As I've visited schools this week, it has become very clear that I'm not alone in this ambitious multi-college New England tour. In the info sessions at BU and Northeastern and Emerson, the admissions officers all referred to "the other Boston schools" or "the other tours you're obviously taking this week". That didn't happen at MIT and Harvard, and, strikingly, it didn't happen at Tufts. While some schools offer their info sessions on the defensive, the party line at Tufts is a straightforward presentation of what it is, not what it isn't. The admissions reps spoke of Tufts's exceptional undergraduate programs, its world-renowned Fletcher School (the oldest school of international relations in the country), its engineering school, its med school, its vet school, its dental school, and its exceptional graduate programs. Tufts has nothing to prove--the university's programs simply speak for themselves.Continue reading...In fact, Tufts is both literally and figuratively above the fray of the other Boston schools. It's located on the city line between Medford and Somerville (locally pronounced "Summaville"), just two T stops north of Harvard on the Red Line and a further fifteen minute walk north. The only times I have visited this campus have been (years ago) in a blinding snowstorm and (this week) in a torrential downpour. It was nice in both cases, but I'm led to believe that the campus is even nicer without precipitation.
In any case, it is beautiful, hilly, and offers a magnificent view of the Boston skyline a few miles away. Like at Boston College, these few miles make Tufts a world away from Boston. The campus is a self-contained world enriched by student performances, speaker series, and student sporting events. Davis Square is a fun and funky neighborhood with restaurants that rival those in Cambridge's Inman and Central Squares. Again, like BC, Tufts is a little quieter than its neighbors closer to the river, and its learning community is just as rich and vibrant.
The thing that impressed me most about the Tufts students who led my tour was the broad focus of their academic pursuits. One student was a double major in theatre and comparative theatre studies, an innovative program that combined performance training with rigorous literary analysis of play-writing and theatre traditions around the world. The other student was a double major in international relations and comparative religions, and she hopes to work in international affairs with a focus on human rights. I was really struck by the community mindedness and broad focus of these students and of the campus as a whole. This is a place that marries a commitment to a classical liberal arts education with a keen awareness of our increasingly global existence.
Also, hilariously, the Tufts mascot is Jumbo the elephant, of Barnum and Bailey circus fame. P. T. Barnum was one of the first major benefactors of the university, so there is a large statue of Jumbo himself in one of the university's central quads. Pretty amusing.
Tufts was recently tied with Cornell as the fifteenth most selective university in the United States, with a 2008 acceptance rate of 25%. I hope that's because students recognize just how special this university is, not just because they want to apply somewhere in Boston. As I say frequently, it's important to apply to colleges for the right reasons, and geography isn't always the right reason. Part of the reason I'm up here is to help you distinguish between the many, many schools around here and what that school's resources and programs can offer you for your life and career. Not every school is going to be the right fit for you, and that's okay--but it's important to make the determination about where to apply and attend based on those characteristics, not just based on your affection for a particular city or region. Remember, you've got your whole life to live in different parts of this country. Make sure that your college decision is based on more nuanced criteria.
So if your only goal for college is to be within spitting distance of the Charles River, then apply blindly to one of the gazillion schools in this area. If your goal for college is to gain exceptional preparation for work in a changing world, apply to Tufts. It's remarkable. And it's got much more to offer than just proximity to Boston. Continue Reading...
Eventually, I arrived at BC, and I'm really glad that I made the trip. As you may know, Boston College is one of the top Catholic universities in the United States, founded in 1863 with one of the largest Jesuit communities in the world. The Jesuit order was founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola and are committed to scholarship, social justice, and cultural studies, and BC is one of the finest examples of that influence. This campus has it all: TONS of brand-new freshmen dorms (not there last time I visited), beautiful gothic architecture, state-of-the-art athletic facilities, new science buildings, and beautiful steep hills (they don't call this place "the Heights" for nothing). What stood out most on my visit was the way the school's motto seems to permeate its every effort. "Ever to excel"--a phrase from early in Homer's Iliad--means that BC students channel their every effort toward excellence. This place is about working hard in class, working hard as student volunteers, working hard as agents of change for social justice. I've seen a lot of schools where the students were all about being smart or all about doing the right thing. BC is notable because its students constantly strive to do both at the same time.
A great way to get the students' view of the Harvard experience is to take the Hahvahd tour, an irreverent tour led by current and former students that covers the more fun lore of the university. You'll learn about the Harry Elkins Widener, a 1907 alum who died on the Titanic and whose mother donated books and funds to found the university's main library. The bequest supposedly included the caveat that all future Harvard students would have to pass a swimming test before graduation (because that would have helped on the Titanic?). This story turns out not to be true, but it's certainly fun and certainly funny. The Hahvahd tour is also great because it covers some of the more mundane features of the Harvard undergraduate life: details about the food in the dining hall that looks like the Great Hall from the Harry Potter books, tidbits about the personalities of the undergraduate houses where students live for the three years following their first year in the freshmen dorms, and traditions like the Head of the Charles rowing race and the Harvard-Yale game. These anecdotes are a helpful reminder that, in some ways, Harvard College is just another college--it's a place where 18- to 22-year-olds work hard and play hard in pursuit of their bachelor's degrees.
One of the most impressive things about Harvard is that it's not stuck in, say, 1636. This is a place remarkably receptive to change. While I was a student, one of my classmates started a campaign for all Harvard dining halls to only use cage-free eggs. By the end of that school year, cage-free eggs became a university policy. Students called for a more green campus; every bathroom I encountered on campus (okay, I looked around after I discovered the first one) has low-flow toilets. The Holyoke Center, pictured at left, is one of the tallest buildings on campus and the home to major administrative offices. It now has a series of wind turbines on top of it. To me, Harvard is great because it lets great students be themselves here. It lets the students shape the character of the academic life.