<p>Has anyone had to decide between these two schools? My daughter needs to make this decision and is torn. She is interested in majoring in something in the sciences. </p>
<p>Any and all feedback appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>I have never stepped foot on either campus, but S attends Dartmouth and loves it. I get the impression that Brown is more liberal and urban (again, I have not been there).
Dartmouth has a strong connection to outdoor activities thorough the Dartmouth Outing Club. A huge % of freshmen attend a few days in the late summer in one concentration or another (hiking, canoeing, etc. Although I think there are some activities that are cabin based). </p>
<p>I know Dartmouth has an admitted students weekend in April. This absolutely convinced my son that he wanted to attend. Lots of traditions and fun. It was far more fun than the standard campus tour because the students are all there knowing they have been admitted. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown has something similar. Any chance she could do both admitted student weekends? </p>
<p>She is blessed with two fabulous choices. It may boil down to simply matter of taste. My S’s academics have been superb (math/science sort) and he is a picky evaluator. There is also good outreach to the families during the freshman year. </p>
<p>A quick online check shows that Brown has a 97% freshman retention rate and Dartmouth has 98%. Really, either choice seems to produce happy students. </p>
<p>It is well worth making another round of campus visits. Then she can make a choice with a clear vision and a happy heart.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daugter!! They both have excellent science programs and a great focus on undergrads. So it basically boils down to location. Olymom, I’ve heard that there is a big drinking culture at Dartmouth and if you aren’t into that the social activities may be more limited. Just wondering what your take is on that? I’ve also heard that Dartmouth is more preppy and Brown more of an eclectic group…</p>
<p>One thing to consider–Dartmouth is on a quarter system; I don’t know what Brown is on. But I like having 2 semesters rather than 3 quarters. Quarters would go too quick for me.</p>
<p>Dartmouth also has a one summer requirement as well. Students remain on campus the summer after their sophomore year and are not on campus for the next fall quarter. Don’t know if Brown has a similar thing or not.</p>
<p>There really isn’t any objective reason to prefer one or the other. They are both high-quality institutions with really smart students who love being there and create a strong sense of community. They both “work”. One is in a beautiful, isolated, rural setting, and the other smack dab in the middle of a small, attractive city, with other colleges nearby. There are real differences, just not real differences in anything having to do with educational quality. So it’s like choosing between Cherry Garcia and Espresso Fudge Swirl. Which one do you like better?</p>
<p>Another obvious difference between Brown and Dartmouth is the lack of distribution requirements or any core at Brown and the ability to take courses pass/fail. My younger son likes the idea that he could stretch and take some advanced physics courses that interest him, but that he probably wouldn’t do well in.</p>
<p>Brown is on the semester system, and there is no summer requirement. It also has an accepted student day in April.</p>
<p>Providence is a much bigger city than Hanover, NH. While Brown is in an upscale neighborhood, there are a lot of gritty areas of Providence. There are lots of volunteer opportunities within Providence, lots of shopping and eating opportunities, and some clubs and theater choices. Boston is about an hour away, and very easy to get to.</p>
<p>Hanover is a lovely little town, with some funky stores and a few nice restaurants. It’s in a pretty liberal part of NH. While there is a large tertiary hospital nearby, once you drive about a mile from city center you are in a very rural area – beautiful views, but remote. Lots of skiing and hiking nearby. Boston is about 2 hours away, and there is a bus that goes there fairly regularly.</p>
<p>Both schools emphasize undergraduate education, but Brown has an open curriculum. Dartmouth has the reputation of being more frat oriented than Brown. Dartmouth will certainly be colder and snowier.</p>
<p>I’d also look into transportation there from your house. If you need to fly, Brown is closer to airports than Dartmouth.</p>
<p>What academic areas is your daughter interested in? Is she an outdoorsy type, or more urban-oriented?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not necessarily true. Students are required to be on campus all freshman year, all senior year and sophomore summer. sophmore and junior year they can make their D plan to be on or off any time during that 2 year period. there are some students who are “off” junior year which means they may be doing an internship, studying abroad or simply off, but it is by no means mandatory that students take off.</p>
<p>If possible your daughter should attend admitted students days at both schools</p>
<p>Although Dartouth has a large greek culture, almost all greek functions are open to the community at large and people co-exist in and out of the greek system. There are a lot of activities on campus that do not involve drinking.</p>
