Both these schools seem so great in that they offer so many career opportunities in a liberal-arts setting. However, which of these should I choose for ED? I definitely want to apply to one of these ED for peace of mind, but I’m unsure about a couple things. Primarily, I’m worried about the social scene at each school. I’m definitely an outgoing and extroverted person, but I’m not much of a partier. I know these schools are famous for their party scene but I’ve heard from numerous students that it is easy to avoid. However, I’m afraid that because of those differences I may not be able to fit in. I’m a little more afraid the Claremont McKenna student body may not be the right fit for me that I think it is. The issue is, should I go there, I’m stuck in that small group of kids for four years, which could either be amazing or miserable. For Dartmouth my worry is the pretension, as while I like the school itself, I’ve had a decent amount of negative encounters with Ivy League students who seemed a bit snobby. Secondly, I want to know more about the career opportunities. I want to work in the Midwest for business when I grow up, and I’m afraid that Claremont McKenna’s name won’t hold up over here, despite its amazing reputation in the West. These are the things I’m worried about, but don’t worry, there’s so much more that I love about each of these schools.
You may have less of a problem with the student body at Claremont McKenna than you’re anticipating, because the schools in the Claremont consortium interact pretty heavily with each other from what I understand. I’ve heard that some dislike the amount of influence that the Greek system has at Dartmouth socially. CMC kids seem more open-minded and happy as a whole to me- but that’s just my opinion.
You have a point with midwest name recognition. However, I am sure that admissions committees for business/grad school would be cognisant of CMC’s rigor.
It’s a toughie! I would still apply to whichever you end up not choosing to ED.
Those you encountered who are snobby would likely be so regardless their college alma mater.
Dartmouth was my daughter’s 1st choice. She had the advantage of knowing current students and alumni when she applied. She would not have considered Dartmouth if she felt that there was a significant percentage of ‘snobby’ students.
Personally, my opinion is that you shouldn’t apply ED to either of them if you don’t have a strong first choice.
Dartmouth isn’t a liberal arts college so much as it is a small research university. Undergrads outnumber graduate students and it has a more undergrad focus. However, the vibe is likely to still be quite different from a traditional LAC like Claremont McKenna.
Another major difference is CMC is nearby a large urban area whereas Dartmouth is in a rural area (and a far northern one at that, that will be cold during the winter).
You may not be much of a partier now because you’re in HS; you don’t know whether you’ll like or not like college parties, and even if you don’t, there are plenty of other things to do than party at both of these colleges.
They’re both great and probably of similar caliber. I always think of Dartmouth as a lower ivy. One is in the Northeast and the other is in the Southwest with commensurate weather. Complete opposites. I do think there is a lot of alcohol use at Dartmouth and the Greek system plays large. To me CMC students enjoy better networking opportunities (my student goes to one of the 5C). Where do you want to be most?
According to the 2016/2017 CDS reports, CMC’s ED admit rate was 32% (overall 9.4%) and Dartmouth’s ED rate was 26% (overall 10.5%). So the ED boost is probably greater at CMC. I can’t speak to the Dartmouth party scene but as the parent of a Pomona student, I think the “party scene” reputation of CMC these days is overblown. CMCers and Mudders party by the most of any of the 5C’s, but not at the level of a big school with Greek life. My D had a friend visiting from Ohio University and took him to a CMC party last Fall, and he was like: “This is a party?” Also CMC cracked down on alcohol guidelines over a year ago: http://cmcforum.com/news/09072015-highlights-new-alcohol-guidelines
As a measure of these schools’ rough equivalence with respect to your career interests, both tend to ultimately send their students to similar, highly-regarded MBA programs: