<p>DS is thrilled to get into Tufts, Brown, and Oberlin, and now has to make some tough decisions. We have to figure out the financial aid aspects, but assuming all three were the same financially, does anyone have advice on choosing? At this point, he is interested in international relations/development studies, history, and music (not necessarily as a major) -- but really, he is interested in all the liberal arts. He enjoys discussing issues from classes, politics, etc. late into the night, and is politically very liberal. He's hoping for a relaxed, friendly social atmosphere, with lots of opportunities to hear indy, rock, jazz, etc. music, and to play music with people (casually or in a band). Which would you choose? Obviously this is a Tufts thread so there's bound to be a bias towards Tufts, but it would be great to hear people's takes on the differences in atmosphere among the three. Thanks!</p>
<p>Well, if he is interested in International Relations, then Tufts is the place to be. I personally applied to Brown ED but got rejected from there. I did manage to get into Tufts. I will probably be heading to Tufts to do IR/Economics. However, if he is interested in History then I believe Brown is better. </p>
<p>That is the academics side of things. Tufts has a sub urban setting and it is extremely close to Boston, the hub for colleges. Brown on the other hand is further away, about an hour or two. So it depends which type of location he prefers. I personally think he will find the people at Tufts and Brown similar so that shouldnt be a problem.</p>
<p>But of what you have written about him, “enjoys discussing issues from classes, politics, etc. late into the night”, it certianly seems a interested in IR and the thing with IR is that you can take history classes as well. IR is best at Tufts and he can fulfill his desire for history through the courses he chooses. </p>
<p>So in conclusion, I believe Tufts will be a better place for him. But of course, it is his decision. Congrats for all the great schools he has gotten into :)</p>
<p>as i mentioned on the oberlin, thread brown is outstanding for international relations, as well as history and music.</p>
<p>[The</a> Watson Institute for International Studies](<a href=“http://www.watsoninstitute.org%5DThe”>http://www.watsoninstitute.org)
[History</a> Department at Brown University](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Departments/History/]History”>http://www.brown.edu/Departments/History/)
[Brown</a> University Department of Music](<a href=“Music | Brown University”>Music | Brown University)</p>
<p>the facilities for each are also amazing – the watson institute for international relations has a new gorgeous building designed by rafael minoly, the history department is in a recently renovated mansion, and the music department has it’s own minicampus featuring several beautiful buildings</p>
<p>If financial situation is the same, I would rank the options as follows: Brown, Tufts, Oberlin.
I love Tufts, and I think it’s a close second to Brown (with Tufts’ location being preferable because of proximity to Cambridge and Boston), but it’s tough to turn down Brown.</p>
<p>^I was thinking the same thing, WCASParent. I am in the same general direction. I got into Tufts, Duke, Georgetown, Brown, and Villanova. I have zero interest in Duke at this point (long story) so all things being equal (they are not – I got some little money from a couple of them and I of course don’t know about Tufts FA yet) but all things being equal, I am leaning towards Tufts, but the “Ivy” gravitational force keeps pulling me to keep Brown in my peripheral vision as I look again more closely at all of my choices. Plus, as JIS1 above said, I found the students to be very similar at Brown and Tufts from what I experienced on overnights at both schools.</p>
<p>Anyway, some serious thinking to do, and I consider myself fortunate to be in this “predicament”, if you can even call it that.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat + 1.
For me it’s between Tufts, Brown, Oberlin, and Washington U. in St. Louis. Oberlin is the only one to have given me any aid so far (though I’m yet to hear from tufts, and still trying to negotiate with the other 2), so that is a significant factor, but I still have some reservations about living in a town even smaller than the one I’m living in now, especially since I’m taking a gap year and will likely be living in Santiago, a huge city. I’m squeezing in a few more visits, but this is going to be a tough decision.</p>
<p>
While this doesn’t have to do with academics, I think Brown’s proximity to Boston is almost irrelevant, both in that it’s far enough away that I doubt you’d have much reason to go to Boston and in that it’s in Providence, which is not anywhere near as large as Boston but is still a pretty good city.</p>
<p>are you kidding? go to brown. brown is simply a better version of tufts. and certainly not oberlin. seriously though, brown> tufts any day.</p>
<p>Take Oberlin out of the picture.</p>
<p>Brown has the Watson Institute which is highly regarded for International Development. It’s smaller than the Fletcher School, so if he’s interested in research there might be less competition there to work with the best professors.</p>
<p>I also applied to Brown and Tufts, got rejected from the first but accepted by Tufts. I think in the end I would’ve chosen Tufts over Brown because, from what I’ve heard, Brown’s IR major needs quite a bit to go before it’s on par with Tufts, or Columbia and Georgetown. Faculty is better at Tufts as well because of the Fletcher School.</p>
<p>Yes, you’ve got your Ivy League “prestige” but the people who matter (grad schools, employers) will appreciate a Tufts IR major over a Brown IR major. Could your son visit both schools for a final look? Don’t discard Brown - Tufts history major is pretty poor and Brown has arguably a nicer campus.</p>