Is Michigan or Tufts better for class discussion?

Tufts will usually feel more discussion-based in actual classes. Its undergraduate culture is built around a smaller student body, more close contact with professors, and a liberal arts style that shows up even outside the humanities, so classroom participation tends to be a bigger part of the experience. Michigan absolutely has excellent seminars and engaged students, but across the university you are more likely to run into large lectures, especially early on.

One concrete difference is scale. Tufts is much smaller, which often means your classes, especially after the intro level, are more likely to be set up around conversation, peer exchange, and professor-guided discussion. At Michigan, because it is a very large public university, many introductory courses in popular departments are taught in lecture format first, with discussion sections or smaller breakouts attached rather than the whole course being discussion-centered.

Another difference is classroom culture. Tufts has a reputation for being intellectually talkative and interdisciplinary, and students often describe classes as places where professors expect ideas to be tested out loud, not just absorbed. Michigan has plenty of that too, particularly in upper-level seminars, honors courses, and smaller programs, but the default experience across the institution is less consistently discussion-driven simply because there are so many more students and course formats.

The professor access piece also matters. At Tufts, the smaller environment often makes it easier for faculty to know students well enough to draw them into conversation and build a seminar-like atmosphere. At Michigan, you can absolutely find outstanding discussion-heavy classes, but you may need to seek them out more intentionally once you get past the big gateway courses.

For the specific thing you are asking about, actual class discussion as a common part of the day-to-day experience, Tufts has the clearer edge.