Tufts vs GWU

<p>Tufts University has better International Relations rankings, and has higher SAT scores. It is slightly cheaper than GWU, but gives less financial aid. The "Ivy League safety school" connotation is also unappetizing.</p>

<p>George Washington University has a better location for internships, and a better name IMO, but has lower SAT scores and slightly lower rankings. It is more expensive, but gives more generous FA.</p>

<p>Price aside, what are your opinions?
Which is better for the liberal arts / business / and international relations?
Grad placement to Top10 MBAs?</p>

<p>I pm’d you.</p>

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Not a safety school any more.</p>

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Nope - not even close! (And I’m not a Tufts partisan; I just found this thread in the “What’s the Chatter” box.)</p>

<p>First of all, you shouldn’t base your decision on prestige; in my opinion, GWU and Tufts are very different in terms of lifestyles (urban vs. suburban, small university vs. large, TAs vs. hands-on professors, etc.) so there’s no guarantee you’d be happy at both. I agree with gadad that the Ivy League safety school reputation is very outdated and that Tufts’ reputation is much better than GWU’s now. For the liberal arts, especially, you should go with Tufts. And since it’s so close to Boston, internship ops should be similar to those at GWU, unless you want to work in something directly political like a White House internship, political campaign, or senator’s office. Good luck making your decision!</p>

<p>Have you visited both? Visiting each of them helped me make up my mind, three years ago. Fell in love with Tufts, and hated GWU so much that I withdrew my application. I have to assume you haven’t visited Tufts, because you have some strange ideas about it.</p>

<p>The “Ivy League safety school” connotation exists in exactly two places: the 1980s, and collegeconfidential forums (where, interestingly, it manages to coexist simultaneously with the equally false “Tufts Sydrome” myth, even though the two are mutually exclusive). We’re no more an Ivy League reject school than any other college not in the top ten but within the top fifty.</p>

<p>It’s also a strange idea to claim that GWU has a better reputation than Tufts. Reputation is subjective and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you’re definitely in the minority.</p>

<p>In response to your specific question re: business / liberal arts / IR, Tufts doesn’t have a business degree, so a lot of people that would have chosen that track choose econ or quantitative econ instead. But in terms of IR, Tufts is definitely better.</p>

<p>But like everyone else has said, they’re very different schools. GW is a lot more pre-professionally focused, I think, but that’s kind of a given considering its location, and Tufts is more focused on the undergraduate experience.</p>

<p>I kind of disagree with internships though - I think that being in DC vs. outside of Boston is kind of a significant difference. I LOVE Tufts but I’m not at all a fan of its location. And since I’m an IR major and I am interested in political internships, it almost makes me wish that I went to a DC school. Almost. </p>

<p>Ultimately, Tufts is worth the smaller availability of internships.</p>

<p>If being in DC is of all-consuming importance, you can do the Tufts-in-Washington program, which allows you to study in DC for a semester and guarantees an internship.</p>

<p>Why do you think GW has the better name? I don’t know much about it’s ug program, but in the legal community it’s known as an overpriced backup school that everyone applies to because they give substantial merit aid. I can’t imagine its ug reputation being too much better.</p>

<p>It’s worse.</p>

<p>Snarf,
What does one do for housing while doing the Tufts-in-DC program? Am curious if the houseing arrangements are an integral part of the formal internship experience, because S2 loves Tufts and wants to major in IR there, but we live in the DC area. Would be really nice if he could live at home for a semester and save us $$$!</p>

<p>Students are housed in American University’s dorms and pay room and board directly to American. I doubt this is actually a requirement, but I don’t know. Best thing to do would be to send an e-mail to <a href=“mailto:politicalscience@tufts.edu”>politicalscience@tufts.edu</a>, and Paula or Yvelle will get back to you.</p>