<p>I'm planning on applying to either Dartmouth or Cornell ED
I loved both of the colleges when I visited them, and I am having trouble choosing between the two
I would like to focus on a biology-related major, and study pre-med
Any advice?
I have a 3.85 unweighted gpa, top 3% of my class, 2260 on SATs, and 800's on both chem and math 2. Took 5 AP's and plan on taking another 6
My high school was very competitive and I was hoping there wouldn't be as much competition in the college that I attend</p>
<p>“I was hoping there wouldn’t be as much competition in the college that I attend”</p>
<p>Are you trying to say Cornell and Dartmouth arent competitive? Whether it be admissions or the actually schoolwork, both schools are quite competitive.</p>
<p>I was just wondering if one was particularly more competitive than the other, in terms of actual schoolwork</p>
<p>i dont neccesarilly know if cornell is less competitive than my HS or not but thats b/c most HS don’t grade based on ranking. i definitely know the kids at my HS are smarter than the kids in cornell on average so if they graded based on ranking, itd be way more competitive. therefore unless your HS grades based on ranking, i dont think your hS will be more competitive. (unless ur the type that purposely goes out there looking for competition)</p>
<p>I’m of the belief that Cornell is probably the better option for someone interested in pre-med.</p>
<p>as someone who will pre-med you should learn to cope with competition…</p>
<p>top med schools are very jockish in nature…</p>
<p>I am incoming freshman premed so in terms of coursework I can’t tell you much. However, whatever contact I’ve had with cornell to this point has been awesome. A few weeks ago I emailed professors about helping out in their respective labs (cleaning, recording data, pretty basic stuff). I thought this would be a good place to start on the path to doing research. One professor emails me that he wants to see my academic information. I send him grades, SAT scores, AP scores, subject test scores and the essay I submitted to Cornell during the app process. This semester I’m going to be taking BioG 2990 (intro to undergrad research) in his lab. I just don’t think Dartmouth is that science-y. That’s just one experience but I think it does a good job of relating the emphasis that Cornell puts on being a “research university”. Dartmouth is a college. It is very good in economics (lots of future Wall Streeters with prep school backgrounds…one of my friends who fits that exact profile is going to the Big Green) and the social sciences.</p>
<p>I totally disagree with Jersey Indian - and in fact how most high schoolers look at pre-med. Almost every one of my Dartmouth friends are attending top med schools, my roommates went to Harvard, Penn, and Yale med schools respectively. The reason is the amount of attention you get - all Dartmouth students writing a thesis basically have a full year with 1 to 1 work with a professor. The advising through the Nathan Smith society is extraordinary, and unlike Cornell the med school is right on campus making research there easier as well. Looking back I think my high school friends who went to top LACs and places like Dartmouth did much better in terms of med placement than my friends who went to super cutthroat-curve based schools like JHU or big research universities.</p>
<p>Well Cornell undergrads seeking to graduate with honors also work for a year one on one. Regardless, Cornell gives LORs issued by a committee which will interview you and get commentary from the professors you’ve had (so you aren’t just a number). Cornell also has premed advising and I don’t think we can truly quantify that against Dartmouth’s premed advising. I really don’t think you have to worry about doing research at Cornell. True the med school isn’t on campus but Cornell is pretty good when it comes to research (see the ARWU rankings, which are based heavily on research). There are a lot of research opportunities (also see post #7). For better or worse, you are going to have to get used to the competitive nature of premeds.</p>
<p>Both are excellent schools, you can’t go wrong with either. That said, Cornell will provide you a superior biological sciences education. The breadth and depth of Cornell’s biology offerings, both in research and teaching, eclipse Dartmouth’s. Dartmouth’s one quaint biology department pales in contrast to Cornell’s nine autonomous biology departments, which span the fields from Neurobiology to Animal Phyisiology to Molecular bio and Biochem. The biology major and pre-med advising are personal and excellent, and in terms of absolute numbers, Cornell undergrad produces more M.D.s than any other school in the nation, more than Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Berkeley, Northwestern, you name it. </p>
<p>Re: competition. Get used to it. If you’re interested in being a pre-med at any elite school, then it’s something you have to deal with, whether in undergrad, med school, or residency. It’s the nature of the business so I wouldn’t use “competitiveness” as a criterion for selecting a school.</p>
<p>Caillebotte the fact that Cornell has 9 bio departments dpesn’t matter when it comes to med school admissions. In fact, many med school applicants aren’t bio majors at all. My roommate who went to Harvard Med was a Philosophy major.</p>
<p>Also Cornell is 3 times bigger than Dartmouth, and twice as big as Harvard. So they better have more students in med school.</p>
<p>yes some are not but most/many are. the OP is thinking about bio</p>
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<p>You’re right that it doesn’t matter with regards to admissions. But it does matter in terms of being able to take classes in the subject matter that you are interested in.</p>
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<p>It matters for research opportunities, course offerings and on attention. A school with a developed biology department - i.e. Cornell - is much more likely to spend time on a developed pre-med program than a school with a weaker biology department (i.e. Dartmouth). </p>
<p>Both are fantastic schools. The competition at Cornell is definitely much more than that of Dartmouth. One problem I see is that Weill Medical School is in NYC. If you do choose to go there for shadowing/clincial/ hours/research, you’ll have access to the sixth best hospital in the country - NY Preb.</p>
<p>all that matters for med school is GPA and MCAT…</p>
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<p>And the interview.</p>
<p>Grisasm- I am going through the process right now. Frankly a big factor is undergrad resources in general, of which I know Dartmouth spends a lot on undergrad research and advising, more than any other Ivy I believe. Also Cornell is known for deflation/ harsh curves in the sciences. Not sure how true it is, but its something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>I agree that in the end admissions basically comes down to three factors: GPA + MCAT + Thesis/ research (and no going to a research University does not give you an edge in area 3). Personally given this formula I would say a less cutthroat school (Brown, Stanford, Dartmouth) with more attention seems like a stronger bet.</p>
<p>admitone - cayuga brings up a good point…the interview…</p>
<p>i have a feeling cornell folks could sell themselves better :)</p>
<p>In terms of grade deflation, Cornell certainly has more. The median grade in intro science classes is generally a B-, whereas at Dartmouth, it is a flat B.</p>
<p>And making you truly earn a grade and appreciate the value of a hard won A is a bad thing? Don’t expect real life to coddle you like a liberal arts college will. Nothing at Cornell gets handed to you, which helps you tremendously in the long run.</p>