school pride?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>hello- i am deciding between tufts and berkeley (in the next 3 days..) and one thing that is affecting my decision is the seeming lack of school spirit at tufts. not necessarily concerning sports, but more like the students seem to be less than thrilled that they are at tufts (based on my visit at the open house). the campus was relatively quiet, some students were talking about how they didnt get into the ivy leagues, and when i asked some students if they thought i should go to berkeley or tufts, they either hesitated or said berkeley (i feel like if i asked someone from cal the same question, they would unequivocally say cal). however, its very possible that this has more to do with the girl ( and her group of friends) i was put with during the open house than the entire student body.
so what im asking is, are students proud to be at tufts? are they enthusiastic and glad about their choice? or do they tend to see tufts as their "backup" or feel like they were "stuck" with this school?
thanks!</p>

<p>also- any more insight on tufts vs. cal would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>I don’t think that’s true at all. Sure, there will be people at every school that didn’t get into their top choice, but the whole “ivy reject” notion is completely false. In fact, I’m the only one of my friends that didn’t apply early decision to Tufts. Everybody has “Jumbo pride.” I’m sure there are people who wished they got into other schools, but for the most part, they’re in the minority. Also, once you get here, no one really talks or cares about where other people applied. </p>

<p>As far as Tufts vs. Cal goes, I think a lot of it depends on the feel you’re looking for. Tufts is smaller, and has more of a liberal arts school feel, while Cal is more focused on graduate studies and research. Both schools are very liberal. Tufts definitely has a community feel going for it, but offers the proximity to Boston and Cambridge as well. For me, it’s the best of both worlds. You get the undergraduate attention of a liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university, as well as the defined, gorgeous campus with access to a fantastic city.</p>

3

<p>Most likely the group of individuals you were paired with. There are plenty of people at Tufts that turned down ivies or better “ranked” schools to go to Tufts.</p>

<p>There are even some that turned down Harvard. A mom in another post stated her son turned down Upenn for Tufts. Tufts is a really selective school (they actually accepted less students than Upenn…but less people applied to Tufts, so Upenn had a lower acceptance rate).</p>

<p>In regards to the overall general student population, Tufts is not a “safety” school or back up or a school people settle with. Obviously there are some students who probably didn’t get into ivies or something. But at the same time, there are definitely people at Berkeley, Northwestern, U of Chicago, Duke, etc. who also didn’t get into Harvard or Brown or whatever. And obviously there are those that did.</p>

<p>Most Tufts students are very happy (ranked one of the happiest by princeton review this year) and have a lot of pride in their school. Tufts isn’t a sports school, but their mascot, Jumbo (the only mascot in the dictionary), brings a lot of pride from students.</p>

<p>And alumni are also very tied to the school. Even Fletcher alumni are willing to help undergraduates. I find their connection is shown best in internship opportunities and interacting with students. Or haphazardly running into someone who goes to Tufts.</p>

<p>As a comparison for Berkeley and Tufts, the two are very different:</p>

<p>Berkeley is HUGE. I also always wondered why they have like 40% of their student body being asian. My guess is that historically, asian immigrants settled in California so there are a lot of asians, in general, that reside in California.</p>

<p>But Berkeley is also facing budget cuts. And it’s not just tuition that has to go up. What gets cut is the funding for programs.</p>

<p>I always saw Berkeley as a great place for graduate school. I always saw Tufts as a great place for undergraduate (indeed, the student/teacher ratio is like 1:8 or 1:7). Indeed, Tufts ties Upenn and Dartmouth for second in the number of undergraduate alumni that are Fortune 100 CEO’s. And classes taught at Tufts are such that you can use what you learn in the real world, to help the world, change it, etc.</p>

<p>I would also argue that Berkeley can get quite…hippy-esq.</p>

<p>Example: Berkeley’s football stadium is on fault line. So the university wanted to move it to a different location. But it would require that they cut down 2 trees. To compensate, the university would plant 10 more trees. Yet two students sat in the tree to protest the project, thus precluding the stadium from being built.</p>

<p>Some may find that cool, but I find it a little silly.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, Tufts does have people who are all about “saving the world, environment, etc.” but I wouldn’t say they are that extreme that they would sit in a tree to prevent it from being cut down despite 10 more trees being built. Maybe that’s just me.</p>

<p>In California, Berkeley is seen as amazing. In the northeast and New England, Tufts is seen as amazing–so there are regional differences.</p>

<p>Both are good schools, and I am sorry that you experienced that, but Tufts kids have a lot of pride in their school.</p>

<p>I know this because I know plenty of kids that gave up better “ranked schools” or ivies or whatever to attend Tufts. Indeed, Tufts is a little ivy. And the kids at Tufts are very quirky (But in a good way) and brilliant (just take the look at the average SAT scores–they are on par with Stanford).</p>

