<p>From the Chicago area, I've narrowed down my list to these three. I know all are great schools. I'm very focused on how the school will open up carrer opportunities, but also the campus experience. I would prefer a more intimate college experience, but don't want it to be limiting. I'm interested in studying science, but not premed necessarily. Seeing a different part of the country would be a plus for me.</p>
<p>I like Tufts' size, and I really liked the campus when I visited, but I'm worried about Tufts' national reputation. How does it compare for post-college and getting jobs? What other schools would be considered on the same level as Tufts? </p>
<p>These are all excellent choices. I would go with Tufts. I think it is more well known than Haverford. I found Northwestern to have more institutional feel to it. It clearly is not as intimate as Tufts.</p>
<p>OP, there’ve been several posts lately about Haverford and Tufts. Have you visited both? </p>
<p>Northwestern and Tufts seem to appeal to similar students, along with Washington University in St. Louis, Rice, and other mid-sized universities. These are all schools with national reputations. Recruiters visit them. Professors help their students get internships. The campus career centers will start working with you in your freshman year. Unless you have very specific interests at this point, the three schools you mention will all offer you the tools and opportunities you need to get a job at the end of undergrad. </p>
<p>If you really liked the feel of Tufts over the other two schools, go with your gut. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>All three are great schools. In terms of prestige and academic strength, Northwestern beats out the other two slightly, with Haverford following close behind and Tufts not too far behind Haverford. All three schools can get you where you want to go in the future, so it is likely best to choose the atmosphere that you are looking for, because the campus feels of each is very different.</p>
<p>Tufts has recently (in academic timescales- i.e. last 30-35 years) transitioned from a big LAC with a med school to a small research university. This is one of the factors that lends a unique feel to the campus. Since most of the grad school expansion has taken place downtown, the Medford/Somerville campus still feels like a LAC. This also means that Tufts reputation and comparable schools are a moving target, with both trending quickly (again in academic timescales -i.e. last 15 years) in the upward direction.</p>
<p>Here is a list of Tufts overlap schools extracted directly from the recent provost search documents.</p>
<p>In the last 15 years, Tufts overlap schools shifted dramatically from the NESCAC liberal arts colleges to Dartmouth, Brown, Penn, Cornell, Georgetown, and Washington Universityall excellent, primarily urban research universities.</p>
<p>From my vantage point, I have also seen an increase (though not as dramatic) in overlap with Northwestern.</p>
<p>Note that Tufts’ new provost is a former Wildcat! (Northwestern undergrad/Phd,). He is also a former Cornell professor/associate dean and a former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</p>
<p>^^I love both Tufts and NU, but sorry, there is no way that Tufts is better than NU. I have had kids at both. Qualitatively speaking, NU is an academic peer of places like (to give a range) Brown, Hopkins, Dartmouth, Duke, U of Chicago. I think Tufts is a great school, but is a little behind those in academic strength, and certainly in prestige.</p>
<p>I again have to disagree with you on Tufts and NU. For instance, please take a look at the Fiske Guide (which is written by a former education reporter for the New York Times). The college analysis is much more in depth and reliable than US News & World Report. See the overlapping schools for Tufts…Brown, Cornell, UPenn, Georgetown, Yale, Duke etc. Tufts is at least equal to NU. NU is a big school (Big 10). Its campus has an institutional feel. Tufts is more intimate and personable. I have experience at both universities…</p>
<p>Tufts is a great school with a special feel as has been described. It is not, however, as strong of an academic force as Northwestern–Northwestern has significantly more academic success and prestige than Tufts in every discipline except for international affairs/relations at the Master’s level. At the undergraduate level, however, I would likely choose Tufts over Northwestern because of the environment, location, campus culture, and more cosmopolitan/worldly student body. Haverford, however, probably is the most “academic” and intellectual of all three.</p>
<p>Completely agree with medman. Tufts has a growing reputation but Northwestern’s has been superior, both domestically and internationally, for years. NU also has a number of individual programs that are widely regarded as among the best–journalism, theater, economics, poli sci, and of course some of the graduate programs.</p>
<p>Having said that (and being an NU grad myself!) I might still pick Tufts or Haverford–it all depends on fit. What just FEELS right? IMO the answer to that question cannot be underestimated.</p>
<p>classclown-
As i understand “overlapping” schools, that covers schools to which applicants who apply to Tufts also tend to apply with some frequency. It does not mean that Tufts is regarded as an academic equal. (Think about it: Tufts as Yale’s academic equal? Really?) Look, I am a devoted, flagwaving Tufts alum, and I also have a kid there. I know Tufts really, REALLY well. I also know NU really well.<br>
As good as Tufts is - and it is really good - NU is better on a purely academic level (i.e., just in terms of academics; not the appeal of the campus, not which is more “cosmopolitan,” not which is more intimate, etc.).
That is, of course, putting the ever-elusive, and very subjective, “feel” aside.
