<p>Congratulations Macbeatlebaby, and welcome to the Tufts family! </p>
<p>Your daughter made a great decision! </p>
<p>I am a really old (according to my kids) Tufts engineering alum with a daughter currently enrolled at Tufts. </p>
<p>I live locally and have friends who are employed at several of the local universities including one at Harvard Medical School. He has served on the admissions committee. He was effusive in his praise of Tufts pre-med program when the subject came up in the context of his sons college decision process. Be aware that one reason that the Tufts pre-med program is so highly regarded is that it is very challenging. Another is its access to research and internships. </p>
<p>Just to clarify a potential concern, the idea that a liberal arts college has better access to research than a university that is ranked in the top 50 worldwide for clinical health does not make sense to me. Especially when one looks at the data behind the ranking that shows that the research citation rate (a quality metric) is comparable to the very top research universities (i.e. Harvard ).</p>
<p>[Top</a> 50 clinical, pre-clinical and health universities - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/subject-ranking/subject/clinical-pre-clinical-health]Top”>Subject Ranking 2012-13: Clinical, Pre-clinical & Health | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>
<p>Note that Tufts students also have access to opportunities at both MIT/Harvard research labs and hospitals as well as all of the opportunities afforded by the surrounding biotech community. </p>
<p>One key difference is that Tufts is 4 miles from MIT and accessible via public transportation and Wellesley is 14 miles from MIT and accessible by a Wellesley College bus that runs much less frequently and is subject to Boston commuter traffic.</p>
<p>Tufts also has the benefit of local engineering laboratories, including a tissue engineering lab that is shared with MIT and Harvard.</p>
<p>[HST</a> Research Centers and Collaborations | Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology](<a href=“http://hst.mit.edu/research/centers-collaborations]HST”>http://hst.mit.edu/research/centers-collaborations)</p>
<p>Note that the piece of data that OldScarecrow provided to support his opinion is both outdated and has been critiqued in other forums for having a number of logical flaws (which Hebrewhammer pointed out). </p>
<p>Wellesley is an excellent school. Tufts was lucky enough to be able lure away one of their top scholar/administrators. She spoke at accepted students day for my daughters class. I really liked her. She is a great person to get to know. Here is an interview which gives some insights into the differences in culture between the two schools and her experiences with research at Tufts.</p>
<p>[Joanne</a> Berger-Sweeney: The Way Forward for Arts and Sciences | Tufts Now](<a href=“http://now.tufts.edu/articles/way-forward-arts-and-sciences]Joanne”>http://now.tufts.edu/articles/way-forward-arts-and-sciences)</p>
<p>The nutrition institute at Tufts that Dr. Sweeney is referring to is one of the best in the world. Tufts was awarded the new US government nutrition research lab over Harvard back in the 80s, which caused quite a stir in the local academic community. I highly recommend your daughter take advantage of this resource should she choose to pursue medicine. The nutrition courses at Tufts are also top notch and both relevant and popular for non-premeds. </p>
<p>[Ranking</a> of Nutrition Graduate Schools — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](<a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/nutrition/rank/basic]Ranking”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/nutrition/rank/basic)</p>
<p>The engineering professor Dr. Sweeney is referring to is a great person to get to know, as she is a nationally recognized pioneer in making engineering/science more accessible for women. I think that both AriesAthena and HebrewHammer will agree with my totally unbiased opinion that Tufts engineers are really fun to work with and make great study partners in pre-med courses. </p>
<p>Your daughter might want to consider a major in Biomedical Engineering…</p>
<p>Another neat area is Cognitive/Brain Sciences. Tufts has a world-wide reputation as one of the best in this area and has research relationships with MIT.</p>
<p>[Tufts</a> University Center for Cognitive Studies - Home Page](<a href=“Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University”>Center for Cognitive Studies | Tufts University)</p>
<p>In terms of undergrad research funds, Tufts also has a program that you should be aware of:</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Education at Tufts University](<a href=“Homepage | AS&E Students”>Homepage | AS&E Students)</p>
<p>In terms of internship grants, Tufts also has a program that you should be aware of:</p>
<p>[Tufts</a> Career Center](<a href=“http://careers.tufts.edu/students/internships/funding.asp]Tufts”>http://careers.tufts.edu/students/internships/funding.asp)</p>
<p>There are also funding programs in some departments.</p>
<p>In terms facilities neither Wellesley (nor MIT , nor Harvard) has one of these</p>
<p>[Tufts</a> University Opens $27 Million Granoff Music Center](<a href=“http://www.newswise.com/articles/tufts-university-opens-27-million-granoff-music-center]Tufts”>Tufts University Opens $27 Million Granoff Music Center)</p>
<p>and your daughter must check out the Bubs when they perform there.
[Beelzebubs</a> perform for Obamas at White House](<a href=“http://blogs.tuftsdaily.com/?p=1566]Beelzebubs”>http://blogs.tuftsdaily.com/?p=1566)</p>
<p>Tufts new fitness center is very nice as well (my daughter uses it all the time):
[Photos:</a> Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, complete](<a href=“http://blogs.tuftsdaily.com/?p=5250]Photos:”>http://blogs.tuftsdaily.com/?p=5250)</p>
<p>And Tufts food is rated the best in Massachusetts (I kind of get a kick out of the fact that our friends at Harvard found a way to turn meals into a competition and serve waffles emblazoned with the Harvard logo)
[Best</a> Massachusetts colleges for food - Tufts - Your Campus - Boston.com](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/yourcampus/news/tufts/2012/11/mass_best_college_foods_rankings.html]Best”>http://www.boston.com/yourcampus/news/tufts/2012/11/mass_best_college_foods_rankings.html)</p>
<p>As far as professors go, here are three that were recently nationally recognized, but there are many more great ones.</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> Review names three Tufts professors among best in country - Tufts Daily - Tufts University](<a href=“http://www.tuftsdaily.com/princeton-review-names-three-tufts-professors-among-best-in-country-1.2782409#.UWDrkkrD_EY]Princeton”>http://www.tuftsdaily.com/princeton-review-names-three-tufts-professors-among-best-in-country-1.2782409#.UWDrkkrD_EY)</p>
<p>I am sure your daughter will have a great experience, and if any questions come up, just ask them via the parents thread!</p>