Tufts Or Brandeis?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
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<p>Tufts or Brandeis?</p>

<p>I intend to major in political science and/or sociology and go to the best possible law school afterwards, so the comparisons most relevant for me are</p>

<p>What are the pre-law programs/advising like?
What are the acceptance rates into law school and where do people generally tend to go?
What are the alumni networks (specifically, for lawyers and politicians/government officials) like?
How difficult is it to maintain a very high GPA? (I've heard law schools look far more at GPA than major or specific school)</p>

<p>Also, is it difficult to double major?
What are the comparative social scenes like?</p>

<p>I realize these questions are rather broad, but any feedback would be appreciated. Thank.</p>

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<p>

It doesn’t take a mastermind genius to get into law school. The what they’re looking for is clearly stated by each and every school:

  1. Nail the LSATs
  2. Get good grades
  3. Spend lots of time on your personal statement. I’d start thinking about it a good year or two before your application.
  4. Volunteer somewhere</p>

<p>If you’re a philosophy or polysci major then your adviser will likely be experienced with the law school application process. Otherwise I believe there’s a dean you could talk to for advice.</p>

<p>

Acceptance rate is 100% - there are a lot of ****ty law schools out there. Which school you go to depends on your grades and LSATs…</p>

<p>

Ummmm maybe a kid in your fraternity will have parents that could get you a job?? Nobody is going to help you out simply because you went to the same place for undergrad.</p>

<p>

Every grad school weighs GPA far more than the “name” of the undergrad institution. Someone with a 3.9 at Umass will be more competitive than someone with a 3.5 at Harvard for all grad schools period, even though a 3.9 at Umass may be easier to achieve.</p>

<p>But your GPA is actually worth less at law schools than most other grad schools. To my knowledge they are the only type of grad school in which some adcoms have openly stated that they value standardized testing(LSATs) more than GPA. This is likely due to the fact that there is NO required curriculum, so ranking applicant’s ability on GPA alone is extremely difficult.</p>

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<p>I don’t know about Tuft’s students acceptance rates to top law schools, but I do understand that Brandeis students have excellent rates of acceptance at top law, medical and other graduate schools. As an interesting example from elsewhere on this site, a list of colleges with the highest placement ratios at Harvard Law School in 2006 puts Brandeis in the top twenty. Tufts is not on the list. See:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/662310-ranking-undergrad-highest-acceptance-rates-law-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/662310-ranking-undergrad-highest-acceptance-rates-law-school.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As a Brandeis alum who chose Brandeis over Tufts, allow me to share my view of your options which I have expressed before on this site.</p>

<p>In terms of education and prestige, I believe Brandeis is the easy choice overall.
Brandeis is truly an amazing school. It’s a special combination of small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. So, the research opportunities are tremendous. While not huge, I believe Tufts’ undergrad enrollment is at least 50% larger than Brandeis’.</p>

<p>Brandeis’ intellectual environment is comparable in many ways to its University Athletic Association sister school, U Chicago (perhaps no coincidence that the President of U Chicago is a Brandeis alum). Yet its students are down-to-earth, friendly and non-competitive with one another. FYI in a recent Forbes national college rankings survey, Brandeis was ranked 15th among research universities and 30th overall among all private univerities and LAC’s–a testament to its focus on undergraduate education. Larger schools, including some Ivies, were ranked much lower. </p>

<p>Despite its small size and relative youth, Brandeis alumni are very distinguished–to name just a few: Nobel Prize winner for chemistry Rod Mackinnon, Fields Metal winning physicist Edward Witten (often called “Einstein’s successor”), 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman of the NY Times, The Earth is Flat etc; Mitch Albom of Tuesday’s with Morrie (about his Brandeis professor), the Creators/Producers of Friends; actress Debra Messing; Robert FX Sillerman (billionaire businessman–currently owner of American Idol and Graceland) and Christy Hefner, former CEO of Playboy). I went to school with several of these folks and can tell you that it’s no coincidence that these fascinating alumni have emerged from the stimulating brew that is Brandeis. Also, if you’re into social justice, Brandeis is a very exciting place to be (Angela Davis, Abbie Hoffman, I could go on, are alums as well).</p>

<p>Finally, the school is very diverse both among undergraduate and graduate students, with a strong international flavor (in fact the majority of The Brandeis International Business School is international students). With respect to the issue for some of the school’s Jewish population, you should understand that less than 50% of its student body is Jewish. Brandeis is a non-sectarian school that embraces students from all types of backgrounds based on merit. The school has no religious affiliation, although it was founded and is funded signigicantly by the Jewish community. </p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!.</p>

