<p>I live near both B.C. and Tufts, and I'm interested in both, but I don't know much beyond what I've read at collegeboard. If you guys have a preference between the two, or know something about them you think is worth sharing, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>So since this is the Tufts thread, I'm obviously going to be pro-Tufts, but I'll try to explain why I didn't even apply to BC.</p>
<p>BC is about twice the size of Tufts; I felt that that was too large for me. I come from a graduating class of 140, and I thought that all of a sudden having a class of 2000+ would be overwhelming. When I visited BC, the campus was pretty, but I got the impression that the student body was very homogenous (mostly Catholic/Protestant upper-middle-class white kids). I wanted more diversity out of my college experience. I got the sense that BC kids could be smart and interesting, but the kids I know who chose BC were sort of like, poster-children for high school: attractive, lots of friends, partied hard. (which is not a bad thing, I'm just writing what I think). Also school spirit is big at BC - they love going to football games and such. If you like school spirit, I'd say choose BC over Tufts.</p>
<p>I liked Tufts better because of the size, the student body, diversity, and the greater focus on academics and the international arena. It's a nice, laid-back atmosphere where I felt I could meet people from lots of different places, and not just the same Christian kids over and over.</p>
<p>Let's go, first, with the stereotype of each school's student body:</p>
<p>BC: Abercrombie preppies who really love sports
Tufts: Internationally-focused kids who want-to-save-the-world</p>
<hr>
<p>Based on the kids I know at BC, I would say that stereotype holds up for the average student there. Same for the Tufts stereotype. My personal opinion, so take it for what it's worth.</p>
<hr>
<p>Now, I didn't even think of applying to BC because my guidance counselor successfully convinced me that the academics at BC are overrated and not stellar. Now, whether that's true or not, I don't know. My boyfriend took a summer course there that was easier than his high school courses -- but that was summer school, so who knows. </p>
<p>I think that the stats of accepted/enrolled students at either school shows that Tufts attracts more academic-minded students. But I also know that stats aren't everything.</p>
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<p>Enough rambling. I think Bluirinka really honed it down to the important stuff: these two schools are not really that similar. Not in terms of things like sports, academics, student bodies, etc. They're nearly opposites, in fact.</p>
<p>Edit: in my last post, I swear I can spell homogeneous. LOL sorry, I hate spelling errors and it won't let me edit :(</p>
<p>Tufts has to have some party scene for the athletes that do choose to go to a school like Tufts over a school like B.C. and for the kids who just love to party and study hard.</p>
<p>Of course it does. On a whole, I'd say Tufts parties more than most people think? I mean last semester I took five pretty rigorous courses (EC11 intermediate micro, EC13 economic stats, EC 60 international econ and finance, Math 13 multivariable calc, JAP2 elementary japanese) and I intend to again next smester (EC107 econometric analysis, EC18 quant. macro, Math38 differential equations, Math46 linear algebra, JAP3 intermediate japanese) but still went out a lot. Even my engineering friends who often take on a courseload over the liberal arts' 5.5 credit max ones go out quite often. Even problem sets and exams the next day don’t deter me from going out to the bars on Tuesday and partying Thursday through Sunday. So, while I do think there are a lot of people who fit the stereotypes there are just as many if not more who break them at tufts. The real difference between Tufts and BC isn’t so much the fundamental principles and stereotypes that define each school, rather it’s as someone mentioned before, the diversity at tufts. I feel that everything from great parties to school spirit to copious amounts of drinking you can get at BC (except for perhaps the Div 1 sporting events themselves), you can get at Tufts, but the opposite isn’t true. The social life at tufts can easily stack up to the social life at BC (sometimes I even think its better, after visiting my friends who go to BC) but BC just doesn’t have as much diversity as tufts. Now in the following statement, I don’t mean to imply ALL BC students are of a lower academic and intellectual level than those at tufts, but I always get the feeling BC students just aren’t as bright or worldly. I judge this based on a variety of things based on my own experiences at both schools and a simple comparison of the kids who went to tufts from my high school and the kids who went to BC (they were mostly kids who might’ve taken honors classes but worked forty times harder than other kids to pull off maybe a B-/B?). Perhaps it’s that I am like you and live in the area (im north of city.. my towns not really a feeder to BC, but I do get the feeling BC is somewhat preferential to our town), or perhaps it’s that BC isn’t as selective (I’m more inclined to thinking the latter) but the student body at tufts, on a whole, is of a higher caliber than that of BC’s. kind of harsh I know, but I’m willing to elaborate if anyone’s offended or if I haven’t been very clear?</p>
<p>Tufts is more diverse than BC? In what sense? By the number alone, Tufts is not really a diverse school.</p>
<p>Tufts:</p>
<pre><code>* 51% Women
* 49% Men
* <1% American Indian/Alaskan Native
* 12% Asian/Pacific Islander
* 4% Black/Non-Hispanic
* 6% Hispanic
* 59% White/Non-Hispanic
* 6% Non-Resident Alien
* 13% Race/ethnicity unreported
</code></pre>
<p>BC:
* 53% Women
* 47% Men</p>
<pre><code>* <1% American Indian/Alaskan Native
* 10% Asian/Pacific Islander
* 5% Black/Non-Hispanic
* 9% Hispanic
* 70% White/Non-Hispanic
* 2% Non-Resident Alien
* 4% Race/ethnicity unreported
</code></pre>
<p>But giving Tufts the benefit of the doubt, this is 05-06 data, so perhaps it grew more diverse in one year. And unless the 13% unreported are all african-american, hispanic or native american, I don't see how Tufts is diverse in term of racial diversity. Furthermore, BC being larger in term of student population, has more non-caucasian students than Tufts does. BC's international student is only 10%, so perhaps Tufts' international is much, much higher than that number. Can the Tufts' students clarify what they mean by diversity and where's the data for it.</p>
<p>P.S.
