Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, or JHU?

I was accepted to Johns Hopkins, Brown PLME, Dartmouth, and Columbia. I plan on majoring in Biomedical Engineering and eventually going to medical school. I am the first of my extended family to leave Utah for school and now there aren’t any admitted student days and so I am not sure what to choose. Any help?

Congrats on great acceptances.
All awesome choices obviously, but I would choose Brown PLME in a heartbeat if you know you want to go to med school.

Brown PLME seems too good to pass up if you want to go to medical school.

Otherwise, students love their Dartmouth College & Brown University experiences.

Columbia is an outstanding choice if you like the city.

Johns Hopkins is outstanding for your intended major.

First of all, congratulations! I was accepted into Brown and though I ultimately chose not to attend, the school is charming and I still love it (not to mention, it has a great reputation and lots of resources available for its students). All of the schools you are considering are great options!

One thing I might recommend you consider first is location. Dartmouth is in New Hampshire and it probably has the harshest winters. It’s also situated in a rural town which may sometimes make you feel isolated. However, the school is incredibly prestigious and also has a great reputation. Though Brown isn’t in a rural area, it’s in Rhode Island, so accessibility isn’t too ideal (when I visited, I had to fly in to Boston and drive to campus). On the other hand, Columbia and Johns Hopkins are located in more urban areas. However, with this also comes the possible dangers of living in a big city and being near Harlem and Baltimore. I definitely think location and the type of campus you are looking for also play a huge role in your college experience, so it is something to consider.

The academics at all the schools are also great, but I would also recommend you talk to students or research to learn more about the student culture and atmosphere at each school. I can’t say too much about Dartmouth or JHU, but I have heard that there is a lot of competition and stress at Columbia. Meanwhile, Brown is known to be a more relaxed university, especially with its academic flexibility and open curriculum. You should ask yourself to see if you want a very rigorous experience or if you’re looking for something more collaborative and not competitive.

I’d jump at Brown PLME if I wanted medicine.

Congratulations on your great choices.

In high school, I was able to spend hundreds of hours in the operating room at the local hospital and so I know medicine is the path I want to go down. I am just not sure I want to spend 8 years at Brown (Providence).

PLME aside, which school seems to offer the best undergraduate experience and sense of community?

@CrimsonKid99, as a Dartmouth student, I can advise you from that perspective.

We definitely have a wonderful undergrad experience, and at least in my experience, the greatest sense of community in the ivy league. Class sizes are small, you have a wonderful rapport with profs, and we have rich traditions that make this college feel very much like home. Within our student societies, close relationships and communities also form. I’m in Divest Dartmouth, for example, and we go out and hang around together along with our climate action activities

I won’t lie though, as although we are within arm’s reach of Boston via daily coaches, our lives are primarily campus-based. That [s not a problem for most here as there are tons of things always going on on campus and in our college town, but if you are someone who really needs a city to explore then that’s not what we have.

We do have lovely woods and outdoors opportunities around campus though. And the small towns across the upper valley Ithe region we are in) are, in my opinion, lovely and full of people who are very friendly and open. It is very much a small town/college town environment here.

In terms of student culture, Dartmouth is definitely known for being a collaborative and supportive within the student community, especially in comparison to most other ivies.

Now, as for the ‘best’ undergrad experience? Only you can decide that. though Dartmouth and Brown are the only schools on this list where the undergrads outnumber the postgrad students, which means that in these two you will get almost all small class sizes, and have the vast majority of your classes taught by professors.

At the others, these are still present but to a lesser degree.

To be clear, there is no one ‘best’ undergrad experience. Everyone must decide for themselves based on their own preferences and understanding of the community.

At Dartmouth, only one or two sections of first year calculus have TAs teaching, with every section of every other class taught by the professors. Our biomedical engineering program is very good, I’ve heard. There’s great research going here to take part in too.

Feel free to ask me any Dartmouth-related questions.