Sally305 - I agree with you on this most important respect: when you are dealing with choices at this level of excellence, you go for the place that “feels” right to you.</p>
<p>When considering the concept of academic prestige it is good to remember that the original definition of prestige is illusion or deception. </p>
<p>If you havent already seen it, “The Prestige” is a great movie! :-)</p>
<p>I believe that the quality of ones overall education is a function of breadth of perspective and depth of knowledge. Perspective provides the context on which knowledge is assembled and then applied. Since most people considering schools of this caliber end up furthering their education, I recommend emphasizing breadth of perspective for the undergrad experience and emphasizing depth of knowledge for the graduate experience. </p>
<p>Of these three schools I think the combination of size, location and culture of Tufts is most likely to give you the broadest perspective, and depth and breadth of research at Northwestern is most likely to give you to the deepest knowledge. Therefore, I would recommend Tufts for undergrad and Northwestern for grad. </p>
<p>This is all contingent on fit, because if you are not comfortable at a particular college, you will neither participate in the culture and acquire the perspective, nor engage in the academics and acquire the knowledge.</p>
<p>^^ Bloody brilliant post, Mastadon . I really think that this post belongs in the best of CC, as we students need to realize the true definition of prestige. All the time, in CC and in my crazily competitive high school, applicants talk of schools like this “I like X’s campus way better, but Y’s reputation is more ‘prestigious’ so forget X’s campus, I’ll take Y’s offer.” Really now? And what about the fit aspect? If you cannot see yourself around campus and spending time with others happily at the more prestigious College Y, then Mastadon’s point is exactly right – You won’t enjoy your academics either. Pick the school that gives you the best financial aid and FIT – Pick the school that you, as an alumni 30 years later, can confidently praise and have no second doubts about. EVERY college, be it Harvard or University of Georgia, has wonderful opportunities that you can have. And honestly, in hindsight then, prestige is not as qualifying a factor in college decisions as people may think.</p>
<p>Personally, OP, it seems that you need just one more final conversation with yourself over fit with all your final schools (do so quickly, the universal deadline is only two days away )-- NU, Haverford, and Tufts. The academic difference (note : I said academics. Not prestige.) between these schools, if you are majoring in pre-med, is small, --I’d agree that Northwestern is slightly better than both Haverford and Tufts-- However, the difference is so small that you shouldn’t rule out Haverford or Tufts either. Just think about where you would fit the most (RESEARCH, and visualize yourself on campus ) and choose the school that’s the right place for you in terms of personal fit. Good luck to you. You can’t go wrong with any of these choices, really.</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, the other investment banks (all for front office/investment banking positions), Fidelity, SAC capital, + other reputable financial firms.</p>
<p>These are all really good schools. I know really smart people who went to NU, and they loved it. It has a great reputation nationally, and it’s a beautiful school.</p>
<p>Tufts is probably almost as well-known, although I don’t have first-hand knowledge of the rigor of the academics there. It’s in a great area - right outside of Boston. My S really liked it there when he toured - he loved that the kids were able to be free-thinking and be who they are. </p>
<p>Haverford is also a really good school but very small. That being said, they are very intertwined with Bryn Mawr, so it actually seems like it’s twice as big. If you don’t like the choices at Haverford, you go to Bryn Mawr, and if you still can’t find what you want, you go to Swarthmore or Penn (those are a little more difficult however). Haverford is also a school for open-minded, accepting students who want an intimate setting and a sense of community. It is considered a top ten liberal arts college and #14 on the happy students list.</p>
<p>So really they’re all great schools - you can’t go wrong. You just have to pick the one with the right “feel” to it and the one that will give you the most opportunities.</p>
<p>Tufts is not even in the same league as Northwestern, which is one of the top 15 research universities in the country. Tufts is a step below Emory, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, UCLA, and Michigan so it is 2 notches below NU at least.</p>
<p>Go to NU and never look back. Haverford is a no-name LAC IMHO.</p>
<p>Tufts isn’t as much of a research university as NU (it must be said), but it DOES have opportunities to research in your chosen field – plenty, in fact. In addition, it pays rather more attention to undergraduates than NU. </p>
<p>And I have to say that NU is academically better than Tufts (i.e. if you’re only looking for name ranking, NU wins), but only slightly. Also, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Emory and Michigan are in the same tier as Tufts, so no, it is not 2 steps below. </p>
<p>Also, what do you mean, Haverford is a ‘no-name LAC’? Sure, it’s “unknown” among the masses, but among people who research, and academia, it is one of the best, most selective LACs in the country. It has academics that can be identified with Williams, Bowdoin, and Pomona.</p>
<p>Im really choosing between tufts and haverford at this point…I decided northwestern was too close to home. I guess Ill have to decide by tonight. Any thoughts on going from a high school of 4000 kids to a school of 1200?</p>
. I really think that this post belongs in the best of CC, as we students need to realize the true definition of prestige. All the time, in CC and in my crazily competitive high school, applicants talk of schools like this “I like X’s campus way better, but Y’s reputation is more ‘prestigious’ so forget X’s campus, I’ll take Y’s offer.” Really now? And what about the fit aspect? If you cannot see yourself around campus and spending time with others happily at the more prestigious College Y, then Mastadon’s point is exactly right – You won’t enjoy your academics either. Pick the school that gives you the best financial aid and FIT – Pick the school that you, as an alumni 30 years later, can confidently praise and have no second doubts about. EVERY college, be it Harvard or University of Georgia, has wonderful opportunities that you can have. And honestly, in hindsight then, prestige is not as qualifying a factor in college decisions as people may think.</p>