<p>How does Dartmouth's engineering program compare to other programs in the US? I know Dartmouth is already an Ivy League school, so all of its programs are top-level, but specifically how is its engineering program viewed?</p>
<p>Hi Grizzly, I have done a lot of studying on this because I really wanted to go to Dartmouth, but also want to major in Engineering. There are other programs that are more highly ranked than Dartmouth, but I ended up applying at Dartmouth ED anyway and I did get in. This is what I know. The first four years of engineering at Dartmouth are for your AB degree, then you do a fifth year (or at least 2 more terms if you have some credits going in) and complete your BE. The BE is what you would receive in 4 years at Cornell or Berkeley, MIT, etc. Dartmouth wants you to be more well rounded, so you get your bachelor of arts first. I did struggle with that, knowing that I would be at Dartmouth for 5 years instead of 4 and it would cost my parents an extra $55K. After lots of discussion with my parents, they said ok. (We did not receive any financial aid) I visited Cornell, MIT, Berkeley and Stanford and a few others. Cornell engineering students seemed almost stressed out, but it is beautiful and it is a top engineering school.It is what it is. You choose based on what you want. My sister graduated from Dartmouth and I have always loved it there. I am pretty outdoorsy, so I wanted a school where I could do that type of thing. Dartmouth just fit my personality. I loved Stanford’s campus, loved Cornell’s campus, could have tolerated being at Berkeley, and probably didn’t stand at chance at MIT! (Maybe not the others either, I will never know) Dartmouth just felt like home to me and the engineering classes I sat in on seemed right for me. I do worry about the cost for my parents. I remember when my sister went through and heard my parents talk about how expensive it was to send her there, but in the end, she has a great job and she made very good close friends at Dartmouth. I think they feel it is worth the money. (If there is a school worth that much!) If you have any other questions, maybe I could answer. My sister has friends that graduated with engineering degrees from Dartmouth and also MIT, Stanford and Cornell. I really did a lot of research and my parents I think tried to give me enough visits and info to make a good decision on where to apply.</p>
<p>Just want to point out that you can (and many do) get their BE in 4 years. The BE is 9 courses beyond the AB. Therefore, you can essentially treat the BE as your “second major” and finish in 4 years. It’s tough if you need to take all the prereqs (i.e. you don’t have credits/placement coming in), but it’s definitely doable.</p>
<p>As I had a different 2nd major, I’m taking my 5th year here, but a non-trivial number of people get it done in 4 years, or adding just one term.</p>
<p>I am going to try to finish sooner than 3 extra terms, simply because of the cost. I guess it will depend on how I do there. I am a bit intimidated right now I guess, I am so afraid it is going to be insanely hard. I am in AP Physics, AP Calc, and AP Spanish right now and it doesn’t seem like a horrible amount of work (carrying 7 classes), but I am afraid that Dartmouth will be so fast and hard that I won’t be able to stay up. I am going to be cautious and begin my calc in Calc 1 and also the first Physics and Chem courses. Maybe by being cautious I am placing myself automatically behind the ball, but I am just so afraid right now. Thanks for the encouraging words though, I think my parents might be more relieved than I am!</p>