<p>I have to agree that you sound way more Brown than Dartmouth. The schools are very similar in undergrad focus, small classes, and excellent faculty. The following are some points illustrated by slipper123 and other posters in the past which helped me at the time of making the same decision you are facing. I have also added some of my own views.</p>
<p>1) Academic scene
Brown has the Open Curriculum which fosters academic and subject experimentation. Learning for the sake of learning ! A very well developed network of academic advisors helps the students keep focus on their concentrations and other areas of interest. Dartmouth's distributives are very broad as well. Dartmouth does have a terrific LAC-like feel. People love to discard the D-plan but I others think it is awesome. Sophomore summer is most students favorite term.</p>
<p>2) Campus location and closest city/town location
In my opinion Brown's nearby Thayer Street blows Hanover out of the water. East Providence is hip, cool, and there are alot of great restaurants and it really does cater to students. Providence is awesome in the area where Brown is located. Conversely, Hanover is beautiful but I found the town to be more stodgy and its not catered to students. In terms of the city, Brown wins bigtime.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Dartmouth's location in the mountains is amazing. The outdoor access is awesome, people ski during the winters on the skiway, jump in the river in summers. To be honest only a select group of students are into the hardcore outdoors. Its the casual outdoor stuff like snowball fights during the winter, riding your bike through the beautiful fall leaves, the swimming in the river during summers, BBQs by houses on the river, the awesome stars when you are out at night, etc, etc. During the summer the campus feels like a magical summer camp, during the winters its charming and warm. </p>
<p>3) Social scene
Brown is very active socially. The dorms restrictions are very lax so first-year parties abound. There are house parties, frat parties, bars, and people even venture downtown to clubs. Its a more cliquey scene, however. Different groups tend to stick together more, so its less community oriented. Its safe to say I think that people walk away with great friends, but it feels more like a University than Dartmouth. </p>
<p>Dartmouth is very community oriented. The Greek scene is huge, but its unlike any other greek scene anywhere. The houses are all open for parties to everyone and there's actually a campus list publishing the big parties that weekend. What usually happens is there will be two-three big dance parties a night plus lots of houses will have smaller groups hanging out. The cool thing is there is usally alot of energy as everyone is going to the same key places or are at least aware of the big parties. Its absolutely open and everyone is absolutely friendly. In addition to the greek scene there is a house party scene, smaller gatherings in dorms, plus niche scenes like the organic farm crowd or the Ledyard Canoe club crowd. The nights are full of activity. Dartmouth's downside might be that its jock culture does have power with the frats, places like Chi Heorot, Theta Delt, and Psi U are centered around sports teams and I think this can intimidating. The upside is there is a large social scene outside these places.</p>
<p>Also, I think that Brown students are quirkier, while Dartmouth students seem more homogenous. I was also told about stereotypes, which in my experience I found to be true: Dartmouth is like a walking advertisement for J. Crew, while Brown students were dressed in all sorts of styles. ( Women's Wear Daily has named Brown as the most fashionable ivy league school, where "students definitely have a strong sense of personal style" !)</p>
<p>4) Campus population
Both are equally diverse, although Dartmouth is conceived as less diverse than Brown the truth is its actually slightly more diverse. But since its smaller the sheer number of members of these groups is smaller so it might feel less diverse. However, people interact between groups at Dartmouth amazingly well. Yet I think some minority groups find comfort in sticking together and someone who grew up only hanging out with a particular minority crowd might like Brown more. Also, Brown does "feel" more international in terms of student makeup. </p>
<p>In terms of student politics I would say there is a huge overlap of "liberal" students at both. Dartmouth is more accepting of people with a conservative (libertarian) point of view, but overall I'd say 75-80% of Dartmouth is liberal while 85-90% of Brown is liberal. Frankly its not that large a difference. </p>
<p>Overall thought the students at Dartmouth overwhelmingly are the playful, fun loving, brilliant type. People tend to play down themselves which is great and refreshing among the Ivies. Brown students are very similar and Princeton Review has consistently ranked Brown students as the "happiest" (first or second place) in the last three years.</p>
<p>Just like slipper123 told me last year...You must also have impeccable taste if you are deciding between these two.!!</p>