Carnegie vs Tufts pre-med?

metroplex
Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:50:33 +0000

(i apologize for the super long answer, but i feel like i was kinda misled about the social scene at CMU and i felt like giving an honest opinion on it LOL.)

domestically, i think CMU and Tufts are pretty much equal in terms of prestige. in fact, even though CMU is ranked higher, i think Tufts has a better rep because admissions is more competitive there. since you aren’t planning on going into comp sci or engineering, i’d say Tufts would be a better match for you.

i don’t think it would be too hard to switch into a non-science major. switching into dietrich isn’t too hard to do. i’m not sure how easy it is to do that at Tufts, though.

i visited CMU last weekend and when you ask students what they do for fun or how the social scene is, they give you a funny look (or they just laugh). then they’ll explain that they “venture out into pittsburgh” and “see movies” and go to the occasional party. those were the responses from students that actively chose to get involved in the prospective student’s weekend.

from students that had no vested interest into convincing prospective students to attend, the answers were different. a lot of people said that the party scene flat out sucked, or that despite loving CMU, they hated that they weren’t getting the quintessential college experience.

…and in all honesty, a lot of the people there were really, really weird. one kid introduced himself to me by saying, “did you know stalin drowned in his own pee?” i could go on, but i’m 100% certain Tufts has a better social scene than CMU. that having been said, there are still plenty of interesting, passionate, intelligent and attractive (in a cute/quirky rather than hot, way) guys & girls on campus, and it seems easy to get involved in activities that you enjoy.

CMU claims to not be too competitive, but i dunno about that. i do know that most of the faculty seem really willing to help you out, and offer plenty of opportunities for you to approach them personally. the university also requires that professors save spots for undergrads to do research, etc. overall, the teachers are really approachable and seem to be passionate about what they do.