Questions about Econ, IR, Middle Eastern Studies,ROTC, Transferrring

<p>I'm currently a freshman at the U of Rochester and while I'm enjoying myself, I feel like I'm not being challenged enough academically, feel its too close to home (15 minutes), would like a bigger city environment, and want more focus in my majors.</p>

<p>Econ--As part of NROTC, I applied as a "Tier II" major, which is non-engineering math and science, in order to get a scholarship (only 15% of scholarships are in humanities/social sciences). However, a B.S. in Econ/Quantitative Economics counts as Tier II. Since UR doesn't offer either of these options, I have to double in Econ and Applied Math, which, while valuable, I don't find as interesting as IR/Econ/Regional/Middle Eastern Studies.
How Math focused is the Quantitative Econ major at Tufts? I think I'd be able to handle the math, I'm just looking to get an idea of how much more of a mathematical focus I'm looking at in that compared to regular Econ or Econ/Math. Is it really just more metrics focused? How many/how difficult/how applicable are the math/stat courses you have to take? Would I have enough room in my schedule to double with IR or Middle Eastern Studies with QuantEcon?</p>

<p>ROTC-I've talked a little bit with someone in the unit but I'm sort of looking for an outside perspective. Tufts students have to commute every morning to MIT for PT/naval science class. I was worried when initially applying to schools that colleges that didn't have ROTC on campus would not only cause an unneeded hassle, but that they'd sort of be ostracized by "anti-military" students. Is anyone friends with any ROTC kids; is anyone actually hostile towards them on campus?</p>

<p>Transferring:
I don't like "chance me" threads but feel that for transferring they are a lot more necessary than regular admissions. Going along with the “chance me” part I was also looking to see if I could get a critique on my schedule, so I could perhaps get an idea of which classes adcoms would respect more.
So here are my college stats so far:
GPA: after 2 sets of midterms it’s a 3.8-3.9, it could be anywhere between a 3.6-4.0 by the end of the quarter, hopefully I’ll be able to get the big 4.0</p>

<p>Classes and current grades for each class: Intro Econ (ECO108) A, Intro to Math-Stats (STT213) A, Calculus IIA (Math 162) A- [I think I can pull of the A though] , Civil War and the International System (IR 265) A-/A (on the fence, probably an A), Intro to Naval Science (NAV 094) A</p>

<p>ECs: cross country/track [might not do this at tufts], taking naval science classes in preparation for joining ROTC as a scholarship midshipman next semester/year, member of meliora capital management investment group</p>

<p>High school GPA 93.45 unweighted, 34 ACT superscored, 32 single test, 1430/2070 SAT. pretty extensive leadership positions/awards.</p>

<p>Classes to take next semester:
MTH 164 (multivariable calculus) definitely taking this one
ECO207H (intermediate microeconomics honors) definitely taking this one
NAV250 (seapower and maritime affairs) definitely taking this one
WRT 105 (required freshman writing class) definitely taking this one</p>

<p>Last class, 4 options: STT 216 (intermediate statistics), ECO231W (econometrics),REL247W (Islam in the Third World), IR106 (intro to IR…got professor approval to take the other IR class before this..) Metrics would probably be the hardest, followed by stat Religion, then IR. Which one would look best for transfer admissions?</p>

<p>Middle Eastern Studies/IR
More interested in someone to talk about their experiences with the Middle Eastern Studies major, as I already know Tufts offers arguably the best IR program in the country. Whats the depth of the curriculum like? Is there a lot of student interest/lots of people majoring in it? Are there a lot of speakers on campus that people actually go to relating to Middle Eastern Studies/IR?</p>

<p>One Last Question
Whats the attitude on campus like toward non-science majors? At UR I feel like the overwhelming majority of smart kids on campus are majoring in a science/engineering major and kids turn to Econ if they aren’t doing well in their major, are a meathead football player, etc. I feel like this wouldn’t be the case at Tufts but still curious—do non-technical majors get looked down upon? </p>

<p>Sorry for all of the information/questions, I just want to get all the information I can before deciding to transfer.</p>

<p>This article from the alumni magazine is 5 years old but does address your question about how ROTC students are viewed on campus:
[Tufts</a> Magazine Summer 2006](<a href=“Home | Tufts Alumni”>Home | Tufts Alumni)</p>