Tufts, Wesleyan, or Haverford

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

I need help choosing! Not quite sure what I want to study, but definitely want strong academics. Hoping for a sense of community and strong relationships between professors and students. Active social life. Opportunities to be involved in clubs & athletics. I’m interested in having access to a big city but it’s not necessary. I’d say I’m a mix between artsy and athletic. Played 2 varsity sports and did theater at a small private school in the midwest.

Been spending a lot more time worrying about things lol but here are some of my worries.

Tufts
-worried about the social scene–lack of things to do as an underclassman
-obviously great academics, but size doesn’t allow for those opportunities you might expect at a LAC, students don’t seem quite as engaged academically

Wesleyan
-too artsy?
-too political?
-not as much access to cities
-a family member goes there (and loves it) but not sure if I want to follow in their footsteps

Haverford
-too small?
-lack of social scene
-tough if you don’t play a varsity sport
-not super well known
-feels isolated even though it’s close to a city

2

Well, all three are fine academic institutions with great reputations. Tufts is clearly the largest, followed by Wesleyan then Haverford. Based on your sports and your skills, you might have an opportunity to play at the college level at all three.
If it helps any, Haverford is a short train ride to Philadelphia, and is part of a consortium which includes Swarthmore, U of Penn, and Bryn Mawr.

3

Hey! I’m a current Tufts student. Not too sure why you’d be worried about the social scene here as an underclassman when Tufts has the largest undergraduate student population out of the three. There are so many things to do you’ll only have gone through a fraction of opportunities by the time you graduate. I also don’t really recognize a graduate community on campus, although it definitely exists. At its heart, Tufts is still very much an undergraduate-focused, liberal arts school.

Students are very much academically (and politically) engaged here. I’ve actually learned almost as much as I have outside of classes as I have in them through hour-long conversations with friends during meals.

And in terms of size – class population will depend on your major. I’ve personally had mostly <20 person classes and I’ve formed lasting relationships with almost all of my past professors.

“I’m interested in having access to a big city”

Tufts and Haverford can offer that; Wesleyan not so much.

Tufts and Wesleyan are definitely more artsy than Haverford. Tufts also has great athletics for a D3 school.

I actually ended up choosing Tufts over a lot of other great options because the students here seemed much more engaged than at schools of similar reputation. They also seemed to choose to attend the school for tangible reasons, not because of its prestige (although it does carry quite a bit of that). Being both “artsy” and into athletics myself, I found Tufts to have a great mix of both cultures, especially with some SMFA students being on campus.

I would rule Haverford out. If you think being near a big city would substantially improve your college experience, go to Tufts. If you want a campus exclusively of undergrads, go to Wesleyan. In the end, they’re all wonderful institutions.

4

Plenty to do at Haverford despite the size. My child never felt bored and had many options to choose from each weekend evening.

I’m not sure where you got the sense it is tough if you don’t play a varsity sport. Student body and campus events are very inclusive. My kid didn’t play a varsity sport but had some friends and romantic relationships with some fellow students who did. No barriers that I was made aware of. Again, very inclusive.

Very easy access to all Philly (great music, dining, and art scene) has to offer. I think it is the best of both worlds - a lovely, bucolic campus which encompasses an arboretum, easy access to shopping, many restaurants and coffee shops within walking/biking distance, and the amenities of a large city within easy reach.

As far as not being well known, it is well known and respected by those that matter - graduate programs and employers.

5

Haverford is extremely well known. And it’s not as small as it looks as it’s part of the Bi-Co and Tri-Co consortia – you can take classes and participate in activities at Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore. Also you can take classes at UPenn. There’s a hopping social life at Haverford and the campus is pretty. Others have mentioned that it’s a short trip to Philly on the train. Buses to the other campuses run like every hour or maybe even more often. You can look up the schedule. My vote is for Haverford.

6

If you are looking for a strong sense of community and access to a city, Haverford should get the nod.

The academics are top notch at all 3, and all are considered prestigious.

Tufts, in part because of its size, dominates the NESCAC in quite a few sports, so if your athletic interests involve being a walk-on, you should investigate that very carefully. Otoh, there are a lot of theater opportunities there for non-majors. The community is less tight knit. Quite a few kids I know chose it because of that, and you don’t sound like them.

You do not sound that enthusiastic about Wes (and your reasons make sense), so why not use that as a reason to simplify your decision?

I would pick Haverford for you based on your post.

7

Since theater was mentioned, I thought I’d point out that Bryn Mawr and Haverford share theater.

BMC theater page – https://www.brynmawr.edu/theater/

Haverford’s page on some of its consortium programs at BMC – https://www.haverford.edu/academics/academic-partnerships/consortium-programs

8

???

Again, do you want a campus with a lot of activities. whether or not they all appeal to you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a political gathering at Wesleyan that numbered more than 200 people, usually because there are just too many other things competing for people’s time and commitment.

I think you have to decide how important having a strong campus sense of community is to you. Tufts has the least. And, though it doesn’t qualify as a city, Middletown CT is not as boring as it sounds; there are opportunities for all kinds of civic engagement and the take-out food, coffee shops, and pizza joints are ubiquitous.

