<p>Which one do you prefer and why? I guess I am thinking about International Business, so would probably choose econ as a major, but Tufts also has a great IR program, soo maybe a possible double major would be in line. Thanks.</p>
<p>I, personally, would shy away from Johns Hopkins because there are a lot of pre-meds there. However, from my tour there I gathered that they have a pretty good international relations department, not sure about international business.</p>
<p>As far as Brown and Johns Hopkins go, they’ve always seemed remarkably similar to me. There campuses had the same sort of vibe, and the kinds students at both schools seemed similar: casually smart, friendly, laid-back. You couldn’t go wrong with either one. Both are on the happiest students list. Brown obviously has a leg up in the prestige department, so ask youself if that matters to you. I wouldn’t say that the job prospects coming out of Brown would be better than Tufts. Tufts definitely has the leg up in internation relations (ranked #1 or #2, I think). It also has a great study abroad department, which would probably be important to you if you’re interested in international business/relations. In terms of location, Boston trumps Providence, but they’re both cities. Have you checked out the Tufts facebook group. The people attending seem like pretty cool kids to me. And, as a plus, I’ll be there, and I am awesome. But I’m biased, obviously, as I love Tufts. IMO you couldn’t go wrong with either school though. How is your finanical aid situation? That might be very important.</p>
<p>^*- as far as Brown and Tufts go…</p>
<p>Here is a little secret–Undergraduates are allowed to take classes at Fletcher (with a max of two per semester…a normal credit load is 4…so that’s 50%; mind you, ‘officially’ it may say 1, but the reality is that they allow you to take 2). Fletcher actually has a masters program in international business and the professors are fantastic. So, you can take real international business courses.</p>
<p>Also, when you major in IR, you can concentrate in a specific area. One of those areas is economics (or like economic development). There are plenty of IR + Econ double majors. </p>
<p>Plus, let’s say you are more into Finance (Wall Street, Hedge Funds, etc.) Tufts is a hotspot for recruiters in those areas.</p>
<p>That’s my two cents–best of luck!</p>
<p>classclown, there was a good discussion thread on brown v tufts last year <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1131818-tufts-vs-brown-2011-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1131818-tufts-vs-brown-2011-a.html</a> The OP on that thread also posted to the Tufts and Brown forums, but most of the responses came on the general college search board. Not an IR focus, but a useful comparison of some of the differences between the two schools.</p>
<p>JHU is different than your other two, with more of a reputation for students being intense or cutthroat, depending on your POV. Much of that may come from all of the premeds. A family friend’s daughter just finished undergrad there in IR, and was accepted to all of the usual great places for IR grad school. She clearly received an excellent education.</p>
<p>My freshman D is taking a grad class at Fletcher this semester, so yes, you can take classes there throughout undergrad. Even if you’re not an IR major. </p>
<p>My vote for you is to consider money/affordability and fit with the student population. There are no bad academic choices here. Congratulations on being able to choose among these schools!</p>
<p>Tufts does not have the reputation of Brown or Johns Hopkins EXCEPT in international affairs, although this is mainly a result of Fletcher and its masters programs. Otherwise, Brown and Johns Hopkins are the stronger universities, with better graduate school/professional school placement and stronger reputations on Wall Street. However, undergraduate quality of life at Tufts is better than Hopkins, and on-par with Brown.</p>
<p>Medman, Fiske on Tufts: paraphrased: Some academic superstars used to consider Tufts a safety school for some ivies but Tufts isn’t safe anymore, not when it comes to admissions. With strong academics, a high achieving student body, and attractive setting some say that not much separates Tufts from its illustrious neighbors: Harvard and MIT. Tufts gives every indication that it’s going to keep scaling the university ranks until it reaches the summit…Quality of life 4 stars. Overlaps, Brown, Penn, Cornell, Georgetown, Duke, Northwestern. </p>
<p>Johns Hopkins is not in the comparison. Fiske is run by the former New York Times Education writer. Can’t always rely on the U.S. Snooze and World Report. I am picking Tufts over JH after my visits to both. Thanks.</p>
<p>Tufts has a way better representation on Wall Street and in Finance then those schools.</p>
<p>Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, is a Tufts alum. Recruiters from JPM, Goldman Sachs, UBS, etc. all recruit here–and in Investment Banking/front office.</p>
<p>This also applies to hedge funds–D.E. Shaw recruits at Tufts as well as SAC Capital (and again, for really good front office positions). Alumni also are present at some other well regarded hedge funds (ValueAct, Bridgewater, Maverick, other Tiger cubs, Skybridge, etc.).</p>
<p>And of course, mutual funds–Fidelity, Putnam, Wellington, and MFS all recruit at Tufts (Benefit of the Boston area).</p>
<p>Not to mention the undergraduate investment club on campus has been featured in businessweek–<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?;
<p>Tufts isn’t just outstanding in IR–it does extremely well in finance (Despite no business school or finance major), medicine, and even computer science (Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook all recruit here).</p>
<p>Didn’t the founders of ebay go to Tufts???</p>
<p>^yes. Pierre Omidyar</p>
<p>Classclown: I am glad to hear that you have decided to go to Tufts–my only hope for you is that you stop trying to convince yourself of your decision and actually have a positive experience at a great school (even if it doesn’t have the reputation of a Brown or Johns Hopkins). If you are secure in your decision, get off of CC and start experiencing all that college (and the end of HS) has to offer as oppose to try to convince others that Tufts is better than other places (which may be the case for you but clearly not for the majority of the population). Best of luck.</p>