<p>So here's my dilemma: i'm an international student who's been accepted at both Tufts and GWU. tufts has always been one of my top choices, and i was ecstatic when i found out i was accepted and i was pretty much set on going there. that is, until i found out a few days ago that i got full-tuition merit scholarship from gwu. so now i have no idea what to do. my parents have enough funds to pay for my full tuition at Tufts, but it will definitely be tight for them when they need to spend in other areas, especially considering that both of them are retired. gwu is a pretty good school as well, and since i'm doing IR, there's nothing to complain about there. except, i just LOVE tufts. i love everything about it.. i know that at gwu you get more "real world experience" as in internships and co-ops, which would be realllly beneficial for me in the long run. i also know i'm extremely biased in favor of tufts..
what should i do??? is tufts worth this much more money??
and also, does a degree from tufts help A LOT when you go look for a job?</p>
<p>Wow. I could’ve written this. Hi twin!
Except I didn’t get a full ride at GW (nice one btw!) I only got a 'ship for 15 grand :D</p>
<p>I got a scholarship too, so I have a similar question…</p>
<p>I’m completely in the same boat, except with a scholarship from McGill. Ah!</p>
<p>This is eerily similar to me too, except with Brandeis. </p>
<p>My family crunched the numbers and Tufts would cost me (yes, me) roughly $30,000 more. My family’s EFC is ~$13,000 and I have a brother who will graduate when I finish my sophomore year. Chances are I’m going to Brandeis.</p>
<p>can anyone currently at tufts give their take on my/our dilemma?</p>
<p>
No, but neither would a degree from Harvard.</p>
<p>Idk, I’ve chosen Tufts over the merit scholarship at GW. Tufts’s IR major seems a bit better on paper, especially with an 8-semester language requirement which is HIGHLY HIGHLY useful in any kind of IR-related field. If I were to go to GW, I’m not sure whether I’d have the discipline to take 8 semesters of French “on my own” or pursue night classes. Making it obligatory will help me in the long run. </p>
<p>Tufts’ program also seems more globally oriented than GW’s, which seems to deal more with international affairs in the context of the US and its foreign policy. As an international, I most likely can’t stay and live in the US so Tufts’ international perspective will help me more in those terms. Think about these kinds of things when you make your decision. </p>
<p>GW has a very good IA program. But I think at Tufts you’ll get the same opportunities in terms of internships/work as GW. You just have to seek them out more because Boston is further away. </p>
<p>One more thing for you to think about is grad school. If you plan to go to grad school immediately after undegrad then by all means go to GW. You’ll save yourself a lot of money. If you don’t plan on going to grad school, take another closer look at Tufts. Tufts’s IR program is among the very best, but if you have a full-ride at a good program like GW, by all means go for it.</p>
<p>They are very different atmospheres. But more importantly have you looked at the complete expense of being at Tufts? the tuition,r and B, books, travel, spending money? A full tuition scholarship could, as has been said, leave you enough money for a graduate degree at Fletcher! Perhaps you should sit down and talk to your parents about it from a purely financial point of view.
It is certainly a tough decision.</p>
<p>^ Detail: Ha! Well said. You and I both know this to be true. But seriously, there are a handful of “Holy crap! Really?” schools and I believe the noe that you mentioned is one of them. Whether the reputation is deserved or not, well you and I may be closer than you think on that regard, but honestly it does open doors that would be otherwise closed. Perception is a robust shackle for all but the most uncommon of men. (Sorry, that’s a line from a thing I did in English last semester, and I just figured it would apply jere)…</p>