Is Tufts underrated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts is too hard to pronounce.

Long u! A lot of people don't know that.

Tufts is pronounced Toofts. Not many people know that![/quote]


I hope you are joking. I went to Harvard and spent 7 years in Boston and never once heard that pronunciation. So I checked. No, it's like a cat's tufts (of fur). https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&oq=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j69i61j69i60.5230j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

LOL. For a Harvard grad your ability to discern sarcasm is nil.

But no, trust me, it's really pronounced Toofts. It's a shibboleth for Boston Brahmins in the same way that pronouncing finance as "fin-ants" denotes you as belonging to a specific class of people.

It's Toofts. Remember this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts is too hard to pronounce.

Long u! A lot of people don't know that.

Tufts is pronounced Toofts. Not many people know that!

I hope you are joking. I went to Harvard and spent 7 years in Boston and never once heard that pronunciation. So I checked. No, it's like a cat's tufts (of fur). https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&oq=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j69i61j69i60.5230j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

LOL. For a Harvard grad your ability to discern sarcasm is nil.

But no, trust me, it's really pronounced Toofts. It's a shibboleth for Boston Brahmins in the same way that pronouncing finance as "fin-ants" denotes you as belonging to a specific class of people.

It's Toofts. Remember this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parchment strikes again. Data on students admitted to both Tufts and BC indicate that a majority, and a statistically significant one, choose Tufts

https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Tufts+University&with=Boston+College

When my kids were considering these two schools not long ago, Tufts was viewed as the more attractive option. I should add that we aren't Catholic.

An input perhaps, but that doesn't mean Tufts is a better school.

Tufts also is preferred over UVA by a statistically significantly margin. Does that mean it should be ranked above UVA?

Parchment simply tells you which school is more popular among students who were admitted to both, given the sample of students they have information on. That sample is likely much larger than the sample that most DCUM posters have in mind when stating opinions about schools and how they compare. The only ranking that Parchment implies is one related to "desirability" among students admitted to both, which can be a function of factors beyond academic quality. Parchment is basically telling you how the students in their sample voted with their feet. That is presumably more informative than opinions of a school that are based on perceptions of a tour guide, say ("my niece HATED the tour guide" above).

There are schools better than Tufts, worse than Tufts, and just as good as Tufts, however one defines "good". My older son visited Tufts, BC and UVA (as well as many others) and liked Tufts the most given what he saw, heard from current students and at information sessions, and read about the schools. I thought his choice was well-founded given his interests and preferences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rankings aside, we have neighbors with three kids who went to, respectively, Yale, Dartmouth and Tufts. The parents think Tufts offered the best education.

Did the parents attend classes with the kids?

Ha! I doubt it, but they're certainly aware of how the school contributed to their child's development. As the parent of three students who are now in college and grad school, I'm in a good position to assess how they've benefited from the teaching, curriculum, research opportunities, and extracurricular activities.

Such absolute and unadulterated hogwash. Even if you really are "in a good position to assess how they've benefitted," which you likely aren't, you still can't assess what was "offered."

I've had four kids go to four different colleges. They're all doing well. I couldn't tell you a thing about their education other than what schools they went to.

Parents are sooo weird.

So, you don't talk with your kids about option for classes or papers they're writing or how they like their teachers or research they're involved in. Huh -- I guess some families aren't as close as ours.

Honestly, no -- we really never did. We had better things to talk about with our kids than their classes. And our kids, not being nerds, had better things to talk to us about as well. When you have nothing else to talk about, you talk about your jobs or your classes.

What makes you think that classes and jobs are the only thing we talk about? That's a pretty big assumption. BTW, our kids all played varsity sports in HS and college. So, yeah -- nerds and jocks, if you like labelling people, we'll cop to those. Have a nice afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parchment strikes again. Data on students admitted to both Tufts and BC indicate that a majority, and a statistically significant one, choose Tufts

https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Tufts+University&with=Boston+College

When my kids were considering these two schools not long ago, Tufts was viewed as the more attractive option. I should add that we aren't Catholic.

An input perhaps, but that doesn't mean Tufts is a better school.

Tufts also is preferred over UVA by a statistically significantly margin. Does that mean it should be ranked above UVA?

By whom? It's much more difficult to get into UVA. Average GPA is much higher.

According to Parchment data on cross-admits, 69% to 31% in favor of Tufts.

Makes sense.....the only reason I could fathom somebody choosing a state school over a top tier private is cost.

[Anonymous]

Tufts reminds me more of W&M than UVA. It's the level just below Northwestern, Duke, JHU. I think of it as comparable to Georgetown and USC, maybe a half-step above BC. Excellent choice if your kid is interested in IR/foreign service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts reminds me more of W&M than UVA. It's the level just below Northwestern, Duke, JHU. I think of it as comparable to Georgetown and USC, maybe a half-step above BC. Excellent choice if your kid is interested in IR/foreign service.

Yes, that was my impression too, similar to W&M but very close to a big city and in a more urban setting. That swayed my son. Tufts is strong in IR but it is strong in other disciplines too. For example, they have invested quite a bit in CS and Engineering, which is not what they have been known for historically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts is too hard to pronounce.

Long u! A lot of people don't know that.

Tufts is pronounced Toofts. Not many people know that!

