Vassar or Tufts for a nerdy, athletic, vegan hippie?

Colleges & Universities Tufts University
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<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>(Note: I’ve also published this in the Vassar forum)</p>

<p>I just finished my freshman year at Northeastern University (Honors Program, Behavioral Neuroscience, pre-med) and have been accepted to several schools as a transfer, including Vassar and Tufts. I really struggled at Northeastern because there was no sense of community whatsoever (coming from a very small high school, I felt completely lost and was never able to find my ‘niche’), the general sense of apathy surrounding academics (it is definitely a career-oriented school), and the fact that most students seemed to leave campus on weekends to go crazy at MIT frats. I’m not a drinker at all, but I do enjoy being social, and this situation was very difficult to deal with. I had joined several clubs and student groups and tried to involve myself as much as possible to meet other students, but nothing worked.</p>

<p>Basically, I’m a science major with a passion for learning and a need to be in a more intimate academic and social environment. I want more academic freedom and an atmosphere where learning is celebrated, not simply seen as means to an end. I’m somewhat introverted, a little nerdy, not super artistic (I don’t do music or theatre myself, but I do enjoy watching performances and such), and I’m very much into yoga, reading, running, and being outside. I am vegan and definitely could be described as a little ‘new age,’ and definitely ‘hippie.’ </p>

<p>I like Vassar for its small/contained environment, its (seemingly) strong sense of community, its lack of a core curriculum, and its freethinking, liberal atmosphere. I’m afraid, however, that I won’t really find a niche on campus, since I’m not super into the arts. I’ve e-mailed the XC coach and would probably join the team, but I don’t know if this would be enough. I’m also worried about the drinking culture at Vassar–I’ve heard that parties and alcohol tend to dominate social life on weekends, and that really isn’t my thing.</p>

<p>I like Tufts for its greater diversity of courses and majors (I really like the Community Health concentration, and the Engineering–Environmental Health major), as well as wider range of extracurriculars. I’m a little worried that it would be too big for me, and I’m not entirely sure about its proximity to the city. I need to be somewhere contained, and I definitely would not want to be at a school where a good number of people venture into Boston on weekends. (I also have had some bad experiences with Boston, as I was present at the finish line of the recent marathon when the bombs went off. I admit, it would be nice to get away from Boston for a bit and attend school in NY).</p>

<p>I’m really torn over which school to choose. When I was applying for freshman admissions, both Tufts and Vassar were tied for my first choice, but I was waitlisted at both. As time went on, Tufts began to take precedence, but when I applied as a transfer, I felt a bit more comfortable on Vassar’s campus (and less so on Tufts’). Now that I have the option to attend either school, I really don’t know what to do! Any advice?</p>

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<p>No specific advice, but let me poke at a few things you said in the hopes of helping your thinking process. :)</p>

<p>On the one hand, you like Vassar because it is smaller and contained…but you worry that you won’t find your niche. On the other hand, you like the many academic and EC opportunities at Tufts…but you fear it’s too large. It’s a tradeoff one way or the other: it’s easier to find a niche when there’s a larger pool of possible niches to draw from. Your gut feeling counts for a lot; you say that you felt more comfortable on the Vassar campus. Think about why you feel more comfortable there, but aren’t convinced that you’d find your tribe. </p>

<p>You’re worried about fitting in at Vassar as you’re more a science person than an arts person. Could Vassar help you talk to some science students so you could ask about this (if you don’t find any to respond to your inquiry on the Vassar forum)?</p>

<p>There’s alcohol at both schools; folks on both the Tufts and Vassar forums will, I’m sure, give you feedback on just how (in)escapable. </p>

<p>Boston and the bombing: it does make a lot of sense that you’d want to be away from Boston. However, there may also be value in staying NEAR Boston so you can be with other people who understand what you went through. </p>