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<p>^^ lol nice sales pitch and nice use of statistical manipulation.</p>

<p>The list you provided is ONLY for Harvard Law School class of 2006, which enrolls less than 500 students each year, just screams bad statistics. It also uses a per capita calculation of total number of students vs the number of students who actually applied, which makes the data meaningless even if it was statistically sound.</p>

<p>Oh and you consider a school with $500 million endowment a “top tier national research university”? Tufts has a slightly larger enrollment class but three times the endowment.</p>

<p>I don’t have anything against Brandeis but please don’t spew your biased ■■■■■ food here. One look at collegeboard or one visit to each college and you’ll clearly see that Tufts has the superior student body.</p>

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<p>Brandeis and TUfts are both excellent schools. Have you visited both? If so, where does your gut tell you you’d be happier? That’s the place you should go, because the questions you pose should NOT determine how you pick your college.
For me and, more importantly, for my kids (both of whom will be in college by September, one at Tufts) it’s not even a close call: Tufts over Brandeis for a list of reasons too numerous to go through.
But at the bottom line, this is a very subjective, personal decision. To the extent you want an objective factor, you might consider that Brandeis is in dire financial straits; at this point in time, if all other things were equal (and I don’t believe they are), I would definitely not choose Brandeis over Tufts. Tufts isn’t a richly endowed school, but Brandeis is simply a mess on that score.</p>

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<p>Detail, I respectfully disagree. The stats are not mine and are useful, not dispositive. As for endowment, Tufts has about a 70% larger student body overall than does Brandeis with its Medical, Veterinary etc. schools so it’s apples to oranges in that comparison. By the same token, statistical differences in quality of student body between the two schools are not significant. My point is not about respective research programs or endowments, but about the undergraduate experience. While Tufts has a fine student body and fine faculty as well, I simply suggest that the Brandeis undergraduate experience is the one I would (and did) choose for the reasons described. Ultimately the OP needs to decide where he feels the most comfortable. Sounds like we’re both a bit biased.</p>

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<p>I agree with WCASParent that it’s a personal choice. However, the information about Brandeis’ financial situation is incorrect. The reports of its budget issues lack context and have been overblown due to the administration’s initial inartful handling of its proposal to possibly sell a few paintings from its world-renowned Rose Art Museum.</p>

<p>Brandeis is hardly alone in this economy. According to news reports, many universities, even the wealthiest, like Harvard, are making budget cuts in response to severely diminished endowments and donations. Contrary to rumors, Brandeis did not have any of its endowment invested with Madoff, unlike Tufts that lost $20 million and with Madoff–although a major Brandeis supporter did lose funds. Brandeis has pledged to maintain financial aid and maintain, or improve, its world-class education by resisting the type of budget cuts that could undermine its core mission. The art-sale proposal is just one way it is considering to fund that pledge. The key here is that Brandeis is prioritizing students over things. Once again, the OP should find out the facts for himself or herself and make an informed decision.</p>

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<p>Brandeis’ campus looks like a prison…</p>

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<p>SATs
TUFTS (1340-1500)
BRANDEIS (1290-1450)</p>

<p>RETENTION RATE
Tufts (97%)
Brandeis (93%)</p>

<p>PERCENT OF MINORITIES/INTERNATIONALS
Tufts (33%)
Brandeis (30%)</p>

<p>PERCENT UNDERGRADS RECEIVING AID
Tufts (41%)
Brandeis (53%)</p>

<p>PERCENT WHOSE FINAID NEEDS WERE FULLY MET
Tufts (100%)
Brandeis (83%)</p>

<p>Sorry B77, Brandeis is a fantastic school and anyone who gets in their is lucky to attend, but your adamant ■■■■■■■■ is like wow. You’re offering up the fact that one time a few years ago Brandeis barely made the top 20 list of matriculants at Harvard Law? </p>

<p>As a Jew, I know for a fact that Brandeis does have the edge in being Jewish. Brandeis definitely owns Tufts at being Jewish (about 50% at Brandeis whereas Tufts is about 25%). So if that’s important to the OP, please consider.</p>

