<p>k, so, i want to do international relations- naturally, tufts excels in IR., but..
it came down to
Tufts (known for IR)
Northwestern (IMO, a better academic school)
NYU (IR selective, but weak- but its in NYC...)
U of Michigan Honors (strong alumni network)</p>
<p>thoughts?</p>
<p>If you for sure want to study IR I think it's a no-brainer.</p>
<p>But I am worried by your comment "IMO, a better academic school" re: NU. Why do you think so? If we look at stats, the students accepted and enrolled at Tufts are actually negligibly higher... I'd say they're pretty comparable. And if selectivity matters at all, the acceptance rate at Tufts is lower... again, negligibly. BUt I don't understand why you're making that blanket statement.</p>
<p>I agree with Lola. Northwestern and Tufts are both very strong academically, and quite comparable. Certain things are better at Tufts (for example, community health, IR, languages) while others are better NU (journalism (not offered at Tufts to begin with), engineering). That being said, even the "weaker" depts at either school are still very strong b/c they're very good schools overall. However, if you're sayin you want to study IR, umm... what can I say? It seems obvious to the rest of us.</p>
<p>What kind of campus are you looking for? I dropped NYU off my list reallly early on because I didn't want the open campus (which is basically some buildings in the city). Tufts has a great, beautiful campus (which probably makes the extracurrics better, etc), which was more of what I was looking for.
It might also depend on where you live and how far away you want to go. Your schools are all in such different locations, so definitely take that into account.</p>
<p>New York City is extremely overrated now.</p>
<p>I don't believe that a beautiful camus makes the ecs better- you can still stay in your dorm and be on IM/facebook all day.</p>
<p>Where do you live? Are you looking for a change of scenery? Are costs/FA an issue? Do you want a larger student body?
They're all in cold areas ;)</p>
<p>NYC is becoming overrated. Tufts and Northwestern have boston and chicago (not like NYU's position in nyc but still). I'd narrow it down to Tufts and NU, but then again i don't know your financial status or location</p>
<p>NYC has been overrated since Giulliani came in in 94' and ruined the city. Manhattan is dead at night now. You've got the upscale cocktail lounges for sure but I don't know how appealing that's going to be for a college student. Yep, NYC has long since lost its edge. The whole Village looks just like Harvard Square. Uptown looks like Medford for crying out loud!!! It's just like any other creampuff city now, safe for yuppies but at the loss of all its edge on top of everything that made NYC unique. Chicago or Boston is your best bet if you're looking for excitement.</p>
<p>I meant that having a campus makes ecs better. Sorry I didn't clarify.</p>
<p>When was Boston not full of yuppies? I personally think Boston has lost a lot of "edge." Obviously Boston, NYC and Chicago are all great cities to be in. But, I think people on the Tufts forum really have to acknowledge that Tufts is in Medford, not Boston. i say this not in terms of internship opps but more how the city is used for social purposes. Obviously this is not everyone's top priority, but I think it's worth bringing up. (I would stay the same for NU and Evanston v. Chicago).</p>
<p>Tufts is just as much in Boston as BC is -- we may be geographically further from the center of downtown, but the subway line that connects us to downtown Boston -- the red line -- is much faster than the green line which services BC. I think Tufts is much closer to Boston (in literal distance and ease of getting to the downtown area) than NU/Evanston is to Chi-town. Also, tons of kids go to Boston every single weekend -- perhaps not every night, but quite often.</p>
<p>I agree that Tufts is closer, but it's still a similar situation. I.E. UChicago is in downtown Chicago, whereas NU is obviously a little further out. </p>
<p>Back to the poster's q: I guess it comes down to whether you love Tufts' IR program to give up a measly 13 points on USNEWS (which in my opinion is very much worth it). But, if you are not sure about IR (which it seems you are), then it may be better to think about the campus life, location, and other factors. Also, I don't think you should worry about the alumni network- all the schools are beyond well-known and top-notch schools in many, many disciplines!</p>
<p>"But, I think people on the Tufts forum really have to acknowledge that Tufts is in Medford, not Boston"</p>
