BU vs Tufts

You're from MA too huh. I just went to Tufts recently, and now I cannot decide between those two schools either. Here's what I'm thinking though, but any imput from anyone else would be greatly appreciated.

I guess some pros about Tufts are the location (seems a bit safer than BU) and the national board exam scores. They seem to prepare their students well for the exams. One thing that may not be so fun is the block scheduling of the exams. It may or may not work for you.

Hmm, but I kind of liked the BU atmosphere better there. I am not sure why, but it felt a little less stressful and competitive.

Good luck in making the decision.

There are a lot more similarities than differences between BU and Tufts. BU has a significantly smaller class size than Tufts (over 40 less students). Tufts is in a slightly nicer area of Boston, but not in such a safe area either. The price is pretty much the same. The clinical experience and classroom experience are more or less the same. The applicants both schools recieve are pretty much the same. So how does one choose one over the other?

Think back to your visit to the schools. Where did you feel the most comfortable and at home? The environment is different at both schools. My take on it, is that if you enjoy the cutthroat competition for grades then Tufts is the place for you. If you enjoy to learn in a more friendly and comfortable environment then BU is for you. The professors are great at both schools, however I felt like the BU prof's care a little more about their students than the Tufts profs. If you want to specialize, you can do so from both schools. Bottom line is that you know what kind of person you are and in which environment you thrive. Choose based on your comfort level, not based on what I or anyone else says. Good luck.

damn..this has got me thinkin...now i'm really confused. it's hard to decide what school is right for you based off one interview experience...

if u already put money down at BU, i would go there. they are both great schools in basically the same area (e.g. not like one is in the city and one is in the suburbs)

i'd say boston. tufts makes you study with med students and you have to study alot more materials (that are not even going to be on the boards) than many other dental school. maybe that's a plus for you, i dont know.

polarnut said:

i'd say boston. tufts makes you study with med students and you have to study alot more materials (that are not even going to be on the boards) than many other dental school.

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what do u mean by this???


and beezies, honestly i would be happy to be at either school, so u dont need to worry about which one. but why throw away $2000 for nothing? thats a month's rent in beantown

I interviewed at both Tufts and BU. Truthfully, in my mind, there is no comparison. I thought that the facilities at BU looked run down, the students didn't seem friendly, and everyone looked unhappy. At Tufts, the facilities looked beautiful, and the people (students, professors) were soooo nice and happy to be there. I know about 10 people that go to Tufts and they all love it. ALL love it. I think that you can't go wrong with Tufts. I guess some people may have had a different BU experiance than what I had but I would never pick BU over Tufts. This is totally aside from the fact that I am a Tufts undergrad.... Tufts was one of my favorite schools.

Coolfishdent said:

I thought that the facilities at BU looked run down, the students didn't seem friendly, and everyone looked unhappy.

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I have no problems with someone picking Tufts over BU. Tufts is an awesome school. But, the quoted portion of your statement is probably the exact opposite in reality.

LOL Coolfishdent. You kind of make my point about the kinds of people that choose Tufts over BU. I grew up in the 'burbs of Boston and I know plenty of kids that went on to Tufts and BC undergrad. It's hard to explain, but the sort of arrogance that exudes out of these students is the kind I really can't stand being in class with. The type of student who just thinks they are better than everyone else, and has a close minded opinion of what is good. These students can't face the fact that they were all IVY league rejects, and try to walk around town like they are hot **it. Me personally, I couldn't stand those kids so I chose to go to the midwest to get away from them.

Now back to the topic. Coolfish you give no actual reason for why "there is no comparison" between the two schools. Your main reasoning being that the facilities are run down, when in fact the new pre-clinical building is state of the art. I wonder how exactly you know the students are unhappy. Did you send them all to your shrink or something?

Bottom line is Tufts is better for those who would like to be in class with people like Coolfish. BU is more for the down to earth and rational students who are not like Coolfish.