I'm not here to pick a fight, I want to understand Tufts diversity.</p>
<p>I think maybe it's that in the "White/Non-Hispanic" category are all the European students, of which there are a lot.</p>
<p>And I've met a bunch of American kids who grew up in random places like Zimbabwe, so even though they're white kids, they have so much to offer in terms of cultural diversity.</p>
<p>By diversity, I don't really mean racial diversity. In fact, I really couldn't care less about racial diversity. What sets Tufts apart is diversity of opinion, of background, and of other factors than skin color. I mean, would it really be "diverse" if a school was comprised of whites, blacks, and an asians but who all were diehard starwars fans and really bookwormy or if they all were athlete frat types etc.? Not really (which I think is one of the flaws in affirmative action.. but probably shouldnt go there).. I guess that's what people are trying to get at.. the fact that even though BC has "racial diversity" the attitudes, opinions, and inner qualities are more homogenous.. that more kids fit into the generalization given to the school than not</p>
<p>Tufts manages to find diversity within ethnic groups and I think that's what makes it great. Yet, it still manages to find students who are so intelligent across the board.. additionally, even though i think the school does have an image as a maybe left-of-center-let-us-save-the-world image.. i would say that's more the image the university is trying to create than the reality as represented by the student body</p>
<p>Socioeconomic status and backgrounds are the primary divisions between the two schools. BC is highly more regionalized in this sense in addition to elite sports recruitment. Don't forget the number of internationals that flock to Tufts.</p>
<p>Thank you all the Tufts students for answering the questions and providing a insightful perspective into their school. Since I don't go to Tufts, I don't have an accurate understanding about the school and its inner culture; whatever information I have is through friends attending there and data flowing around the internet. Being from BC, I'm more knowledgeable with its environment and yet I don't experience the stereotypical image of BC that you guys present here. There is a saying in Medieval philosophy: "Like attracts like," when you place students in a foreign environment like college, the first thing they do is gravitating toward the people that are most like the people they knew in high school or their neighborhood, and you'll find freshmen "bubblelize" (I made up this word up) themselves with people they are most comfortable with. But what I found at BC, and my friends at other universities report similar experience, is that students begin to break away from the comfort bubble after they have experienced college for a semester or two and begin to find new friends from different groups whether it's through clubs or service organization. Different schools do this "de-bubble" process differently, and with BC we put nearly a thousand students each semester to service trips across the world and have them spent time together in very intimate and foreign settings. You'll begin to see the line blurring after sophomore and junior year, and students truly interacts with out reservation. </p>
<p>I don't think it's fair or accurate to portrait BC in such a one dimensional image without being at this school and experience it for yourself the diversity--in a very broad sense of the word--that our school offers. I partially agree with lolabelle when he/she said that we are two different schools. Nevertheless, I think that we have a very similar educational goal: developing a well-educated person and not just train them for a vocation; Tufts wants to make its students globally-minded and works for a more cosmopolitan world; BC wants to give its students a sense of a common brotherhood/sisterhood through service for other. </p>
<p>It's easy to be over prideful of our school, and I know I'm overly zealous at time, and express our pride at the expense of other institutions. I honestly believe we should be careful when we render judgment on other institutions that we have no first hand experience. I remember a friend of mine calling Tufts "the place where Ivy-rejects go," and I had to stop and explain to him that four people I know turn down Ivy universities, one of which is Harvard, for Tufts because of its amazing academics and the quality of student life; Tufts fits perfectly into what they want in a college and they rather have fit than a facade of prestige. The college application has become a vicious and no-hold-bar process, and when we begin to play into this "survival of the fittest," by tearing our competitor a "new one," we are betraying the purpose of our education, and that is to be above ignorance and prejudice.</p>
<p>Reddune, I'm with you that I can't pass judgment on an institution that I don't attend. But I guess I was just trying to answer the question - which, to me, as a Tufts student, was "Why did you choose Tufts over B.C.?" - and naturally, my reasons had to be based on my impressions of B.C. rather than my time spent as a student there.</p>