why is Tufts not in CC's list of top universities

metsfan1rar · 10-02-2006, 05:11 PM

That truly surprised me when considering that Tufts is harder to get into than schools like Emory, Carnegie Mellon, and Vanderbilt. That does not mean it is superior in academic quality however, but I would like other people's opinions nonetheless.

jkh411 · 10-02-2006, 06:33 PM

Opinion... Emory is harder to get into than Tufts (USNEWS agrees with me). Opinion... Old and tired topic.

lolabelle · 10-02-2006, 07:06 PM

Yeah, I mean I think everyone who looks at Tufts knows it's a school on par and many times better than several of the schools in CC's list of top universities. It doesn't really matter.

knightshield · 10-02-2006, 09:00 PM

The Top Universities are chosen more based on the number of posts than on actual "competitive" numbers. At least, that's what it appears.

taxguy · 10-02-2006, 09:03 PM

By the way, Carnegie Mellon is harded to get into based on acceptances/admissions for various schools at CMU.

wrathofachilles · 10-02-2006, 10:23 PM

^actually no, the Tufts board gets considerably more traffic than some of the schools on the "top universities" list. The threshold is US News top 25; UNC-CH and one other are up there because they were in top 25 a couple of years ago.

metsfan1rar · 10-02-2006, 10:32 PM

the 30 top LACs listed on CC do not correspond exactly with the top 30 in US News

wrathofachilles · 10-03-2006, 01:01 AM

yeah it's either from a few years ago or lists schools that have made appearences in the last few years; they don't update them regularly

metsfan1rar · 10-04-2006, 01:37 AM

or it might just be CC's personal feeling on what the best are, because lafayette is always in the 25-30 range in US news but is not listed here on CC as a top LAC

tuftsmom · 10-05-2006, 12:19 PM

I had posed this question several months ago in the parents forum. I asked what CC's criteria was for their college rankings. Apparently CC used an old US News listing of top universities and doesn't update it. Their top colleges are not based on any current criteria at this point. My post was also met with alot of negative energy from the CC gurus, so I agree with metsfan that for some reason, not sure why, CC does have personal negative feelings toward Tufts. (It really isn't worth pursuing with CC unless you want alot of grief.) I would suggest reading outside sources for the actual comparative criteria when making your college search. Keep in mind that these top colleges are all excellent institutions, find the one that is the best fit for you, size, location, student body, etc. Good luck in your search.

WS17 · 10-05-2006, 04:08 PM

Don't worry about this. If in some small way it results in fewer applicants, consider it a good thing for your chances.

The reality is that Tufts is just as difficult to get into these days as an Ivy. If you look at naviance data (see here), the Tufts admission profile is higher than Emory and Vanderbilt. And if you read the CMU Commom Data Set, the number 1 school that CMU loses common admitted students to is Tufts.

wrathofachilles · 10-06-2006, 02:51 AM

Yeah people at CC seem to hate Tufts because it's near harvard but isn't an ivy. This makes no sense.

bluirinka · 10-07-2006, 05:14 PM

well, so is MIT.

lol, my boyfriend was choosing between CMU and Tufts. He made the right choice of course

wrathofachilles · 10-10-2006, 12:30 AM

yeah but MIT is MIT....I think it's actually better than Harvard for undergrad. Everyone knows this. It's been suggested that Tufts be added to the top universities list in the past, but every time this comes up, the admin and certain posters get all touchy and defensive.

bluirinka · 10-10-2006, 12:53 PM

I agree about Tufts > Harvard for undergrad. Almost every prof I've had that is a part-time Tufts professor who teaches at Harvard (one notable exception, and I think he teaches at Harvard GRAD - Kennedy - rather than undergrad) has been less than stellar.