<p>In a city that takes up hundreds of square miles like NY or LA being in the outlying areas might be a big deal in terms of commutage. But Boston is a very small city in area. Being in the outlying areas is not a big deal. There are neighborhoods in Boston (Dorchester, Jamaica Plains, Roxbury) that are actually further away from downtown than is Medford. </p>
<p>No, Tufts isn't "IN" Boston but come on, we're talking a 15 minute train ride here. And yeah, if you live on the B, C or D lines it's might even take considerably longer to get into Boston because those are trolleys, not trains and during rush hour you often have to wait until 2 or 3 trolleys pass bye before there is enough room for you to get on board. Those things are cramped like sardine cans...especially on the B</p>
<p>I want to clarify it's Chicago downtown that's 12 miles away from campus. Evanston and Chicago share a boarder and all of the nicest neighborhoods in Chicago are located along the lakefront between Evanston and Chicago downtown (collectively called the North Side; hence closer to campus). Happening neighborhoods like Lakeview/Lincoln Park are actually closer to NU than UChicago even UC is inside Chicago (in the south side).</p>
<p>Evanston is a pretty happening and fairly affluent (not snobby however) suburb with over 100 restaurants/cafes in/near the downtown area. There has been a lot of development in the past decade with strong housing market; people see it as one of the "hot" places to live. <a href="http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/campuslife/evanston.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/campuslife/evanston.htm</a></p>
<p>I went to HS in MA and spent a summer in Boston. I personally like Chicago more than Boston. While I like the intellectual atmosphere of Cambridge, Boston is too small; you can walk the whole thing in one day (I may be exaggerating but it felt like it).</p>
<p>No you can definately walk the whole thing in a day. That is true. Chicago is more of a megalopolis than just a city. Plus it has that early 90's NYC feel to it still which I like alot. But then again, the murder rate in Boston has soared over the past few years so maybe Beantown will have that same feel in a few years as well :)</p>
<p>Actually, the North Side is pretty nice and safe for the most part. It's the South Side that's considerably more dangerous or poorer. All you need to do is to just ignore the southern half of Chicago and it would look like a cleaner and less crowded version of NYC.</p>
<p>So let me get this straight. You shun Boston for it's yuppies yet you hang out in affluent neighborhoods and refuse to go to the South Side of Chicago?</p>
<p>Actually I like places like that. You go into working class neighborhoods and there's all this life going on outside. You go to the suburbs, or the affluent neighborhoods and it's like nobody goes outside at all, people barely know their neighbors, don't take any particular pride in their community...but then again why would they? They're never there and they don't know anyone in it!!!</p>
<p>Huh? Who shun Boston for its yuppies? All I said was that Boston is too small for me. </p>
<p>There are "working class" neighborhoods in the North Side. Working class and clean (I am not really talking about spotlessly clean) aren't mutually exclusive. I don't think you have the right picture. The North Side isn't snobby rich like Beverly Hills. It's not suburb (it's in Chicago)and doesn't have that kind of feel at all either. It's very urban and vibrant. There are a lot of "working class" people too. People, a lot of them in fact, go outside and feel comfortable to do so there. Neighborhoods like Lakeview and Andersonville have nice sense of community.</p>
<p>Yes, I didn't usually go to the South Side of Chicago, except Chinatown, which is relatively safe. I didn't venture into the area I didn't feel safe. Speaking of people not going outside, you'd find that's the case in some areas in the south side at night!</p>
<p>I like feeling unsafe. Different strokes for different folks I guess!!!</p>
<p>wow! thanks for all the advice, i enjoyed reading all the posts. But i think, im leaning towards NU. (please dont bite my head off tufts students!)</p>
<p>i can double in IR and social policy
as far as i can tell, their mock trial team looks more accomplished (feel free to correct me) and i def want to pursue collegiate mock trial
and i think NU's a better launch pad for law school- based on some more research</p>
<p>I live in TX- FA isn't too big of a deal, the 2 schools are about the same price anyway. </p>
<p>I'm going to visit NU soon, and if the campus turns me off, then Tufts, if it's everything everyone says it is..then prob NU.</p>
<p>But again, i realllllly appreciate everything! thank you!</p>