<p>Been to Pomona numerous times and know Dartmouth pretty well, so my suggestion is that you visit both, bcos they are significantly different. Do not assume that Claremont's proximity to LA is a plus -- traffic is brutal, and it's only 30 minutes drive time after midnight. Plus, you will need a car if you plan on exploring (Vegas, beaches?). There is no reason to assume that you could hang with kids at 'SC or UCLA; they have their own lives and Pomona's students have theirs. Smog is worst in the summer, when you won't be here. As a LAC, Pomona also has "Close and friendly professors who care that you learn...." (Incidentally, do you really think you will have all this free time in college to travel around, particularly if you are in a sport?) Dartmouth is cold, sure, but I would not consider it "very fierce" -- for that kinda weather check out Northwestern. :D</p>
<p>Both colleges have laid-back ("chill") kids, but beware that classes will not be easy. I'm sorry to say, but AP Psych & Stats are not "difficult" courses at all; the teachers at yoru HS maybe extremely difficult, but AP Psych is the easiest AP for which to self-study and still score a 5. Also, Dartmouth's website states that they prefer students who have taken calculus.</p>
<p>There are only a few colleges in the country that offer a true core curriculum, so you should change your interest list if that is important to you. </p>
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The boost that ED may possibly give (there's no evidence to support this...
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<p>Dartmouth admissions publicly admits that there is an ED boost for non-hooked kids. So does Pomona.</p>
<p>okay to bluebayou. first my courseload is really tough, statistics is no walk in the park and i'll admit psych is easier and more fun than my other classes but i'm still working my butt off. also i took ap calc bc my sophomore year, at my school it is a prereq to ap statistics. also i do have a car, a 1998 nissan maxima, so the whole car issue is covered if i were to go to pomona, although i do know that dartmouth freshmen aren't allowed to have a car on campus.
also i just checked into the climate of chicago and compared it to hanover and i didn't notice much of a difference other than the fact that chicago has abnormally fast wind speeds, whereas hanover doesn't really have much fast wind at all. eugene can get kinda cold during the winter but it doesn't that snow all that much, maybe a few inches in january and december, and it really isn't all that windy. how bad is fast wind coupled with very cold temperatures versus just cold temperatures?
also i've been in contact with a professor at dartmouth and he's trying to push the daniel webster program, and from what i've been told he's close to developing a minor that would contain most of the reading and discussion that columbia students do in the core.</p>
<p>If you're from New England, New York, or the northern midwest (Michigan/Minnesota/Wisconsin/Illinois/Dakotas/Idaho) the winters are fine...maybe even balmier if one is from Chicago or northern inland Maine. Especially if you ski or board. Otherwise, pack a coat. People, it's snow. Deal with it. Dartmouth is in one of the biggest states for skiing and on the border of another.</p>
<p>You could build yiour own core at many colleges just by taking electives, but IMO the true essence of a core is that it is comprised of mandatory classes that everyone takes (ala Columiba or UChicago). Moreover, a core is typically taken in the first couple of years (Frosh & Soph). Since Dartmouth has not approved such a program as of today, it will not be available by next year, when you would matriculate. And a proposed minor would be for upper division folks, again, not a typical Frosh-Soph core.</p>
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In consultation with his faculty advisory board, Professor Murphy has developed some proposals for optional curriculum programs for those Dartmouth students who seek greater structure and focus to their liberal arts education. These proposals have not yet been adopted by Dartmouth College.
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<p>Perhaps this might be adopted in the next couple of years, but you should not plan on it since academe moves slowly.</p>
<p>Winter in northern New England is great. The snow is beautiful, it's crisp and cold much of the time. You can go sledding or skiing or ice skating or tubing. It's not the gray, rainy thing it is in many other places. People in Chicago love to moan about their wind chill factor, and never cite the temperature without it. In fact, many cities in the US are windier than Chicago. (Like Boston, for example.) All you need in either case is appropriate clothing: an outer coat with something like Goretex that is a windbreaker but breathes, and layers of fleece/whatever underneath. Hat. Gloves. </p>
<p>If snow and cold frightens you, apply early to Pomona. (Although as ColdWind suggests, I bet your ethnicity and location would be a bigger boost at D than at Pomona.)</p>
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...the thought of being complemented on my intelligence everytime I mention which college I attend is very tempting...
