<p>I am pretty sure Tufts has one of the best health-care plans in the US. It’s highly regarded for sure.</p>
<p>My daughter was choosing between Tufts, Bowdoin, Haverford, Swarthmore and UCLA. She chose Tufts and loves it.</p>
<p>
See if she loves it in four years when she is looking for a job. She made a big mistake…</p>
<p>
There is a reason why it is called Tufts Syndrome. Get over it! Which ivies rejected you? It seems like you have a chip on your shoulder…</p>
<p>[See if she loves it in four years when she is looking for a job. She made a big mistake…]</p>
<p>Why is that?</p>
<p>Actually, no ivy rejected me. I don’t have any chip on my shoulder. But it’s nice to know you like being a ■■■■■. :)</p>
<p>Interestingly, Tufts ties for 2nd with Upenn and Dartmouth for the number of undergraduate alumni that are fortune 100 CEO’s. Tufts syndrome doesn’t exist and going into a big ■■■■■-induced debate would be annoying. Just think what you want and I will think what I want.</p>
<p>This guy wants to get at everyone. Best to just realize that his claims are unfounded and provides no evidence of anything.</p>
<p>I don’t get this Tufts situation. It’s a great school. It is very well regarded in New England. If they gave Merit Aid my S probably would have applied. It seems like people have very strong opinions on it and I just don’t understand-what is wrong with the school? Why anyone would regret going there when they are looking for a job is beyond me.</p>
<p>I find this fascinating how much attention this school gets in the negative.</p>
<p><<<i just=“” don’t=“” understand-what=“” is=“” wrong=“” with=“” the=“” school?=“”>>></i></p><i just=“” don’t=“” understand-what=“” is=“” wrong=“” with=“” the=“” school?=“”>
<p>There is nothing wrong with the school, Pepper … </p>
<p>My daughter heads to Tufts, next Fall, after completing a Gap year–she was also admitted to Stanford as were two of her other school peers, who are currently at Tufts. As well, she has a current freshman friend at Tufts, who picked Tufts over an acceptance at Yale, and a daughter of a friend of a friend picked Tufts over Stanford and Harvard. All of the foregoing Tufts attendees picked based on subjective match, clearly–they didn’t respond to the siren call of U.S. News and World rankings–the “bible” for the insecure parent/applicant and vicarious parent who doesn’t know where they end and their child begins.</p>
<p>I am on the other side of the country, and I know applicants in Asia and Israel–Tufts, here and there, too, is regarded so highly.</p>
<p>Or to quote the Tufts freshman (the one who chose Tufts over Stanford and Harvard)<–she said that she found the Harvard students depressed or pretentious upon visiting the campus, twice, by the way): I have never met such an interesting and inspiring group of people. And everyone is so nice. I love it here.</p>
</i>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sadly, I think she’ll be depressed when she realizes that she perhaps made the biggest and “not so smart” decision in her life by going to Tufts over those other schools. I truly hope it works out for her…</p>
<p>It’s a great school, stop being bitter.</p>
<p>Tufts is ranked 14th for happiest students by the Princeton Review this year. So chances are that she won’t be sad. ;)</p>
<p>Hope she will be happy with her choice…am…have to say however, that everyone in this globe knows that Stanford and Yale are world top 10 schools, and while Tufts is a really good school, it is not in peer with those.</p>
<p>" Or to quote the Tufts freshman (the one who chose Tufts over Stanford and Harvard)<–she said that she found the Harvard students depressed or pretentious upon visiting the campus, twice, by the way" </p>
<p>Sure…sure…just don’t tell us that Tufts is the best university in the whole world… To choose Tufts over Harvard or Stanford one must be incredibly stupid, or the financial circumstances (e.g. received a huge load of money from Tufts) forced him/her to go there. Again: it is a very good school, but not top notch, and not world leading.</p>
<p>Gerald: “Again: it is a very good school, but not top notch, and not world leading.” </p>
<p>Ah yes - the “world leading” herring. Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs went to Harvard. He turned out to be quite a world leader - lead us into the financial sewer. Tufts creates world leaders of different sort. They bring health care to small villages. Choose the type of leader you want to be. Then choose the appropriate school for you. Don’t write such twaddle as "one must be incredibly stupid, or (received a huge load of money from Tufts) forced him/her to go (to Tufts). </p>
<p>Shame on you. You’re from Oxford. (Oxford…Oxford…who else have I heard about recently who comes from a university named Oxford…hmmmmm…oh yes, the next President of Tufts University)</p>
<p>And just for the record, my son is a senior at Tufts. He has worked hard, (and has had academic success) played hard, and has made a large, diverse community of friendships. His biggest disappointment and only regret is that his time at Tufts University has passed much too quickly.</p>
