<p>D was accepted at Johns Hopkins and Tufts University. She does not know which to pick. JH gave her 3,000 more in grants than Tufts. Can you help?
She heard that at Johns Hopkins, freshman students are unhappy.</p>
<p>The best place for your daughter will likely be the one where she senses and can articulate or explain a "best fit" between the school and her. Therefore, so that people here can help her discern which school offers the best fit for her, could you or your daughter tell more about her?</p>
<p>I'm with ADad. There is not a single college that doesn't have some terribly unhappy freshmen and some deliriously happy ones too. I'll bet before long some JHU and Tufts folks will show up to extoll the happiness quotient at their school. People here can help with some objective comparisons but it has to come down to how she feels about them, not what anyone else says.</p>
<p>My daughter is somewhat shy and keeps to herself. She's always been studious but feels that at JH, all they do it study, study, study. She feels that at JH she'll be below average and not able to live up to her expectations like the other kids, as it is known to be a highly competitive school. At Tufts, she has said that "there is a more relaxing feeling; it's more opened and more comfortable."</p>
<p>Also, she's read on the Internet a commission done at JH about how students feel about going to JH and apparently, 50% of the freshmen were unhappy and some alumani were asked if they could go back in time, would they choose JH and most have said "no."</p>
<p>It sounds like she knows what she wants. Where's the problem? Money?</p>
<p>Sounds like your daughter wants Tufts. </p>
<p>I don't think $3000 is enough money to be much of a factor anyway -- though you really should be focused the bottom line (what you pay) vs. the amount of grant money. That is you should be looking at overall cost of attendance, and also keep in mind that there are a lot of other factors that can influence expenses.</p>
<p>Jh has a lot of pre-med students , and only a relatively small % will survive the competative "weed out" courses, such as Org. Chem., with high enough grades to gain acceptance to medical school. So it is not a relaxed environment for a lot of students there, as they know they are competing with fellow students for coveted med school spots . Tufts has a more typical, less competative college experience to offer, rigorous but less stressful for most students.</p>
<p>Kikmom, does your daughter have the link to the admitted students message boards? Some of the current students are debunking a lot of the myths about Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>FWIW, my S goes to Hopkins. He finds that the students in his field (Engineering) tend to be very intense. Not competitive in a cut-throat sense, but very very intense about academic success. He does NOT find that to be true of the kids he meets in other fields (humanities/social sciences) through his roommate.</p>
<p>That is only one kid's observation. I know that there are freshmen who are wildly happy there, as there are at every school.</p>
<p>As others have said, it's all about what feels right to your D. If she is drawn to Tufts, feels she will be more comfortable there, fears she will have to struggle more at Hopkins... then what are the factors drawing her to keep Hopkins under consideration? If you share that with us, it might help in providing you better feedback.</p>
<p>I don';t think your daughter will find the academics harder at one school or the other—they're pretty comparable in terms of the kinds of students it attracts. however, Tufts is known for being cutthroat competitive in a different way: kids compete with themselves, not with others. It makes for a nice environment :)</p>
<p>We still are considering JH because the overall cost of attendance will be lower than at Tufts Univeristy.
She was also acepted at the University of Pittsbrugh and we will be paying only $12,000 per year.</p>
<p>JH: $29,000
Tufts: $32,000</p>
<p>Yes, it is about money and JH costs less. She wants to go to Tufts but is thinking heavily on our finacial state, which is why she's now thinking of just going to Pittsburgh. But the thing is, she's worked so hard her whole life and now, she just wants to settle for Pittsburgh when she got into JH and Tufts. We're willing to pay - and take out loans - for her to go to JH because it is such a well-known school. The thing is, we don't think the premed at Tufts/Pittsburgh is as good as JH and we want her to have the best.</p>
<p>I don't really know why you would say the premed program at Tufts is not strong (or Pittsburgh's for that matter). Med school placement at Tufts is very high; there's also some early-admit programs for the med school which relieves a lot of stress early on for the top students in the undergrad program. </p>
<p>I understand that your decision is very finaid-centered, but $3,000 is more manageable than many other finaid decisions parents are going to have to make this week. If your daughter wants to go to Tufts, you should consider that. Good luck!</p>
<p>Personally I'd look at Pitt, because I loved my visit there, and the Tufts students I have met seem to always be trying to prove that Tufts really is that good, when it should just be apparent. Then JHU seems not too big with your daughter, and I could see that.</p>
<p>Pitt would fit money wise, is in a cool city and a cool area, and it is good pre-med, if not JHU. If your daughter wasn't anti-JHU, that'd be the choice, but since she seems to be, Pitt, IMO.</p>
<p>But it really comes down to you and your daughter.</p>
<p>It seems like Tufts is the choice for your daughter, both socially and academically. Its pre-med program is top-notch with tons of opportunties for undergraduate research; and though the program is rigorous and well-respected, students are probably less on-edge than at JHU, and maybe that has to do with the fact that a larger percentage of students at JHU are premed... the fact that there are less premed students at Tufts also means more individualized attention and more access to funding/research opportunities, I would think.</p>
<p>However, if you're going to make your decision based on finances, go to Pittsburgh. Otherwise, go to Tufts.</p>
<p>To become a doctor is a long, expensive road. She is not going to be making decent money until MANY years later. If Pittsburgh has a good med placement record, then I would opt for Pitt. My daughter just gave up a full scholarship at another good LAC to go to Tufts, but she is not going to be pre-med. She has also agreed to be responsible for $10,000/yr of her tuition. She offered to do that when she gave up the scholarship - we'll see if she'll actually be responsible for it when she graduates.</p>
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we want her to have the best.
