Is UCLA or Tufts better for smaller class sizes?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale: UCLA is a very large public university, while Tufts is a much smaller private university, and that difference usually shows up clearly in undergraduate class size. If smaller classes are a top priority, Tufts is the safer bet. You are more likely to find discussion-based courses, smaller introductory sections, and easier day-to-day access to professors there.

At UCLA, many students do have excellent relationships with faculty, but large lectures are a normal part of the undergraduate experience, especially in popular intro classes and high-demand majors. Discussion sections and office hours help make a big campus feel smaller, but they do not fully change the fact that UCLA serves far more undergraduates overall.

Tufts tends to feel more intimate academically. In many departments, students can expect classes where speaking up is easier and professors may get to know them sooner, especially outside the biggest gateway courses. That can matter a lot if you learn best by asking questions in real time rather than absorbing material in a lecture hall first and following up later.

The one caveat is that major matters. Some UCLA upper-division seminars can be quite small, and some Tufts intro courses can still be sizable. But if you are comparing the overall undergraduate experience and class-size culture rather than hunting for exceptions, Tufts comes out ahead on this specific factor.