<p>I'm interested in international relations/studies with some future interest in law, but I'm mainly UNDECIDED and there's a huge possibility that I'll end up majoring in something completely unrelated.
I haven't visited these campuses as I live abroad, but may get the chance to visit two of them</p>
<p>Things I'm considering:
-Academics (IR, flexibility, ease of double-majoring, name recognition for future jobs)
-Quality of life (dorms, food, social life, city, weather, and overall student body happiness)
-Athletics (mainly skiing -one of the main attractions of Midd)
-Study Abroad</p>
<p>How strong is Tufts in other areas compared to the other schools if I decide not to pursue IR?
Are there any possibilities of skiing within driving distance of Boston?
If Tufts overshadowed for job opportunities in Boston area by schools like Harvard?</p>
<p>I'd appreciate some comments as to some of the strengths/weaknesses of each of these schools and I'm grateful for any and all insights or comments you can give! :)</p>
<p>If I get to visit two of these three campuses before my decision, which two should I visit?</p>
<p>1) Tufts, 2) Middlebury, 3) WSU… for International Relations</p>
<p>Everyone has good study abroad, so take that off the list of considerations. </p>
<p>WUStL is going to be weakest for skiing. Midd may have best accessibility, but Tufts does have a ski team–several of D1’s friends are members and she complains about not seeing them during ski season so yes there’s skiing within driving distance.</p>
<p>Quality of life: students can be pretty happy at all three schools, with the big difference being if you want to be more urban or more rural. Midd is the most isolated of the three, Tufts has the advantage of being near/in one a great college city. St. Louis is a city, yes, but as a college student I’d prefer to be in Boston. But if you were really happy about WUStL (and I know several students who are), then you’ll find plenty to do on campus anyway (which is true of pretty much any school). </p>
<p>Smaller versus larger: because Midd is so much small, I’d say that should definitely be on your visiting list because the fit and feel of the student body is going to be very important to your happiness there. You have more flexibility at a larger school, but if you like Midd’s culture then that’s the trade-off.</p>
<p>You can do fine at Tufts in areas other than IR. D1 entered Tufts as an IR major and is now a Comp Sci major–this is apparently pretty common. For job opportunities, from what I hear from D1 for both summer internships and for final placement, the Tufts students are not losing out to students from Harvard or MIT. </p>
<p>No bad choices here–congrats on the wonderful acceptances. </p>
<p>According to my D at Tufts, a number of her friends there are double majoring. Food is top-notch (and always ranked high on various listings like Princeton Review), social life and off-campus recreational opportunities abundant. Weather is… well, this is New England, for better or worse! Dorms are of varying quality. Student level of happiness seems, well, off the charts, at least among my D’s crowd. </p>
<p>As far as post-graduation income, you might want to look at the 2013-2014 Salary Report at Payscale.com, which–while criticized by some for its methodology–is at least reflective of the fact that Tufts students do quite well, possibly as a factor of its location in a Northeast urban hub as much as the name-brand value of a Tufts degree. (Tufts ranks at #17, Wash U at #57, Midd at #70).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/full-list-of-schools”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/full-list-of-schools</a></p>
<p>The Boston area is known for the diversity of its weather. Over the course of 4 years you will have the opportunity to experience a large percentage of the world’s weather patterns. </p>
<p>The locals like to say “if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.”</p>
<p>Of course, the inverse of this saying is true as well :-)</p>
<p>My husband and I both went to Midd and my son has been accepted at Tufts - he didn’t apply to Midd because he wants to study engineering. In any case, I think one of the big differences is Middlebury’s rural location. Vermont is beautiful - truly one of my favorite places - but I know that some students are looking for more of an urban setting. Tufts has access to an amazing city, so that might be something to consider. </p>
<p>With regard to skiing, my son is planing on skiing so that was a consideration for him in applying to Tufts, actually. That said, Middlebury does win on that front. Not only is the Snow Bowl really close to campus (and fun to ski with a bunch of classmates, especially during J-term) but there are bigger, more challenging mountains not too far away (Stowe, Mad River Glen, etc). And Vermont definitely has more of a ski culture. However, I see that you live abroad, so it’s possible that you have access to much larger mountains and all the New England mountains will seem small.</p>
<p>I don’t know about study abroad at Tufts, but it is a huge focus at Middlebury. Because Middlebury has so many of their own programs abroad, you don’t have to apply to another program and worry about grades transferring. </p>
<p>In any case, they are both <em>excellent</em> choices and you just need to figure out what is the best fit for you. If you have a chance to visit, I suspect that will help your decision. </p>