<p>To the OP, congrats! You have 2 great choices.</p>

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<p>Wow, this thread has gotten VICIOUS. In no way is it clear that Tufts has a superior student body to Brandeis based off of stats on college board. Yes, it may be slightly more selective, but that doesn’t mean the student body is superior.
However, I also disagree with the statement that Brandeis is an easy choice in prestige and education. They are fairly comparable in terms of prestige, with Tufts being slightly ahead. In terms of education, they are probably fairly comparable in most fields, with Tufts having an edge in fields like IR and engineering (which is obvious, since Brandeis doesn’t offer engineering). Beyond that, they are both fairly similar schools, although I prefer Medford/Somerville to Waltham and I think Tufts does have a nicer campus than Brandeis.
If they offered engineering, though, I definitely would have considered Brandeis along with Tufts. So, while I may be biased towards Tufts as I’m a student here, my brother does go to Brandeis.</p>

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<p>

70% larger total student body, 200% higher endowment. Not exactly apples and oranges.</p>

<p>The statistical difference in student body is about the same as the difference between Tufts and Harvard/Yale. If Tufts is a tier lower than Harvard and Yale, which I doubt anyone would disagree with, then statistically Brandeis would be on a 3rd tier.</p>

<p>To the OP, please disregard my first two posts; I’ve had a hurried and groggy morning. 8:00am friday morning labs are always fun…</p>

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<p>I disagree with detail. While Tufts is slightly more prestigious and selective than Brandeis, I would still consider the two schools to be on the same tier. Just looking at SAT’s, Tufts’s ranges are only about 30 points higher, and for ACT’s Tufts’s average is 1 point higher. While the difference between Tufts and Harvard is not much larger than that, it’s also worth noting that Harvard (and other Ivies/top schools) has a significantly lower admit rate (10-15% for most of those schools) than Tufts/Brandeis (~26% for tufts and low 30’s for Brandeis) and higher yield (50-80% for Ivies, low 30’s for Tufts and high 20’s for Brandeis).</p>

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<p>Looks like I touched a nerve. Sorry for “■■■■■■■■” as you put it in the Tufts forum. These are my heartfelt opinions and you are of course free to disagree respectfully. Both schools are full of top students and have different strengths in terms of faculty and curricular versus extra-curricular options. The OP should spend an overnight at both schools and see for himself or herself which is most appealing. Ultimately, it’s a personal choice.</p>

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<p>^^^^^^^ As an employed Tufts representative, let me state to everyone that what B77 is doing is completely appropriate in this space. The OP asked a sensible question, and although I happen to disagree with B77, I recognize the importance and validity of his/her POV. Ironically, the only posts in this thread that I would consider to be ■■■■■■■■ are the ones inappropriately bashing Brandeis, which is a fine school worthy of fine students.</p>

<p>At this point in April, no one should be asking US News and World Report or respective admit rates to tell them where to go.</p>

<p>Of course, I’d still choose Tufts, but that’s because of who I am and the character of the schools, not because there is something inherently better about one school or another. Personally, I find the idea of picking school based on prestige instead of based on where you feel best about yourself and your future to be hogwash. The admissions process is about FIT; let’s all work to remember that.</p>

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<p>

True. I only looked at what was readily available on collegeboard, which were sat scores and gpa.</p>

<p>Also FYI the Brandeis bashing was not intended to bash Brandeis. It was more of a rebuttal to the very questionable statistics used by B77.</p>

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<p>Sorry Dan i must disagree with you and say that B77 is not appropriate! To say that Brandeis is the easy choice in terms of academics and prestige is just not true, and then to further back it up by saying he’s a Brandeis alum who chose it instead of TU, i don’t know, I never heard of anyone doing that…it just seems sketchy that’s all!</p>

<p>Although I will give Brandeis credit! It’s a great school academically, from acquaintances I know who’ve went there its definitely more a academics oriented school and not a very social place, I’d place it in the mold of UChicago/Swarthmore, whereas Tufts is probably a little more of a social scene.</p>

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<p>**** about the endowment! Please! If you want to discuss money then there is more to consider than CURRENT student ratios. Tufts has been around for a little under 100 years longer than Brandeis. I would say that having a 700 million dollar endowment is pretty impressive for a National University with 3200 students competing with TOP schools (such as Tufts, among others) with much larger student populations-WHICH HAVE EXISTED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS LONGER. </p>

<p>When you get down to this point. Do what feels right. Both are top schools. Both will secure your future (Assuming you do the work). Both have great people, great academics, and great graduate schools waiting at their doors. If you want to be a lawyer, or a politician, you can’t go wrong at either (as long as you can keep up with the classes), unless you are unhappy.</p>