<p>I've been very fortunate in getting this dilemma. Chicago (admitted EA) and Tufts were the schools around which I centred my application process and are my top two choices. I understand that they are very different schools with very different approaches to academics and very different environments. I can see myself being very happy at either one right now. And I'm not quite keen on what all the differences are.</p>
<p>To put it shortly, I'm currently a football player, debate team captain, IB diploma candidate, and amateur policy analyst. I'm down for a good philosophical/political discussion any time, but I like watching football and hockey, and I want to be at the kind of place where asking who won the game last night won't bring weird looks from EVERYBODY.</p>
<p>I understand that Chicago is a 'life of the mind' kind of place. Its approach to pretty much everything is theoretical. I don't really mind that, and I don't really worry that I would come out of Chicago having no practical knowledge or skills. But I understand that it is not the place for the student who always wonders where they're going to use a given bit of knowledge in real life. I am not this type of person.<br>
My social experience of Chicago is limited, as of now, to staying with one of my friends at Breckenridge House. I understand that Breck is far from campus in more than a geographic sense. They're nerdier and crazier than the rest. It's not like I was terrified of the nerdiness when I was staying there, but I would be happier at another dorm and living with a different sort of people. Part of the process now is finding such people at Chicago. </p>
<p>I stratified schools I was looking at into 3 categories, particularly in their campus atmospheres and approach to IR. There were places that were rather idealistic, where it seemed that many students going on the social sciences path would pursue a career in activism. Activism isn't exactly my cup of tea (I know that I'd be hard-pressed to find a college devoid of activism, and I probably wouldn't even want to go there, but I don't want to go somewhere where it's a main focus of the school). I'm hoping to go into policy analysis. Needless to say, I decided against applying to most such schools.</p>
<p>The next type (Chicago) took a theoretical approach to things. Chicago is (was) home to people who I've modeled my worldview after like Milton Friedman and Hans Morganthau (which is odd, given my political leanings). They appear to view the world abstractly and to try to analyse things in theories and patterns. Moreover, the academic experience is multidisciplinary (a plus). </p>
<p>The last type (Tufts) emphasises teaching practical things. This is, by a slim margin, my most favoured approach. At one of the information sessions I went to, Dan was talking about a Tufts student/alumn (doesn't matter which) who was either involved in or was the architect of a partnership between MLB teams and Dominican villages to build schools to educate children and find baseball prospects. It's this sort of practical thinking--changing the world by uniting social welfare goals and practical financial interest--that greatly appeals to me. Moreover, Tufts overall educational approach seems not only multidisciplinary, but interdisciplinary. This is basically what I'm looking for. But I don't know enough about either Tufts or Chicago to make a decision yet. That's what the month of April is for! :-)</p>
<p>I've heard of a bunch of other folks having a choice between Chicago and Tufts as well as other places. Can I get some help in determining how accurate my evaluations are, what kind of people go to these schools (esp. Tufts, since I don't know anyone there), and what other sort of things might help me (and others) make their decisions?</p>
Maybe go to accepted students day at both and see how you’re feeling afterwards?</p>