<p>“the other smack dab in the middle of a small, attractive city”</p>
<p>I think others have outlined the differences between Brown and Dartmouth very well…but…I couldn’t let this statement go by.</p>
<p>Some consider the Brown campus to be attractive, and I’ve heard Providence described as an interesting city…but…“attractive” is not a word I’ve often heard used to describe the city.</p>
<p>I find Providence an attractive city, meaning, it attracts me to visit. It’s appealing, manageable, with many pleasant features. I like Thayer and Waterman streets especially.</p>
<p>The whole neighborhood of East Providence, which includes the gated Brown campus,
is full of brick colonial and wooden Victorian houses. You don’t need a car to live there, because it’s compact enough to walk or bike “everywhere” in 20 minutes. Or, take public transportation (bus, no subways) throughout the city.</p>
<p>In East Providence, as well as the central downtown government center, there are more than the usual numbers of art galleries and spinoffs, with Rhode Island School of Design right there. A river bisects the city. In summer, it’s a focal point for a beautiful visual display called “Waterfire” with community-supported free performances in art, dance and circus along the riverwalk. </p>
<p>There are neighborhoods on the west side that draw tourists for their Italian and Asian restaurants and stores, with a central plaza, outdoor eateries, fountains, bands playing. </p>
<p>An hour north (by public transpo, train or bus…) is Boston. An hour south are quiet beach towns in Southern R.I. or elegant Newport Beach, so its regional location is attractive.</p>
<p>What I find sad is that Providence is bisected by Route 95, so from the highway it looks very mundane. From street level, though, walking Providence is interesting and attractive, in a brick-and-ivy, pre-Colonial, gaslight, cobblestone way.</p>
<p>It has its gray moments, like every Northeast city, with some empty old brick warehouse factories from the silver/jewelry industry, and lots of working neighborhoods, but to me that’s a city. </p>
<p>I know many other cities I consider much more attractive (San Diego, San Antonio, Minneapolis…) but for its size I think Providence is very appealing. Maybe also because my daughter lives there?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Is your daughter a recruited athlete or has been otherwise gotten a likely letter from both schools? If not, I don’t see how she has this choice yet. The RD results won’t be out until March 31.</p>
<p>She should visit both campuses during accepted students events, as my son did, and go with her gut feeling. S decided against Brown almost immediately- didn’t get a good feeling or impression of many of the kids he met there, for some reason, and the decision came down to D[ 3000 miles and 10 hours from home by plane, and where he knew no one, and a big city U in our state that threw a scholarship his way. I think if D had been less isolated and closer to Boston, that is where he would be today.</p>
<p>A completely personal choice, like Stoli vs. the Macallan.<br>
Unlikely to go wrong in either case.</p>
<p>Lol I always end up posting this, hope it helps…wrote this for another post a couple years ago. B vs. D comes up so much! </p>
<hr>
<p>This is so close to home, so I guess I’ll write alot. Dartmouth/ Brown was my main choice and I ended up choosing Dartmouth but not after some serious thinking. The funny thing is that even after serious contemplation, I literally could not decide and choose Dartmouth basically after a coin flip of sorts lol! During college I visited Brown probably 7-8 weekends, however, so I know it really well. The great news is there is no wrong choice: I loved Dartmouth more than anything, but I am totally convinced I would have loved Brown just as much. These are by far my two of most favorite schools (throw in Stanford as the other).</p>
<p>1) Academics/ recruiting</p>
<p>They are both incredibly strong academically, with very similar placement rates into the top grad schools. Brown’s widely known for having no distributive requirements, which means you don’t have to take any classes you don;t want to. Dartmouth’s distributives are very broad but I liked being forced me to take a couple classes (like Acting for my art) that I might otherwise not have taken. Dartmouth is awesome in terms of teaching and professor engagement, and the school is absolutely focused on the undergrad. I was an anthro major and I got $10K for my thesis research and TWO incredibly active thesis advisors. I literally had some classes with less than five people at the upper levels. Dartmouth professors take you to dinner, they encourage you, and they are amazing. I think part of the reason Dartmouth grads do so well at grad school admissions is the fact that they know their professors so well. Frankly its amazing. I am sure Brown’s academics are great too, but Dartmouth does have a terrific LAC-like feel. People love to discard the D-plan but I thought it was awesome. Sophomore summer is most students favorite term.</p>
<ol>
<li>Recruiting
Dartmouth does do better with traditional firms (investment banks, consulting) in my experience. Both are very strong, however.</li>
</ol>
<p>Study Abroad?