Yes I am making a huge generalization about you and your school Coolfish, but unlike your generalizations of BUSDM, mine are true.

tufts has lot more chicks. and hotter.

if that matters at all for you.

Ok…in terms of education, I really do not see a clear difference between tufts and BU. As far as facilities, I think we (including myself) are kinda clueless about what constitutes good facilities. One day you see a post saying “Columbia has run down facilities” and the next says “Columbia has great facilities”…same thing with BU, tufts and how posters comment on them. Who the heck are we to judge what constitutes a good dental facility? What do we know about “facilities” anyway? We’re full of it when we talk about facilities.
Also, there is one more thing that makes me laugh at some SDNers: the whole fixation on the “first 2 years with med-students” thing. What does going to lectures with meds add to your experience or dental education? How does that make things better? What? Are med-students that cool to hang out with? Do you score better on NBDE 1 when you’ve taken didactics with meds?
Honestly, I think most meds suck big time! Most meds think they’re the $hit, and I would not derive the slightest bit of pleasure by being with them. Med chicks are not all that and med dudes are for the most part hideous.
Some d-schools throw their kids with meds in the first 2 years because it’s economical—so that they would not need to hire additional faculty. That’s it! Meds can shove it…


having said all that:
to the OP, save every buck you can...you'll thank yourself for it. you deposited 2k at BU, so skip that inTview at Tufts.....

Just thought I'd give my 2 cents...

There's really no need to tear down another school to say what you like about your own school. I'll tell you what I liked about Tufts... I liked that even though the "top notch" SDN students don't tend to go to Tufts, Tufts still produces high part 1 board scores. I have no intention of specializing but the fact that they can get "average" students to get great board scores tells me that something is working with their curriculum. I intend to work very hard in school so that I will be both confident and competant in the field, so I hope their curriculum allows me to achieve that.

I toured Tufts last year when I was on vacation in Boston. I was impressed with the sense of pride that the students/staff had about the school. I interviewed at another school early this past year (it wasn't BU) and the guy interviewing me said "No one likes the school that they went to". I didn't get that impression when I was at Tufts. The students seemed happy with a sense of pride that they were attending the school.

Also, while I was interviewing at Tufts this year, I felt very comfortable around the students at lunch and with my interviewers. Both my interviewer and one of the admissions committee people that was presenting to the group asked me on separate occasions if I was having a good time. I appreciate the effort that they made to make me (and others) feel comfortable there.

I'm a pretty laid back person and I could care less if I'm 1st or 50th in my class, as long as I understand the material. I've heard horror stories from friends in law school about other students hiding books in the library in order to "screw" their classmates and get ahead of them in class rank. I asked students at lunch at Tufts if they felt that their class was like that and they responded that they didn't feel like their class was like that.

So if you've seen both schools, go to the one that you feel more comfortable at... I think everyone has their own unique needs and requirements. For some BU is going to be a better fit and that's great, for others they'll like Tufts and that's great too.

My $0.02.

Utes

Wow I didn't realize that my post was so offensive!

"It's hard to explain, but the sort of arrogance that exudes out of these students is the kind I really can't stand being in class with. The type of student who just thinks they are better than everyone else, and has a close minded opinion of what is good. These students can't face the fact that they were all IVY league rejects, and try to walk around town like they are hot **it. Me personally, I couldn't stand those kids so I chose to go to the midwest to get away from them."

Jeez thats harsh! To say that I didn't like BU because I'm an arrogant Ivy League reject is laughable and untrue. These are the things that I didnt like about BU:

1) My tour guide said that her class didn't get along. She didn't give any postive impression of the people who go there. She couldn't answer anyone's questions and seemed a bit aloof and unhappy to be giving a tour. She actually made me have an uneasy feeling about the school.

2) The admissions officer that talked to us said nothing about board scores or how well their students get into post-doc programs. I even asked! They said that their students do well and he didn't give me any numbers when I asked. I thought that was a pretty standard thing to talk about but he looked at me like I was nuts when I brought it up.

