My kid has taken a couple of philosophy courses and her current class is about half grad students. So those opportunities exist at Tufts.
I love the work FIRE does and I believe these rankings are important at an institutional level. But I don’t really find them very useful for students in terms of intellectual discussion or freedom etc.
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I think the intro courses are designed to be just that - intro courses. He’s ready for a deeper dive. I think if things change socially and that he holds on that he is in for a great deal of academic engagement where he is
I think he tried to get into Math for Social Change and was unsuccessful this semester. You definitely have the right ideas about his interests! Thank you so much!
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I recommend researching what types of applicants are accepted as transfers by highly-rejective SLACs like Swarthmore and Williams. Williams takes very few transfers and they are mostly applicants from community colleges, veterans, and non-traditional students. From Williams’ transfer page, “If you’re a transfer student and began your post-secondary education at a community college, in the U.S. military or elsewhere in the workforce, we especially encourage you to apply.” https://www.williams.edu/admission-aid/apply/transfer/
Swarthmore also encourages veterans and community college students to apply as transfers.
I’m not an expert on transfer admissions, just want to help temper expectations about transferring to smaller schools.
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I may not have painted the picture as accurately as I could have. he’s not looking for “hard” classes necessarily. He wants to be deeply engaged. He would do a very deep dive in HS courses with some great instructors, and sometimes even on his own. He’s doing the same as a college student. He’s just been told for so long by so many that college is going to be amazing for him that I think he had very high hopes for extreme engagement and deep conversations with peers from the get go.
He is definitely struggling with isolation, not that he is alone. But lonely around others.
He’s never said, or indicated that he feels more worthy than others. But he has definitely wondered why students are even bothering with higher education if they aren’t interested in deep engagement. We don’t make a big deal of this, but he knows it’s a bit of a stretch for us to afford his education. We are thrilled to do this for him. But it’s not like we have that kind of money sitting around. So he is mindful of the fact that he is fortunate to have an opportunity to be in this environment.
I agree that I hope he elects to stay I also agree that I hope he finds a diverse group. I am hopeful that some of this will happen organically with a little time as he has worked so hard at planting seeds. Just one really great friend could make all the difference. I really appreciate your perspective and the time you took to share. Thank you
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My kid is a first year. It got hot in August/September, but nothing too bad - we heard that last year was worse - kids without A/C gathered in lounges and friends rooms for a few of the hottest nights. For mine, the overall great weather is such a bonus, they will cope with some heat. But, everyone’s personal thermometer is different.
My kid could be described as a quirky, deep thinking, justice seeker 
Hope yours finds his cohort at Tufts, but the offer for connection stands if he is interested
I hope your kid finds his place and people at Tufts.
If he does keep considering transfer as a backup plan, with his interest in social issues he may consider one of the partner schools of the Shepherd Consortium on Poverty Studies. My D’s school is a partner and she is working on a minor in Poverty Studies with a concentration of Social Determinants of Health. The program provides many resources, including internship opportunities.
I wish your son the best. I have no doubt he will appreciate the research you are doing on his behalf and the support you are providing to allow him to make the best decision for his future.
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DS had a close friend who transferred to Haverford for sophomore year. I haven’t read every post here, but it sounds like it could check a number of the boxes.
Its Quaker roots/ethos go some way in focusing on equality, social justice, and community. Offers good access to Philadelphia, so if that was part of the original pull of Tufts, he wouldn’t be giving that up.
Fwiw, I totally understand the feeling that one might not have landed in the right place. I would advocate for wanting to go TO another school simply than AWAY from the current one if you’re going to transfer. Even in the best of situations, transfers can be hard, so it helps to bring excitement to it rather than simply relief for the change.
Time often helps - there’s so much luck involved on the hall you live on, who’s in discussion classes, etc. But I fully support the emotional lift that can come from knowing that an option exists.
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Does he like hiking and other outdoor activities? I saw a link for the Tufts Mountain Club (and there are probably others) that sponsor outdoor outings – and sometimes hiking a trail with others for hours or days at a time can foster good conversations!
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On its most recent (and only) CDS, UChicago shows a freshman retention rate of 99%.
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Have you thought about Rice University. It has a quirky vibe but offers a lot in the way of community service and focus.
The “Your College Bound Kid” podcast has some episodes that talk about advice for transfer students. Might be worth listening to!
USC is definitely not a wealth bubble. It’s very diverse
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That data was published by the NYT in “The Upshot”: “The estimates presented here are based on millions of anonymous tax filings and tuition records.” It was based on this source: “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility”, by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, Emmanuel Saez, Nicholas Turner and Danny Yagan, The Equality of Opportunity Project published in 2017 and based on data “for students born in 1991, roughly the class of 2013”.
Another study published this year by Chetty (Professor of Economics, Harvard University) has been discussed in multiple threads recently on CC. I haven’t looked at if that data has comparable stats that might describe how schools may have increased opportunities and changed their socio-economic profile in the last decade plus.
Here is the link for that older Chetty study data for Tufts. But you can easily enter other schools to compare:
One thing I would note: other schools mentioned frequently in this thread are in the same neighborhood as Tufts in terms of economic privilege. For example, Tufts was listed as 4th for “Share of students from top fifth” (77%) and 15th for “Share of students from top one percent” (19%) among 65 “elite colleges”. But even a college halfway down that list like Northwestern at 32nd for both measures, is at 66%/15%, which doesn’t strike me as a significant difference. Same story for USC at 47th/34th and 63%/14%.
For the data in that study, Vanderbilt had the #1 highest share of 1-percenters at 23%, and also had one of the lowest shares of students from the bottom 20% at #59 out of 65: 1.9%.
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Don’t forget the Tisch College for Civic Life, which is where Tufts concentrates a lot of its community engagement and service programs, initiatives and courses. The OP’s son would likely find his people there.
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I did not forget Tisch- I mentioned it in post 91 upthread…
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Oh, and so you did!
Oh @KarenKaren … just reflecting on your original post - pragmatic, realistic, sprinkled with the sheer vulnerability we all feel when it’s about our kiddo.
Judging from the volume of thoughtful responses, you clearly hit a precious nerve in the wonderful CC parent community. Kind of re-energizes my faith in humanity 
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Partly because the way in which you described your son’s academic and extracurricular aspirations comports with the exclusively undergraduate-focused atmospheres of colleges of this type, at least in an idealized sense. For perspective on this, you may want to read this interview of a professor with experience across institutions of various types: https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/faculty-jason-cieply-russian-studies. This comment, in particular, may resonate with your son:
Yes, this is unfortunate. I understand your reservations.
This is certainly something to think about in the cases of the particular colleges I suggested.
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