Dartmouth or Amherst?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi everyone! I've gotten almost all of my decisions as of today and I'm having a little trouble choosing between schools. I'll most likely end up going to either Dartmouth or Amherst because they offered me the most Financial Aid. My parents would pay about $1620 + health insurance ($2,006) for Dartmouth and $1550 for Amherst (insurance was covered in the grant). But they did say that they were willing to pay for either.</p>

<p>I'm going to major in Psychology but I'm not exactly sure of the career path that I want to take. I know I'll most likely need at least Master's to do anything meaningful in Psych, and maybe more than that, so I definitely don't want to spend a fortune for undergrad. Which school has better career opportunities/grad school acceptance rates?</p>

<p>I definitely want to go to a small school, so D and A are both good in that regard (but I believe Amherst is a lot smaller - are there cons to this?) Diversity is also pretty important to me. Is either school significantly more diverse (or the students more inclusive)?</p>

<p>Both are about the same distance from where I live, so that's not really an issue. But I hear that Dartmouth has cool outdoorsy ECs so that's a plus (my interviewer told me that he learned to ski there, which would be an awesome experience imo). Does Amherst have anything like that?</p>

<p>Another thing is that I don't play any sports, but I've heard that Amherst and Dartmouth students are generally really sporty, so I'm a little concerned about feeling like an outsider. I also wouldn't want to attend a party school. What is the social scene like at both schools? A plus for Amherst would be that they don't have Greek Life. Is that super important at Dartmouth or are there other things to do?</p>

<p>A plus for Dartmouth would be Ivy status/name recognition. It's not a huge part of my decision but I'm not going to act like it doesn't matter. I know that Amherst is also prestigious but literally 2 people have heard of it where I'm from XD</p>

<p>Sorry for the super long post or if I seem misinformed about anything; I tried not to look into my reaches too much so I wouldn't fall in love with them lol. :) Are there any other major things that I should consider? Thanks in advance for any advice!</p>

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<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions](<a href=“Home | Office of Residential Life”>Home | Office of Residential Life) says that “Around 65% of eligible students are members of Greek Letter organizations.” That is a very high percentage compared to other schools in the US.</p>

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<p>That’s sort of disappointing. Greek life is probably one of my biggest reservations about Dartmouth… I guess there’s always that 35% though :)</p>

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<p>bump</p>

<p>10char</p>

5

<p>No wrong answer here. These schools are very similar.
Only you can decide which is best for you. I would suggest you visit both, if possible, more than once! Observe, talk to students etc. Some of the questions you asked can be easily found on the school’s website - for example, student activities/clubs.</p>