Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? (Comparing Schools)

DanAdmiss_Tufts
Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:57:30 +0000

In a thread near you, kjcastillo1990 is asking [Boston University or Tufts?](http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tufts-university/484378-boston-university-tufts-ahhh.html) KJ asks the CC community to provide some insight into the decision she faces. Certainly, a valid question to ask, but one that needs to be asked carefully.

GroovyGeek:

A guy walks into the Vatican, approaches a cardinal, and asks “I have decided to discover God, the one true God. But I am kind of torn between Jesus and Muhammad. Which way do you think I should go?”

It is pointless to ask a question “which one is better, Tufts or BU?”, in either the Tufts or BU forms, because you get mostly predictable fanboy replies, or unsubstantiated claims, e.g., “Tufts is way better than BU academically”. While I agree in principle with the last statement, except perhaps for the “way” part, it would have helped for the person who expressed the opinion to substantiate it with some arguments.



I second GroovyGeek (as I so often do). There are many meaningful and important differences between Tufts and BU, but it’s important to ask for those differences instead of simply asking which is ‘better.’

If you ignoring the thread title and look at her actual question, this is what KJ is asking us to do.

For the forum goers responding KJ, please try to stay positive. It’s much more useful to do what KJ asks and to illuminate the positives of Tufts (or what we offer than BU doesn’t), than it is to start mangling BU. This is coming from the Tufts Admissions officer: There is nothing wrong with choosing BU it suits your needs better. Finding the school that is right for you is about Fit, not about who is more prestigious or has the best reputation.

As threads pop up over the next couple weeks asking for such comparisons, let’s provide KJ (and others) with information that will help her understand which school will better suit her needs.