Tufts vs Johns Hopkins

College Search & Selection
21

Jesus, some people really feel the need to step in and defend their school.

@Jsteez is being intentionally misleading. JHU is using the new SAT score range to represent their scores, and Tufts is using the old scores. This means that they’re almost exactly the same when adjusting for how the new SAT inflates scores. And regardless, Tufts students (even those who study STEM and premed) aren’t cutthroat at all and are extremely friendly. I have asked people to help me on projects and they’ve stayed up till 1-2am helping me for no reason other than to be nice. If you need help, classmates are always willing to help and the support is great. I can honestly say that when I took organic chemistry over the summer at a state university, a premed I met from JHU said that it was an extremely cutthroat/competitive environment and that it was needlessly stressful. A premed I met from Cornell said the same thing, which holds up with the reputations the schools have.

JHU is the better known university worldwide, has better research, and is probably more prestigious. I can 100% guarantee that you can get the same quality of education at Tufts and that the environment is more relaxed. I wanted to apply ED to JHU for my entire life, until I actually visited it and saw how stressed the students were and how no one at the school seemed to be interacting with any of the cool technology they had on display. I’ve gotten to work with world class professors at Tufts who have started multibillion dollar cutting-edge biotech companies and don’t have any regrets about Tufts from an academic standpoint, other than that being at a smaller school with a smaller endowment means fewer options for classes. If someone wants to go to JHU they can obviously be successful and have amazing opportunities. I don’t think that my classmates at Tufts really think that going to Tufts instead of JHU would limit their opportunities, especially considering I have classmates that turned down better schools than either of them (e.g. Duke, UPenn, etc.) and are happy with their decisions.

22

@micmatt513

It’s ironic -one gets blasted for coming in to defend their school post misleading statements against it only to have you do the same. I went to Hopkins OP, majored in engineering. I graduated near the top of my class in engineering in 2015 and went to MIT for grad school on a full fellowship (just graduated). My friends and classmates were hardly cutthroat (in fact we all studied together for exams and projects) - and I personally had a blast. Many of them also went top med schools (Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, MIT/Harvard HST). I found time to study and went to fells point. little italy, federal hill, etc etc for clubbing and parties. I know literally hundreds of Hopkins grads that loved their time there. What’s your small sample size micmatt513?

To the OP: There are Hopkins Football athletes that literally have a 4.0 or Hopkins soccer players majoring in BME with a 3.85+ GPA:

https://hub.jhu.edu/2012/12/05/football-academic-all-america/
http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/111816aaa.html

I can point to numerous other articles about other athletes (including BME majors that have a 4.0 as well - but hm… must be crazy cut throat to achieve a 4.0 with a demanding sport right?) Simply put, the school’s academics are tough but no where near as bad as some on here make it to be. I can talk to you personally or introduce you to chem e friends if you want more first hand accounts.

Here are some objective facts for enrolled students from the Class of 2020: (Hopkins and Tufts SAT scores using the same old scale):

Hopkins Enrolled Freshman Old SAT Scale: 1420 to 1570

Source: http://members.ucan-network.org/jhu

Hopkins enrolled ACT: 32 to 35

Hopkins Enrolled Freshman New SAT Scale: 1480 to 1560

Source: https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/08/24/class-of-2020-overview-facts/

Tufts Enrolled SAT (Old Scale): 1370 to 1520
Tufts Enrolled ACT: 31 - 34 (Mean is a 31, below Hopkins’ enrolled 25th percentile)

Source: http://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/enrolled-student-profile/

All of the above was for the Class of 2020. For the class of 2021 (admitted this year), Tufts had an admitted SAT (new score scale) score average of 1445. This is below the Hopkins enrolled new SAT 25th percentile with a range of 1480 to 1560 for last year’s class (keep in mind admitted test scores for Hopkins are even higher than 1480 to 1560).

The average Tufts ACT for admitted students for the class of 2021 was a 33. Still likely lower than what Hopkins admits given the enrolled (again admitted profile is higher) ACT range was a 32 to 35 for last year.

Source: http://now.tufts.edu/articles/place-be-tufts-admissions-class-2021

It’s up to you to consider if you consider these test scores “equivalent” @micmatt513

As for the “better schools” comment, that’s debatable I can tell you though, that based on Hopkins’ academic profile, Hopkins likely has more students currently enrolled that turned down better schools than students at Tufts. It’s the nature of the game at a more selective school. I personally turned down Columbia Duke, and Penn to go to Hopkins (rejected at Stanford which was my #1 choice). Many of my classmates made similar decisions as well.

to the OP: Don’t believe everything you hear on this forum. Try to talk to real students. Hopkins is nowhere near as bad as some of the other people who did not go there might have you believe.

23

https://apply.jhu.edu/discover/by-the-numbers/

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf

Using the concordance table from Collegeboard yields a range of 1420-1530 SAT range, which is barely outside of the Tufts range. Seriously though, I’m not even saying Hopkins is a bad school. I’m saying that it’s more competitive than Tufts and that there are people at Tufts who are happy that turned down better schools. I’m not trying to put Hopkins down and I personally would even agree that JHU is a better university than Tufts if you’re looking at prestige and academics in certain fields. I literally said this in my last post.

I really can’t believe that saying that Tufts is a comparable school to JHU would incur such vitriolic comments. Really though, you guys are doing a pretty poor job of being ambassadors for your school if this is how you treat people on an anonymous forum. Hope you’ve convinced OP that Johns Hopkins is the right place for him/her.

24

@micmatt513

What’s the point in using the concordance table? JHU’s range (again enrolled) for the new SAT is 1480 to 1560. Tufts new SAT average is a 1445 for admitted students, again below JHU’s 25th percentile for enrolled students. It’s not close at all.

Source: http://now.tufts.edu/articles/place-be-tufts-admissions-class-2021

My beef is with those that suggest JHU is cutthroat not having gone there. How can you honestly say Tufts is less cut throat or provides an equal education to JHU without having gone to JHU? I’m not arrogant enough to assume wholesale characterizations of a school’s academic caliber.

25

@knick06, yes, Tufts and JHU are comparable universities - different vibes, but comparable.

Apply to the schools that are the right for you; if you are fortunate enough to be accepted at Tufts and other similar schools, then the tough decision will have to be made.

@Tufts2021, congratulations on being a Jumbo and best wishes!

26

@Chembiodad thanks!! I can’t wait for school to start… hopefully I won’t be too intimidated by my insanely smart classmates :slight_smile:

27

@Tufts2021, all good - remember they picked you because you belong there!

28

sorry… a little late to the party and so I’m not sure if you have made your decision yet!! I will not talk badly about Tufts, I’m sure it is an excellent school, and one of my very smart friends went there. HOWEVER, being a Johns Hopkins student myself, I can only help by trying to promote my school! I personally agree that both schools are very tough academically. However, I went to college concerned with the same issues as you had–where would I fit in academically and socially? And how would I create that blend? Let me just say… making friends at Hopkins has been very easy for me and that has helped me academically. Making friend groups is a great plus, and so I really think you shouldn’t have to worry about excelling at either academics or friendships and leaving out the rest. I really hope you are happy with your decision because it is YOUR decision, I just wanted to let you know that us Hopkins folk are really friendly and would love to have you and be your friend!