3) They made it seem like it was hard to get a chair. My tour guide even said that signing up for a chair can be annoying at times. I didn't get a straight answer about how many students to a chair, which was a concern of mine when choosing a school.

4) Not one student stopped and said hi to us. No one seemed interested when we were walking around the clinic and no one stopped in when we were having lunch except for one guy. I also did think that the clinic looked run down compared to Tufts! That was my honest opinion.

The only thing that I liked about the school was Dr. Shaw. She is a total sweetheart and I would have liked to have liked the school better because she is such a nice person. I think that most people in my tour group had similar opinions that I had. I think BU is a great school but I just got a bad impression of it. I was just giving my honest opinion. Tufts facilities looked amazing when I was there and when I shadowed there. Throngs of students came to talk to us during lunch and talk about how much they loved the school. Boree, I'm sorry if I offended you but I was just giving my opinion.

Hey Utes you're a cool dude. I got nothing against Tufts Dental, it's the undergrads I don't like. I'm sure you chose the school for the right reasons. Perhaps we should go out to the baahs this summer.

As for coolfish, it's unfortunate that you had a bad tour guide, had you had my tour guide you would've left with a smile on your face. She was a third year and she loved her class and they were all friends. She told us that chairs were good for the most part, however if you had an emergency and needed a chair on a certain day and it was full you just had to sign up and almost always you'd get it. - Ask rezdawg about this, he should know. (Also the 40 additional students at Tufts doesn't make their chair situation any easier)
As for the students not stopping to talk to you, I didn't expect busy 3d and 4th year students to come and talk to me, as I realize the world doesn't revolve around me. However, 2 profs did wish me luck as I was getting off the elevator to go to room 301. Moral of my story is don't jump to rash conclusions after 1 visit. You have to realize the real deal wont be as good as the best impression or as bad as the worst impression- it's always somewhere in the middle. There are pros and cons at both schools, and not many schools are more similar than these two. I'm done with this. Not gonna keep beating a dead horse.

boree said:

Hey Utes you're a cool dude. I got nothing against Tufts Dental, it's the undergrads I don't like. I'm sure you chose the school for the right reasons. Perhaps we should go out to the baahs this summer.

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Sounds like a plan. I'm already pumped up to hit "Cheers" as well as a Red Sox game.

Utes

As Boree pointed out, you shouldnt generalize a school by a visit that lasts a few hours. For instance, 1st year's spend almost every hour of didactic courses in room 301, next to the admissions office. What happens when there is a tour group visiting on a Friday, a day where the 1st year's have just gone through a stretch of 10 days of all out studying to get through 3 major exams? Just like any school, you will face moments where you look and feel exhausted. Therefore, if you pass by our class that day and see dejected faces, thats probably not a result of the students being "unhappy", rather, it is a result of students getting through dental school. Now, if the tour group is visiting on a Monday, a Monday where we dont have any exams coming up that week, you will see a completely different side...you will see well rested students who are coming back fresh to start the week.

Coolfishdent, I would say that your visit is probably as odd as it gets. I'm pretty surprised to see any of that occur at your interview. Its unfortunate that that was your experience, because from the 7 months that Ive spent here, I have had an opposing view to what you have stated.

To go through your list of points,

1) Im pretty surprised to see a tour guide, not only mention that her class doesnt get along, but also to seem aloof and unhappy. As far as my class is concerned, I find it difficult to have a group of 115 students get along as well as they do here. Thats not to say that every person is buddy buddy, but generally speaking, everyone is pretty cool to one another.

2) Regarding percentage going into post-doc programs and board scores...Tufts has a better record on Part 1 of the boards than BU...Both schools place almost identical percentages into post-doc programs. Its a wash when it comes to residencies.

3) You wont have to worry about chair time.

4) BU facilities are pretty darn nice, at least compared to the other schools I had visited. Check out the interview feedback and see how people felt about BU's facilities, the general consensus is that BU's facilities are among its strengths. I have not see Tufts's facilities, so I cant comment on that...but one thing is certain, you will not be at a disadvantage with BU's facilities.

