My son is struggling to decide whether Emory or Tufts is better for him. He appreciates a ‘work-hard play-hard’ mindset among students (where Emory beats Tufts), but also wants to be surrounded by kids from the Northeast (where Tufts might beat Emory). Also, he can likely walk onto a varsity sport at Tufts, but not at Emory.
Is there a palpable prestige difference between the two schools? Can anyone comment on the social scene at either school and the type of students that attend? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Why does he want to be surrounded by kids from a certain area?
I personally don’t see a prestige difference. Perhaps Emory is a bit better known but in most cases, prestige doesn’t matter.
Tufts has engineering whereaas Emory doesn’t…so that’s a difference.
The areas are different.
If you believe College Factual (3rd party), Tufts is heavily skewed in the NE with only California being a top state (in the top 7) whereas the rest are the NE/Mid Atlantic.
NJ and NY are two of the top four at Emory - which also has Georgia, California, Texas, and Florida as highly represented - so it appears more diverse but it doesn’t seem like your son wants that.
Based on what you wrote, Tufts seems the better choice but two kids could easily pick either school - and both would be right.
I do not think that there is. Without looking on-line I could not tell you which was more highly ranked, except that they are both very good. Which is higher ranked or considered more prestigious might depend upon your major.
I would expect this to vary between students at either university, but to be common at either university.
I know a lot of people from the northeast, and a lot more who are not from the northeast (and in many cases not from this country). I couldn’t tell you how people from the northeast differ compared to people from other parts of the US.
This sounds like it might be a valid issue.
I like the area around Tufts, and have been in the area many times. I do not know much about Emory. However, I think that you are comparing excellent with excellent.
You might want to look for major-specific differences, or go to whichever is more affordable, or go to whichever feels more like home to your son.
I don’t personally think this matters much, but I would say descriptively that Emory has a “prestige” advantage due to being the “top” private college or university in not just Atlanta but really the whole “Deep South”/Florida (in other words, south of North Carolina and east of Texas), whereas obviously Tufts cannot claim the same about even Boston let alone New England.
But of course Boston is arguably the most popular single college market in the world, and Tufts is in fact a very good university with some very strong programs, so Tufts still attracts a lot of very qualified students.
Finally, personally I think if he is a varsity athlete at Tufts, that will likely have more impact on his social life than any generic difference between the social reputation of Tufts and Emory.
So if he really wants to be in the Boston area, and if he would like to do a varsity sport, including for social reasons, then like many before him he could very reasonably choose Tufts.
I’m from New England. Tufts is very very well known…very. And my family is in Ohio where Tufts is also well known.
These are both excellent colleges. I hope you are letting your son choose!
I am familiar with both Tufts and Emory in terms of location having had kids who attended schools in Boston and Atlanta, and a son in law who is a Tufts master degree holder. Both schools are located in major metro areas. Boston has a LOT more colleges in that major metro area than Atlanta does…but both Atlanta and Boston, to me…are similar in terms of what the cities have to offer.
I think the deciding thing might be weather. It’s pretty humid and hot in Atlanta at the start and ends of the school year. It’s hot in Boston too…but school ends before it gets really hot. And you won’t be seeing much snow in Atlanta.
Both are excellent schools! Congrats! And I agree there is no “prestige” difference between the two. I drove by Emory last week and finally there seems to be a tad less construction going on on the roads around campus!!
Agree that all things being pretty equal, if he wants to walk on to his sport, Tufts it is. Tufts also has the fun experimental college courses. Have fun!
I would echo the comment (that I didn’t see replied?) that surely his intended major has an impact on this decision? Both are great schools but each has some academic departments that really excel.
you are probably right… but, we are already splitting hairs on two good schools, so shades of grey might matter… just struck me as odd not to mention as presumably his intended major has a big impact on why he’s going to school
Maybe also consider the boy to girl ratio? Emory is 40% boys and 60% girls. I am not sure what it is at Tufts but Emory has challenges with getting boys to go there. There is no football team at Emory and there is at Tufts. To be able to walk on to a varsity team would create friend group!
Tech colleges (or at least very engineering heavy colleges) might go the other way, and a few other private colleges are still managing to get it closer to 50/50 with various ways of favoring male applicants. But most general interest sort of four-year colleges are somewhere in this range these days.
he just thinks that emory is more social with more of a greek scene than tufts. is this true? it is likely that the sport at tufts would not dominate his social life, and he is unsure if he would do the varsity or club team there. could anyone speak to the social scenes at each school?
Oh I just saw this post- can you share what sport your s plays?
And figured an engineering interest was not in the mix since there is none at Emory (though there is a dual degree opportunity). There is also the opportunity to take classes at GT and other schools
(though there is a dual degree opportunity). There is also the opportunity to take classes at GT and other schools