I hope you are joking. I went to Harvard and spent 7 years in Boston and never once heard that pronunciation. So I checked. No, it's like a cat's tufts (of fur). https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&oq=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j69i61j69i60.5230j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

LOL. For a Harvard grad your ability to discern sarcasm is nil.

But no, trust me, it's really pronounced Toofts. It's a shibboleth for Boston Brahmins in the same way that pronouncing finance as "fin-ants" denotes you as belonging to a specific class of people.

It's Toofts. Remember this!

Hilarious. I think the Harvard grad was joking, too, btw ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts is too hard to pronounce.

Long u! A lot of people don't know that.

Tufts is pronounced Toofts. Not many people know that!

I hope you are joking. I went to Harvard and spent 7 years in Boston and never once heard that pronunciation. So I checked. No, it's like a cat's tufts (of fur). https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&oq=how+to+prounounce+tufts+university&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j69i61j69i60.5230j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

LOL. For a Harvard grad your ability to discern sarcasm is nil.

But no, trust me, it's really pronounced Toofts. It's a shibboleth for Boston Brahmins in the same way that pronouncing finance as "fin-ants" denotes you as belonging to a specific class of people.

It's Toofts. Remember this!

Hilarious. I think the Harvard grad was joking, too, btw ...

I was. But the joke wasn't funny OR sarcasm . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rankings aside, we have neighbors with three kids who went to, respectively, Yale, Dartmouth and Tufts. The parents think Tufts offered the best education.

Did the parents attend classes with the kids?

Ha! I doubt it, but they're certainly aware of how the school contributed to their child's development. As the parent of three students who are now in college and grad school, I'm in a good position to assess how they've benefited from the teaching, curriculum, research opportunities, and extracurricular activities.

Such absolute and unadulterated hogwash. Even if you really are "in a good position to assess how they've benefitted," which you likely aren't, you still can't assess what was "offered."

I've had four kids go to four different colleges. They're all doing well. I couldn't tell you a thing about their education other than what schools they went to.

Parents are sooo weird.

So, you don't talk with your kids about option for classes or papers they're writing or how they like their teachers or research they're involved in. Huh -- I guess some families aren't as close as ours.

Honestly, no -- we really never did. We had better things to talk about with our kids than their classes. And our kids, not being nerds, had better things to talk to us about as well. When you have nothing else to talk about, you talk about your jobs or your classes.

What makes you think that classes and jobs are the only thing we talk about? That's a pretty big assumption. BTW, our kids all played varsity sports in HS and college. So, yeah -- nerds and jocks, if you like labelling people, we'll cop to those. Have a nice afternoon.

Ok, so you talked about sports too. Yet another superficial topic that parents and kids who truly aren't close talk about when they get together and have nothing else to say to each other. When all you talk to your kids about are their classes and their sports, you're no talking to them -- you're riding them.

Have a nice evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts reminds me more of W&M than UVA. It's the level just below Northwestern, Duke, JHU. I think of it as comparable to Georgetown and USC, maybe a half-step above BC. Excellent choice if your kid is interested in IR/foreign service.

Yes, that was my impression too, similar to W&M but very close to a big city and in a more urban setting. That swayed my son. Tufts is strong in IR but it is strong in other disciplines too. For example, they have invested quite a bit in CS and Engineering, which is not what they have been known for historically.

They are much closer in undergraduate enrollment size. Many of the top national privates are in the 5,000 to 8,500 range for undergraduate enrollment. If they get larger than that it becomes difficult maintain a high percentage of students living on campus. I think Tufts has benefitted from being so close to a desirable city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts reminds me more of W&M than UVA. It's the level just below Northwestern, Duke, JHU. I think of it as comparable to Georgetown and USC, maybe a half-step above BC. Excellent choice if your kid is interested in IR/foreign service.

Yes, that was my impression too, similar to W&M but very close to a big city and in a more urban setting. That swayed my son. Tufts is strong in IR but it is strong in other disciplines too. For example, they have invested quite a bit in CS and Engineering, which is not what they have been known for historically.

They are much closer in undergraduate enrollment size. Many of the top national privates are in the 5,000 to 8,500 range for undergraduate enrollment. If they get larger than that it becomes difficult maintain a high percentage of students living on campus. I think Tufts has benefitted from being so close to a desirable city.

No doubt. Not only does the location make it more attractive to students but it also makes it easier to attract good faculty and good administrators. (As is true for our DC-area universities.) Though retaining them is another matter. In 2018, three former Tufts administrators became university presidents, including Larry Bacow, the current president of Harvard. See

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/26/tufts-university-builds-track-record-administrators-becoming-college-presidents

[Anonymous]

People joking about Tufts' pronunciation but it actually is pronounced Toofts. It's an older pronunciation so it's not as well known. People in the know refer to it as "Toofts"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts is ranked about right at 35 at USNWR.

No it's ranked 30.

Oh? Then it’s overrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts reminds me more of W&M than UVA. It's the level just below Northwestern, Duke, JHU. I think of it as comparable to Georgetown and USC, maybe a half-step above BC. Excellent choice if your kid is interested in IR/foreign service.

William and Mary is not on any of those schools level. Tufts is a bit below Georgetown maybe on USCs level as USC is a bit overrated.