tufts vs nyu stern

Mastadon
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:21:33 +0000

Tufts and Stern are both great schools, but based on the articles below, they are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of culture. Tufts is academically challenging, but the students tend to be intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated (i.e. not competitive with each other) with a broad range of interests that tend to span multiple disciplines. Tufts has the feel of a small liberal arts college with an “international vibe” (due to the Fletcher school and a large population of IR majors) rather than the feel of a large business school. Tufts students lean more toward the idealistic side (make a difference in the world), rather than the raw ambition side (make as much money as possible). Tufts students tend to be creative, friendly, unpretentious and “politically correct” (some say they are too “PC” ).

Both Econ departments are highly regarded. You don’t hear much about Tufts’ Econ department in the university rankings because it has a master’s program, but no Phd program. University departmental rankings tend to be based on research output and the number of Phd’s produced. Tufts is ranked number one in the country among economics departments that only offer up to a master’s degree, but very few are aware of the ranking. The disciplines in which Tufts’ econ department is best known align with Fletcher and the IR field (international economics, development economics, environmental economics and energy economics). Stern is best known for finance.

Tufts is located on the edge of a charming, small city that has a lot to offer, while Stern is in the middle of a very big city that has just about everything to offer (except championship sports teams). For better or worse, Boston is not NY. Boston is sometimes referred to as the best college “town” in the US- so the culture is very student focused, but there is less of just about everything than NY. If it is the nightlife that you love about NY, then be aware that Boston is not a 24x7 city. Public transportation shuts down after midnight, and the city pretty much shuts down by 2AM.

Personally, I prefer living near Boston and visiting NY, but there are lots of people who prefer the opposite. If you have friends or family in NY that can put you up for a Friday/Saturday night, then NY is a relatively inexpensive weekend excursion. It is about a 4.5hr, $20 (each way) bus ride from Boston.

I cannot make a recommendation because you did not say what kind of college culture you are looking for and I think that should be the priority. If you are miserable studying at one place or the other, then you are not going to enjoy either city and you may not perform well enough to get a good job in any field.

The fact that you are asking about culture and the fact that you already know you do not want to go into the career that most people who go to Stern are striving for raises a red flag in my mind, but I may be reading too much into your post.

In any event, the real question is - are you a Red Sox fan, or a Yankees fan?

Good luck

https://sites.google.com/site/nyureview/Home/nyu-stern-undergraduate-college---student-review-continued

[“The freshman fizzle: A case study at the New York University Stern Sch” by Susan M Greenbaum](http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3311550/)