<p>I know I have a good problem - choosing between Barnard and Tufts. BUT I AM INCAPABLE OF DECIDING, AND IM FREAKING OUT. I really just don't know what to do, or how to decide, and I have only two days left. I feel like an total idiot whenever anyone asks me where Im going next year and Im like ummm.... ask me in a week</p>
<p>Originally I didn't want to apply to Barnard because I got it in my head I didnt want to be at an all girls school or in the city. But then I realized it wasn't really all girls... and I do LOVE the city....so then it became one of my top choices - I even considered applying there early. </p>
<p>When I visited last week, though, I had a MUCH better visit at Tufts, one of my other top schools...and I liked that it had a pretty campus, and a dynamic campus live (at barnard- it seems like everyone goes into the city on weekends). So then I Decided I should go to tufts. But thinking about it - why should one visit change my view so much.. ESP since I Visited tufts on a Fri, and BArnard on a Sunday!! </p>
<p>I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. They both have advantages and disadvantages. I tried to make a numerically weighted pro-con list and they came out even. I am seriously at a total loss and freaking out. For other people who felt this way - how the hell did you decide?!?</p>
<p>*pros of barnard- columbia connection=more course selection, better english classes, lots of opportunities for internships and/or jobs so nearby, close to home. (cons - I dont know if I Want a campus where everyone goes into the city all the time... I can do that in my 20s...but only in college can I have a campus life. Also - the all girls thing.. even though its not a huge issue bc of columbia. and somehow... i feel like more people have heard of tufts even though this shouldnt matter)
*pros of tufts- good campus life with the option of the city. great ir and art(secondary concerns after english), good food, i liked the people - but met more people than i did at barnard/columbia. there's nothing i DONT like about it, so its the easier choice - yet barnard has big pros, but also some cons !</p>
<p>Columbia and Barnard have a lot more women than men. There seem to be a tension between Columbia women and Barnard women. Base on what I have read and my D's visit to Columbia that they spend a lot of time in NYC and there isn't much of community feeling. My daughter is going to Tufts because of the campus, Boston, academics, Tufts' vision of their students to be citizens of the world (to give back), internship opportunity, etc. I like the fact that my D could go to Boston occassionally and stay on campus most of the time.</p>
<p>Why don't you go on the Facebook and CC for Barnard (Columbia) and Tufts, hear what each school's students have to say. I think you could get a very sense of what kids are like at each school. It may help you decide where you would fit in better. Both of them are good schools, but the clock is ticking... Good luck.</p>
<p>Aube88: You are in an enviable situation in that you have two great schools to choose from! You are in an unenviable situation in that you have to make the decision very soon! I agree with Oldfort that you ought to ask students/alums from either school any last-minute questions you have online or through the people you met during your visits there. But it sounds to me that if you see no real cons to Tufts, that you ought to go there. They're both great academically—you really can't go wrong with either in that respect—but it does seem that you are inclined to favor a campus community feel where social life doesn't really vanish to the city most of the time, and even if Barnard is the least all-girls of the all-girls schools, it still is a girls' school... Furthermore, Tufts' English department is very strong and the school also offers ver y strong programs in secondary majors you are interested in (IR and Fine Arts).</p>
<p>(PS: Did I meet you and your mother at Tufts' Tisch College information session? I met a girl who was deciding between Tufts/Barnard/Macalester who wanted to study English...)</p>
<p>Oldfort: You really did a good job of synthesizing Tufts' mission in that they try to prepare student to be active citizens in the worlds around them, regardless of their career choices. :)</p>
<p>But seriously, if you can't find anything wrong with tufts, you're not going to be disappointed when you go there next year. You're going be happy at either place for the next four years, and I have a feeling you really want a campus feel AND city access, and you'll get both at tufts. Plus more men like myself ;-)</p>
<p>On the other hand... a few people have told me they think barnard is better academically, overall... and i feel like that should be a big factor, if true, since ill make friends wherever. I cant decide if being in the city is a pro or con. ahhh</p>
<p>Who are these people? I know many people, myself included, who pick(ed) Tufts over Barnard—and perhaps they think the very opposite.</p>
<p>I think people who actually have any inkling what they're talking about would know that these schools are quite comparable academically; and that it's goign to have to come down to "personal fit"—what's best for you, personally.</p>
<p>Of all the women's colleges, Barnard (with the possible exception of Scripps) is the one where it is least important that it is a women's college. Columbia is literally across the street, Barnard students can take classes there, and men do take some classes at Barnard. Thus, I don't think the fact that it's a women's college should matter to any extent.</p>
<p>So I'd say it is a matter of feel. Both are great schools and you'll probably have great experiences there. At Barnard, you'll be in the largest city in the country, a subway ride away from its museums and other myriad activities. Tufts is also a great school, but more apart from the city.</p>
<p>hey aube88 - i'm in the same position! I just CANT CHOSE between columbia and dartmouth, for the same reasons (dartmouth has a great college community feeling, columbia doesnt...i just liked the people at dartmouth more)...and i have TWO DAYS LEFT and i dont know what I'm waiting for....something to come down from heaven and tell me where to go at 11:59 on April 30th??</p>
<p>Just to let you know ur not the only one, although i cant help you with your decision, im in the same boat after all...</p>
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Tufts is also a great school, but more apart from the city.
