Wesleyan and Tufts?

Hoping to revive this thread.  Anyone with more to say about these schools and baseball programs?  Does Tufts appeal to a different kind of kid than Wesleyan?  Thanks!

Are you looking *just* for baseball info?  Or academics, location, etc.  I think if you want baseball team particulars - that may come from PM's as many may not feel comfortable "speaking out" in a forum like this. You may need to seek those families out... In any case, both are top academic schools - perhaps depends on what type of degree program is desired. If being close to a big city is important, then Tufts is it - it's a short walk (or Joey ride) to the Davis Square Red Line T-stop and a trip into Boston.  Say nothing of the *numerous* other schools in the general proximity. Of course I'm partial having a Tufts graduate (although he played football) ;-)... 

Thanks for writing back!  I should have been more clear.  I'm actually looking for info on both areas.  I know they're both great schools with strong Div. 3 baseball programs.  My academic question would be focused on what kind of student is drawn to either school.   Tufts, from an outsider's view, looking from a galaxy far, far away seems a more button-down.  Wesleyan looks like it appeals to a more free spirited kid.  Just wondering if that perception is accurate.

Baseball-wise, the posts above indicate Casey is old school hard-nosed, fair, and communicates clearly.  I can't find anything on Wesleyan's program or coach.  Would welcome PM's about either program.

Thanks!

Politics aside, both schools are phenomenal, yet, W is very liberal, Tufts less so. 

Smoke, you might want to dive into the academic major your son is interested in.  How do the two differentiate themselves?   Does being in Boston provide provide a better conduit to internship opportunities for Tufts?  W is only two hours from Boston and it has always been one of the top academic D3's, likely not a factor.  Are either of the colleges better connected to any particular career fields?

If finance is a career consideration, maybe punch in both schools into LinkedIn to find out how many grad's are in IB or Corp Finance etc.,....

Any alumni that played baseball available to speak with?

 Edited minor sp...

Thanks, Gov. Good info on campus culture.  No clue what his major will be; he's curious about a lot of stuff, finance among them, so the search will be interesting.

No baseball alumni we know of.  Not a lot of info on Wesleyan baseball from people here.  The college website info about the program is interesting. Seems like the coach is really interested in working with the whole person, not just the athletic side.

Thanks again!

BTW, Checked college confidential also for info on both Tufts and Wesleyan programs, and there's some serious opinion sharing about Wesleyan there, in case anyone is interested.  PM me for info.

Having had a conservative son at Tufts I can tell you from his perspective, the environment was way more liberal than he expected for a school that had an elephant for a mascot ;-).  Tufts is very close to the liberal bastion of Cambridge, MA (e.g. Harvard) and well MA is known to not support conservative type politics. Although they did do away with the mid winter naked quad run while my son was there, which may go against that feeling of allowing more free spirits around.

My son was also a member of the fraternity that most football & baseball players eventually are drawn to. Suffice to say button down was not what I saw and heard about! Tufts is known to be a school where "dental" undergrads go.  My son also found there was a larger population of international students than he expected. I think you'll find both schools have an incredible alumni network. The question becomes where do you find yourself going after you graduate. I always believed that Tufts degree would get him in the front door somewhere. My son's now in the Dallas and has found that where he's at, less people know about Tufts than say Texas state schools. The greater Boston area has a large concentration of businesses in order to intern/work at...  When you visit, go to the career services office (you may have to drag your son though ;-))

As NESCAC schools - I think you'll find coaches are all rehearsed to state academics before athletics, but when push comes to shove, they don't want you to miss practice and forget about missing games. Invariably though engineering/pre-med type majors will always have some sort of afternoon lab.

When it comes to kids leveraging their playing skills to get into a top academic, what's never really mentioned is that a number of the players are one & done.  They get into the school and decide they're done playing.  So, you're back to being a full time student.  Back to the college environment, can the student thrive?

While a lot of kids don't know what their major will be, discussions can be started around: do you see yourself in a lab, behind a desk all day, behind a monitor, out of the office dealing with people, in a manufacturing plant?  Dealing with numbers, building financial models?  How do the answers match with the strength & natural abilities of your son?  This is an exercise we use with a lot of kids.  All of a sudden the student is guided toward academic interests... Student-athletes may be able to rule out schools.  Separate note - how frequently will they want to come home, how accessible is the school?  

NESCAC  colleges are top notch, but not the end all of D3 top academic's.  As John F mentioned most of these colleges all have strong alumni networks.  When you get into different geographic areas not all people will know the level of prestige of your college.  Friend of mine went to Bowdoin, lives in Southern Cal, he said most people had no clue where the school was, or how good of a school it was.  Does the school meet the requirements of the student, does it improve the students chances for being cherry picked by top corporations when he graduates?  Does it improve his chances for various grad schools?

Smoke, you look at UofChicago?  Pomona?  Harvey Mudd? Washington & Lee (harder to get to) ?  NYU just re-started their baseball program two years ago (?) Patriot league?

Apologies to get you off your original post...  kind of rambling, more about students than student athletes, but key aspects of the process.

Gov posted:

When it comes to kids leveraging their playing skills to get into a top academic, what's never really mentioned is that a number of the players are one & done.  They get into the school and decide they're done playing.  So, you're back to being a full time student.  Back to the college environment, can the student thrive?

 

 

Gov,

The number of "one and dones" at high academic schools was very, very small in my experience.  I saw it significantly  more at other schools due to the competitive level, lack of playing time, and number of rostered players in some D3 programs.  In my son's four years we only saw a couple recruits get "cut", or decide their time was better served elsewhere.  Recently, there were a couple recruits who decided to forego baseball their sophomore year,  (freshmen year was rough) to focus on their major and now they are back on the team.  

Agree that NESCAC schools are top notch along with others.  But NESCAC is only an athletic conference and each college is unique with its own personality and FA generosity.   My son was recruited by Tufts, and they have an awesome engineering program with lots of local job opportunities after graduation.  But my son didn't want to go to school in Boston and he knew Coach Casey was not his kind of coach.  He knew it wasn't a fit.  

Appreciate your insight Fenway.  A bit of the football recruiting experiences revealing itself.

Players really need to examine the college environment & what would it be like if I was injured, and became a full time student.  This was my main point.

smokeminside - if you follow the "General Items" Forum and in particular the topic "Did your son go in state or out of state"...  You'll note that bacdorslider has a son that will be attending Tufts starting next year...

thx!!  I think I missed that....

I can speak to Tufts and a few others. Casey is a great man and coach... with any coach , program etc... it's what you make of it.  Casey was just named the ABCA president after being vice for a number of years.

My opinion of Wash U is mixed.... they have had their share of coaches issues lately, but I think they are on the right track. However, getting on the right track with a new coach was not as ideal as a coach that has been at his school 33 years.    Also STL is really not the draw that Boston is.

UofC baseball is not in a good place... they are not even in a conference now and might play 20 games.