Some personal thoughts on both schools outside of your potential sports-related experiences.
- You need to visit Tufts and ask about housing. It’s been a tremendous struggle for the university in recent years.
- Tufts has close to 7,000 students. W&L just 2,200 or so. That’s something of a difference. DC really liked what W&L was offering, but didn’t want a campus basically a size of a large public high school.
- Tufts campus is a hassle to navigate. The W&L campus is 325 acres and feels like the very best boarding school, straight down to the chapel.
- It was a few years back, but the Tufts tour guide inserted her personal politics into her tour presentation. The W&L tour guide walked us through school buildings, opened doors and engaged current students with a cherry attitude.
- The Hillel on the W&L campus invited our DC to a pizza party to discuss the school. They were so warm and welcoming.
- Tufts has an amazing reputation among healthcare companies and especially among companies in the Massachusetts technology corridor. W&L has deep relationships on Capitol Hill.
- The W&L econ/business department held a presentation during Admitted Students Day. One of the grads on stage proudly talked about the internship he received from a southern regional investment bank.
- There’s some outstanding pizza in Davis Square about a 10-min walk from Tufts. W&L has COOK OUT not far from campus.
To answer your question, i think it depends on your major. Is the ROI (return on investment) that much better at Tufts for business/finance? No. For healthcare or seeking high-level employment in Mass tech? Yes.