That’s a tough one. Ordinarily, a highly favorable experience from someone you know would not be a disqualifying factor. But, I get not wanting to be joined at the hip with someone just because you are from the same family. All I can say, is Wesleyan is just big enough at 3,000 students that you won’t be entirely dependent on any one person for relationships.

Frankly, it sounds as if you are really leaning toward Wesleyan and are looking for reasons to second-guess yourself.

9

they are all in the same league as far as academics and prestige.

not sure why people are bringing up playing your sport for college- you didn’t.

mix of artsy and athletic sounds like a Tufts match to me. graduates I know were more than satisfied with the social scene. haverford is very small and therefore inclusive by necessity- I don’t think the consortium with Swat and Bryn MAwr will really make it seem bigger. It’s size is an advantage for the right person- I love that everyone eats together in one dining hall and that you might graduate knowing you met almost everyone there. But it doesn’t sound right for you and your social desires.

10

OP: “I’d say I’m a mix between artsy and athletic. Played 2 varsity sports and did theater at a small private school in the midwest.”
Which is why sports are discussed, since all three offer D3 sports in a variety of disciplines.

11

Thank you all so much for your comments! Obviously I don’t know everything about each of these schools and my perspectives have undoubtedly been influenced by the experiences of a few students. For those who attended/know a lot about Tufts did you feel as though the school felt preprofessional? Or was there a fair amount of exploration and intellectual curiosity? My brothers experience at Wes is that there is some divide between the athletes and artists…has anyone else experienced that? I have things I love about each of the three schools and everybody has echoed these things in this post. This might be weird but if there is anybody out there that has had negative experiences or heard negative things about these schools please share! I am the type of person to hear about all the great things about schools and immediately change my mind about where I want to be, but I think hearing about some of the cons of these schools might be helpful

12

Tufts definitely doesn’t feel pre-professional. There are a fair amount of pre-med students because of early assurance to Tufts Med and the great undergrad bio program, but between some other places I was considering (like WashU), it felt much more liberal-artsy/undergrad focused. I think of Penn and Northeastern when I hear pre-professional.

Tufts really embraces exploration and intellectual curiosity – I actually wrote my “Why Tufts” supplement on my observations of students being very intellectually curious when I visited and wanting to be part of that culture. In terms of exploration – if you’re an arts & sciences student, you have what are called distribution requirements, meaning that you have to take two classes in each of the following: math, natural science, social science, humanities, and arts, as well as a world civilization credit. I feel like this makes a lot of students somewhat well-versed in areas outside of their majors – areas that they may not have explored were they not required to take a diversity of classes. Personally, through taking distribution credits, I’ve discovered my interest in subjects ranging from oceanography to archaeology, and it doesn’t stop there.

People are positing that Tufts has the weakest of a campus community out of the three schools. While that may be easy to assume given its size and access to Boston, I would hesitate to make such a statement unless you’ve visited all three schools for a good amount of time.

In terms of cons, since you asked:

-Tufts is suuuppeerr liberal, so much so that I don’t think conservative students feel supported or heard and thus are a rather silent presence on campus (although there is the Tufts Republican club). I’m very liberal myself, but sometimes I think the student body could do a better job of listening to both sides of a political conversation (having the Fletcher grad school on campus brings in a lot more political diversity, though)

-The administration decided to make commencement virtual this year without any input from students – but students petitioned and voiced their opinions so much that Tufts decided to postpone an in-person commencement until Coronavirus has died down

-Tufts is on a hill. May not seem like a big issue (as it isn’t for me and also gives us a great view of the Boston skyline), but it can pose problems for accessibility if you’re handicapped/injured or just don’t like arriving to class out of breath

-I still don’t think the average person outside of New England will know Tufts by name, if that matters to you. However, it is currently gaining a lot more recognition as an elite institution and already has that status to graduate schools and employers

-Engineering students like to complain about how much harder they have it than arts & sciences kids. To be blunt, I find it somewhat childish and irksome. That being said, there is still a huge amount of intermingling between the school of engineering and liberal arts students. Also super cool to note is that your class (2024) has more females than males in the engineering school.

Sorry for the lengthy post! Hope it helps :slight_smile:

13

One big Con against small colleges is that by junior year your romantic entanglements may make a well-timed semester abroad advisable.

14

My niece went to Haverford and my D21 looked at Haverford/BMC as well as Tufts. We found BMC and Haverford very isolated and dull. The immediate neighborhoods have almost nothing to offer though you can get into Philly on the train. My niece loved Haverford though she is a bit introverted. Tufts was her second choice but she chose Haverford. My D would definitely choose Tufts if she has the option. Depends on your personality.

15

My wife went to Haverford and she is definitely an introvert. She loved it there but really only keeps in touch with one friend from college.
I have a couple good friends who went to Tufts- they are much more extroverted and enjoyed partying a lot more. They loved Tufts.

I am going to repeat what I have said before. Haverford is an awesome place for the right person but if you have doubts about it and it’s small size then it probably makes sense to choose another school. I think people that choose Haverford know for sure it’s the place for them.

16

It’s win-win-win; no choice would be wrong.
It’s very subjective. Go where you feel you “belong” and would be happiest and the most productive.