<p>Here's my two cents, much of it comes from a point of view you might not have thought about:</p>
<p>Academics:
Cornell is a research institution, Dartmouth is an undergraduate focused school. But the things that matter in business - alumni network, recruiting, reputation, community (how well you know your own classmates), selectivity (this is much of your future network) - are the things that Dartmouth excels at. If you look at the number of recruiters from "elite" firms recruiting on campus, Dartmouth has almost twice as many compared to Cornell, coming from a much smaller school. If you look at graduate placement, Dartmouth is much closer to Princeton than it is to Cornell when it comes to placing grads in top MBA programs. The reasons for this are likely because Dartmouth has alot of credibility with the "old boys" club, which exists much less today but seems to have lasting effects on the strength of the school when it comes to alumni networks, recruiting, etc. Ten years ago Dartmouth was a much harder place to get into than Cornell, so its reputation in the communties that matter persists. Its the same reason as to why Wash U might be a great school, but in the business its still not close to many of the Ivies in terms of reputation. In business, you want to go with the horse with more momentum, and in this case its Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Cornell has an "international" reputation edge, but this edge is for a chinese student looking to do hardcore science research. Dartmouth's edge is in the United States in the industries that matter.</p>
<p>An additional benefit to Dartmouth is you'll get to study Econ, which is theoretical and in my mind much more fun than AEM, but you'll be racing for the same job. Truthfully, in the elite industries and undergraduate business degree is far from Critical, and I would argue that at elite firms outside of Wharton there is no edge to undergrad business over econ at a top 10 school.</p>
<p>SOCIAL: (taken from another post I wrote)</p>
<p>Dartmouth is full of some of the most happy go-lucky, down to earth, brilliant people anywhere. </p>
<p>The biggest difference between these two schools is Dartmouth feels very much like a a LAC. Its also one of the most unique schools in america. Most people at Dartmouth love it, and with good reason. </p>
<p>I'll give a personal example: Dartmouth paid for my thesis research in the pacific ($10K), gave me TWO thesis advisors, I had 7 classes with less than 5 people, and when I started a company they gave me office space and a whole network of contacts + access to funding! How many schools do that for their students? I had lunch with Ang Lee with 5 other kids, met Broken Lizard (Super Troopers and other movies), etc in my film classes. For my "outer space" class I met with astronauts and every lunch they took 10 kids out with the guest speaker who was often amazing. I probably have visited 7 Professors houses. </p>
<p>Dartmouth is hopping every weekend and people are very inclusive- everyone is invited everywhere and people are all out at once. It feels sort of "festive" on the weekends. Also, Dartmouth has a "big weekend" every term, people love getting excited about the place. Dartmouth students embrace the environment and the beautiful campus: they also play in the snow in the winters, jump in the river in summers, have a ski slope, run around bonfires, and hsng out and act silly in dorms. Its a laid-back environment, and its a total 'college experience.' </p>
<p>The D-plan is a major distinguishing factor - and a plus in my book. Study abroad is HUGE at Dartmouth (2/3 study abroad, 1/3 go THREE terms), but what makes it special once again is Dartmouth's special way of interacting with its students. At other schools to go abroad requires signing up for a program run through another school. At Dartmouth, 100% of the students on your program are Dartmouth students, you get a professor as an advisor on your trip, you go on special excursions every weekend with that professor, and there are trips, etc with the whole group. Dartmouth feels like the opposite of the red-tape bureuacracy you get at other schools.</p>
<p>Sophomore summer is also a great part of the experience. You get to know your entire class, and make friendships that last a lifetime in a laid-back, "summer camp" feeling environment. Lots of jumping into the river, parties under the stars, etc.</p>
<p>Cornell is a larger school with more access to research, but less of the undergraduate focus and coddling. The town of Ithaca is more fun than Hanover, so the social scene has more options but less community. this also makes it more cliquey than Dartmouth but this might be good if you like cliquey scenes (i.e. minority groups hanging out together, etc).</p>