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</p>
<p>Quite understandable and admirable. </p>
<p>There are perhaps at least two views of "the best" (setting aside finances for a moment). </p>
<p>"The best" in a general or universal sense. </p>
<p>This view perhaps argues for going to "the best" school one gets into, or at least for selecting among schools that are so close as to be impossible to rank relative to each other. On this view, students are, or can be expected to be, adaptable and can succeed in a wide range of environments, so it makes sense to go, or to choose among, the highest ranking school(s) one has been accepted to.</p>
<p>"The best" **for a certain person.**</p>
<p>The second view argues for going to where one feels the best "fit", or at least choosing among schools that feel indistinguishable in terms of "fit". On this view, students may not be so adaptable. A particular student who is unhappy or fits poorly at school x may not achieve his/her potential, even though the school is good in a general sense and many students do succeed there. On the other hand, a student who senses a good fit at a college, and is happy, may be more likely to reach his/her potential. </p>
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<p>I suggest, therefore, that a fair and important question to consider, in choosing among colleges that have accepted a given student, is: "How adaptable is the student?". Will this student likely function well and happily, learn well and happily, in all of the environments under consideration? Or will he/she likely function and learn particularly well in some places, but rather less well in others?</p>
<p>I have been thinking a lot about this particular student's decision.</p>
<p>Seems to me that if it is largely a financial decision, Pitt is the obvious choice.</p>
<p>If it is NOT largely a financial decision here are my thoughts, influenced heavily by the following
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My daughter is somewhat shy and keeps to herself. She's always been studious but feels that at JH, all they do it study, study, study. She feels that at JH she'll be below average and not able to live up to her expectations like the other kids, as it is known to be a highly competitive school. At Tufts, she has said that "there is a more relaxing feeling; it's more opened and more comfortable."
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If the students chooses Hopkins at the parents' urging; and if she finds herself struggling academically there - and believe me, some do; or if she has trouble finding friends and a comfortable social group there... will it have been worth the $3000 savings? If not, I would urge the parents to allow the daughter to go with her gut. It is tempting to push also for the higher-ranked school, but Tufts and Hopkins are both SO well respected that I believe the differences are de minimus. If you believe her fears of not performing well at Hopkins are unfounded (eg, she ranks in the top 25% stats-wise for that school), you might reassure her that she is likely to do fine academically. But if she is still leaning toward Tufts, you might regret the outcome if you push Hopkins.</p>
<p>As a premed student at Tufts, with a twin sister who's a premed student at JHU, I can say that both schools' premed programs are equally demanding and strong. However, the atmosphere at JHU is very very cutthroat among the students—I don't know why it is; it may be because there are SO MANY premed students (as I said in a prior post on this thread)... so the only reason your daughter might do worse at JHU is if she can't handle that premed competitiveness that, believe it or not, plays a social role on the JHU campus (or so my sister says). At Tufts, people are competitive and smart, but you won't hear them comparing grades—that's your own private information as well it should be, I think!</p>
<p>All that being said, my sister things JHU has a very lacking social life and Baltimore is a big bore to her. She tries to escape to visit friends at DC schools as much as possible. Regardless, she didn't transfer out (even when I went through the whole Georgetown to Tufts transfer process), even though she's been grumbling for four years, so I guess that does mean that she likes it enough!</p>
<p>Check if she likes Pitt. They have a very good Pre-Med setup, and are significantly cheaper. While overall JHU, Tufts, and Pitt have different levels of prestige, their pre-med sections are not as far apart.</p>
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While overall JHU, Tufts, and Pitt have different levels of prestige, their pre-med sections are not as far apart.
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<p>That might be true. Why don't you check med school placement statistics for each school? You can contact them directly for that.</p>