<p>Hi, I faced a fairly similar situation earlier this year when I was applying as a transfer. Granted, I understand that’s fairly different from applying out of high school, particularly since I didn’t have to choose a school to ED, but I feel there are three reasons I can offer some useful advice. First, I applied to, saw, and studied up on each school, so I feel reasonably able to talk about them in relatively broad terms. Second, concerning Dartmouth, my father was on the faculty there for 9 years and I partially grew up in Hanover, so I do know quite a bit about Dartmouth and the region. I freely admit though that an actual student or alumnus would be better able to talk about it than me. I merely know more about Dartmouth than the average person. Finally, I got into and have ended up choosing Brown. Since I decided to go there, I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve been to or are going to Brown and have done a ton of research. I thus feel that I can talk about Brown with some knowledge. Granted, as with Dartmouth, a student who’s actually spent a full term there would be able to tell you a lot more. I’m just saying that I’m probably a little more knowledgeable about Brown than the average guy</p>
<p>First, let’s start with the similarities. All three schools place a heavy focus on undergraduate education. I’d say that Amherst probably has a slightly stronger focus than Dartmouth or Brown because of its extremely small class size and virtual lack of graduate programs, but they’re all great. You can get a magnificent education with excellent and engaging professors at any of these schools. They also all have a lot of smart, talented people. In general, the competitive admissions process means that stupid or lazy people are a very small minority at each school. At each school you can thus meet a lot of really interesting people who can really engage and challenge you intellectually. Each school is also quite diverse. For all that people tend to say Amherst, Brown, and Dartmouth are bastions of WASP elitism, the student bodies are quite ethnically and culturally diverse. Finally, each school has great opportunities after you graduate. They’re all feeders into top graduate programs like Harvard Law School and Wharton, and their alumni networks and career offices can help you get a foot in the door at the top levels of industry, finance, NGO’s, or government. I’ll expand on this later, but they’re all basically equally prestigious and have equally great post graduate and career opportunities. </p>
<p>With that said, let’s turn to Dartmouth. Dartmouth has the reputation of being the “party Ivy.” Although the gap between it and the other Ivies in terms of partying isn’t quite as big as it’s sometimes made out to be, the simple fact is that it does have the largest proportion of students who are Greek of any Ivy, and the fraternities and sororities utterly dominate the campus social scene. Whereas the other Ivies generally have a lot of social alternatives to the Greeks, there are very few on Dartmouth’s campus. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a good experience there. However, it does mean that if you aren’t Greek and don’t want to attend Greek events, there won’t be that many social events for you to attend, and you might feel isolated. </p>
<p>The Greeks’ dominance also means that alcohol and sex are very prominent. Granted, they’re also quite prominent at Brown and Amherst, but Dartmouth really pushes it to another level. Drinking is highly competitive, and drunkenness is both expected and widespread. Growing I recall often walking through Hanover at night with my family and seeing crowds of completely trashed students outside the frats almost every night of the week. The Greeks are also very promiscuous, and sexual harassment and rape are not unknown (though they certainly aren’t a daily occurrence). If you feel comfortable with a hard drinking and promiscuous lifestyle, then Dartmouth will fit you well. However, if either of those things make you uneasy then you will feel uncomfortable with the Greek scene. Again, if you’re uncomfortable with the Greek scene, then there really aren’t a lot of alternatives, so you’ll end up feeling isolated and out of place if you can’t handle the Greeks’ lifestyle. </p>
<pre><code>This isn’t just me. I met a lot of Dartmouth alumni through my father when he was a professor there. Dartmouth students’ best friends in college tended to be their fraternity brothers or sorority sisters, and most of their social lives revolved around their fraternity or sorority. Again and again the phrase I heard from them was, “The thing I remember most is the bond I had with my brothers/sisters while I was here,” or something along those lines. The few people who weren’t Greek generally had less fond memories of Dartmouth, and frequently said that they felt alienated and alone during college. Some didn’t, and indeed I know a guy from my high school who went there, didn’t go Greek, and ended up not missing it because he found a small clique of close friends who he’d worked with over the summer. Still, they are the exception to the rule, and how much you enjoy Dartmouth does generally seem to be related to whether or not you went Greek. Before you ED Dartmouth, I’d therefore strongly encourage you to ask yourself how comfortable you’d feel being Greek and living that lifestyle.