And yes, you are correct...Dr. Shaw is great.

Well... I guess this sums up everything. If you're an average student, you should consider going to BU because otherwise at Tufts, you're going to fall behind everybody else who are only focused on being the top 5 percentile of the class. As for me, I am not definitely the smart kind, I guess BU is the place to be.

If you want to specialize, you need to get a good grade, right? If the not-so-smart kid want to specialize, should I go to BU? Then, I will get a decent grade, thereby giving me an opportunity to specialize. Ok?

Theres gonna be a push to specialize at every school. The higher you are in class rank, and more determined you are to specialize the more competative you'll make it for yourself. I dont think the purpose of the previous posts were to say that the better students go to the more competative Tufts and the average student goes to BU. I think the point of the posts were to say that both schools are good AND competative but they both have there positives and negatives. Under the logic that average students would have a better shot at specializing at BU i just dont know if id by that. If that were the case wouldnt tons of people all flock to BU because they know its not as competative and that theyd get the opportunity to specialize, which would inturn make it just as competative as all the other schools because of the influx of these students? Just my thoughts after reading these posts.

I'd would put the notion that "going to BU makes it easier to specialize" to rest. I cant begin to tell you how intelligent the class is...I have to say that I never expected that. For the most part, everyone works their tails off. If you want to specialize, you have to put in your time...dont expect to come to BU so that your chances of specializing increase. Its just as difficult here as it is anywhere else.

beezies said:

Hi Rezdawg, just wanted to ask, one of my biggest reservations about attending BU was that my interviewer told me it would be a battle to try and get research opportunities. He said that while it wasn't impossible, the opportunities were only available for those who "deserved" them. Is this really true? I guess this issue would probably be the dealbreaker for me at BU since it seemed very easy to get research done at Tufts. Not that I'm planning on doing badly, but I don't want to have to fight to do interesting things. Also, the student who gave us the tour said that we might be able to do research at the new level 4 bio lab (if it ever gets built). Is that actually true or was he just kidding? And, one more question, do you actually know how people do on Part 1 of the boards, the student we met said BU was 2nd in the nation, which I just didn't believe.

Thanks for your honesty!

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First, let me clear up that Part 1 on the boards stuff...BU is not 2nd in the nation...they are around average or slightly above average, not sure the number though. However, I hear that on Part 2 and on the NERBs, the students do very well compared to national averages.

As far as research is concerned, there are plenty of opportunities. In order for you to do research at the school, you must have a 3.0 or above. I guess that is what was meant by "deserving". However, if you fail to meet that requirement, then you can find research opportunities elsewhere. Also, during your APEX rotations, you can choose the option to do research while you do your clinical rotation. A decent portion of students choose that route.

Regarding the new bio lab, Im pretty sure some opportunities will be available for medical and dental students from BU. Im not sure about details, but I do remember that being talked about when I was applying.

Hope that helps.

beezies said:

I finally made up my mind...Tufts! Thanks for all of your help guys.

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Congrats on your decision. I'll see you there! Keep in touch.

Utes

Not sure why my signature didn't show up this time... Tufts Class of 2010

Congrats on making your decision! You can not go wrong with Tufts. Both are excellent schools, with slightly different strengths and focus. No one should bash either school.

It seems there is more negative comments about BU's facilities and program.
Here is a link to an article on their recent accrediation last fall for those who are interested:

http://dentalschool.bu.edu/News/2005-09-23-accreditation.htm

The quote from the Dean of UCONN is a strong statement for how strong BU has become and the direction it is headed.

Tufts (in 2001, see link) and BU both received 20 commondations, and no recommendations.

http://www.tufts.edu/dental/about/archive/newsarchives41801.html

Therefore, for those still trying to decide, find where you are most comfortable with the staff, students, and direction of the school. Both schools will make you a great dentist, if you put the work in. Make sure you will be happy walking in the school and leaving every day for 4 years.

Just thought I'd share that I got accepted to Tufts today!!!!

