Williams vs Tufts for ED

prezbucky
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 15:44:59 +0000

First: If you have any doubt that either of these (or any other school…) is your clear #1 choice, you should not apply ED.

My overall impressions of each school are:

Williams:

Very rural, isolated, bucolic.

Tutorial system is unique among US schools (right?), at least to the extent that it’s promoted and utilized.

Almost a prototypical LAC

Tufts:

Suburban, but with an urban feel

There’s a big hill (just one?) that has received some amount of comment on this site

Sort of a hybrid LAC/private university – a private U with a LAC feel (sort of like Dartmouth in that sense). This makes sense given that: 1) it was once a LAC, and 2) it is still a member of NESCAC

Both offer very strong academics and are highly selective.

And, yes, if you are still considering ED, make sure you visit both.