Most students at Dartmouth go on a study abroad, many go on 2-3. Its not only a thing to do, its a way of life. The language programs are OUTSTANDING, you not only have small classes a preparation, you have drill with its “rassias method” which is an amazingly fun way to really learn a language. Study abroad programs include a professor and about 20 other Dartmouth students (which is different from other schools which have people from al schools). There are special trips every weekend and you get to become incredibly close to your fellow Dartmouth students. Also since Dartmouth is on the quarter system it allows for multiple study abroads.</p>
<p>3) 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 itself isn’t that wonderful, but its 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>4) 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. It feels more like a University than Dartmouth, which is a good or bad thing depending on what you are looking for.</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>I think its safe to say Brown has smaller gatherings for niche groups (although there are big parties!), while Dartmouth has bigger parties that everyone goes to all the time.</p>
<p>5) Campus population
Both are equally diverse, although Dartmouth is conceived as less diverse than Brown the truth is they are about equal. 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 80-85% 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. My experience with Brown students is that they are very similar but a little more “edgy” and they wear identity as such a little more on their sleeve</p>
<p>I’ve been to and know alums from many many schools and hands down these two seem to provide the best college experience. You just can’t go wrong.
slipper1234 is online now</p>
<p>@coureur (post #12): I was wondering the same thing. My son may face this decision at the end of the month, but it blows my mind when I see the question pop up now.</p>
<p>I also was wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>Thank you for the feedback. I am going to print it out for my daughter.</p>
<p>I would rather not reveal too much personal information but she does know that she will have this choice. </p>
<p>Thank you again.</p>
<p>As for knowing the choices now:
*<em>could be a recruited athlete, although I thought signing dates are over…
*</em>Could be through QuestBridge. I think the students are notified of their choices early…
**could be she got a likely letter from both places (From what I’ve read here, I think this is sent to highly ranked URM students).</p>
<p>Well, do let us know when she decides and what appealed to her!
Drinking while at college . . . wow, what a huge topic. Some things I know about Dartmouth is that they have a “Good Sam” policy so a student who sees another student getting “wasted” can call for help and won’t get into trouble. This is important because it makes getting help easier. </p>
<p>The Hanover police chief has been unhappy with some episodes of binge drinking lately and has tightened things up. He sounds like he’s not so concerned about the kid who has a cup of beer before age 21 – he’s concerned about alcohol poisoning. I think he has a point. </p>
<p>We did have a visitor stop by over break who was a student who helped to run the campus crisis helpline. It sounded like he had gotten some significant training and he really cared about helping people (not just about drinking but abuse, depression, anything). </p>
<p>From everything I have heard, Dartmouth frat life is significantly different than it was at my Texas college. It sounds far more inclusive and open. </p>
<p>A high point is the sophomore summer spent on campus. It usually is mostly just the one year class and they really bond and make life long friendships. </p>
<p>S has helped with the DOC freshman trips and one of the things they do is welcome the freshmen by ripping up SAT study books. “No one cares anymore!” “Move on!” “You never have to see this again!”. It is a happy riot of destruction that contributes to a cohesive feel. </p>
<p>You can also read the Dartmouth newspaper on line. That can help the family see what is going on and what is valued in the community.<br>
Good luck in the final weeks of deciding!</p>