| Great choices! I don't know much about Emery, but I know something about the other two.
It's as easy to get to downtown Boston from Tufts as it is to get from Hyde Park to downtown Chicago. And Boston is much more of a student town than Chicago.
I personally like the house system at Chicago in comparison to the Tufts dorms. Tufts has found that students like freshman dorms, and that's a pretty major focus. For upperclassmen, Chicago and Tufts are similar, in that students tend to move off campus into houses and apartments that are as close or even closer to their classes than the dorms were.
Study abroad is a much bigger deal at Tufts than it is at Chicago, and IR is one of the most popular majors. In fact, housing is not guaranteed for junior year, because so many students go away. (It's not a problem to get housing if you want it though.)
Chicago and Tufts have different feels in that Chicago is about the "life of the mind" and theory, while Tufts emphasizes bringing what you know to help the community and the world. Both Chicago and Tufts are excellent places to get to know your professors.
Good luck! Let us know what you decide. |