I have the option to play a sport at either Washington and Lee or Tufts. Tufts is 63k per year while Washington and Lee is around 45k. I’m planning to study business/economics. Is Tufts that much better than Washington and Lee where it’s worth the 18k more? Is the ROI (return on investment) that much better at Tufts? Thank you!
I think that Washington and Lee is quite strong for business. It is a small liberal arts college versus a larger university --and then Southern vs Northern. Washington and Lee is very Greek heavy. Any preferences along those lines?
Typically the recommendation is to save money 
Unless one of those above factors comes into play.
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Are both affordable for you? Where would you rather be in the event that you can’t play your sport for some reason.
Both of these are excellent colleges. I don’t see an advantage to paying more for Tufts…are there other reasons you prefer Tufts over WL?
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From a purely academic and prestige standpoint there is no difference between the schools. And in fact my guess is that W&L is better for business. The cost differential does not represent a premium for Tufts because it is better, it is due to the greater resources W&L has.* W&L is a wealthier school, and as such, can afford to give more generous financial aid.
Now all that said, the schools are VASTLY different! And I expect someone liking one of the schools wouldn’t like the other nearly as much.
If your sport is soccer, pm me
*w&L’s endowment per student is about $1 million/student. Tufts’ is approx. $200,000/student.
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Agreeing with others here in wondering why one would pay more for Tufts.
So how do they compare with respect to your sport? More chance to play, better facilities, more competitive league, etc.?
Congrats on the excellent options!
Are both colleges comfortably affordable (no hardship, no or minimal loans)? If the answer is yes then consider:
–Do you prefer the location of one school?
–Do you prever the atmosphere/vibe of one school?
-Do you prefer the academics at one school?
–Do you prefer the coach/team at one school?
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By Career Outcomes, this site places W&L 25th and Tufts 60th when considered among colleges and universities nationally:
Moreover, your substantially lower cost of attendance at W&L might be predicted to widen this disparity.
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Business and econ are different. Do you want business (W&L) or Econ ? Both have.
These are different size schools, different locations, different environments.
If you want to study business, there’s only one choice here.
Name wise - Tufts is more known in society in my opinion but neither has great name recognition. But by those that need to know, both do.
Obviously there is a $70k difference in cost over four years but start with major because if you want business, which is very different than econ, then the choice is already made.
On another note, LinkedIn just created a top 50 using different metrics, more career oriented. W&L was ranked 29th, #2 amongst LACs after Bucknell. Edit Tufts came in at #15, a big higher. Thanks @cityran
Both are fine schools - and rankings are subjective in the sense someone created a methodology.
But I don’t think you lose much in one vs the other per se - but you will be somewhere four years day after day. I’d think the team matters your coaches and teammates), the environment but then also the academics (can I major in what I want).
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W&L appears as a notable feeder to Wall Street and IB positions, should you be interested in careers of this type:
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Note, Tufts did make this recent LinkedIn top 50, as number 16:
Having said that, the two colleges are very different, and I would suggest OP does more research, and ideally visits both campuses, to find the better fit.
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Ooooh - I missed it. Dang. Good catch. I’ll edit. Thanks for noting that.
Our experience is that varsity sports are not everything socially. Tufts and W&L could not be more different on campus politics, tiny town vs Boston, frats dominance etc. Please do not ignore the overall environment. I can’t see the person who likes one liking the other. Please do a deep dive before making your choice.
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Do you have the same financial constraints as noted in your previous CMU post? Carnegie Mellon Tepper
I agree with others that these schools are quite different. Have you visited all?
CMU I would pay full 88k, Tufts would be 63k, and W&L would be 45k. I’ve visited Washington & Lee, but not Tufts.
If they are affordable you are in the enviable position of choosing which you prefer. NE vs VA, etc. there are SO many variables that can affect your college/career trajectory that please do not consider “ROI”. Its been explained many, many times here. The best “ROI”, IMO, is to graduate with little or no debt.
I like the how Tufts is in the city and I don’t like how rural W&L is. On the other hand, I like the social aspect of W&L and I heard that the social aspect of Tufts is not very good.
Where did you “hear” that Tufts isn’t social? (I am paraphrasing). That doesn’t seem to ring true to me. You should definitely go visit.
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When I said constraints, I was referencing the issue where your parents are only paying for two years of college and you are paying for the other two years. Is that still the case? How will you fund the two years you are responsible for?
What were your impressions of W&L? Did you meet future teammates? W&L has relatively more mainstream students than both Tufts and CMU. I would characterize Tufts and CMU students (generally) as on the more quirky side. I would not commit to play a sport at a school you have not visited, or one where you have not met with the coach and future teammates.
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So if CMU is $88K and you had $180K in loans.
Forget, W&L or Tufts and you don’t like the city, W&L is $45K - so $43K less - so near no loan status if I’m doing the math right.
Thus Tufts will be $70K in loans.
Still too much.
So if you don’t like W&L, you need to find an alternative that’s loan free or worst case under the $27K federal limit.
Otherwise, who is going to pay these loans?
In the end, affordability trumps everything else - sometimes you have to make tradeoffs - but you never trade off for a large loan like you’d have to take on at Tufts.
I’m assuming your parents would pay all W&L as i say this and not just two years.
Because if they’re paying just two years, then you’ll have issue no matter where you attend.
PS - at W&L, you can apply for the Johnson or other scholarships to try and reduce even more…
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Tufts is definitely not in the city. Davis Square is cute and all, but you’ll be spending your time there vs. Boston.
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