<p>aight. I did make some bold claims. But can you blame me? I'm so happy to be able to attend Princeton next year.
Well anyways, I do agree that Stanford and Princeton are very similar. Of the schools the OP mentioned, I do believe these two schools offer the best "whole deal".
Of course, Princeton will always be the best in my book.</p>
<p>Yes, I was wary to say MIT/Princeton as second (when, on closer examination of the criteria, Princeton would probably come closer to Stanford than MIT), but what really made me think that Stanford would come out on top is the perennial dominance in athletics + having top departments in virtually every discipline. That, and the fact that I have a bias. :)</p>
<p>Does Dartmouth really not have strong research?? Really?? I was thinking of doing ED Dartmouth ... and I am thinking that the times they are a changin' ... what say??</p>
<p>It emphasizes undergraduate education, less so research. Yes, there is research; but not nearly on the level of, say, Stanford or MIT. For example, from an article in The Dartmouth Review:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Since Dartmouth is ranked in the National Universities category, its reputation is evaluated by the leadership of research universities, rather than liberal arts colleges. Thus, Dartmouth's academic reputation score falls below that of large research universities, who have weaker undergraduate programs.</p>
<p>The University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, University of California — Berkeley, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania all rank higher than Dartmouth in academic reputation. Dartmouth maintains a lower acceptance rate, higher graduation rate, higher test scores, and a higher alumni giving rate than all of them. ...</p>
<p>The academic reputation score, then, is based less on the quality of the undergraduate education a school offers, and more on the strength of its graduate programs and the productivity of its faculty.</p>
<p>... 'Dartmouth would probably be first in the liberal arts rankings.'</p>
<p>... Dartmouth's values may differ from the research universities, but those values are eminently superior to the research ethic.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The</a> Dartmouth Review: Dartmouth Ranked Tenth Best College</p>
<p>It's an old article, but much of it applies today too.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The academic reputation score, then, is based less on the quality of the undergraduate education a school offers, and more on the strength of its graduate programs and the productivity of its faculty.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I thought being around top-notch faculty and having multiple research opportunities whenever I wanted one was one of the best parts of my undergraduate education. On more than one occasion I had two or more professors asking me to work in their labs. Heck, I graduated a semester early, decided I didn't want to live at home prior to going to grad school, and had three professors offer me jobs for the nine months until I had to go. I don't think I'd get such a great experience as that anywhere but a research university.</p>
<p>Thanks! That's comforting!!</p>
<p>oooh kyledavid80 stop please! i already kinda feel bad about not going to stanford...this isnt helping... :( . Before i got my results, Stanford was my second pref and princeton third, but both were a fair way below my first preference. Everyone has been talking it up soo much that I feel bad...they are all such good schools. I just wish i could attend all 3. Perhaps grad school :)</p>
<p>More comments please!!</p>
<p>Well I'm going to be a tree next year, so I'm a bit biased but I would have to say Caltech - Stanford - Dartmouth - Princeton - MIT - Caltech.</p>
<p>Caltech only fits a certain type of person. It's either first or last.</p>
<p>Now the other four are academic peers, with little difference between each school. Certainly there are some discrepancies between majors, but the overall academic prowess of each institution is -- I love this word -- UNDENIABLE.</p>
<p>Anyways, Stanford wins because of the life both inside and outside the campus. There really is no need to ever leave the campus, and when you do want to, you have access to Menlo, SF, SJ, and even Berkeley. The sports scene completely blows away anything Dartmouth/Princeton offers. The party scene is cool enough without being too Dartmouthy, and the students are completely laid back. </p>
<p>I think sometimes Dartmouth is a better choice for some humanities strictly because of its focus on UG's. My personal views though. It also has the coolest name.</p>
<p>Princeton -- has a powerful reputation in S & E -- fewer grad schools -- More attention for UG's. Highest Endow/UG in country. It just seems sometimes that Stanfod and Dartmouth both beat Princeton at it's strengths. Engineering - Stanford, UG focus - Darmouth.</p>
<p>Well, I would recommend Princeton and Dartmouth. My opinion is biased because I attend Princeton and my sister attends Dartmouth. Both Princeton and Dartmouth are very undergraduate focused. Undergrads get the most attention from professors, and they don't have to compete with grad students for research & fellowship opportunities. I see that somebody pointed out the lack of research opportunities at Dartmouth in comparison with the other schools. This is true because Dartmouth isn't a research powerhouse. However, most (if not all) Dartmouth undergrads who want research & fellowship opportunities get them either at Dartmouth or at other schools & institutes during the summer.</p>
<p>Rice definitely is up there too.</p>
<p>Any destination greater than 40 minute transportation distance just is NOT a feasible chill out destination for a college student. First, your a college student, priorities is studying and staying on campus to sleep, eat, go to class, and library.</p>
<p>95% of your time will be on campus. Campus life and 1km radius distance off campus should be given a billion more weight than city that is just way too far to feasibly visit on a regular basis.</p>
<p>@ Bourne</p>
<p>While Princeton engineering is certainly strong, engineering is not Princeton's "strongest field". According to the National Research Council, Princeton is top five in philosophy, history, econ, physics, math, astronomy, aerospace engineering, spanish, religion, german, french, classics, and comp lit. Also, lets not forget Princeton's top rated Woodrow Wilson school of foreign and public affairs. </p>
<p>What other university can claim to have top rated programs in such a broad range of subjects AND claim to be undergraduate-focused.</p>
<p>@Hallowarts -- Stanford. Plus a top Law and Business school and a host of other top grad programs since we've extended there.</p>
<p>@Phead128 -- The Stanford Bubble is well known. There really is no need to leave campus at all -- I only list those cities because I'm proving that we have our own metropolitan are if we get lonely for the city life.</p>
<p>I guess weather is subjective so I won't include that.</p>
<p>Stanford most definitely is not undergraduate-focused. It does not even claim to be undergraduate-focused. You can argue that Stanford undergrad receive attention or not, but Stanford is overwhelmingly propelled by those "top law and business school" that you just mentioned. Also, OP asked about undergraduate experience. I highly doubt that law school professors will teach undergrads. They'll do their job, which is to teach law-school courses.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm not denying the quality of an undergraduate education at Stanford.</p>
<p>Yes, Stanford isn't quite "wipe your ass for you" UG focused, but I think it still offers the best UG EXPERIENCE because of it's diverse top 10 programs along with its sports and the bubble and such.</p>
<p>Nutshell.</p>
<p>How's Dartmouth's strength in science ... Math, Neuroscience, Computer and Economics?? Suppose I do one of those at Dartmouth and then business for grad from say Wharton, etc do I still have the same career prospects as an Engineer for undergrad and a business grad???</p>
<p>Dartmouth's strength is in its undergrad program. Although Dartmouth has few (if any) top grad/research programs, its undergrads do well in most (if not all) fields. For instance, Dartmouth's grad program in economics doesn't rank in the top fifty, yet Dartmouth is among the top five schools in terms of the number of undergrads at Wall Street's big four.</p>
<p>That's Cool!!!! More like Windows and Linux for Dartmouth and the name-brands is it???</p>
<p>Hallowarts, for our introductory humanities courses here at Stanford called IHUM, there are law professors who will be teaching several of the courses. Furthermore, at a research symposium at Stanford, several undergrads did research under professors at the Business school. Princeton is an excellent university that offers a lot to its undergrads, but Stanford although less focused on the undergrads than Princeton offers things that Princeton could never offer.</p>