Tufts v Wesleyan - social scene?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC a recent Wes grad and 1000% would have chosen Tufts if he had a redo - he was a top athlete there and found th social strata to be extremely cliquey, with incredibly leftist and try-hard to be cool overlay. Theater geeks hanging with film nerds, Football players hang with volleyball girls, etc etc is the extent of the mixing - friend at Tufts found a more open and welcoming environment

This hasn't been the experience of the students I know there. They have specifically brought up how nice it is at Wes that everyone mixes it up socially and it's not cliquey, a refreshing change from high school. But as always, individual experiences will vary at any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC a recent Wes grad and 1000% would have chosen Tufts if he had a redo - he was a top athlete there and found th social strata to be extremely cliquey, with incredibly leftist and try-hard to be cool overlay. Theater geeks hanging with film nerds, Football players hang with volleyball girls, etc etc is the extent of the mixing - friend at Tufts found a more open and welcoming environment

I have heard from older friends of DC that Wes has more of a athlete/non-athlete divide socially. It sounds like that was also true in your son's experience. My son is interested in what Wes has to offer academically, but worried about the size (3000-ish students) being limited, and the slogan "Keep Wes Weird" does not speak to him. Was that slogan true to the spirit or culture of Wes in your son's experience?

following

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all.

He isn’t crazy about the Tufts campus and doesn’t love the location of Wes. But generally likes most everything else about them. Academics, etc.

I think he’s leaning a little more towards Tufts at the moment just to have Somerville/Boston nearby.

If he does pick Tufts which pre-orientation “camp” should he do?

It depends on his interests. TWO is a 5-day wilderness camp bonding experience. FIT is for active, sporty kids. GO is wonderful for those who want to explore more about Boston and do lots of cool excursions. There are a few other ones that are about civic engagement into the towns of Somerville/Medford or political engagement with the community. All are very bonding.

Thanks for details! Do you know if GO is mostly international students, or a lot of US students too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC a recent Wes grad and 1000% would have chosen Tufts if he had a redo - he was a top athlete there and found th social strata to be extremely cliquey, with incredibly leftist and try-hard to be cool overlay. Theater geeks hanging with film nerds, Football players hang with volleyball girls, etc etc is the extent of the mixing - friend at Tufts found a more open and welcoming environment

I have heard from older friends of DC that Wes has more of an athlete/non-athlete divide socially. It sounds like that was also true in your son's experience. My son is interested in what Wes has to offer academically, but worried about the size (3000-ish students) being limited, and the slogan "Keep Wes Weird" does not speak to him. Was that slogan true to the spirit or culture of Wes in your son's experience?

The ‘weird’ element exists, but the slogan is partly in response to the perception by many students that Wes has become more mainstream in recent years. My kid is very ‘normie’ but definitely appreciates the artsy/weird aspect and diversity of people. He does not think ‘weird’ is the dominant or overwhelming vibe. There are plenty of premeds and Econ majors to balance the film and theater majors. But Wes definitely has more active and vibrant arts scene than the other NESCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all.

He isn’t crazy about the Tufts campus and doesn’t love the location of Wes. But generally likes most everything else about them. Academics, etc.

I think he’s leaning a little more towards Tufts at the moment just to have Somerville/Boston nearby.

If he does pick Tufts which pre-orientation “camp” should he do?

It depends on his interests. TWO is a 5-day wilderness camp bonding experience. FIT is for active, sporty kids. GO is wonderful for those who want to explore more about Boston and do lots of cool excursions. There are a few other ones that are about civic engagement into the towns of Somerville/Medford or political engagement with the community. All are very bonding.

Thanks for details! Do you know if GO is mostly international students, or a lot of US students too?

I was told they have a lot of US students too. I assume the US students are mostly those from outside MA or new to Boston area. There is one brief optional session about how to set up US bank accounts (aimed for international students) that the US students can skip. GO seems really fun. They explore activities in and around downtown Boston as a group, go on a boat trip, visit Rockport, a cute coastal town.

[Anonymous]

I can’t help you compare the two as I don’t know about Wes but I have a kid at Tufts. He is very sociable but not a big partier -
although he has been to several parties including at other campuses (MIT and Harvard). He really likes Davis Square: record stores, thrift shops, ice cream, etc. His dorm is on the freshman quad with pretty city views. The T is just down the hill. He has made many close friends. They are all fairly “mainstream” kids - they don’t present as super quirky.

[Anonymous]

No interest in either but advantage Tufts.

[Anonymous]

I must be in a dream.

Tufts is in Medford. Wesleyan is in a blue collar small city, Middletown.

Somehow Tufts got transported to Boston and Wesleyan to West Hartford, although in fairness Tufts is close to Boston. But it doesn't have the urban campus vibes of Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I must be in a dream.

Tufts is in Medford. Wesleyan is in a blue collar small city, Middletown.

