<p>I would like some opinions on University of Michigan and Tufts.
I know that both are fantastic schools though very different. </p>
<p>But, in your opinion, which school has better reputation overally??
Where would you choose?</p>
<p>You really are, as you noted, comparing apples and oranges. </p>
<p>Tufts is a a small private research university, with a Northeast-LAC-feel and an emphasis on internationalism and public service. Michigan is a huge public research university, where athletics/team-spirit are really important.</p>
<p>One costs 44K a year, the other is a state school, making it much more affordable. That's probably a big difference, too, if you are a middle-class student who is not likely to get that much fin-aid, but for whom 44K isn't that easy to pay up each year for four years.</p>
<p>Tufts is known for international relations, pre-med/natural sciences, community/public health, economics, English -- in other words, the liberal arts. Michigan is known for its engineering program.</p>
<p>Do you want to be in a class of 6,000 or of 1,200? Are athletics important to you; or do you prefer to have your "team-spirit" revolve around the activities you're involved in? New England or the Midwest?</p>
<p>It comes down to what kind of environment is more important/suited to you. They're both excellent academically.</p>
<p>as lolabelle said, you are comparing the 2 extremes...one of the largest to a very small school</p>
<p>michigan is known for engineering and business; while tufts is known for humanities. Michigan is a lot more well rounded with all but one academic department rank out of top 10. Tufts is less well rounded yet it's just becoz they arent as big..</p>
<p>"But, in your opinion, which school has better reputation overally??"</p>
<p>in the new england bubble, they are about equal. Outside new england, michigan is more well known, becoz they have the largest alum network in the world. Worldwide, definitely michigan, again, only becoz of the alum network; and LACs arent that popular outside the US, specially in asia</p>
<p>I agree that there is no direct comparison between the two schools. They are just too different. It all depends on what you are looking for. Both are excellent schools. I think my D is the only kid she knows with the stats to get into U of M who did not apply --- everyone here does. She just wasn't interested in a large school for many reasons. She also didn't want to apply anywhere in-state. It had nothing to do with whether or not U of M wasn't good ... it just wasn't good for her. Tufts is actually one she applied to, although she has since come to love some even smaller schools. So try to figure out where you would be happiest. That's YOUR "better."</p>
<p>Hands down, Michigan. Michigan is known all over the world for its academics and thus has a tremendous reputation. I don't think the same can be said about Tufts, although it seems like it is making an attempt to improve its profile. This, however, would be a challenge for Tufts since there are so many top schools in New England already.</p>
<p>^^^Oooh...I would have to disagree with this. Both schools have excellent reputations--I would not rate one above another, personally, and I would certainly not say that Tufts does not have a good reputation compared to Michigan. </p>
<p>To the OP...I would lean towards Michigan, personally, but this is a very iffy choice as I considered both schools and was not personally excited by either. I say UMich because Tufts seemed very engineering/science oriented to me as I did my research, but...definitely a matter of personal opinion. But overall reputation? Equal footing or damn near to it, in my opinion.</p>
<p>If studying abroad is an experience u want to have, Tufts offers one of the best, if not the best program for it in the nation.</p>
<p>"^^^Oooh...I would have to disagree with this. Both schools have excellent reputations--I would not rate one above another, personally, and I would certainly not say that Tufts does not have a good reputation compared to Michigan. "</p>
<p>If you come from overseas, you would know that most people know michigan, and less than 1 out of 50 people know tufts. Not saying tufts is not as good..but the alum network is just not as massive so it's less known. Even in the US, on the west coast, where my family is located now, michigan is more well known than tufts, again for the same reason.</p>
<p>"Tufts seemed very engineering/science oriented to me as I did my research"
that's the complete opposite. Tufts engineering is nothing when compared with michigan engineering, while tufts humanity might have an edge. Tufts does have a mighty international relations program and the best study abroad program</p>
<p>Okay...don't jump all over me, I'm just stating my personal opinions. I never said that Tufts was BETTER in engineering--just that it seemed very sciency/engineering to me. I'm not from overseas, either, so I don't know anything about it's overseas reputation. I always think there is a disconnect when talking about a school's reputation, anyway...are we talking "man on the street" reputation? Because then obviously Michigan has a higher profile. But I would think that in areas of it's strength, especially on the East Coast, Tufts would have plenty of name recognition for job seekers to get by fine on.</p>
