Harvard or Tufts?

pmyen
Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:09:51 +0000

You also can go to Tufts or some other school for undergrad, and then go to Harvard for grad or professional school.
 It is possible that you may be more comfortable at Tufts than at Harvard since you will surrounded by superstars and over-achievers at Harvard.  Some students put a lot of pressure on themselves or suffer from "imposter syndrome" if they are surrounded by extremely high-achieving classmates.  Others thrive on it.  If you do not mind being potentially a small fish in a big pond (where you also can learn from your peers) or are extremely self-directed and know what you want in your university education, Harvard will be the top choice.  On the other hand, if that is not who you are, then going to Tufts or perhaps a smaller ivy e.g. Brown, Dartmouth or a LAC may be a better option.  I definitely agree with other posters that you should look at other schools.  There certainly is a wide spectrum, and perhaps a better fit for you than either of them.
 At Tufts or some other school, you may find that if you are one of the better students, you will not need to work as hard to stay at the top and be able to enjoy other activities in college.  If you do not know what you want to do after college, you may feel less pressure to achieve professional goals to land the right job or get into the right graduate school afterwards.  Undergrad life also could allow you to explore different fields since you will not feel that you need to compete with classmates who will be focusing on being the best at their chosen fields.  It will be harder to get lost at a smaller school.  And perhaps more fun, depending upon the student.   My brother went to Harvard for undergrad.  Unfortunately several of his classmates fell through the cracks-emotionally and/or academically, particularly during the freshman year.  One of his friends left after a severe episode of depression never to return.  His freshman roommate muddled his way academically and probably would have done much better at a smaller and less competitive environment while maintaining his sense of self-confidence.  To this day he has not really achieved much success in his career unfortunately.  Harvard is a great school but not for everybody.