Swarthmore vs Tufts

College Search & Selection
21

<p>@HockeyKid‌

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<p>And, that should be a tip-off. How much is the OP willing to sacrifice of the typical American college experience in order to win a Rhodes scholarship?</p>

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<p>In the interest of giving the OP something he/she can latch onto beside PhD. output and vague “academic outcomes”, let me vouch for my D, currently at Tufts, who describes her peers there as exceedingly friendly; hyper-engaged with what’s going on in politics, culture, letters, etc.; whip smart and worldly. Her ability to connect with profs and advisors for help and research opportunities has exceeded her expectations. Her classes keep her plenty challenged (she’s a STEM major), but not oppressively so. She finds more than enough to keep her active in her free time, with trips to the MFA in Boston, a favorite tea shop a couple of stops away in Harvard Square, and beloved sushi and ice cream joints up the street in Davis Square. </p>

<p>Tufts is described as a “Goldilocks” school for its “just right” mix of small LAC feel and larger research university heft; its not-too-small, not-too-large student body; and its easy access to urban offerings without being a “city” school. My D is getting the complete experience there. </p>

23

<p>re “Oberlin produces more Ph.d’s than any of the ivies.”, I re-found a CC thread from 2006 which shows baccalaureate origins of Phds over a a then-most-recent ten year period:</p>

<p>Cornell 3,033
Harvard 2,545
Yale 1,877
Penn 1,688
Princeton 1,585
Brown 1,554
Columbia 1,101
Dartmouth 817</p>

<p>Oberlin 1,107</p>

24

<p>@monydad‌ </p>

<p>You have to adjust for institutional size, of course. </p>

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<p>^^Actually, not of course. If that adjustment is necessary it should be clearly stated.</p>

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<p>He may be interested in premed. The lower GPA’s at Swarthmore are a concern to me if he choses this path.</p>

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<p>I think you’ve gotten a real taste of the difference between these two schools from this good discussion. </p>

<p>To make a generalization, I think Swarthmore has more of the pre-scholar feel to it, and Tufts has more of the global focus, maybe a bit more pre-professional feel to it. I don’t think Tufts is as hard. </p>

<p>Getting into Swarthmore is a real achievement. </p>

<p>It’s April 30th. Ultimately your kid needs to decide. </p>

28

<p>Both Swarthmore and Tufts have high rates of acceptance into med school, with Swarthmore having a higher proportion of its students in top-ranked programs. </p>

<p>See below on Swat. Tufts, due in part to size, does weed out. Many things to consider besides GPA. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/swarthmore/1485925-how-is-swarthmore-pre-med.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/swarthmore/1485925-how-is-swarthmore-pre-med.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

29

<p>OP - Tufts will definitely give your son a leg up should if wish to go Tufts Medical School.</p>

<p><a href=“http://md.tufts.edu/About-Us/Class-Profile”>http://md.tufts.edu/About-Us/Class-Profile&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;