Somehow Tufts got transported to Boston and Wesleyan to West Hartford, although in fairness Tufts is close to Boston. But it doesn't have the urban campus vibes of Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern.

maybe you haven't been in the area for awhile? they opened a T-stop on the greenline right on Tufts campus 2-ish years ago. Now students regularly hop on the T for $2 and ride right into downtown Boston in around 30-ish minutes. Tufts also runs a regular free shuttle from their Medford/Somerville main campus to Beacon Hill campus of the art school they bought (School of the MFA) in downtown Boston. That's another easy free way for kids to go back and forth. Copley Square is only 7 miles from campus, so outside of rush hour that's an easy 20 minute uber ride. And also, Somerville is now pretty hip. It always bordered Cambridge, but now Somerville is a destination in its own right. Harvard and MIT kids actually come into Davis Square pretty regularly and that's a 10 minute walk from Tuft's campus. Tufts itself is definitely surburban campus, but the T-stop on campus, the various shuttles and the rise of Somerville actually makes it feel more like a fun college town with easy access to Cambridge (2 miles away) and Boston (7 miles away). Tufts is on the border of Medford and Somerville (Davis Square in Somerville is actually closer to Tufts campus than Medford square). So that all helps Tufts feel more urban than some LACs like Wes.

But I agree that Wes's location is not that bad, and it's a stretch to say it's in West Hartford. That said, Middleton as a town is not particularly exciting IMO. But it is better than the towns Williams and Middlebury are in - which are really in middle of nowhere.

Finally - both are great schools. Good luck making your decision OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I must be in a dream.

Tufts is in Medford. Wesleyan is in a blue collar small city, Middletown.

Somehow Tufts got transported to Boston and Wesleyan to West Hartford, although in fairness Tufts is close to Boston. But it doesn't have the urban campus vibes of Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern.

maybe you haven't been in the area for awhile? they opened a T-stop on the greenline right on Tufts campus 2-ish years ago. Now students regularly hop on the T for $2 and ride right into downtown Boston in around 30-ish minutes. Tufts also runs a regular free shuttle from their Medford/Somerville main campus to Beacon Hill campus of the art school they bought (School of the MFA) in downtown Boston. That's another easy free way for kids to go back and forth. Copley Square is only 7 miles from campus, so outside of rush hour that's an easy 20 minute uber ride. And also, Somerville is now pretty hip. It always bordered Cambridge, but now Somerville is a destination in its own right. Harvard and MIT kids actually come into Davis Square pretty regularly and that's a 10 minute walk from Tuft's campus. Tufts itself is definitely surburban campus, but the T-stop on campus, the various shuttles and the rise of Somerville actually makes it feel more like a fun college town with easy access to Cambridge (2 miles away) and Boston (7 miles away). Tufts is on the border of Medford and Somerville (Davis Square in Somerville is actually closer to Tufts campus than Medford square). So that all helps Tufts feel more urban than some LACs like Wes.

But I agree that Wes's location is not that bad, and it's a stretch to say it's in West Hartford. That said, Middleton as a town is not particularly exciting IMO. But it is better than the towns Williams and Middlebury are in - which are really in middle of nowhere.

Finally - both are great schools. Good luck making your decision OP!

I’d take charming Middlebury, Vermont, over depressed Middletown every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t help you compare the two as I don’t know about Wes but I have a kid at Tufts. He is very sociable but not a big partier -
although he has been to several parties including at other campuses (MIT and Harvard). He really likes Davis Square: record stores, thrift shops, ice cream, etc. His dorm is on the freshman quad with pretty city views. The T is just down the hill. He has made many close friends. They are all fairly “mainstream” kids - they don’t present as super quirky.

Advantage Tufts so can socialize with Harvard and MIT kids and maybe marry up

[Anonymous]

As PP I wont say it hasn’t crossed my mind that he’ll meet a nice Harvard girl (or boy) Generally speaking the area seems to be a good dating pool.
And to people complaining about Davis Square area: it might not be where I want to go shopping etc but for students it’s pretty great.

[Anonymous]

both are excellent institutions. it really depends if you want medium-size or small, and mostly-undergrad or only undergrad enviro.

and of course, somerville town with easy access to cambridge/boston vs. middleton town with easy access to hartford and slightly less easy access to nyc.

good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

The “West Hartford” thing is really weird. I have a kid at Wes and NO ONE talks about Hartford, West Hartford, or any sort of Hartford. To the extent that students leave campus/Middletown, it’s to go to NYC, Boston, or New Haven. And even then, it’s once in a while, not a big part of the social scene.

I find Middletown charming. It’s safe and diverse and has everything a student might need. Affordable ethnic food of all kinds. Main Street is easily walkable from campus. It’s not exciting, and if your kid wants easy access to a big, vibrant city, Tufts is a much better choice. But it’s a perfectly nice town to go to school in for four years.

IN terms of athlete/non-athlete divide, my non-athlete kid’s SO is an athlete. The athlete’s closest friends are on the team, just like my kid’s closest friends are in the activities that they spend most of their time doing. There’s no exclusivity, and there’s overlap between groups. It really does not seem like a big deal.

We were recently on Wes’s campus on a weekend night, and it felt lively, with students hanging out on balconies, walking in groups on the way to parties, etc. Normal college stuff. Seemed fun but not crazy.

I know next to nothing about Tufts so won’t opine on which is better for OP’s kid. But hope this is helpful re: Wes.

[Anonymous]

Both are great and it’s a “fit” or location thing at this point. That’s up to OPs kid. Academic outcomes should be equally strong at both.