholarly research is cited by other researchers. Colby’s not far behind at #6. Colby has a computer science major; at Bates computer science is part of the Math and CS department. Bates doesn’t specifically require students to take a foreign language course, Colby does, although students can test out. All courses at both are taught by professors, not grad students or TAs.</p>

<p>Thesis- At Bates pretty much every student does a thesis. I believe the figure is 97 percent. At Colby I think only students applying for honors are required to do a thesis. While a required thesis might turn some students off, the fact that all students have to do them at Bates means that substantial support is available for the thesis writing process. Both schools have ample opportunity to work one-on-one with professors.</p>

<p>Calendar- Bates=4-4-1, Colby=4-1-4. The Winter term option offered by Colby is probably better for serious skiers, while Bates’ Short Term works better for student internships and study abroad, as it offers students the option to extend these activities into the summer break. Both will get exams over before Christmas.</p>

<p>I remember the question that helped me make my decision many years ago. It was “What do students here do on weekends?” At one school the tour guide spoke about on-campus opportunities while at the other the tour guide spoke about off-campus trips. I preferred one model over the other but I’m sure in the end I could have been happy at either school.</p>

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<p>Thanks Juliet and Sue, both your detailed answers are super helpful and it does make me think about all the issues more deeply. I do think that the Colby/Bates professorial model would probably work better for him and the locations would be fine. I think the Bates April semester off might allow him to use it while doing squash and also would allow him to do abroad or DC internships in his area of interest starting in APril into the summer. He is at Tufts visiting today and Bates next week then he will have to decide.</p>

<p>I am a bit worried about choosing the way reach school for ED because if he doesnt get in then he will be bummed for sure but I hear what you are saying about not wasting it either. I have heard amazing things about Bates and Colby both ways…and we as parents love the thesis idea we think it helps people mature in college to do a thesis…</p>

<p>Thanks to all who have given these excellent points of view</p>

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<p>Thanks Murphy 600, we did sense a mild difference between Bates and Colby. No major ones. Colby almost seemed like a big prep school adn some of the facilities looked a tiny bit tired. The admissions officer did a terrible job, but the class he attended was amazing. The kids seemed very very happy. The Bates facilities looked surprisingly more updated, clean and modern, kids seemed very mature and happy. There seemed to be some kind of bonding going on between the kids that seemed a bit stronger at Bates. Coaches were very different but I think that is just personality stuff.</p>