<p>Hi, after posting this on the Tufts board, I thought posting it on Northwestern's would be a good idea as well:
I am debating between Tufts and Northwestern (and maybe also USC). I am interested in studying neuroscience (neither school has a specific neuroscience major) and in pursuing the pre-med track. I would also like to possibly minor in Women's Studies or Chinese.
I visited Tufts in October and loved it, I will be visiting Northwestern for Wildcat Days. Northwestern offered me a better financial aid packet than expected and I will hear from Tufts financial aid sometime next week. Assuming financial aid awards are comparable, I hope that my visit to Northwestern will help me decide between the two, but I would also like to hear any opinions on the strengths or weaknesses of the pre-med/ neuroscience programs at either of these schools.
Being from the San Francisco Bay area, living in Southern California for the next four years is not as appealing as the idea of living near Boston or Chicago. I really like how both Tufts in Northwestern are not exactly in the city, but near enough for access to internships/ city life experiences. Any thoughts on Medford/Somerville vs Evanston?
How do research/ internship opportunities compare at these schools? Is there a lot of competition for the same internships among all of the Boston schools (i.e. are internships harder to come across at Tufts)? Are the rates of medical school placement better at one over the other? Where do students tend to go to for medical school? Is there a lot of pre-med "weeding out" at these two schools? I know that Tufts has the Early Assurance Program, which is highly selective, but also somewhat appealing. How about any thoughts on grade inflation/deflation at these schools? Is Northwestern really much more cutthroat than Tufts?
Also, which school would have more opportunities to go study abroad as a pre-med? I really want to study abroad! Which one has better library resources/facilities? This is kinda important to me since the library is a place where I will probably be spending a lot of my time. Which school has more accessible professors? Are professors at one school generally regarded more highly than at the other?
I know that "fit" is most important for every individual when selecting a college, but does one school have generally "happier" students than the other? When I visited Tufts the students I interacted with appeared genuinely happy to be there and they were all very open and welcoming, but I also heard that there is not much school spirit (mainly due to its Division III sports), while Northwestern is part of the Big 10 Conference and thus has more visible school spirit. I don't really know how important that is to me though.
Whoa, this ended up being a much longer string of questions than I had originally intended for. Any responses would be very helpful!</p>
<p>Wow I have the EXACT same dilemma…</p>
<p>I’ve narrowed down my decision to Tufts and Northwestern, but I can’t seem to choose.
Funny thing… I’m pre-med too! And undecided for my undergraduate major, though I’m considering Economics.
I’m going to the April 16 Wildcat Day at NU and an overnight for accepted students at Tufts on the 23rd. I personally feel that Northwestern is better in terms of academics, prestige, athletic culture, and research/internships. However, I favor Tufts when I think about where I’d feel the most accepted and socially comfortable, and I feel like the collaborative, quirky, friendly atmosphere of Tufts, plus its proximity to Boston, is something I can’t resist.</p>
<p>Alas, I am stuck in this impossible decision. Someone help me out.</p>
<p>You guys should check out the same post in the Tufts forum. Both are great schools…</p>