My guess is that Tufts has a better rep on the East Coast, but which of the two schools has a better rep on the West Coast (namely San Francisco)?
Parent of a WashU freshman from the Bay Area. For the West Coast (San Francisco Bay Area), WashU has the better reputation. We attended a welcome party for accepted Bay Area WashU freshmen and the regional rep mentioned that it was close to 100 freshmen from Northern California attending this year. For the most recent 4 graduating classes, it was roughly 400 underclassmen and upperclassmen.
It’s interesting that you mention Tufts. My son was considering Tufts, but he got into WashU ED. He graduated from a Top 25 high school in the Bay Area, and his friend got into Tufts but opted for USC (friend was accepted to WashU but opted for USC Marshall instead of WashU Arts and Sciences).
I have lived in both NY and San Fran. The truth is that both schools are not household names in either place. Among highly educated people, they will know of both schools and respect them. I think the combination of a small endowment (relative to peers), a lack of strong grad programs, and the close proximity to MIT and Harvard hurt Tufts on the reputation scale. I’d give the edge to Wash U between the two. WashU has a top notch medical school and has reputable law and business schools. If you are trying to ‘wow’ parents of college students and high school students, Wash U is probably going to win too b/c it’s USN ranking is ‘higher.’
I’d agree with @StanfordGSB00 Out here in the Bay Area, neither one is a big name, but the edge goes to WashU for reputation.
The one advantage Tufts has over WashU is the Fletcher School-one of the top foreign policy schools in the country, although that’s graduate only and unless you’re in the Foreign Service, most wouldn’t know about it either compared to Georgetown or Princeton.
“If you are trying to ‘wow’ parents of college students and high school students, Wash U is probably going to win too b/c its USN ranking is ‘higher.’”
Not at all why I’m asking. I was wondering as to whether one or the other would be better for employment or getting into graduate school. I’m guessing there isn’t really a difference, and I feel like it would be relatively easier and less stressful to get a high GPA at Tufts.
These answers are probably biased due to the fact that I posted on the WashU page… also posted this on the Tufts page so we’ll see how answers compare.
It depends on what you plan to major in. If it’s Political Science with a possibility for going into the State Department, Tufts is the obvious choice. If your interests are towards medicine, WashU is the better choice.
Ultimately it’s your choice as to which school is the better fit. We can give you advice but you should take all factors into account.
No idea what I really want to do yet. My plans change month to month. I’ve heard Tufts is very good for undecided students… no idea about WashU. But I do know I’d rather spend my four years outside Boston rather than outside St. Louis.
@potentialtransfer2018 I’m currently undecided right now at WashU and I can tell you that it is a very good school for people who may not know what they want to do yet. There isn’t pressure to declare a major until the end of sophomore year (like most other colleges) and switching between colleges and majors/minors is super flexible and easy as well. This was actually one of the factors that sold me on WashU when I was making my decision. If you have any other questions defnitely hmu!
I agree with StanfordGSB00. If you’re looking for a school that is a household name (as in, the average person has heard of it and is impressed by it), neither schools are probably what you’re looking for… But among educated people, they both have good reputations.