<p>Best of luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>Tufts is located 5 miles out of Boston. It is isolated enough so that there’s plenty of things to do around campus and the surrounding cities of Medford/Sommerville, yet convenient enough with access to the T. The stop is Davis Square on the Red Line. I’m not sure how isolated you want to get, but one thing that attracted me to the school was that it was the perfect distance away from the city without being too isolated.</p>

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<p>Well, I’ve been a vegetarian since the '90s, a year before I started at Tufts, and always felt that my hippie ways were welcomed on campus. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Tufts feels small - you end up realising that everyone you meet knows someone that you know. It also has a lot going on, so you don’t need to venture into Boston. You may venture into Davis, Porter, and Cambridge, but you can stay out of Boston.</p>

<p>As for the marathon: I would gently suggest that you will not feel the same way in the fall, let alone in two or three years, as you do now. It will always hurt, and it will always be frightening, but it will not be the same mind-numbing pain and terror. </p>

<p>Tufts also has a marathon team and a strong marathon tradition: dozens of students and alumni run it every year (fielding one of the larger charity teams), and dozens, if not hundreds, of Tufts alums volunteer on the race course. There is a great sense of community and a deep love of the Boston Marathon at Tufts, and I think that such an atmosphere could really help a person to heal. This does depend on your personality: some people would hate to have the constant reminders, no matter how uplifting; others would really appreciate the positive spirit of going on.</p>

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<p>Good post from Ariesathena. I can say my son at Tufts is a non-drinker and does not seem to be particularly bothered. I get the impression that a number of his friends (many internationals because of his major) don’t drink either. He likes playing nerdy board games for relaxation. He doesn’t get into Boston much at all. The campus is quite well defined, though not quite as much of a bubble as Vassar. The food is great at Tufts and while I am not vegetarian, there looked to be lots of good choices when I have visited. Vassar seemed too small and a bit too hipsterish for my son, but it was the only LAC he applied to.</p>

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<p>Another perspective - re you consider joining the XC team at Tufts? Running on XC/track was one of my best experiences as an undergrad and I would say both teams (men’s/women’s) are very welcoming and have a great dynamic (both socially and athletically) - they both won the NESCAC outdoor title just a few weeks ago.</p>

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<p>FYI: Although I did not drink until I was 21, and only turned 21 a few weeks before spring semester finals junior year, I had a great social life at Tufts. Get into substance free/healthy living/whatever they call it housing, and you’ll be among people who either do not drink or drink in moderation. (You cannot drink on the sub-free floors, nor return intoxicated.) </p>

<p>There are also so many options of things to do, on and off campus, that you really only drink for fun if you want to drink.</p>

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<p>My D is a vegetarian and says they have a great salad bar and tofu and beans and plenty to eat daily that is vegan, and really good. She also doesn’t drink and she chose to live in the “healthy living” dorm and it was the best. An entire hall of girls and boys who did not drink; so they would go into Boston to walk around the Commons or eat at bakeries in the north end, or play board games or watch movies in the common room, they went salsa dancing in Harvard Square with their RA, and to the Tufts movie series on campus a lot, and to concerts etc. Plenty to do- she did not go to one frat party or drinking type party all year and was busy every weekend with a big group of friends from her hall, having a blast!</p>

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<p>Thank you so, so much for all of your responses! I really appreciate the input, it’s very helpful to hear from people who have a good feel for both schools. </p>

<p>In the end, I felt like, although Tufts offered more majors that I was interested in, my heart really lay with Vassar. Both schools would do an excellent job of preparing me for medical school, and while Vassar may not have the ‘perfect’ major for me, I really feel like I would do best in its smaller, more contained environment. I am so honored to have been accepted to both schools, and it was an extremely difficult decision. I’ll probably doubt myself until I arrive on Vassar’s campus in August, but I feel like I made the right decision for me.</p>

<p>Thank you again so much for your opinions, I really cannot describe how helpful they were! Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend, everyone :)</p>

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<p>Enjoy Vassar. It’s a beautiful campus!</p>