very intrigued and interested in Tufts

Colleges & Universities Tufts University
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<p>here are my Stats from the “what are my chances?” forum:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=243707[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=243707&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>About one year ago, I was talking with a very close and experienced friend of mine regarding colleges. My friend was is a member of the Class of 2010 at Duke and he gave me a lot of advice regarding the school that would fit me most. I am a strong writer. I love literature, philosophy and abstract thinking, and I intend on pursuing a career in an international law firm, specializing in corporate law. My friend suggested a few universities, and one of them was Tufts. I did my research, and sure enough, I instantly gravitated toward Tufts. I know almost everything about Tufts ON PAPER, but as far as visiting and actually experiencing the feel of Tufts, I am not even remotely close to where I should be. Thus, I was hoping I could unearth some truths that could help me in my decision making process.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>How is Tufts’ pre-law program? I understand that their IR program is among the top (if not number one) in the country, and while I am certainly interested in IR and hopefully obtaining an internship at a firm in London or so some day, my main goal is to prepare myself to go to a good law school.</p></li>
<li><p>How is Tufts’ financial aid? Their FA rating on the PrincetonReview profile is a 92, which hopefully indicates that they are good with scholarships and grants.</p></li>
<li><p>How is the campus life up there? I’m from the south so I love the weather here in Atlanta, but I’m sure the Boston weather isn’t too shabby. I have friends at Brandeis (yet surprisingly none at Tufts) who complain about the lack of a social scene at their university. Hopefully, this is not the case for Tufts? Don’t get me wrong. I’m a hard worker and academics are my number one priority, but you know as they say, it can’t be all work and no play :] </p></li>
</ul>

<p>I’m looking for a school that offers all the glories and prestige of a major research university, while maintaining a fairly “small-school” feel to it. Plus, Tufts’ Internal Relations, English, and Economics programs are all extremely solid. From what I know about the school, which is little in terms of visiting, I have this feeling that I can be really REALLY happy at Tufts.</p>

<p>Thanks for your time!</p>

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<p>Avant-garde,</p>

<p>In case you were wondering, no one had written you back b/c it was Homecoming weekend here at Tufts and no one was in a state to do so. ;-)</p>

<p>Anyway, I think you have an excellent chance at Tufts; I think that if you were to apply EDI/II you would secure yourself a spot, but only do that if you’re sure Tufts is where you want to go. In any case, you have time to think about it.</p>

<p>So now let me answer your Q’s, in order:</p>

<p>–> Tufts’ pre-law. Look at past posts in our forum and you’ll see that we all agree it doesn’t matter what you study as an undergraduate if you want to go on to law school later. There is no set path. I have a friend who studied voice (opera) at the New England Conservatory and English at Tufts, through the dual-degree Tufts-NEC program and is now at Stanford Law. As long as you study something as an undergrad that makes you expand the way you think about the world, and do well grades-wise, most any law school will take you. And, you are right about Tufts’ IR program being ranked no.1. :-)</p>

<p>–> Tufts’ 92 FA ranking on the Princeton Review is probably the best bet you ahve as far comparing the FA here to other schools. I have tons of friends who are going here for nearly or completely free. If you have other siblings at school already, they’ll definitely take that into consideration and help you out.</p>

<p>–> I love the social life here. You can look at my past posts where I’ve elaborated on it. You can also check out the “Why I like Tufts” thread, where several of us give specific examples. People here certainly work hard, but if you want to play hard to reward yourself thereafter, you’ll find places and people to do that with! Oh, and as far as the weather, I grew up mostly in South America, and let me tell you, at first it’s a shock, but then, you get used to it. Just buy yourself a good jacket, hat, and gloves, and you’re set.</p>

<p>I’m excited to know what you’ll end up doing. Any more Q’s, please ask us! You can also PM me if you have any specific questions re: English & IR as I am a double-major.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I just looked at your stats. I think you are a solid candidate for Tufts.
I was particularly impressed by your EC’s. My son is a sophomore and he had a 3.7 GPA uw and a 1490 on his SAT’s. All his SAT II’s were in the 700’s. </p>

<p>You are right that the IR, English and Economics departments are very strong.
These would be excellent majors for someone who plans to go on to law school.</p>

<p>I’m not quite sure what the financial aid situation is at Tufts. Historically they haven’t had a large endowment (I’m an alum) but this has changed somewhat in recent years. I do know that they are not need-blind. They hope to be in the future. There are no merit scholarships except the small scholarships for National Merit Finalists.</p>

<p>I looked at your list of schools and Georgetown would be very comparable to Tufts. They might have better internships, although Tufts does have a Washington Semester program. I’m wondering if you would like Northwestern.</p>

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<p>I’m going to have to disagree with Metrowestmom. As a transfer from Georgetown SFS to Tufts’ IR program, I know that being in DC does NOT up your chances for a great internship at all. Let me paste something from a PM I sent to a CCer who asked me the same thing:</p>

<p>The truth is, being at an academically challenging school, it is hard to handle & find a meaningful internship that doesn’t just involve busy work during the academic year. While at Gtown I interned at the Colombian embassy, but all I did was sit around and ask for work, because you can’t actually do anything too high-level and interesting unless you’re full-time, and an internship during the semester necessarily cannot be full-time because you have classes. So being or not being in DC during the academic year WON’T really affect your chances for internships as most really good ones, that look good both on paper & in practice (ie: you’ll actually learn something and get to do stuff), are the ones you do during the summer when you can be full-time. This means that even if you’re in Boston all year, you can def get internships in DC for the summer. In fact, since I got to Tufts, I interned with a senator last summer in DC, and this year I interned at a committee of the UN in NYC. If you were to want to get an internship in Boston during the academic year or summer, I have friends who’ve interned with thinktanks, NGOs, and UN-affiliated offices here, as well as consulates (most countries have consulates in Boston).</p>

<p>As a result, I don’t think Gtown has anything on Tufts, just as I don’t think DC has anything on Boston.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your input. Certainly something to consider.</p>