I am like 95% sure that I will attend


Hey beezies, I'm glad you've decided to go to Tufts.. - - where in Boston are you from??

Do Tuft students have classes with med students?

What do you like about Tufts?

Missserica said:

Just thought I'd share that I got accepted to Tufts today!!!!

I am like 95% sure that I will attend


Hey beezies, I'm glad you've decided to go to Tufts.. - - where in Boston are you from??

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Congrats! When did you interview there? I was there on the 9th. I'm also about 95% sure I'm going there too.

oh god, tufts?? are u sure?? u should think about it some more

why what is wrong with Tufts?

Nice to see that some more people are deciding on Tufts. Make sure to add your name to the attendance thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=243827&page=1&pp=25

Utes

I interviewed last Tuesday (Jan 24). I only have 15 days to send in my deposit! Donkeywhisper, you only have 9? But aren't you waiting for a lot of other schools? (According to your profile?)

Tufts dental students do not have classes with medical students. Why do people keep thinking this?

I am from Newton. We're neighbors!

Missserica said:

I interviewed last Tuesday (Jan 24). I only have 15 days to send in my deposit! Donkeywhisper, you only have 9? But aren't you waiting for a lot of other schools? (According to your profile?)

Tufts dental students do not have classes with medical students. Why do people keep thinking this?

I am from Newton. We're neighbors!

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Missserica, Congrats on your offer from Tufts. On the interview day at Tufts, your name tag showed you are from U Mass Amherst and live in Wellesley, if I remember correctly. Did you get scholarship award from Tufts?

dentsun said:

Missserica, Congrats on your offer from Tufts. On the interview day at Tufts, your name tag showed you are from U Mass Amherst and live in Wellesley, if I remember correctly. Did you get scholarship award from Tufts?

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I live in Newton, but the other girl who went to UMASS lives in Wellesley or Waltham. And, no, I did not get a scholarship award.

..

sheri said:

Do Tuft students have classes with med students?

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nope, we don't have any classes with them... at least not so far. I'm pretty sure we don't at all. The only interaction is if you happen to live in the dorm, Posner Hall. Med students have the first 2 floors, dent students the top 2. But still not a lot of interaction...

about the bodies, I'm not sure if we share with med students. We have gross anatomy Fall Semester, med students have it this winter. I'm not sure if they're using ours or not.

...and I've never been to BU, so I can't really make any comparisons. I like Tufts though, but yeah, it is (or my class is) competitive, and the class/exam schedule is quite exhausting... but I don't really know what it's like at any other school.

From Newton as well. Funny how there's a decent amount of boston area peeps on here. We're going to have the responsibility of showing our classmates around the city.

For those of us going to a boston school, is anybody nervous about finding a roommate, or are people living alone?

Bungipug said:

For those of us going to a boston school, is anybody nervous about finding a roommate, or are people living alone?

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I currently have no idea of what my living situation is going to be. Right now I'm thinking I'll probably start out with my own place and then probably get a roomate. I have a good amount of friends in the area that will be living in the city, but I don't think it's such a good idea for me to live with non-dschool students. What are you guys thinking of doing?

boree said:

I grew up in the 'burbs of Boston and I know plenty of kids that went on to Tufts and BC undergrad. It's hard to explain, but the sort of arrogance that exudes out of these students is the kind I really can't stand being in class with. The type of student who just thinks they are better than everyone else, and has a close minded opinion of what is good. These students can't face the fact that they were all IVY league rejects, and try to walk around town like they are hot **it. Me personally, I couldn't stand those kids so I chose to go to the midwest to get away from them.

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I got an arrogant vibe from Tufts dental. Especially from the admissions staff. BU vs. Tufts is a hard choice. If money weren't an issue, I'd definitely choose BU.

SuperTrooper said:

I got an arrogant vibe from Tufts dental. Especially from the admissions staff. BU vs. Tufts is a hard choice. If money weren't an issue, I'd definitely choose BU.

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i've heard that from other people too...