<p>Any opinons on Tufts, specifically regarding a prospective art history major from California? How is is academically? Socially? Etc?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi TeriAnn,</p>
<p>I've previously responded to a thread you started, and this is what I wrote about Art History:</p>
<p>"I totally agree about Tufts' Art History program: I'm minoring in the subject and have adored every single one of my classes. My boyfriend is a major and would agree. Tufts is also That being said, the only school in the metro Boston area to have an official relationship with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and its school, the SMFA. You can therefore end up taking several classes IN the galleries (there's nothing like learning about Franz Kline while you're standing in front of a Franz Kline painting!) at the SMFA, in addition to the wonderful courses at Tufts. In case you're interested there's also a dual-degree program through Tufts and the SMFA where you get a BA from Tufts and a Master's in Curatorial Studies from both schools, if that's the track you're interested in. Of course, if you're interested in actually MAKING art, the dual-degree BA from Tufts + BFA from the SMFA is excellent as well."</p>
<p>As far as academically, Tufts is a very strong school all-around. If you want to compare it to other schools, its closest peers would be Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Emory, UChicago. Most Tufts students got into several of those schools, too.</p>
<p>Socially, I think it's excellent. It's in an ideal location: 10 minutes from downtown Boston, but still has the rolling hills feel of a real campus (unlike, say, BU or NYU). Boston is a great college town -- 1 out of 3 residents is a college student. People work hard but there's always something going on so that you can play hard to reward yourself thereafter. You should check Tufts threads for more info on this -- esp. the one called "Why I like Tufts," where people list several reasons they like Tufts for both social and academic reasons.</p>
<p>Any other questions, let me know. Or you can always post in the Tufts forum and get many other people's opinions!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Tufts is one of those schools working hard to raise its profile and ranking (WUSTL would be another). To get into Tufts you got to make it CLEAR you love them; visit if you possibly can, attend any event they hold in your area, do the alum interview, gush over the school in your essays. And don't ever let them think/know you're applying to other top schools; as you see from the lolabelle post Tufts likes to think it keeps company with Ivy and top LACs, but they get very indignant if its applicants express an interest in those other schools. For many years Tufts/WUSTL/etc were used as safeties by kids applying to Ivies and similar schools, and so they are now trying very hard to stamp that out. So a deadly mistake in the interview, for example, would be to express admiration in your interview for that college in Cambridge. If the interviewer asks if its your 1st choice a good answer would be "yes"; explain away not applying ED as due to financial considerations.</p>
<p>Mikemac -
I think we are on par with those schools because I applied to several of the ones I listed and got in (Gtown, Cornell, JHU, Wellesley, Dartmouth & Northwestern). And picked Tufts. And the ones on that list I didn't apply to, I know several classmates here at Tufts who did get in and picked Tufts. So they're certainly peer institutions.</p>
<p>ugggh... i went to a summer camp at tufts. the first thing i said to myself was what a piece of crap. i hate the campus</p>
<p>Tufts has a major inferiority complex. Kinda like WUSTL and USC. </p>
<p>So they try to make it up by claiming that they are on par with many of the nation's elite schools....</p>
<p>Tufts is tops in IR. Other than that, it's one of those schools that makes most people say something to the effect of "meh". And I'd agree that the Tufts kids on this board go a bit overboard.</p>
<p>Tufts is a great school. If you don't think it's one of the elite schools in the country, then you must only think Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are. In which case you'll miss out on a ton of other great schools.</p>
<p>You are completely entitled to your opinion, Lolabelle. Others are as well.</p>
<p>strikes me as strange that a "new" user's first two posts bash another school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Tufts is a great school. If you don't think it's one of the elite schools in the country, then you must only think Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are. In which case you'll miss out on a ton of other great schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Very few schools can be truly considered elite. </p>
<p>Besides, if you think Tufts is a great school, then that's all that matters. But trying to claim that one school is elite and better than others is really classless. </p>
<p>Why do you have to feel that your school is elite? Do you really want ppl to respect you b/c you went to an "elite" institution? Do you think that going to an "elite" school would validate your life?</p>
<p>Lolabelle -- I'm just answering the OP's question and then clarifying to those (hint) who might not understand what a <em>discussion</em> board is all about. I'm not bashing any school here. The OP asked a question, and I offered my opinion. Which is basically all everyone here, including you, does. Lets not hijack the thread, k?</p>
<p>Tekno-
I didn't claim mine was better than any other school. I said it is competitive with X, Y, Z schools. I can make that educated claim because I and/or many classmates got into those schools as well. Some choose to go here, some go there. Peer schools share many of the same applicants AND accept many of the same students. That is all. Show me where I say that Tufts is a better school; I merely said I picked it. That was my personal choice. Tufts was better for me, personally. All the schools I got into are excellent.</p>
<p>the flurry of responses from lolabelle speaks volumes about Tufts and its touchiness on admissions/reputation, doesn't it?</p>
<p>BTW the OP should do a google search on "tufts syndrome" for a bit more interesting reading.</p>
