Northwestern, Penn or Tufts?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I want to apply ED to either Penn, NU, or Tufts.</p>

<ul>
<li>I don't LOVE a ton of Greek life, but it's not a deal-breaker. </li>
<li>I want strong publications and good internship potential in media/pr/journalism</li>
<li>I love journalism, but I'm not positive I want to major in something so specific, which is why I like Penn's Comm program and Tuft's comm + media studies minor. </li>
<li>Based on scores alone, I'm in the median 50% for NU and Tufts, and just under for Penn - but I'm retaking so that could change. </li>
<li>I sort of want an intellectual vibe without being too small and LAC-y. </li>
</ul>

<p>While NU may be the obvious choice for journalism, I'm a little afraid of pigeon-holing myself into that career this early in the game. But I'm not completely sure.</p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

2

<p>Here are the middle 50% of SAT scores for each college you listed</p>

<p>Northwestern: 2030-2280
Tufts: 2040-2260
Penn: 2020-2290</p>

<p>Those SAT scores are virtually identical for each college so I don’t know where you got the impression that you fell below one and not the other (especially Penn which has the lowest score on that end of the spectrum). Sorry, just didn’t understand that. </p>

<p>I’m not too familiar with Tufts to be honest, but I can elaborate a bit on Penn and NU which sound like they are more up your alley. I don’t “love” greek life either, but Penn is around 25% and NU 35% - honestly, they are both not overwhelming at each school. If you change your mind, there are many opportunities to get involved, but you will never feel forced at either school. </p>

<p>They are definitely both more pre-professional (maybe Penn a bit more so), but the people at both schools are so smart that you can always find an intellectual vibe. It is not UChicago, but when so many smart people are in one area, there is always room for intellectualism. Not to mention, both schools offer a large but not massive student body like a state school. They strike a very nice balance between both ends of the spectrum. Penn has almost 10,000 undergraduates and NU something like 8,600. A marginal difference, but both are not too small or too large.</p>

<p>I understand your fear of being pigeonholed and I will smooth over your fears by saying that Northwestern has an extremely fluid academic system. If you wanted journalism, NU is the obvious choice, but I understand your hesitations. You see, if you got into their school of journalism, it is incredibly easy to major in another school. So, I’m sure you could apply to their Medill School of Journalism (one of the best in the country), and if it suits you, get another major in the School of Communications (also one of the absolute best). NU makes it very easy to get majors in other schools. If in a year, you decide that journalism isn’t your thing, it is just as easy to transfer out of Medill into the CAS or SoC. It is actually harder to transfer into Medill; transferring into the other schools is pretty routine and simply. I hoped that alleviated any fears you had. There really is no pigeonholing at Northwestern. </p>

<p>Having said that, Penn also has one of the best schools for communication (Annenberg) which is probably pretty similar to Northwestern in terms of quality. Yet, if journalism really is your interest, it is quite easy to get a major from Medill and also a major in Comm. Studies or whatever; if you like journalism you might as well go to the best! You will never feel trapped so make your decision bearing that in mind.</p>

3

<p>I wouldn’t worry about pigeonholing at Northwestern. [Medill</a> - Curriculum](<a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/journalism/undergrad/page.aspx?id=62241]Medill”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/journalism/undergrad/page.aspx?id=62241)

Most Medill students use the remaining 31-33 courses for their second major in liberal arts. You can even add the IMC (Integrated Marketing Certificate) on top of that so you got liberal arts, journalism, AND marketing covered!
[Medill</a> - IMC Undergraduate Certificate](<a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergraduatecertificate.aspx]Medill”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergraduatecertificate.aspx)</p>

<p>Note that some IMC faculty have joint appointment with Kellogg, which is the KING in marketing.</p>

4

<p>Are you sure you need Penn in this discussion? Few things in life are as reliably amusing as a good old-fashioned bare-knuckle brawl between the usual College-Confidential suspects representing Tufts and Northwestern (makes Berkeley v. Stanford look like a glee club reunion in comparison). Sam Lee is a grizzled veteran of several Tufts-NU battles, so whatever he tells you is certainly battle-tested.</p>

5

<p>Well, frankly as an NU alum I think Penn and NU are very similar in feel (except for Penn campus being more urban) and when visiting Tufts, my H and I both looked at one another and said, “this is the Boston version of NU” in terms of its feel. So I think that your feelings towards Chicago/Phila/Boston have to come into the mix. Where are you from and do you want to go elsewhere?</p>

6

<p>lol…was there any brawl between “usual College-Confidential suspects representing Tufts and Northwestern” in the last couple years? look like it was not only amusing but also memorable to you. ;)</p>

7

<p>Sam, if u go back to 2007/8, you will recall some real wars, with page after page comparing Tufts’ and NU’s SAT scores, engineering rankings, Chitown v. Beantown, etc.</p>

8

<p>Penn wins, and has the Daily Pennsylvanian, the most award-winningest student paper :)</p>

9

<p>The Daily Pennsylvanian is not the best college paper in the country although it is up there, but that is no reason to go to one college over another - a bit laughable to be honest. Northwestern has a great newspaper too except they have the best journalism school in the country. Really, make your choice about your interests don’t nitpick.</p>

10

<p>I was using ACT scores for the median, and while they’re very similar for the three schools, my own school’s statistics has Tufts and NU more near 28-32 and Penn at 30-34. My ACT is within both, but on the high end at Tufts/NU. </p>

<p>Thank you very much for your perspectives!</p>

11

<p>Leaving Medill for another conversation, Northwestern and Penn have 2 of the top communications programs in the country. But Northwestern’s is very pragmatic, very real-world applied. I know at least 2 people at Penn that transferred into other majors after finding comm too theoretical for their tastes. With your inclination much more to the applied, you may find Northwestern or Tufts the better fit.</p>

12

<p>Don’t under-estimate the Greek presence at Penn. The reality is more than the percentage would indicate.</p>

13

<p>@MOWC – don’t you think the Greek life at Penn impacts the male students more than the females? I know that some guys feel like not joining a frat puts them at a disadvantage socially, but my understanding is that the sorority scene is tiny, which may or may not make a difference to the OP.</p>

14

<p>Student publications? You surely don’t mean newspapers? They’re so last decade :P</p>

<p>Something like NBN perhaps ;)</p>

<p>[Awards</a> » North by Northwestern](<a href=“http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/awards/]Awards”>http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/awards/)</p>

15

<p>broetchen- That could certainly be true. I am more familiar with the guy-end of the Penn Greek scene.</p>

16

<ol>
<li>Penn 2. Tufts 3. Northwestern</li>
</ol>

17

<p>Classclown, what’d you do, search the forums or any thread comparing NU and Tufts and post your opinion? We get it, you reallllly like Tufts. I hope you applied ED!</p>