dartmouth or brown?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hey everyone!</p>

<p>well i'm a senior and of course that means it's time for college apps. i've already got a good dent in my common app, but now i have a dilemma about which school i should apply early to.</p>

<p>dartmouth: it's basically my dream school right now. yes, i know it's in the middle of nowhere, yes i know it's cold, yes i know there's a huge greek scene...but i'm going to try to forget that because it has a great language program (i love learning new languages) and an amazing study abroad program (i would love to study abroad during college). in addition, it has the D-plan, which i really like, and it has a lot of other academic departments that i'm interested in. i know quite a few other asians that go there, and they seem to really like it there. the school is also really focused on undergrads, which is a huge plus for me. i know dartmouth may not be well known everywhere in the world, but i'm looking for a great education, not a name on my degree.</p>

<p>brown university: the main reason why i'm considering apply early is because my father went there, so i have legacy status. obviously if i apply early, i have a better chance of getting in than at dartmouth (my dad has been donating a few thousand every year since he graduated...he's not one of those super wealthy parents, so don't get the wrong idea, i can't buy my way into college). i really like brown too...i was born in providence so i've visited the campus and such. it has my intended majors, but it just doesn't a great study abroad program (not a lot of people go on multiple study abroads, something can easily be done at dartmouth). however, i know i'd be really happy there. </p>

<p>the issue: i have a high GPA, good SATIIs, and solid ECs. however, i have to re-take the SATs in october. i don't even know how well i can really do...as in, i don't know if i can get a SAT score high enough to be confident in my chances of getting into either. i'm guessing that would mean 2300+? i'm not sure if i can really hit that score.</p>

<p>if you were in my situation, would you give up on your 1st choice school to apply early to a school that you like and have a better shot of getting into? (i don't know if i can get into brown regular decision if i'm rejected at dartmouth). please be honest...I KNOW i should apply early to my first choice school...but i need to be realistic. i don't want to throw my chances away at both schools because i was foolish. any advice would be appreciated!!</p>

<p>note: i know both schools are unbelievably selective so i know i technically don't have a good shot anywhere. but i think i should apply to my reach school ED...so yupp, please don't bash me.</p>

2

<p>I was a legacy at Brown last year and was debating whether to apply early or not as it was my 2nd choice and the combination of legacy and early would have given me a good boost. In the end, I decided to apply Brown RD and got in.</p>

3

<p>hey van, did you decide to go to brown? and if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your first choice school? did you apply ED? thanks though for the advice!</p>

4

<p>my first choice school did not offer ED. Applied to a few EA's and got into 2 top schools EA. Reworked my list and dropped my safeties. Added a few top schools. Got into a CC top 5. It wasn't easy turning down Brown! I took the ACT with a 33 but no SAT reasoning.</p>

5

<p>I was considering applying to either Penn or Dartmouth ED, but I also have a legacy advantage at Rice and Rice really likes applicants from my school, so I'm going to ed to Rice. </p>

<p>I mean, Dartmouth and Penn are more prestigious, but Rice has awsome sports, residential college system, academics, great small size.</p>

<p>I mean, college admissions has become amazingly ridiculous and absurd.</p>

<p>Sometimes you gotta play the system a little.</p>

6

<p>Peach- </p>

<p>Dartmouth and Brown are my two favorite schools (I ended up choosing Dartmouth over B). I think they are fantastic. One thing is sure- if you go to either of these two you are going to have one of the best undergrad experiences in the world.</p>

7

<p>haha aww slipper you just made my choice that much harder! but thanks!</p>

8

<p>peachyogurt - It sounds like you'd prefer Dartmouth. Go for it. You have a better shot at Brown - so what? If you applied ED and got in, you'd never even have a chance for Dartmouth, I can bet you'd always wonder, 'What if?'</p>

<p>So I suggest you apply ED to Dartmouth. What's the worst that can happen? You might get rejected, but it's far, far more likely that you'd be deferred; even if you were rejected, you'd have the opportunity to apply to Brown, and many other schools, RD.</p>

