<p>I've been accepted at Amherst, Williams and MIT and Im waiting to hear from Dartmouth and Brown, I know they are all great schools. For what I want to study--philosophy, biology--they are all close to equal in my mind: close enough anyhow.</p>
<p>I know MIT is probably the bigger name, but I figure that I'll almost certainly go to grad-school anyhow and the "name" factor will probably derive from that school for my career options.</p>
<p>Any comments on what it is like to live out four years of your life at these 3+2 schools? And will they be very different in terms of getting into a good grad school? My parents are pushing MIT, but I'm not so sure.</p>
<p>oh, and if it makes a difference, I'm female.</p>
<p>i'm a brown student, but i've spent every other weekend at MIT for over four years now because my girlfriend goes to school there. MIT is an incredible place to study science and surprisingly, has a really cool, unique approach to the humanities as well. one thing you should know though is that generally, in the MIT culture, the humanities are somewhat looked down on. and biology is considered to be a "lower" science than say, physics. you don't seem like someone who is overly concerned with prestige, so it may not be a big deal to you. but at MIT, despite the fact that there are great departments in both biology and philosophy, your undergrad peers will probably think less of them.</p>
<p>you should make an effort to go to the admitted students weekends at all of the schools you are considering. some schools, or perhaps one school in particular, will most likely give you a good "gut" feeling. all of these choices put you in a good position to get into any grad school you want (provided you perform well while you are there). i'd say, go where you think you'll be happiest.</p>
<p>I am with Dcircle alot is going to depend on what you want or need from your college experience as all of them re great schools that will take you from point A to Point B. </p>
<p>Depending on who you talk to you will get a lot of different answers for a lot of different reasons. My Daughter chose Dartmouth over williams and amherst and never looked back (williams was my personal favorite as I was ready to send the admissions deposit when we went up for admitted students days) She loves being at Dartmouth and it has made me a convert (not that I ad anything against the school I just did not want her to feel any pressure that she had to attend an Ivy because she was admitted to one). </p>
<p>For just as many students that choose Dartmouth over the other schools you will find people that choose the other schools over Dartmouth. what meets the needs of one person may not necessarily meet your needs. In the end you are going to have to put in the time.If you haven't done so, as DCircle says make your visits, see what you can live with then make a decision. Similar question has already been posted at </p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=44095%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=44095</a></p>
<p>Remember you are not bound at any school as you can always apply for a transfer.</p>
<p>Thanks dcircle and sybbie!</p>
<p>dcircle, I was also going to post this on the brown forum but i thought it would be too much.</p>
<p>I would personally choose Dartmouth over all the schools you listed except for Amherst.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose MIT. Of the named schools, I know people who would literally die to go to MIT (they were all rejected this past week).</p>
<p>Dartmouth...if you have a personality?!</p>
<p>thats quite an impressive list to choose from, congrats!</p>