<p>(Posted in Cornell thread as well)
hey everyone
so i know decisions were just released today (i don't want to seem insensitive to anyone or anything) but i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice: i was accepted to cornell and dartmouth. while i know that i have a month before i actually have to make a decision, i really would like to do it sooner rather than later. i love cornell in the aspect that it's very big, it's in ithaca, and it's apparently beautiful (i'm visiting sometime in april). however, dartmouth is almost the exact opposite: it's one of the smallest ivies, which would mean smaller classes. i really do want to go to a bigger school because my friends have had somewhat negative experiences with small schools but would cornell be too big? what are the pros and cons for each?</p>
<p>GO to admitted student days at both places and then decide.</p>
<p>It depends on what you plan to study. What are you majoring in?</p>
<p>@sybbie719 i will definitely be visiting both schools before i make a final decision but i’m pretty sure that i’ll end up loving both when i visit! haha</p>
<p>@LakeClouds i’m planning on majoring in biomedical engineering and possibly do the pre-med route</p>
<p>Cornell has a strong biomedical program and Dartmouth has a joint program with the Geisel Med School. Cornell is strong for pre-med and has a stronger biology department.</p>
<p>You should ask both about med school admission rates during your visits.</p>
<p>Cornell is a large University, but the class sizes in the individual colleges can be very small. Cornell is much prettier and collegiate looking than Dartmouth, and there is a lot to do within walking distance of campus, whereas Dartmouth is smaller and the town is almost non-existent. About five years ago, I remember reading that Cornell had almost a 90% medical school admission rate. I would choose Cornell (or JHU) over Dartmouth for biomed.</p>
<p>“Prettier” and “collegiate” looking is pretty subjective. </p>
<p>“This is what a college should look like.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, upon visiting Dartmouth. </p>
<p>The Dartmouth pre-med acceptance rate is also “almost 90%”. I think there’re more important variables to look at, since high acceptance rates are usually achieved by weeding people out of the pre-med track…</p>
<p>Fidelic subjective would mean that it was my personal opinion, which was not the basis. If you google “most beautiful college campuses in the US” Cornell is on every single list. Every one. I dare say, Dartmouth is not. Therefore, the statement is far from subjective. Obviously, Eisenhower never saw Cornell… or Duke, or a host of other beautiful, collegiate looking campuses. </p>
<p>[America’s</a> Most Beautiful College Campuses - Yahoo! Travel](<a href=“America's Most Beautiful College Campuses”>America's Most Beautiful College Campuses)</p>
<p>Hi Fred. Your definition of subjective doesn’t seem grossly flawed to me (unless you’re suggesting that “subjective” only has meaning when applied to statements issued by you and you alone), so I’m going to have to assume that you’ve developed an objective scale by which we can assess whether a college looks “prettier” or more “collegiate” than another. A scale which doesn’t seem to be present in the link you’ve provided… a link which, more than anything else, seems to indicate that your travel writer hasn’t traveled very widely. </p>
<p>In fact, I kind of think you’re ■■■■■■■■ me… after claiming objectivity, can you really tell me that Cornell is on every single list?</p>
<p>Anyway, to not belabor the point, I’m just going to link a list which ranks Dartmouth’s beauty ahead of Cornell’s, and see how you resolve the contradiction between the infallibility of google searches and the universally accepted truth you presented, that Cornell is far prettier. [Beautiful</a> College Campuses - America’s 50 Best in 2013](<a href=“http://www.thebestcolleges.org/most-beautiful-campuses/]Beautiful”>http://www.thebestcolleges.org/most-beautiful-campuses/)</p>
<p>Cornell is a very pretty campus. My own opinion is that it has more of a traditional feel and attraction to it. So does Wake Forest. And, many other schools. Dartmouth has a unique charm, and fredoliver91 (assuming he really is a 13) does not appear to have succumbed to it in the last four years. His posts on a variety of threads have been universally negative (or so they appear to me), and I’m sorry that his college experience appears to have been so disappointing.</p>
<p>(This is my first post here, so please excuse me if I’m doing something wrong.)</p>
<p>To make it simple and sweet:
-I applied to 5 Ivy League schools for Undergrad.
–I got into Cornell and Dartmouth.
—I have yet to visit Cornell.
----I plan to study Biology and Fine Arts as a double major.
-----I would also be Pre-Med. </p>
<p>In conclusion, I don’t know anything about possible deal-breakers, so I need help.
Would this affect my chances with Med School?</p>
<p><em>internal screaming</em></p>
<p>Come to Dartmouth where the people are nicer.</p>
<p>Where the people are nicer</p>
<p>NICER</p>
<p>SHH JUST COME</p>
<p>…In all seriousness, congrats on your acceptances. And think about it - you’ve just gotten into two top-tier universities, so don’t worry about one of them ruining your chances for med school.</p>
<p>Quick disclaimer - I haven’t visited either of the schools and didn’t even apply to Cornell (so my knowledge is limited there). However, I’ll be attending Dartmouth in the fall, so I’ve been doing a bit of research. Here are couple of general points:
-Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivies. Cornell is the largest.
-Dartmouth is in the middle of nowhere. Cornell is also in the middle of nowhere but is closer to somewhere than Dartmouth is.
-Dartmouth has a big frat scene. Cornell, not so much.
-Both have beautiful campuses and interesting students.</p>
<p>I think you’ll have to visit both and go with a gut instinct. I don’t think you can go wrong.</p>
<p>Re “the middle of nowhere,” both are somewhat difficult to get to – especially coming from western states, or, pretty much anywhere far enough way that you’d be traveling by plane. Ithaca is serviced by the commuter airline affiliates of the big ones, which generally use relatively small jets. Not my cup of tea. YMMV. Getting to Hanover from Boston, in turn, adds three hours on the Dartmouth Coach to each trip. Probably a break-even proposition. </p>
<p>You’ve probably read this thread already, but I’ll throw in the link anyway: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1481807-cornell-vs-dartmouth.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1481807-cornell-vs-dartmouth.html</a> I kind of doubt anyone will have anything new to add. </p>
<p>Visit both and see if one knocks your socks off. My D had no difficulty choosing Dartmouth over Harvard after doing so.</p>
<p>In terms of academics (pre-med) Dartmouth > Cornell. I would only go to Cornell for engineering or hotel management. You can choose any major you want at Dart wheres you have to get approval to switch colleges at Cornell. </p>
<p>Cornell isn’t very close to a large city. Dart is a 2 hr drive/ 3 hr bus ride from Boston so you can go on the weekends for fun.</p>
<p>Dart prestige is also more significant. Less competition and probably “easier” at Dart than Cornell.</p>
<p>The only good thing about Cornell is that it is much bigger so you won’t feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere if you stay on campus.</p>
<p>What you need to consider to get into med school is your GPA, so choose the school where you have the best chance at the highest GPA.</p>
<p>I’m also deciding between the two schools and Dartmouth is ~2 hours away from Boston so not too far!</p>
<p>I’m visiting Cornell tomorrow so I guess I’ll test this whole gut thing out! thanks everyone for your input!</p>
<p>lucy – boston is 2 hours away (at least) if you have a car and you drive fast and it’s not rush hour and you don’t get stopped by the troopers (they watch 89 from planes on high). i wouldn’t really count on it for a random night on the town. not a reason not to go to dartmouth but …</p>
<p>Not that I have direct experience… but I think that anyone picking a college with the intention of being a pre-med shouldn’t let that be the deciding factor, seeing as a lot of people who think they’re going to be pre-med will end up switching tracks.</p>