<p>My $0.02.</p>

9

<p>It sounds like you want to go to Dartmouth more.</p>

<p>...and I'd agree with you, if I had the choice, I would pick Dartmouth absolutely.</p>

10

<p>Remember that if you get rejected by both Brown and Dartmouth that you will feel extremely guilty that you did not ED to Brown, because then at least you would've (probably) gotten into that school.</p>

<p>Practically noone goes to Brown and dislikes it.</p>

11

<p>apply early wherever your heart is...what you will regret most is a foregone opportunity to do what you most want</p>

12

<p>Psh Dartmouth isnt in the middle of nowhere! Oh, alright yeah we really are. It sounds like you prefer it, and like others have said jsut go for it, whats the worst that can happen? you sound like a solid applicant. </p>

<p>Yes it's cold here (100 degree summers, never have a Halloween where a giant parka and snowboots were required), yes those Dartmouth kids party like theres no tomorrow (and refuse to use the crosswalks!), but they haev some truely AMAZING programs there, esp. for languages. I don't know a whole lot about the study abroad programs, but i'm sure they're fabulous. Great sports, if you're into that, and Hanover truely is a great college town. I'd love it more if i hadn't grown up there. </p>

<p>Can't say much about Brown, but i know a few freshmen there now that love it so far. Ask around, but remember it's ultimately all about what YOU want.</p>

13

<p>For languages, check out Middlebury and Cornell as well.</p>

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<p>I think you are spot on with your assessment of both places. When I chose betweeen the two I ended up choosing D because of the more "LACy" feel, the personalized experience, and dplan...I loved the idea of small classes, abundant travel, and a real collegiate feeling. And Dartmouth came through in droves. I ended up getting a $10K grant to live in the pacific for my thesis research, did a study abroad in Barcelona, and spent a term at Oxford. Add in sophomore summer (most fun summer(s) of my life, so fun I delayed my job till September and stayed on the summer after I graduated!), and an incredibly outgoing student body and really tailord academics and I think Dartmouth was the best decision I have ever made.</p>

<p>Now the caveat: I'm sure if I chose Brown I'd probably be saying Brown was the best choice I'd ever made. Lol not an easy choice.</p>

15

<p>technically speaking, Brown's SAT scores are a bit lower than Dartmouth and Brown has a smaller endowment, but Brown's yield seem to be higher. Maybe the open curriculum play a role. Is Brown better known than Dartmouth?</p>

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<p>seems the Dmouth v. Brown question comes up in some form or another at least once every year. like slipper1234, i was deciding between these two schools as well (after i got in). i know i would have been happy at Brown, too. you should definitely apply to Dmouth ED since you love it so much. one thing that made the decision for me is that i found Dmouth is very good at assisting with the transition from highschool where everyone held your hand and made sure you kept up with your schoolwork to college, where things move quickly and professors don't care whether you ever come to class or not--they'll just let your grades fall. at the time especially, i needed that guidance.</p>

<p>sorry to straddle the fence, but asvointy hawkins is right--when i visited brown, everyone made the joke that there might be something in the water there, because it seems not a single person is unhappy(...creepy?)</p>

17

<p>you seem to like dartmouth a lot more - so go for dartmouth, you can always apply for brown later if dartmouth doesn't work out</p>

<p>besides you'd always be wondering if you don't</p>

18

<p>just understand that whatever legacy boost you might have at Brown will likely be lost in RD.....(they'll probably conclude that they are not your first choice).</p>

19

<p>hey slipper and midwest, can you list some of the main reasons for why you chose dartmouth over brown? </p>

<p>oh and is greek life a really dominating force on campus? </p>

<p>i'm also hoping that dartmouth isn't "catered" to males. i consider myself a feminist, so can you tell me the truth about this?</p>

20

<p>bumpbump...</p>