Is Northwestern or Tufts more fun for undergraduates?

The biggest practical tradeoff is this: Northwestern tends to offer a more traditional, high-energy residential campus experience, while Tufts often feels smaller, quirkier, and a bit more spread between campus social life and the Boston area around it. Northwestern has Big Ten athletics, lakefront campus traditions, and a stronger sense that weekends happen on or immediately around campus. Tufts has a lively student culture too, but the energy is usually less centered on one dominant campus scene and more tied to clubs, friend groups, performances, and nearby city options.

If by “fun” you mean visible school spirit, packed events, and a campus that feels busy on weekends, Northwestern usually comes across that way more clearly. Football games, Dillo Day, the lakefront, and the fact that many students stay engaged on campus create a fuller social atmosphere. Evanston is also a real college town, so the school community can feel more concentrated.

Tufts is fun in a different register. Students often describe it as creative, witty, and collaborative rather than rah-rah. There is plenty happening, especially through student organizations, a cappella, comedy, theater, and friend-group events, but the social scene can feel less unified and a little less intense if you want that classic everyone-is-out-doing-something campus buzz.

Another difference is layout and rhythm. Northwestern’s campus is larger and more self-contained, which helps it feel like a destination in itself. Tufts has a beautiful hilltop campus, but because Boston is so close, some of the social energy naturally disperses off campus.

So on the specific question of which feels more fun for undergraduates in the sense of weekend energy and liveliness, I’d give the edge to Northwestern. Tufts absolutely has a strong social life, but Northwestern is more likely to match what students mean when they want a campus that feels animated, spirited, and consistently alive.