<p>It’s a fact. Harvard is the number one school on Earth, and Stanford also ranked in the top 5-10. You can cite as many idiots as you wish, who graduated from Harvard, but this changes nothing at all. </p>
<p>“They bring health care to small villages”</p>
<p>Ahh, come on…so all Harvard graduates are devils, and Tufts graduates are saints, right? Surely…</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son. As I said, Tufts, is a very good school. Frankly, I would be extremely happy if after receiving a PhD, I can get a tenure track assistant professorship at Tufts. Wonderful university, truly it is. But, despite all of its achievements, it is not a word top 10 university, and even not a world top 20. Great school, but please, do not compare it with HYPSM, the Ivies, or Oxbridge. But it is not a problem. It is a fact. But it is also not a problem at all :)</p>
<p>My response - which I admit was somewhat flippant - reflects my belief that the single criterion that determines “world class” has to do with the quality of the research that comes out of the institution. When it comes to undergraduate education, shibboleths such as “world class” reflect little of an institution’s ability to educate undergraduates. I would argue that any school is only as good as the instructor in your son or daughter’s classroom.</p>
<p>I have friends and colleagues who have sent their sons and daughters to “world class” Ivy League schools. Once they have gotten past their initial pride in being able to say “my (son/daughter) is going to X”, they often don’t say much else. Checking in with several of them I have often heard variations of “Well, to tell you the truth (my child) isn’t too happy there. The classes are large. The professors seem disconnected and erudite, and the competition is fierce”. </p>
<p>During the past few years, I have met many students at Tufts and have spoken to a fair number of Jumbo parents. When I share my son’s enthusaism for the school, his courses, his firendships, and his professors, I typically hear “Y’know, I’ve heard that too”. </p>
<p>I am not associated with Tufts in any other way. I am not shilling for the adminssions department. As you wrote, it’s simply a fact. But it’s a profoundly, authentic fact, and it captures something that will not show up in typical “Best Schools” lists. Tufts is full of very, very smart kids, who tend to challenge themselves with academically challenging courses, with very smart (even if not “world class”) instructors who seem to have genuine interest in them.</p>
<p>Is it a World Top Ten University? Probably not. And frankly, I don’t care. And I would suspect that many students (and Jumbo parents) don’t care either. Tufts is an academically challenging, friendly, supportive academic community. A community. It can not be emphasized enough. That means it has problems and challenges as do most communities. But it also has an administrative structure that cares about the school’s academic standards but not at the expense of caring about the quality of academic life for its prime constituents - and consumers - its students.</p>
<p>High academic standards and a strong sense of community. I’ll take that over world-class indifference and anonymity any day of the week. So apparently, will most of Tufts students.</p>
<p>I appreciate that smiley at the end of your post. I’m sure you’re a nice guy, and would have loved to be able to continue the discussion over a cup of tea.</p>
<p>“Ah yes - the “world leading” herring. Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs went to Harvard. He turned out to be quite a world leader - lead us into the financial sewer.”</p>
<p>hahaha, may be the world is so wrong because we have gangs from Harvard, Princeton, Yale leading us in the last century. Do it Tufts and the new gangs. hope with the new way Tufts leading in drawing the best and the brightest students to the top American universities, we will see some wonderful changes in the next century. Peace.</p>
<p>To be fair, best universities are pretty subjective. It’s funny because on USNWR website, the US national rankings and the world rankings don’t match up (that is, there isn’t transitivity). It’s because they get it from another source. For example, The Times Rankings of World Universities (Which use, “objective” data) ranked Tufts 53rd in the world–ahead of Dartmouth and Brown.</p>
<p>I think the argument you are making is premised upon perception. At the end of the day, students should be happy where they go. They should have a good “fit.” Because you will get a great University if you go to Tufts, Northwestern, or Harvard, whatever. Sometimes fit also entails what you want (IR for Tufts, for example). Because if you are happy/it’s a good fit, you will make the most out of it. Tufts does tie Harvard (and JHU) with the number of Fulbright scholars. And Tufts, despite not having a business schools, ties for 2nd (with Upenn and Dartmouth) for the number of undergraduate alums that are fortune 100 CEO’s. </p>
