<p>the statements on the Dartmouth board by a one "half_baked" are really of the feather-brained order. I encourage you to do a little of your own research on what he/she has said, you'll see the errors.</p>
<p>Clearly the OP is not educated in any way, as apparent by their pathetic/ pompous remarks! I’m glad he/she crossed Cornell off their list… all those statements are absolutely laughable… WOW!!!</p>
<p>Those statements weren't made by the OP but rather by a half-baked Dartmouth troll.</p>
<p>I think it basically comes down to whether you like a LAC-type school or a bigger school like Cornell. I'm personally much more comfortable in a large school setting which is why my top choices back when I applied were places like Berkeley or Cornell. I like being able to meet new people every week. I like walking 20 minutes to class (not so much when it's 10 degrees outside). I think discovering buildings/halls on campus every semester that I had never been in before. Smaller schools like Dartmouth and LAC's are going to have superb professional school placement rates because a) it's easier for you to get recs and b) they have people holding your hand every step of the way to make sure you don't screw up your application. However, for me, I don't want that. I've found Cornell professors to be very accessible in each one of my classes but I don't necessarily want them breathing down my back all the time. In the end, it comes down to your preferences and how much you autonomy you want.</p>
<p>"We don't have to bash Dartmouth to tell u how great Cornell is and that should mean something."</p>
<p>Actually, Dartmouth got bashed a lot more in this thread because of 1 posting by someone named half_baked. Just look at the comment of MUnited about the Shanghai Ranking. Do Cornell students actually believe such a list where an institution like Dartmouth does not merit the top 100 while Arizona-State Univ in Tempe makes 100th? I would have thought they're a lot smarter than that.</p>
<p>It's a neutral ranking, it's not like it's an insult. Dartmouth is just not as well known internationally and that is what that person was trying to prove. It's obviously still a great school...</p>
<p>Sure Dartmouth is more selective, but if you compare the SAT scores and other stats, they are about the same. Also Cornell needs to accept more students because there are more spaces to fill.</p>
<p>Moreover, how much does the selectivity reflect on the quality of the school? Is there a tangible difference between a few percentage points difference between the two schools' acceptance rates? Will it really affect the quality of education and research? FYI, Cornell's acceptance rate will decrease once again this year.</p>
<p>"dartmouth's prestige in the states is DEFINITELY higher than cornell's."</p>
<p>This statement is so ridiculous and I think you don't realize this because you've been trapped in the bubble of CC. Dartmouth isn't even ranked among the top dream schools that students and parents listed. I'm not saying that Cornell is more prestigious than Dartmouth, but I'm suggesting that it's like splitting hairs. </p>
<p>BTW, I would not heavily rely on the rankings to make a decision. Cornell and Dartmouth imo are on the same academic level and the rankings fluctuate every year, even though the institutions really don't change that much to warrant a rise or fall in rankings.</p>
<p>Regarding the WSJ rankings: it counts the number of people accepted at those top professional schools, divided by the number of students total at the respective undergraduate school. Since Dartmouth is more LAC-y, a greater proportion of Dartmouth students would obviously want to go to Law/Med/Business school post graduation. Cornell is a large research university; it also boasts a huge engineering school. A very small proportion of engineering students are going to go to those professional schools so thats a large subset of students that are factoring into the denominator of the WSJ equation that aren't even considering professional schools. Many go directly into industry and do not consider further education. The same can be said about a lot of other Cornell majors since we offer many more specialized degrees. Furthermore, many students here go to grad school specifically in their field for a more theoretical education; these students do not consider professional school either. WSJ includes those students who do not even plan on attending these professional schools; I argue that Cornell has a greater percentage of these students than almost any of the other ranked schools.</p>
<p>I think the take home message is: don't rely on rankings. All of them are flawed (the WSJ one is especially flawed if you look at their methodology). You can pretty much find a ranking to prove whatever you want.</p>
<p>also, to add:</p>
<p>the WSJ used facebook as one of their sources.</p>
<p>Everything Cynicalbliss said is available at Dartmouth is also available at Cornell (partying, trips, outdoor sports). But Cornell has a more diverse group of students in terms of academic interests and perhaps with more variety in social interests as well. So whatever it is that you want out of your undergraduate experience academically or socially, you can get at Cornell. But it really depends on whether Darmouth is a good fit for you or whether you prefer the offerings of a larger more diverse undergraduate environment.</p>
<p>I dispute that Dartmouth has more "prestige" than Cornell, rather, they are both very highly regarded academic institutions. So you can get to law school, med school, or get a great job, whatever, from either place. One will not ensure success for you over the other. But definitely visit and ask lots of questions of many different students you meet and then decide.</p>