<p>So I've gotten into Tufts and NYU for undergrad, but still don't know which one I should go to. I plan on going to law school and majoring in ART HISTORY. I've always wanted to go to NYU, it's been my dream school but everyone's been telling me that I'm making a mistake choosing it over Tufts. I come from a very poor family, our EFC is 0 and our annual income is less than what it costs for half a year of tuition at either of these schools so money is a factor, but I'm willing to take out huge loans if its worth the experience. So what do you guys think? </p>
<p>Tufts - pros
*Higher rank
*is in a cheaper area, will be able to afford to hang out more with friends</p>
<p>Tufts- con
*full of Ivy-league rejects, people who don't necessarily want to be there
*sort of a bland atmosphere</p>
<p>NYU - pros
*Lots of museums and gallerys to intern at
*Lots of diverstiy, full of people excited to go there
*easier to get a good GPA (according to some unreliable sources)</p>
<p>NYU - cons
*didn't get enough financial aid
*won't be able to afford a NYC lifestyle </p>
<p>It seems financial considerations are very important to you, as they rightly should be, so on those terms alone, you should certainly pick Tufts.</p>
<p>However, if you do, I want to assuage your misconceptions about Tufts. FYI, I am a senior at Tufts right now. I think the idea that Tufts is full of "Ivy league rejects" is not true, and definitely not true in 2007. Maybe this could have stood on solid grounds in 1970 but Tufts is extremely competitive: its students have higher stats than Cornell, one Ivy League, and nearly identical stats to Northwestern, Hopkins, Georgetown, and the like which are considered peer schools to the Ivies (as Tufts is). Also, there are several people who turned down Ivies for Tufts (for a myriad of reasons). I, for one, turned down Cornell and Dartmouth. About half the class applied ED, which means that about half of the people here had Tufts as their first-choice. Finally, the atmosphere is not bland! Sure, Medford isn't fabulous, but we're 5 minutes from Boston by subway, and 5 minutes walking from Davis Sq. which is at the epicenter of trendy Somerville. I think that Tufts' location provides the best of both worlds: an academic, suburban campus that is conducive to studying, and the proximity to a huge city where 1 in 3 people is a college student.</p>
<p>Finally, yes, Tufts is a generally more well-regarded school than NYU. I am an art history minor and love it here. The department is great. It's small which gives you the opporutnity for very close interaction with other students and the faculty. My boyfriend is a major and has also had great experiences. You might also be interested in the fact that Tufts also runs the School of the Museum of Fine Arts which is the fine arts school run through the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston. So in addition to all the art history classes you can take at Tufts, you can take any at the SMFA for credit (in addition to their studio art classes).</p>
<p>Well NYU is known for being stringy with financial aid most of it is in loans which would be too hard for me to pay back. . . I still don't know about Tufts, because the fiancial aid package is supposed to come around the 6th but from what I've heard, I should be able to easily afford Tufts.</p>
<p>Also from a law school perspective, is it going to make a difference which school I go to? Because my friends have told me that it's easier to get to law school graduating from Tufts because of pre-law resources etc. but I don't know if that's true.</p>
<p>Pre-law advising at Tufts is very good, according to my friends who have just been accepted to law school and those already at their respective law schools. However, I can't imagine NYU pre-law advising is poor... advising is really what you make of it: how you establish your relationship with the pre-law advisor and how much work and research you put it into it yourself. I wouldn't make pre-law advising the deciding factor between Tufts and NYU.</p>
<p>That being said, maybe something like law school placement and LSAT scores would be better for you to look at... though I say that with a real big grain of salt because you shouldn't be thinking of these things until right before your senior year in COLLEGE, not HIGH SCHOOL.</p>
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I come from a very poor family, our EFC is 0 and our annual income is less than what it costs for half a year of tuition at either of these schools so money is a factor, but I'm willing to take out huge loans if its worth the experience.
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<p>Definitely TUFTS, not only is it an amazing school, as I am sure that they are giving you close to a free ride. (we are no where near a "0" EFC and D got a great package the year she was accepted).</p>
<p>Reality check here-Unless you got in through HEOP, NYU is never going to give you all of the money you need to attend because even if you were lucky enough to get their top scholarship in the amout of 25K, where are you gonna get the rest of the money. The most you will be able to borrow is 3500 through stafford, 4000 from perkins and an additional 4000 as an unsubsidized stafford is your parents can't get a PLUS loan. Okay this is $12,500 in loans the first year and now you just have to find a way to borrow (unlikley) or get a co-signer (fool with a pen) to get the other 12,500</p>
<p>Just going this route and taking out the maximum amount of federal loans your will have 51K in DEBT over 4 years which is not counting the other 50k in debt that you will need from either private lenders or co, signers. Then you are talking about adding another 200k for law school so you will have
300k in debt upon graduation.</p>
<p>From a parents perspective: my D was accepted to Tufts (took courses at NYU during high school and was turned off by it) and I have 2 graduate degrees from NYU and I would tell her to choose Tufts in a heartbeat as NYU especially at the undergrad level is very sink or swim where I found Tufts to be a more supportive environment. I know some students like having a more "hands off" approach and you will get that at NYU. </p>
<p>One of her friends is a current junior at Tufts doing the joint degree program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and loves it. </p>
<p>Wait until you get your aid package and you will find the decision having already being made for you. Book your trip to the admitted students days in Medford as you will have a great time (and a great education at Tufts).</p>