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<p>Beyond Greek life, another issue to think about is Hanover. It’s a really beautiful and friendly town, and in my opinion there’s no more beautiful place on the planet than the Upper Valley. It is in many ways like stepping into a painting by Frederick Church or Thomas Cole. That scenery also provides for some fantastic climbing and hiking. In winter, the skiing, skating, sledding, and snowshoeing are excellent, while the Connecticut River is excellent for kayaking and rowing once the temperature gets above freezing. A lot of people at Dartmouth participate in these, and also often take part in intramural sports. The affinity for sports also means that school spirit is high. People are very into the sports teams and turnout at athletic events is high. If you like outdoor activities or sports, Hanover can thus be a great place.</p>
<p>However, if you like to stay indoors or do more urban activities like clubbing, then you’re at a disadvantage. There are very few urban attractions of any kind in the Upper Valley. Similarly, while Dartmouth has a decent art museum of its own and good concerts at the Hop, it doesn’t compare with what a major city would have. The closest major cities, Montreal and Boston, are three and half and two hours away by road respectively. If you value that kind of stuff, you’ll most likely find Hanover limiting and boring. Moreover, because most students are athletic and outdoorsy people, if you aren’t also into sports or outdoor activities, people tend to think you’re odd and a shut in. You’ll therefore find yourself alone and without many people to hang out with if you aren’t also outdoorsy and athletic. This obviously isn’t an issue if you’re like most other Dartmouth students, but if you like more urban or cultural activities, and don’t really care for sports and the outdoors, then this will definitely be a negative for you.</p>
<pre><code>Finally, Dartmouth’s academics are very distinct from the other two schools. Whereas Amherst and Brown have a semester system, Dartmouth has quarters. Additionally, Dartmouth imposes some distribution requirements on students, whereas Amherst and Brown essentially have open curriculums. These aren’t nearly as onerous as the requirements as those of a core curriculum like Columbia’s, and because of the quarter system take less time to knock out than the requirements at some other places like Penn and Cornell. In some ways they are good. They ensure that you’ll get a rather broad education, and that you’ll experience classes across a variety of fields. Still, they are a limitation on your choices, which you wouldn’t face at Brown or Amherst. As for quarters, there are positives and negatives. The good thing about the quarters is that they’re shorter than semesters, so you get through classes faster. This is particularly important regarding classes you don’t like (and believe me you’ll take at least one of those in college), because you’ll get them out of the way faster. However, it also means that you don’t get to spend the same time studying a subject as you would at Brown or Amherst, and it means that good classes might pass by faster than you’d want them to.
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<p>Overall, Dartmouth is a great school, and if these aren’t problems for you, then it could be a great fit. One thing I haven’t mentioned that’s unique about Dartmouth is the loyalty people feel to it. Everyone I’ve met, even if they weren’t very outdoorsy or athletic or felt socially alienated, is very loyal to Dartmouth. The alumni remain very committed to the school after graduation, and have very high giving rates. School spirit is high, and Dartmouth’s traditions, from Bonfire to Winter Carnival, unite the entire community in a bond unlike anything I’ve seen at any other college. This means that the alumni will move heaven and earth to help current students find jobs and internships at their companies, and it also means that people really do come away having felt like they’ve had a unique and magical experience. That’s not to say that Amherst people or Brown people aren’t happy or loyal. Indeed, I’d say they’re just as happy and loyal. Rather, it means that the type of bond is unique, and the closeness of the Dartmouth community along with the prominence of tradition makes it a unique experience. </p>
<pre><code>With that said, let’s take a look at Amherst. Let me start by saying that this is the school I know the least about. It’s the one I’ve seen the least of, and the one where I know the fewest current or former students. However, I do know some things about it, have visited, and have the added experience of having gone to a liberal arts college. While that doesn’t make me qualified to talk about Amherst in detail, it does mean that I do feel able to comment on some broad similarities that exist between liberal arts colleges, such as their size and focus on teaching. Amherst in some ways is like Dartmouth. The town of Amherst is an idyllic New England country village set amongst beautiful scenery. It’s got great terrain to hike around, good opportunities for winter sports, and some decent options for aquatic sports. It’s also got a powerful commitment to undergraduate education. There are virtually no graduate programs, and good teachers are valued just as much, if not more, than good research when it comes to the faculty. The college is less than half the size of Dartmouth, and classes tend to be very small and intimate. The college’s size also means that the community is very close knit. Like other liberal arts colleges, most people in the student body know each other and interact regularly. It is for this reason that some people have claimed that Amherst is like a very exclusive, friendly, and expertly staffed prep school that happens to offer bachelors degrees. Furthermore, as I said earlier, the Amherst students and alumni tend to be very loyal both to the college and each other. The alumni network is also very influential, and can help you get excellent opportunities for summer internships and fulltime jobs. AS with Dartmouth, there really aren’t people who dislike Amherst.
