Hey guys! So my shortlist is currently the three schools above. Barnard was originally on there, but I got rid of it after I visited again and realized that I just didn’t feel “at home” on campus. Overall, I’m interested in pre-med and biomedical sciences/research. I have to decide quite soon, but am stuck between Tufts and UCLA. Any advice?
One of my family members is going through the same thing almost. Both are incredible schools, but it depends on what you want to do after undergrad. It’s much harder to be at the top of your class at a gigantic school like UCLA because it’s extremely competitive.
Tufts is smaller and, although it may have less name recognition on the west coast (which is weird because it is so difficult to get into), easier to shine at. Graduate programs and medical schools look at your ranking compared to your other classmates way more than name recognition.
I say go with Tufts.
Thank you so much for the feedback!
I guess the only two things I’m leery about with Tufts is that I’ve heard the administration is a little iffy (with social issues, such as sexual assault) and the biomedical research at UCLA is much more advanced and is all on campus. I really love working in labs, as I worked in one seriously for the past two years and enjoyed every minute of it. So if anyone has heard anything about those two elements, I’d love to hear about it!
However, my friend who goes to Tufts has a lot of friends working in labs. Also, I hear the advising system and class sizes are much better and more manageable, respectively, and Tufts has much better stats for getting their students into med school.
Sure thing! UCLA has the edge up on cutting edge research, so that’s something you’ll have to look at. Whether you will be involved with that research is a good question, too!
And regarding the administration at Tufts, I haven’t heard that before. But it’s possible. From when I visited and talked to the students, I got the feeling that all the students were really cool and fun. I visited LA as well and all the students seem really cool, too.
It all depends on what you want. You can’t go wrong with either choice, so just choose the one that you would be happiest at!
UCLA is the best school in the huge Los Angeles metropolitan market, or at worst on par with USC.
Tufts is one of the top 10 colleges in Boston.
@ClarinetDad16, if you’re implying that UCLA has a bigger name in the area than Tufts, I would say that at least 3/5 of the Claremont schools (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, and Harvey Mudd) arguably have a bigger name than UCLA, so I guess that wouldn’t be a huge factor in my decision.