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<p>Tufts is 5-10 minutes from downtown Bosotn depending on how you're getting there. As a result, it can afford to have a great campus vibe and still be close enough to the center of the Athens of America.</p>
<p>I think that if you are pretty much in any way undecided about moving right into a city, especially NYC, you probably shouldn't do it. The chances that you will be miserable in the city are much greater than almost any other location, with the exception of a very isolated campus, the other extreme. I don't think that there is any real difference in academic strength between Tufts and Barnard--they might be strong in different areas, but overall the academics and prestige are very similar. Go for the school--Tufts, in your case--that gave you that special feeling while you where there.</p>
<p>I would agree about the special feeling- except originally barnard gave me the special feeling first, and then it was swapped! Also, I do love the city and lived there for a month and had a great time... i consider myself a city person, and want to live there later.. but, for my undergrad years I feel like maybe I should do the campus thing.... Ughhhh. Thanks ,everyone, for your advice though..and Lucla, good luck deciding!</p>
<p>Good luck, Aube, you are in a win-win situation -- just go with what feels better for you. I was in a similar situation four years ago, and I decided that all paths lead to New York, career-wise, if you want them to, so I decided to go with a campus environment as well (plus, I've interned in New York for two summers). I also really wanted to study IR which Tufts is pretty much among the top 3 or even the very top for, and you know that I also think the English department here is great -- but it's up to you! I truly wish you good luck!</p>
<p>This is a very tough time when the answer isn't clear. I know my D1 agonized terribly about it, right up to the last second.</p>
<p>By now you have all the facts, have analyzed them to death. There's nothing to be done but make the tough call. For many kids this is the first time they've been in this type of situation. but it won't be the last. You may have to decide which grad school to take, which job to take, whether to marry this person or not, etc. </p>
<p>The way this worked for both me & my wife is we made our choices, but frequently think about what would have happened if we made the other choice.</p>
<p>I think you already know which one is better, but just have your priorities mixed up. </p>
<p>The cons far outweigh the pros at barnard, and I think the only thing that you really like about it is the reputation and its affiliation with Columbia. You seem to like everything from the social options, to the people, to the food at Tufts better. Tuft's academic reputation is far greater and rigorous than Barnard's and its proximity to a major metropolis make it the obvious choice for you.</p>
<p>Tufts. One thing to remember is that Barnard does not have the best relationship with Columbia and often that causes problems between students of both schools.</p>
<p>One thing I have heard from numerous Columbia/Barnard graduates. They feel like they missed out on the true undergraduate experience that a school with a more defined campus offered. In fact as I recall from several years ago, part of Columbia's marketing pitch was something to the effect of "imagine New York city as your campus".....sorry I love Manhattan, but it's not MY idea of a campus.</p>
<p>They also felt that with so many students from the metro NY area that it was really a suitcase school on weekends. From a grad school perspective, a very different experience altogether though.</p>
<p>For poster deciding between Dartmouth and Columbia, you couldn't pick two schools more different in most every way. Very urban vs idyllic almost suburban and remote. Hanover and Dartmouth are perhaps the picture of the quintessential New England college town.</p>
<p>The biggest concerns I would have would be cultural fit...Dartmouth has heavy reliance on outdoor programs...they own their own ski area....relies heavily on Greek scene for parties etc...and is much much colder. The student body will be a little more laid back and a bit more geographically diverse. </p>
<p>Ultimately for both posters the question should be more focused on what do you want for an undergrad experience? If you want college town, great campus and all that goes with it then Tufts and Dartmouth. If you want very urban with full understanding that your campus will be mostly concrete (yes i know about Morningside Park) and far less idyllic then choose Columbia.</p>
<p>Educationally Dartmouth is more focused on undergrad than Columbia but is on the Dartmouth Plan...a quarter based system which usually has no middle ground ...people either love or hate it.</p>
<p>For my money it would be both Tufts and Dartmouth for the undergrad college experience...it's what really makes the difference and will ultimately help define you....you can always go to Columbia for grad school.</p>
<p>I'm really shocked at all the people who feel that Tufts is "far more rigorous" than Barnard.. I'm not sure where this reputation comes from, but if Tufts is far more rigorous than Barnard, I would NOT want to go to Tufts, because I'd never have any time to have fun. A five-course schedule at Barnard, in addition to extracurriculars, having fun, sleeping on occasion, is plenty to manage. </p>
<p>Even though you say Tufts has basically no cons, you're keeping Barnard on your list for a reason. Is it just that you liked it better at first, so you're reluctant to give it up? Or is there something about it that attracts you that you can't put into words?</p>
<p>I feel that I've had a better social education at Barnard than I would have had at Tufts. Not social in terms of frat parties (although yes, those do happen--campus life is not nonexistent), but in terms of awareness of myself as a human being and what it means to ride the subway with all kinds of other people. I guess you'd get that in Boston too, but not as much in-your-face. And the 24-hour subway can't be beat... but going out in the city on weekends doesn't mean Barnard has no community, it means you go out in the city on weekends with all the girls on your floor, and bond over learning the city and growing together and talking about all the different experiences that led you to New York.</p>
<p>I know a girl who was deciding between Syracuse and Ithaca, and chose Syracuse because she felt the campus was prettier. I think Barnard's campus is gorgeous--did you see the magnolia tree on your visit? What would you rather see out your window when you wake up in the morning?</p>
<p>EADAD, still deciding here between YALE, DARTMOUTH and COLUMBIA. Leaning towards YALE because it is a mix of the others, undergraduate focused and perhaps best reputation. Any opinions</p>