Chosing between these two and I have absolutely no idea what to do. Interested in social sciences, probably anth/soc or polysci. Anyone have some points of comparison for these schools? Not just in terms of academics, but in general.
Tough choice. Very similar early-American vibe superficially, but, digging deeper, Dartmouth has a very vocal right-of-center minority whereas Amherst is enjoying and adjusting to a wave of identity politics. Both have their moments of heat and light. Dartmouth has deliberately kept itself just south of sprawling, super-duper, research university scale and proudly still calls itself a liberal arts college (even though the Carnegie Foundation says it’s not.) Whereas, Amherst couldn’t be happier with its status as the richest small college in America (it is so rich, it actually has to pay the Federal government a tax on its endowment proceeds) and anecdotal evidence suggests that it often takes on the appearance of snobbishness. YMMV.
Two great schools! Congratulations!
Fraternities are a huge part of Dartmouth’s social life. Amherst does not have any fraternities. This pronounced difference in social environment may or may not matter to you.
^Amherst has made major efforts and is a leader among elite colleges in terms of racial and socioeconomic diversity. I would consider its students far from snobby!
Dartmouth gets the “Ivy League” cachet and has more classes from among which to choose, and the academic calendar is on a quarter system, with a tradition of a sophomore summer.
Amherst has a smaller population but also benefits from being part of a 5-college consortium with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith. Students can take courses and join clubs at any of those. Amherst’s calendar is on a semester system.