<p>And before someone misunderstands what I'm writing, let me plainly state that Tufts is a pretty good school. It's been that for many years, as evidenced by the legions of kids who were willing to enroll at Tufts if their ivy dreams didn't come true. Tufts has grown tired (understandably, I suppose) of being "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" and is quite aggressively working to change its image and enrollment. So I'm not saying avoid Tufts, if it is a fit for you by all means apply! I do, however want the OP to be aware of the unadvertised hurdles and pitfalls on the road to that thick envelope in the spring; if your playing their game, you're entitled to know about all the rules.</p>
<p>Tufts is a great school in many areas. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In addition to it's outstanding IR program, it has very good programs in political science, languages, biomedical sciences, history, classics, and art. Also although most students who are accepted to Tufts and an Ivy will choose the Ivy, I know people here who picked Tufts over Cornell, Brown, and UPenn, and even one who picked it over Yale. Tufts students are highly qualified and very intelligent. If you think of Tufts as a safety you will be in for a very rude awakening when you get there. </p>
<p>The on-campus social life isn't the best admittedly (esp. if you're a freshman), but you're in BOSTON so it shouldn't matter.</p>
<p>And as for applying, just approach it as you would any other school that you're seriously interested in. That's what I did and I got in.</p>
<p>mikemac:</p>
<p>Are you a Tufts student? Do you know A LOT about Tufts or its students? It would not seem like it. Plus, you say it's a school where kids go if their Ivy dreams do not come true -- Lolabelle, for one, just told you she picked it over Cornell and Dartmouth. I myself picked it over Dartmouth and UPenn.</p>
<p>I think what upsets Tufts students is that it is a great school, and its non-Ivy peer institutions don't get the same slack we do even though the students we accept have the same stats, the acceptance rates are virtually the same, etc. These would be places like Northwestern, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins. It just seems very odd that Tufts always gets picked on as that "safety" school. It may have been true thirty years ago, but none of these schools are "safe" anymore unless you're Harvard's number-one pick.</p>
<p>And Tufts Syndrome may have been true, also, in the past, but it's certainly not true anymore. Everyone I know who got into Harvard or Yale got into Tufts as well. If you are the kind of student Tufts is looking for, you'll get in -- and they're looking beyond stats so, yes, it will happen every now atn then that the kid with perfect SAT scores and a 4.9 GPA will not get into Tufts and into Harvard because he didn't have the well-rounded look Tufts wanted. There's nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>Tufts Syndrome is arrant nonsense. US News dropped yield from rankings a while ago, but SAT scores and class ranks still count- how would Tufts benefit from admitting students with less than excellent academic records?</p>
<p>TeriAnn, Tufts would be a great choice for art history. The archaeology and Classics programs are excellent if you have any interest in ancient art, and the Museum of Fine Arts (= possible internship) is not too far away. Cross registration with Boston U, Boston College, and Brandeis should give you plenty of course options.</p>
<p>I agree with everything the last three posters have said. I'd like to add that in addition to the programs Wrathofachilles listed as being strong at Tufts (political science, languages, biomedical sciences, history, classics, and art), the English dept. and engineering school are also very good. The child development, community health (only Tufts and UPenn offer this at the undergrad level), and psychology programs are also world-renowned and very unique. And don't forget Philosophy -- with the likes of Daniel Dennett.</p>
<p>(And note that though International Relations is a political science discipline, it is its own department. And it's the no. 1 undergrad IR program in the nation, acc to Gourman. In the top 3, by any other ranking)</p>
<p>Beyond its above strengths, Tufts is a good all-around school. However, I would be okay with someone saying that a program like Comparative Religion at Tufts is rather weak because it is a very small department. (Someday, I'm sure that will change.) However, no one can argue that you're not getting one of the very best educations possible in any of the above programs.</p>
<p>lolabelle,</p>
<p>While I agree that Tufts is a very good school and its admission standard is similar to JHU, Georgetown, Cornell..etc, I think you are exaggerating a little. How can its psychology program being "world-renowned" when it's not even highly ranked by published graduate ranking (a measure of faculty strength and how "renowned" a program is)? You wrote "the likes of Daniel Dennett" to suggest its philosophy is yet another "renowned" program. But again, published graduate ranking suggests otherwise. "Strong and very good" are relative and depends on how one defines them. Though I didn't go to Tufts, I am sure Tufts is "strong and very good" in many areas when compared to 90% of all the US colleges. But it's also a fact that it receives little love from published departmental rankings. I am not saying graduate ranking = quality undergrad education, but since you were claiming how "renowned" their programs are, I just want to point out things that suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>I was referring to these programs as excellent, renowned UNDERGRADUATE programs. I know nothing of these programs as graduate programs. Except for IR, which is the Fletcher School; and the biomedical sciences which is the Tufts Med School (and also the Tufts Vet School). Tufts' major strength is its emphasis on undergraduate education. Deans/Provosts/Presidents who've come to Tufts from schools like MIT, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. all say they are impressed by just how much undergraduate education is emphasized and prized at Tufts. That is our forte--despite some specific, excellent grad programs--and that's what I'm talking about.</p>