<p>I went to Dimensions and really enjoyed it. However, I also visited Cornell, and it seems that Cornell is much more focused on academics. Is this true? How long do Dartmouth students spend studying per night?</p>
<p>Also, for pre-meds, is it hard for students to go straight to med school after undergrad at Dartmouth, or do most need a year or two after in order to build their resume?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>I went to both schools’ programs for admitted students last year - Dimensions is very upbeat, there is tons of recreational stuff going on, and it has a significant impact on the entire campus. If this gives the impression that Dartmouth is not focused on academics, keep in mind the point of Dimensions is really to showcase the community and show students their options once they get here, not to have you watch us study. Did you sit in on a class or two?</p>
<p>Dartmouth has a great academic reputation, and people take academics very seriously. Frat row is very quiet during finals and the libraries get very full on weekends. You can be as focused on academics as you’d like - there are people who study through weekends, there are those who do not. Classes are challenging and you will have to work to get top grades.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about premed so, I’ll leave that for someone else.</p>
<p>I have a good amount of family at Cornell, and none of them were absorbed by academics. Both school have pretty big Greek scenes, and top of the line educational experiences (as the person above said) and you choose how heavily you want to participate. I don’t know a lot about Dartmouth pre-med, but this may help: [Nathan</a> Smith Pre-medical Society](<a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~nss/]Nathan”>http://www.dartmouth.edu/~nss/)</p>
<p>The recipe to get into med school: Great GPA at a very highly regarded school, strong MCAT, undergrad research and senior thesis. Dartmouth, being less deflatory than Cornell will help you get a higher GPA (maybe), and its undergrad access to research and advising is incredible. Its very hard to beat. My friends who were strong students had their choice of places like Harvard med, Yale med, Columbia med, Penn med, WashU med, Cornell med, etc immediately after graduation.</p>
<p>Don’t confuse the existence of fun with less academic prowess. Dartmouth has both.</p>
<p>Also, at Dimensions, one '08 said it well. I paraphrase:</p>
<p>Dartmouth is the best undergraduate college. If a professor wants to do research, he won’t ask graduate students for help, because there basically are none. He’ll ask the undergraduate student. You get the closer attention, and graduate students won’t be teaching your classes, and the class size is mostly capped due to the size of lecture halls. You won’t have 1000 students in a class.</p>
<p>Whoa whoa whoa.</p>
<p>We party hard but studying is still the top obligation. Trust me. I work my ass off here, but in the end it’s worth it. It is a very, very rigorous academic schedule…and if you slack off, believe me it will show. The trimesters keep that in check.</p>
<p>And as for Cornell… all I’m going to say is that I go to college not just to get a degree, but also to develop as a person (cheesy I know), but the Liberal Arts-esque curriculum really lets you explore what you want and be educated at the same time. I just didn’t get the same FAMILY feel at Cornell…among a host of other things.</p>
<p>I have a quick question, but didn’t want to make a whole new thread. Do grades at Dartmouth have pluses and minuses?</p>
<p>Yeah Dartmouth has pluses and minuses but there are no A+'s</p>
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<p>Except for being arguably the best undergraduate college in the country.</p>
<p>I think he meant students can get a B+ or B- or an A- etc…I don’t think he was refering to grading the level of academics at dartmouth</p>
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<p>Haha, thanks for pointing that out. I feel pretty stupid now.</p>
<p>hahah, defensive</p>