There are however people who had less than fantastic experiences at Amherst. Just as with Dartmouth, Amherst’s isolation means that urban and cultural activities are few or nonexistent. While it is easier to get to Boston than from Hanover, it’s still a ways away, and not a place that can be easily visited regularly. For that reason, if you feel that Dartmouth’s isolation from urban life and high culture would be an issue, it will also almost certainly be an issue at Amherst. Additionally, Amherst is also very athletic and outdoorsy, though not quite to the same degree as Dartmouth. It’s again great if you’re also athletic and outdoorsy. Remember though that if you aren’t, you will probably be seen as a shut in and feel distanced from the rest of the student body.
The most distinctive thing about Amherst socially is the absence of fraternities. This means that the social scene is generally less exclusive and more open than at a place like Dartmouth. It also means that there’s less competitive drinking or pressure to have sex. That doesn’t mean drinking and sex are absent. The Amherst students I’ve known, and I have known a few, say that there’s a lot of partying at Amherst, just not to the kind of extremes or pressure to drink you’d find at Dartmouth. Amherst’s small size means that the social scene can however be fairly homogenous. There just aren’t going to be as many different parties or social events as there would be at a larger school like Brown or, to a lesser extent, Dartmouth. When combined with the town’s isolation, this can leave some people feeling boxed in. It also leaves people who aren’t in line with the campus culture few outlets to express themselves, since there are so few other people to begin with. This isn’t exclusive to Amherst. I found that this was a problem at Vassar, and friends I know at Middlebury, Haverford, Bard, Colby, and Hamilton have also expressed frustration with the same issues.
Academically, Amherst is very close to Brown. Both have essentially open curricula that allow you to take whatever courses you want beyond your major requirements and a writing class. Like Brown, Amherst also gives you a lot of room for either independent study or your own custom major. The key differences however are twofold. First, because of its size, Amherst doesn’t have the breadth of classes Brown or Dartmouth have. There are also fewer majors and departments than at either school, or some programs, like Arabic, aren’t as fleshed out as they’d be at the Ivies. Amherst’s focus on teaching over research means that their professors aren’t really on the cutting edge of research in their fields. This is a particularly big issue in the sciences, where being close to top research makes an enormous difference. In fairness Dartmouth’s similar commitment to teaching means that it’s also tricky to get access to top end researchers. Even Brown , which has the strongest commitment to research of the three, isn’t really on the same level as peer institutions like Penn, Columbia, or Duke. Still, this is an issue for science majors and pre-meds who need research experience. Again, like Dartmouth it’s a great school, but it’s got some issues to think about.
Moving on to Brown, the most distinctive thing about Brown is its location. Unlike Dartmouth and Amherst it’s in an actual city. There are clubs, diverse neighborhoods, good shopping, and the other amenities of urban life that are lacking in Amherst and Hanover. Granted that also means that Providence has urban crime, but College Hill and Downtown Providence are generally pretty safe (the outer neighborhoods are a different story). Providence is also the most convenient to Boston, which is 45 minutes away by Amtrak, or an hour by either car or MBTA Commuter Rail. Consequently, day trips to Boston are easier than they are from either Amherst or Hanover. Finally, transportation isn’t an issue I’ve brought up before but it’s worth considering. Providence, and the broader state of Rhode Island have in RIPTA an excellent public transit system. Because the Brown ID is a free bus on any RIPTA bus or trolley anywhere in the state, and because Downtown and the train station are so close to campus, this means you don’t need a car. By contrast, you really do need a car in Amherst or Hanover. The two towns have virtually nonexistent public transit systems, and the large distances between the towns and major stores in West Lebanon and Springfield make a car a necessity. For all these reasons I’d say that Brown has the best location. The only real drawback is that it doesn’t have the same kind of natural setting as Amherst or Dartmouth. College Hill is quite pretty and Rhode Island has some wonderful beaches and rivers, but it simply doesn’t have the kind of thick woods, rolling hills and mountains, or natural scenery that Western Massachusetts and Northern New Hampshire have. Consequently, Brown is a poorer place for outdoor sports than Amherst or Dartmouth.
Socially, this also means that outdoorsy people are less prevalent than at Dartmouth or Amherst. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, and if that’s your thing I’m sure you could find other fellow travelers. Similarly, athleticism isn’t quite as important. Together, these differences mean that it’s more socially acceptable at Brown to do things that would make people at Dartmouth or Amherst think you were a shut in. In general, Brown probably has the most diverse social scene. It suffers from neither Amherst’s homogeneity and smallness, or the Greek dominance found at Dartmouth. That’s not to say it’s a wonderland, and certainly, as at any school, people who are adverse to big parties, sex, and drinking will have a less active social life than those who aren’t. Overall though, I tend to think that part of the reason Brown has the happiest students in America is that it can accommodate most people’s interests and spare them from feeling alienated or boxed in.