<p>Tufts is also known for sciences -- it has a very high med school admission rate, among the highest int he country in fact -- and the engineering school is quite good, though small -- so its major bite is that it offers super-individualized attention and study, plus tons of money for undergrad research. That being said, in terms of prestige, yes, the liberal arts school has more of it, but what does that say anyway? Who cares about prestige as long as you're getting the education you seek?</p>
<p>Prestige plays a factor for most applicants and its because Tufts is gaining more prestige that admissions is getting harder for the school. By going to a more well known and well respected school, it can definitely help in getting jobs/internships/connections because a prestigious, well to do school is automaticalyl assumed to have a great educational program</p>
<p>"and the engineering school is quite good, though small"</p>
<p>in terms of peer assessment (by college deans and professors) and industry rankings (by recruiters and fortune 500 people), tufts fares pretty bad on those for engineering. Does it matter? Kinda. Peer assessment and industry rankings are not like the bull Sh1t US News ranking. They are actually what companies based their preliminary elimination on. They have a factor to play on who gets the interview and who doesnt. This is according to my dad's friend who's the head recruiter for JP Morgan regional sector.</p>
<p>i would say if you are sure that your interest is in the humanities, you cant go wrong with tufts and michigan, I woiuld personally choose tufts if that's the case.
but if you are unsure about your future, michigan would be the way to go, as i mentioned, it's more well rounded. It's humanities are decent, business and engineering are top notch. Basically every programs except for one (i think is chemistry but dont quote me on that) are rated among the top 15s, and a lot more majors are offered. It's humanities are decent, business and engineering are top notch.</p>
<p>as usual, different schools for different people</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you come from overseas, you would know that most people know michigan, and less than 1 out of 50 people know tufts. Not saying tufts is not as good..but the alum network is just not as massive so it's less known. Even in the US, on the west coast, where my family is located now, michigan is more well known than tufts, again for the same reason.
[/quote]
well of course they would know michigan, it is a godamn state! And just because something is well known doesn't mean its better (more people know about UCLA than William College, but does that mean its better?)</p>
<p>strange, my parents, who are from taiwan, have known about tufts ever since coming to the united states. They have never heard of Michigan. Same thing with my german friends.</p>
<p>"(more people know about UCLA than William College, but does that mean its better?)"</p>
<p>did i ever say michigan's better? No. In fact i did emphasize different school for different people. SO open your god dam eyes before you fire off at other people next time</p>
<p>"well of course they would know michigan, it is a godamn state"</p>
<p>i think a kid with 8 year old intelligence would understand that michigan above refers to U Michgan rather than the state of michigan.</p>
<p>^Way to take sarcasm seriously</p>
<p>Hi Bearcat - "peer assessment (by college deans and professors) and industry rankings (by recruiters and fortune 500 people)"? Where can I see this?</p>
<p>Is one of your sources the Gourman Report? It's compiled by a UM prof, right? I don't have a copy of it and the data can't be googled. Can you tell me where UM and Tufts rank for Biology, Pre-Med and and Pre-Veterinary Studies? I wish our high school or town library had one but I think it's out of print.</p>
<p>UM would probably rank pretty high in most fields (even though it's a UM prof compiling the assessments).</p>
<p>I went to both schools - Tufts for undergrad and Michigan for grad school. Except for the school of engineering Tufts is much better academically for undergrad. The classes are small and are all taught by full professors. The student body is much more selective for undergrad as well. Michigan's graduate programs are world renown and the source of its academic reputation. Most are ranked in the top 10 in their field. I loved being a grad student there.</p>
<p>gourman report is the source for my peer assessments. there;s a section on peer assessment</p>
<p>Industry ranking can be found on Vault, but it cost a crapload of money to get access to it</p>
<p>cookiemom, dont forget that the quality of graduate programs has direct correlation with the undergrad program, since many have same professors anyway.
oh..and you forgot the ross school of business. You also forgot the much bigger range of majors that michigan offers that tuft doesnt..that's an advantage of being a bigger school. however, as you said, you probably get much more individual attention and smaller classes at tufts...say for example, i liked tufts, but it doesnt offer my major: industrial and operations engineering/operations research..it also doesnt offer business</p>