DCUM Forum

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:49 Subject: Tufts tuition

Smaller student to teacher ratios do correlate with better learning outcomes. There has been a lot of research on this. Smaller class sizes always lead to higher engagement and ideal range is less than 16 students. So any classes of less than 20 are great.

My nephew is at UCLA and the popular classes have several hundred students and some sit outside in a hallway listening to the lecture on speaker. The name brand of UCLA is amazing, but that's primarily due to the strength of the faculty's research and publishing: not their teaching quality or mentoring.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:49 Subject: Tufts tuition

No one should assume that they will get into william and mary. It's a great option, but you need other options

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:49 Subject: Tufts tuition

Michigan State has a student to faculty ration of 12:1. Tufts is 6:1.

How does that make the education superior?

It’s the same with public HS vs Private. The private ratios are better. Maybe some people prefer smaller classes. But that doesn’t automatically translate to a better education. It’s just learning preferences/styles.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:45 Subject: Tufts tuition

Ok I’ll play! Tell me which posts you think are mine, and I’ll let you know if you’re right.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:42 Subject: Tufts tuition

Oooh maybe I’ll get banned for having an opinion! Lmk what he says

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:36 Subject: Tufts tuition

+1

I do think many private schools/smaller schools provide an overall better educational experience than the large state schools.
My kids have not had to fight to get into the courses they want/need. They do not sit in lecture halls with 200+ students (except for Chem and Bio 101/102 which are often 1 lecture of 200-300 students and much smaller labs and discussion sections but it's not 300+). My kids have not had 300+ in their Calc 1 courses, it's been 30-50. I'd argue that yes, Chem/Bio 101/102 can easily be taught with larger lectures, I know from experience you can still ask questions during lecture with only 200-250 students if you sit in the front---I did that 30 years ago. But I cannot imagine taking calculus 1&2 with 150+ students vs 30-40 and calling the 150+ a better experience. It simply isn't. Sure your kid can do it an survive, but the smaller classes will 99% of the time provide the better experience.
At our highly ranked large state school, kids fight to get the courses they need. They fight to get into their desired major. If you are not directly admitted to your major, then you fight to get in (and often do not). 99% of STEM majors are direct admit, so if you don't get into your major, there isn't a simple fallback that you would want. You can either try for direct admission to engineering or CS, but NOT both. Difficult to even take any CS courses beyond the basic programming unless you are in the major, so no minoring in it like so many kids want to do. Business and economics are also "impacted/direct admit". Even kids who are directly admitted often take 5 years simply to get into the classes they need.
Me personally, I don't call that "an amazing experience". We can afford it, so while all 3 of my kids got into the flagship state school and got "into their anticipated major area" they chose to attend smaller, private universities. 2 of them (ranked in the 50-100 range) and it actually cost the same as the flagship state U did. the 3rd is at a highly ranked private and we are paying the $80K+

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:35 Subject: Tufts tuition

Thank you. There are several of us here. We will.

Are you the bored mom with 2 kids already in college who cones here every day to pick on people???

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:34 Subject: Tufts tuition

Now you are just egging ppl on.
Your signature is all over these posts (and the GDS one)
Give it up.
You are annoying.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:32 Subject: Tufts tuition

It’s about outcomes; earnings; name recognition; contact with professors; peer group.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:26 Subject: Tufts tuition

Now you have a problem with how many times I post? You should tell Jeff.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:13 Subject: Tufts tuition

Yes they do, which is precisely why they do not care what you think, no matter how many times you post, OP.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 12:09 Subject: Re:Tufts tuition

Close to half the students are on financial aid. The rest are largely too rich to care much about the cost, which is the same as other privates.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 11:59 Subject: Tufts tuition

+1000

Look at most Boston private schools, and check out how much kids pay for off campus apartments. Many pay $1500-2K+, and the $1500 are often dumps, no laundry in apartment (so they pay $4.50 to wash and $4.50 to dry a load in the basement of the building---that's $9 to do a damn load of laundry). Oh and it's Boston so you pay a 1month rent "finding fee" to get the aparement as well, plus the 1 month deposit (which we all know you never see again when it's in a college area).

Anonymous

02/07/2024 11:50 Subject: Tufts tuition

If you are in-state VA, William & Mary is akin to a small private. Professors teach every class--no TAs teaching. Class Ratio average 12:1, no huge lecture hall courses.

I went to a large state school and had TAs teaching calc and critical writing my Freshmen year and my Intro Bio and Chemistry courses had 300 students in them. It's when I found out I needed glasses because I couldn't see the whiteboard from the nosebleed seats.

Virigians are lucky to have soooo many fantastic and niche public universities---something for everyone.

Anonymous

02/07/2024 11:47 Subject: Tufts tuition

Boston is expensive. A much cheaper school probably pays the faculty less because of a lower cost of living.