<p>Hello, I really need help deciding on a college...
I will be majoring in biochemistry or biology, with a minor in English or History, on a pre-med track. Research is a very important part of my decision, and I have a lot of experience from high school already. Where will I get more opportunities for higher-up research positions (not just a simple assistant to a graduate student)? Also, which school is better for pre-med? Any thoughts on opportunities such as courses,research, study abroad, etc.? Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>My sense is that minoring in a non-science at RPI is probably less than ideal, but the one young woman I know who attended had great research opportunities there. Obviously Boston/Medford would be considered by most people better than Troy. I liked RPI better than I expect to when I visited with my older son, it seemed to have a pretty nerdy vibe, which my son liked, but might get tiresome if you want more variety. I don’t think of NYU as a place to go for science, but I don’t know much about it as my younger son (the one who’s at Tufts) rejected it because it has no campus and is way too close to home as well. He’s not a science major so I can’t speak too much about science. My older son had a friend who graduated from (chemical) engineering last year who has a great job.</p>
<p>I agree with the mathmom…</p>
<p>I can’t comment on NYU, but we visited RPI with my son when he was looking at engineering programs. I liked the engineering facilities that we saw, but we all disliked Troy, and have since heard the kids call it “Troilet”. Sorry, don’t mean to offend anyone with that.
My son and husband both disliked the overly geeky vibe, which my husband described as “grim”. We had that same feeling at Carnegie Mellon. My son was looking for a nerdy/geeky place but he thought RPI was over the top. Tufts is more intellectually diverse.</p>
<p>I think for anyone who has academic interests beyond engineering and science, Tufts is far superior, no real comparison at all. </p>
<p>Tufts has one of the highest percentages of students studying abroad, so Tufts wins that one too. </p>
<p>So I would take Tufts over RPI, but RPI certainly is a highly respected school for science and engineering.</p>
<p>As for med school, you should be able to find out what their success rates are at getting their grads in. I know Tufts is very good, and I would suspect RPI is also good but don’t know for sure. You do know that Tufts has a medical school of its own while RPI does not? Tufts also has a dental school, veterinary school and some great graduate schools such as the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. All of these are related to your academic interests. </p>
<p>What have you done so far to investigate research opportunities at the schools? I would email both schools and ask to talk to someone who can give you more detailed information than what you would get from College Confidential 
, especially this late in the game.</p>
<p>Thank you to both of you! Troy is definitely a big con on the RPI side, and I loved the Tufts campus more than either RPI or NYU. I’m just worried that NYU would have more opportunities for research/internships due to its location right in New York City. </p>
<p>BeanTownGirl–I’m going to visit NYU again today, since it’s only a half-hour from where I live, to try and get some questions answered.</p>
<p>Not sure I would ASSUME NYC would have better research opportunities. You could be in Boston in about 15-20 minutes on the subway, where there are 3 medical schools (Harvard, Boston University and Tufts), and a slew of major teaching hospitals/research centers.
I would at least talk to someone in Admissions to see if they can put you in touch with the right person to answer your questions about research opportunities. Perhaps talk to one of the academic advisors for the pre-med students? Or perhaps a department head?</p>
<p>As has been noted, Troy is a disaster. It’s a dying city, and therefore i think pretty depressing.
And as good as both NYU and RPI might be, Tufts is better (also harder to get into and grad schools, including med schools, know that and take it into consideration).</p>
<p>Did you know that RPI has NO foreign language courses? None. Tufts has at least a dozen, I got tired of trying to find them all since some are listed within various “area studies” such as Eastern Mediterranean Studies.
This blew me away when I found out that RPI doesn’t have even Spanish. Many students, including nerdy ones, want to continue a language they started in high school or pick up a new one.</p>
<p>You should see the program for the undergraduate research symposium. 50 pages (really) of summaries of undergrad research projects. Feel free to email me, and I’ll connect you with current students (freshman) who have already jumped in, and you can ask them how they did it and how easy it was.</p>
<p>Be careful judging the number of job/research opportunities by the size of the city – you need to look at the specific industry segment related to your major. Boston/Cambridge is #1 in the country (possibly the world) for Biotech. </p>
<p>[Life</a> Science Report Ranks Boston #1 Hub Among Biotech Regions](<a href=“Life Science Report Ranks Boston #1 Hub Among Biotech Regions”>Life Science Report Ranks Boston #1 Hub Among Biotech Regions)</p>
<p>One of the things Tufts is really big on is out-of-the-classroom immersion in students’ fields of study. Research and study abroad, off-the-beaten-path internships, and other entry-level engagement are very big things here. Folks here are anxious to take what they’ve learned and do something with it. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in medicine and are willing to slave your behind off for a semester and a half, Tufts has this programme called EPIIC (Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship), which is a very intensive colloquium on a given current events issue. Next year, it’s Global Health issues. The way it works is that the head of EPIIC and its parent institution, the Institute for Global Leadership, goes through his immense rolodex and calls in the top minds in various aspects of the field. Twice a week for two and a half hours, they are your professors. In late February, the class puts on a big international symposium which draws attendees and speakers from across the world. You have the chance to be educated on the same level of rigour and nuance that policy-makers and practitioners in the field are. EPIIC is truly interdisciplinary, as you are called upon to understand the scientific facts and issues behind your studies and use that knowledge to forward your understanding. EPIIC and the IGL are also some of the best networking resources an undergrad could ever ask for. Sherm Teichman, the head of the IGL, has contacts all over the world and all over the spectrum of academic study. Have a great research or service idea which involves travel abroad or elsewhere? Come up with a plan and you have the IGL’s full support and blessing. Looking for great internships? The IGL is the place to look. </p>
<p>I visited NYU in my college search, and I was not impressed. Save for drama and the arts, NYU’s product seems equivalent or inferior to what you can get at a good (and much cheaper) state school. It also struck me as the kind of place where it’s rather easy to get lost or fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>You can muddle your way through Tufts and wait until late-undergrad or grad school to finally do something interesting. But if you’re interested in seizing your 50k+ per year education by its nether-regions and fulfilling your ideas and ambitions, give Tufts very serious thought</p>