<p>My daughter is deciding between Tufts and Penn. She wants to major in Biology (molecular biology emphasis) and she wants to have research opportunities. She liked her visit to Tufts because the students seemed to be having fun and were a little quirky/expressive while the Penn students were more serious. Also the Tufts environment is smaller, suburban (quieter) and nurturing. Would she be crazy to choose Tufts over Penn???</p>
<p>My daughter is making the exact same choice. She liked the kids at both schools very much, and could be happy at both places. She thinks Tufts did a better job during the campus visit in showing prospective students what current Tufts students were like than Penn did, but she was fortunate to know some upperclassmen at Penn who could introduce her to existing students so she got around that problem. She thinks Penn will offer more in the way of course and career options in her area of interest (urban studies), and she liked the integration of its campus with the city. She was also more favorably disposed to its language requirement (4 semesters, as compared to six for Tufts), and to the program houses (dorms with specific focuses, e.g., humanities). While she was a bit concerned about more of a “pre-professional” presence at Penn (probably due to Wharton), she made some inquiries on Facebook and discovered a whole community of artsy and creative kids from the class of 2014. There’s no “right” answer, obviously. She ultimately concluded that Penn was a big enough place that you could find a community of “people like you” without looking too hard, however you define “you.” But it’s not something you can go wrong with, and yes, there are kids who choose Tufts over Penn. (My daughter said she would go to Tufts over Brown, had she been making that choice.)</p>
<p>One more thing: I actually liked Tufts better than Penn. Had my daughter felt the same way, and decided to attend Tufts, I would have thought that was a great decision and wholly supported it. Like I said, no “bad” or “wrong” answers here. If your daughter feels she would be happier at Tufts, she will do better there, so let her go!</p>
<p>The two kids at my school who went to Tufts would have done anything to go to Penn.</p>
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<li>Research opportunities: Penn is really unparalleled in this regard. It’s a top research university, and there is always a plethora of science research to be done.</li>
<li>Penn Med is number 2, so if she’s Pre-Med, this would be a good place for her.</li>
<li>Penn is the “Social Ivy,” so students here now how to have their share of fun, while remembering to get down to work when they need to. Honestly, I feel that it’s the perfect balance of fun and academics.</li>
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