Beyond that, Brown has a very active party scene. Several parties, particularly Sex, Power, God, are among the most raucous of any Northeastern college, and Brown students generally know how to get their drink on. That said, drinking doesn’t seem to have quite the competitive edge that it has at Dartmouth, though, as at Amherst, those who want to pursue a hard drinking lifestyle wouldn’t find it much of a challenge. Although there isn’t the same kind of pressure to have sex that there is at Dartmouth, many people at Brown are very sexually promiscuous. That however is generally by choice, and from what I’ve hear less sexual people are tolerated, as at Amherst. Frats and sororities exist, but are a much smaller presence than at Dartmouth. There are usually a lot of alternatives to frat party , meaning that you don’t have to join a frat to have an outgoing social life. In a way, if you wanted to sum up the party culture of each school on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being a monastery and 10 being Animal House’s Faber College) Dartmouth would definitely be a 10, Brown would likely be an 8.5, and Amherst would probably be a 7.
As I’ve said before, Brown’s open curriculum and acceptance of independent study and custom majors makes it very similar to Amherst academically. Just flip their differences. As an actual research university, Brown has more professors who are close to the cutting edge of research, while its greater size means that there are more classes and more depth across more fields than at Amherst (or Dartmouth). However, because it is a research university, Brown doesn’t quite match the commitment Amherst makes as a liberal arts college to teaching. For that matter it probably is also slightly weaker than at Dartmouth, which, like Amherst, generally views itself as more of an undergraduate college than a research university (hence the lack of many PhD programs and the name Dartmouth College instead of Dartmouth University). I would therefore say that the teaching is probably marginally weaker than what you’d find at Amherst or Dartmouth.
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<p>Brown’s size also means that you’d find more large lecture hall type classes than at Amherst (though still less than at most other schools).To reiterate an earlier point though, I wouldn’t make too much out of these differences. All three schools focus heavily on teaching, and the differences between quality of teaching are marginal at best. Similarly, while the gap between Dartmouth and Amherst, and both schools and Brown on research is larger, it’s still not a big deal. None of the schools are a major powerhouse like Stanford or MIT, and their research opportunities are all good enough to give you a decent shot at a great Med School or graduate program in the sciences. </p>
<p>Finally, I have some broad points to make about admissions. First, I’ll repeat that I’m not as good an authority as anyone who’s actually done a term at these schools. I just think I;ve got some points to make based on my personal research and circumstances. Second, don’t make the mistake of choosing your college by rankings. They fluctuate a lot and really can’t measure the quality or uniqueness of an education. However, they can’t capture the campus culture, quality of individual professors, and other intangibles that make or break a college. Moreover, in the case of these three schools, there all fairly similar and top notch. To be sure, as I’ve noted they have their differences and unique issues worth taking into consideration. Overall though, they’re each outstanding, and to use USNWR’s metrics to try and definitively establish that one is absolutely better in every case is foolish, </p>
<p>Third, ED can be a great tool. However it can be abused. At my high school, and I think at most schools, you could break down the ED kids into two categories. The first were people who really loved a place so much that they were willing to give up all their other options to go there. The second group was people who weren’t really sure about where they wanted to go, but felt like they needed an acceptance in their hand so that they could stop worrying. The first group generally ended being happy with their college, while the second group were generally unenthusiastic about their schools. There were exceptions, but the broad point holds. Furthermore, while they wouldn’t say this openly, I got the sense that a lot of the people in that second group regretted giving up choice for security, and feel kind of bitter about it. The point of all this is only ED if you actually know that you love a place so much that being able to chose another school is irrelevant. Don’t ED just to have a letter in your pocket; you will regret it. </p>
<pre><code>One last thing: for your own sake if you decide not to ED, don’t agonize over this choice after you file the applications. I remember I spent months driving myself nuts thinking about whether I’d get in and endlessly weighing each schools pros and cons. It was nerve racking, psychologically unhealthy, and fundamentally pointless and unnecessary. All that worrying and weighing didn’t affect the outcome. Besides at the end of the day I ended up getting rejected from Amherst, waitlisted from Dartmouth, and accepted at Brown, so I ended up not having to choose. I’m not saying that’s what will happen to you. I’m just saying that a lot of kids drive themselves crazy over these decisions, before they have to make them. Believe me, you’ll be a lot happier and less troubled if you wait and see how everything plays out before making these choices.
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