<p>Best of luck in your decision!</p>

<p>P.S. The weather in both places is very different. But I am sure you know that.</p>

4

<p>Students seem to be less than thrilled?
I can tell you that is certainly not the case with S1 and his friends.<br>
Also, I remember when we first told a relative from Boston that Tufts was S1’s first choice (over ivies and so-called ‘better’ schools), his first comment was “The Jumbos LOVE their school!” Of course he was speaking of young alumni, but still it was nice to hear.</p>

<p>But still - it’s your own opinion that’s the most important - good luck.</p>

5

<p>I’m a current Tufts student, and incidentally, two of my friends were accepted to both Cal and Tufts this year. I advised them to come to Tufts, and I didn’t hesitate for a second before saying it.</p>

6

<p>My daughter had a friend visit her from California, so the young man could see how he liked Tufts. He ended up getting into Berkeley, but not Tufts, so it was a moot point.</p>

<p>Tufts got extremely competitive this last year.</p>

<p>Anyway, as far as which to pick, I don’t think people are unhappy or have less school spirit at Tufts. My daughter and her friends love it. I think the bigger question is, Do you want a giant west coast school, or a smaller east coast school? That seems like it would be a pretty easy thing to figure out, since they’re so different in so many respects. Are you from the West Coast? Do you see yourself being happy being so far away? What about finances? Weather? Major? Do you want a school with big sports teams and fraternities? Or would you like to join an a capella group and have small classes? To me, those would be the bigger questions.</p>

7

<p>Are you kidding me? One of the top reasons my daugher chose Tufts is because ‘The students that are there really Love Tufts.’ After I dropped her off for the overnight, I met a student in the elevator who was positively gushing. We had so many similar encounters the next day. A random student joined my daughter and a bunch of pre-frosh for lunch in the cafetaria, and had so much information to share. Of all the schools we visited, Tufts had the nicest student body - by far.</p>

8

<p>As a freshman it seems to me that the people who are least pleased with Tufts are those who involve themselves the least and simply don’t get out of their small group of friends as much. I know some of these people, and they would complain and be disappointed at any school in the world. However, the vast majority of people here are just the opposite- so involved they’re always busy with clubs, sports, friends, performances etc. and they have so much to be excited about that they have a fantastic experience. If you don’t take initiative you will have trouble enjoying any college but if you are an outgoing person I can’t imagine a better place than Tufts!
If you have any specific questions about Tufts or just want me to keep talking feel free to message me!</p>

<p>(just realized this is probably a day or two too late… let us know what you decide!)</p>

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<p>thanks for all the help and insight- im glad that so many of you had better experiences there than i did. like some of you guessed, im sure that the attitude i saw was specific to the group of people i was with. tufts does seem like a great place, so im glad for everyone whos really happy there!
i actually ended up choosing cal- i think its just a better fit for me.
thanks for all the help!</p>

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<p>I was going to say that if you want to graduate in four years, come to Tufts. Berkeley is a great school as well, but the whole Cal system has fallen on hard times. At least you’ll enjoy the better weather ;)</p>

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<p>To burrito3:
I just finished my freshman year at Cal. I live in the bay area but also LOVE the Boston area. Last year, it came down to my choosing between Tufts and Cal. I love the Boston area (relatives from there ), love the 4 seasons and really loved the look and feel of Tufts. I applied to the top UCS (and other privates in east coast). Cal wasnt on radar for me (didnt know if Id get in!)…Well, I visited both campuses April '10 for admitted students. I had a great time at both weekends.
Now, I received almost no money from Tufts, and no money at all from Cal (altho it costs half as much as a California resident)…
The very last day I said YES to UC Berkeley. I waited until the last minute of the last day to say NO to Tufts…This was the HARDEST decision for me.</p>

<p>Well…how was my freshman year at Cal?? I LOVE IT!!! The campus is so alive, so vibrant so exciting. I met wonderful people all over! People from all over the world. My lecture classes was medium large (200 or so), but my discussion classes very small and intimate. I had no problem whatsoever meeting with and connecting with profs or teaching assistants.
UC Berkeley is not “hippie esq”, it is not all “tree huggers”…its consists of very very smart, stimulating students from all over the world.</p>

<p>To answer Buzzer’s quote “In California, Berkeley is seen as amazing. In the northeast and New England, Tufts is seen as amazing–so there are regional differences.”<br>
Sorry Buzzers, but Berkeley is seen as amazing everywhere in the WORLD… Its ranked in the top 5 internationally…most of its departments are ranked in the top 5 internationally…
You will love Berkeley…and you will love the school spirit!
Enjoy and GO BEARS!</p>

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<p>Obviously both schools are known around the world. My point was in regards perceptions among US citizens. I always thought of Berkeley as an excellent place to attend graduate school. It’s graduate programs in fields from engineering, business, to economics are amazing. Perhaps I have some bias since I have a sibling going there for engineering. Haaaa.</p>