<p>Yet these really don’t say so much. Why? Because there are two sides to the issues: the school and the students. The students at these top schools like Tufts are brilliant. To say otherwise is very naive. At the same time, some schools are very different. Some schools have a vibe of getting rich and famous while others emphasize saving the world. Yet even within those frames, people still find their niche that is opposite of the general vibe.</p>
<p>But there are plenty of Tufts students who will become famous, and plenty that won’t. The same goes for Harvard or any other excellent institution. At the end of the day, it’s what you make of it. I am one to believe that a lot of schools are grouped because of their graduate school, and not their undergraduate. I mean, Tufts has resources. Their student/teacher ratio is very low (like 8:1 or 7:1) and people tend to be happy.</p>
<p>Because at the end of the day, if you are happy and really make the most out of a university, you will end up getting noticed by an employer. You may argue that some institutions attract employers more. This is true, for sure. But Tufts is recruited by JPM, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Google to name a few. Not to mention all the IR recruiting.</p>
<p>You are right when you say that Harvard is more recognized around the world. Probably more people know that. Yet you would be surprised. There are people in the midwest who don’t even know what schools entail the ivy league, or they have never heard of Columbia University (or even Yale sometimes). The truth is that Tufts is growing it’s reputation. The new president should be evidenced of that (Pro-Vice Chancellor at Oxford MD and PHD who discovered the first gene for language…that’s pretty impressive).</p>
<p>I think wherever you go, if you work hard and are happy, the results will be worth it. After all, getting a job is what matters. Once you land it, no one really cares where you went to school. And it’s probably true that there is heavy recruiting done at places like Harvard, etc., yet it’s naive to think that Tufts is devoid of those opportunities. This same argument applies for grad schools. I mean, I-banking for Goldman recruits at both Harvard and Tufts, for example. Clearly there is some clout for both schools.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put too much stock in anything SWHarborfan says. She stated:</p>
<p>My daughter heads to Tufts, next Fall, after completing a Gap year–she was also admitted to Stanford as were two of her other school peers, who are currently at Tufts. As well, she has a current freshman friend at Tufts, who picked Tufts over an acceptance at Yale, and a daughter of a friend of a friend picked Tufts over Stanford and Harvard.</p>
<p>But she previously said:</p>
<p>Stanford, even though my husband is an alum, and I did a writing fellowship, there (among other grad/medical school, elsewhere), is not for everyone. And, sure enough, a handful of students who were in my husband’s freshmen dorm transferred after freshmen year.</p>
<p>My daughter spent a very social summer, there, last summer, living in the dorms, taking 3 rigorous classes, and, generally, enjoyed the group of friends she made.</p>
<p>Stanford, however (despite overtures from two of her professors to apply for admission), held no thrall for her.</p>
<p>She also said her daughter applied ED to Tufts (which I think is a great school, by the way).</p>
<p>Parent of a semi-finalist for National Merit who is applying for Regular Decision status to Tufts. He was going to apply Early Decision but then got kind of stressed out not having more time with the essays. My son is pretty clear that Tufts “spoke” to him like nowhere else. He also knows kids ahead of him who landed at places like MIT and Cornell and found the social scene unappealing enough to transfer, so he was pretty cautious about how he picked his future college.</p>
<p>Brassrat, I know 3 applicants (one of which is a cousin ) who applied for Early Action and Early Decision and got into both schools. Two of those situations were completely honest mistakes, the kids did their applications independent of parental monitoring. The other applicant I don’t know whether dishonesty was involved or not. Either way, all three kids honored their Early Decision choices and also had an Early Action acceptance.</p>
<p>Brassrat, it is allowable to apply to both EA and ED. You obviously can apply to only one ED school, but one can apply to several schools EA (unless the specific school has a restriction on EA apps). Georgetown, for example, does not allow EA applicants to apply ED. Yale, Stanford and a couple of others have SCEA – you can only apply to the one SCEA, but can still apply ED elsewhere.</p>
<p>Both my kids applied to multiple EAs – just not SCEA.</p>
<p>Therefore, it is perfectly possible for a student to apply to Stanford SCEA and Tufts ED and get into both. No conflict, nothing hinky about it.</p>