NEED to decide in TWO DAYS - Claremont-McKenna or Tufts

Hey guys,

So, I am currently deciding between two schools: Claremont-McKenna and Tufts. I am a recent immigrant to the USA from an extremely non-traditional background, got into a bunch of high-ranked schools as a transfer student but Tufts and CMC are the ones offering me the most financial aid.

I am gay, extremely liberal, LOVE to party and dance, have fun and I am an extremely social and energetic person. I love school and academics, but having fun is also a huge priority, ha ha. I plan to study International Relations and both CMC and Tufts have fantastic IR programs. However, I’ve heard Tufts is a much more inclusive environment especially in terms of LGBT friendliness. However, I’m just scared that it might not have much of a social life. I know that CMC is well known for its social scene and parties, but is known to be a bit less gay friendly and more conservative.

In terms of finances, Tufts has offered me a full tuition scholarship but I might need to take out federal loans for room and board, books, travel et… and might end up graduating with around $30,000 to $30,000 in student loans. My financial aid package from CMC is AMAZING and covers tuition and room and board (albeit living in the most cheapest housing and having the cheapest meal plan) and i’ll be graduating with around $12,000 in student loans.

Should I take the student loans into consideration? I eventually plan to go to law school or get a PhD in public policy or international relations. Which of these schools would best prepare me for that path?

I live in Boston and have visited Tufts numerous times and absolutely loved the campus. Haven’t had the chance to visit CMC.

I HAVE to give in my official deposit on Tuesday and literally just have two days to decide. Please help!

you CAN’T go wrong academically or preparation wise for the kind of career choices you mentinoed with either college.
If you want to be able to wear tee shirts, shorts and flip flops most of the year, be able to enjoy the LA scene, and not have to worry as much about debt, pick CMC.
There are over 5000 students at the Claremont colleges campus- all within walking distance of each other in the village of Claremont, and you will have the ability to cross - register for classes at the other 4 colleges.

If you feel more comfortable staying in Boston then choose Tufts.

If you are a recent immigrant, and already know Boston, you should stay there. Don’t underestimate the disruption moving again will cause If you have family in Boston, that’s another reason to stay. Loans are not good, but it will cost you a lot to move too.

I know you haven’t been to CMC or the Claremont Colleges, but it’s a better choice for you than Tufts. Both are excellent schools, but CMC will give you the 5C experience (about 5000 undergrad students), a vibrant and diverse student body, great weather, amazing co-curricular and extra curricular opportunities, small class sizes with top professors who want to teach, and less debt.

I believe that Claremont McKenna is “conservative” only when compared to other colleges, and particularly to the other Claremont Colleges. The Claremont Independent, a Claremont student newspaper, published the findings of a political science professor who actually set out to investigate this. About 45 percent of CMC’s student body identified as liberal; only 17 percent identified as conservative. This was in 2012 (https://claremontindependent.com/whos-the-fairest-of-them-all/). And, as someone mentioned, you’ll be in the social environment of the entire Claremont Consortium - and Pitzer, Scripps, and Pomona are famously even more liberal.

Both debt loads are more or less doable on the average college graduates’ salary, but obviously $12K is better than $30K! This is especially true if you are thinking about a law degree, since you usually have to go into debt for that.

If I were you, I’d choose Claremont McKenna. But you can’t really go wrong!

If you plan on returning to an international environment the Tufts global brand is better than CMC for immediate employer recognition.

IMHO Tufts is a safer bet for you socially. You would have not only the Tufts social scene, which sounds like a great fit for you, but the larger Boston area student community and the city as a whole at your fingertips. You have already begun putting down roots there and my gut says it may be an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” scenario for you. At Tufts you would have the top-notch academics you want, a student community that you’ll likely fit into very well, and the connections you already have in the Boston area - win/win.

CMC is a great school. But you haven’t visited, and I am uneasy that you might not end up liking the social scene. It isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and just a binary “do you like to party or not” filter will not tell you whether it’s a fit. I’m not worried about where it falls on the liberal-vs-conservative spectrum - there are plenty of liberals and LGBT students. I’m not worried about homophobia or about the community not accepting you. I’m more worried about whether you will like the community. Yes, CMC students have an active party culture, but… you come from a lot of life experience and without “proof of concept” that CMC people feel like your “tribe”, I am worried that their party scene might feel like a step backwards, maturity-wise, for you. Some people describe the parties as being rather “frat-bro”-ish. My 5C’s d goes to CMC parties and has fun, but my sense is that it’s often shallow fun that wears thin quickly. Am I saying that CMC students or 5C’s students are shallow people? No, of course not. I’m sure if you went there, you would make many deep and thoughtful friends. If it were your only transfer option, I wouldn’t discourage you from taking it. But… choosing it sight-unseen over Tufts… I don’t know. The surrounding area is very placid-suburban. It’s not like going to USC where the urban part of LA is easily accessible. If you’re “meh” about the party scene at CMC, there is no nearby alternative in the community. (And I assume, under these circumstances, you wouldn’t have a car to increase your radius of options.)

CMC is a great school but it isn’t a better school than Tufts; I think they’re comparable for your interests. If you really want to end up based in California, then CMC will help you to make that transition, but if you want to work on the East Coast (lots of people who go to law school don’t go immediately to law school after undergrad, especially if they need to save up some money, so employment prospects are worth considering) then the employment pipeline there will be considerably better at Tufts. It might even be that the access to summer internships that would allow you to live at home could take a significant bite out of the cost differential. Overall I would say to choose Tufts unless you are making a conscious decision to use CMC as a steppingstone to life on the West Coast. JMHO. If you had visited and loved CMC, then I would tell you without hesitation to go for it, but sight unseen I really do have reservations when you have such a sure thing in Tufts.

You are a transfer. How will you borrow 30k in just two or three years?

If you enroll as a sophomore, the standard student loans will allow you to borrow $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year. Where will the other $8,500 (approximately) come from? Is Tufts offering you additional loans, or will your family need to borrow PLUS and/or take out private loans? Is your family in a good position to be able to pay those loans off if you aren’t able to?

Do either of the aid packages come with federal workstudy money? Remember, you will need to find a job on campus that is workstudy eligible and work enough hours to earn that money.

Does any of the aid come with restrictions? For example, will you need to keep a certain GPA in order to keep receiving that aid?

You sound very cheerful. If you don’t want to live at home and commute to Tufts to save money, I’d say follow the money to CMC.

I am a gay student at Tufts and couldn’t have dreamt of a more inclusive community. Don’t worry — there are plenty of parties at Tufts, and plenty, plenty of LGBT members.