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<p>Dartmouth is a no-namer among your average Joes, the Plumbers.
Those high up in academia are bound to be slightly more impressed by HYPSM and AWSW.</p>
<p>People who "matter" won't think you're mentally deficient if you tell them you go to a school like Pomona. Or UChicago. Or Rice. Or Northwestern. etc.</p>
<p>Pomona has more cons, but you probably have a better chance of getting in. Practically, Dartmouth would be the reasonable choice because you seem to like it better.</p>
<p>I don't know if I really like Dartmouth better than Pomona though, I won't know for sure until I visit Claremont but at this time Dartmouth has my heart. Ugh I mean I really hate the weather in Eugene, the city not any particular person. It's always cloudy, which kind of drags down your mood, it's seems to rain all of the time, and it seems like we get really cold winters but we don't get the satisfaction of snow all that often, this is coming from a boy born in Miami and raised in El Centro, CA whose definition of cold is anything less than 40 degrees. The only things that gives me any reseravation about Dartmouth is the weather and the lack of a core curriculum. That is it. From what I've been told it shouldn't be too difficult to create a custom made core out of electives, so that isn't too big of a deal, but sub zero daily lows during the winter kind of scares me. Please anyone out there from Vermont, NH, and the rest of you from Northern New England, how bad is the winter? I've heard stories of people from Bowdoin saying that they drive their car to get between classes because the cold is just too much to deal with. Is this the case in Hanover?</p>
<p>I'm from the cold Northeast and go to school at Pomona. It really is absolutely amazing the difference that everyday sunshine can make in your life. </p>
<p>You don't really notice the difference the weather at Pomona makes until you've experienced, and you really miss it when it's gone. A past study abroad experience in a colder climate made me realize how special it is to be able to wear sandals every day, read in the sun by the pool in January, and rarely ever see rain. I didn't even realize until I got to Pomona that one of my favorite things about cold weather, skiing, would not be out of reach despite having palm trees on campus.</p>
<p>Do Hanover's winters resemble Chicago or Denver? Denver is more sunny, less windy, and chilly, from what I understand, whereas Chicago is windy, cloudy, and freezing.</p>
<p>I've lived about 20 minutes from Bowdoin for 14 years. Anyone who drives a car between classes at Bowdoin because it's "too cold" is being simply ridiculous. Either buy and wear adequate winter clothing or just transfer to a school in Florida and be done with it. </p>
<p>You are worried that Hanover will have "sub zero daily lows during the winter." Unless you are talking centigrade, rest easy. There is no month during the year when the average daily low temp is below zero. </p>
<p>Go here to see the average highs and lows in Hanover: </p>
<p>Realize that there is three or four times as much precipitation in Eugene during the winter as there is in Hanover. And in Hanover, much of that will be in the form of lovely snow, not constant rain.</p>
<p>You only have to spend 2 winters there if you attend Dartmouth, freshman and senior. The other years you can elect to take winter off and go get an internship in a warm spot where you won't have to compete for the job with every other college student on the planet. Or do a study abroad anywhere in the world, Dartmouth has many to choose from.</p>
<p>DS who is a freshman at Dartmouth liked Pomona on paper but not as much is person. The feel didn't give him the classic college feel he sought. It also certainly didn't have the gleeful feel present at Dartmouth where kids walk around with big smiles and will talk for hours about how much they love the place. </p>
<p>I'll also second that you can create a core at any college and that you need to visit.</p>
<p>1headline, We live in the tropics so my son was concerned about the weather when he chose Williams (which if you don't know is similar meteorologically to Dartmouth). Yes, there were spates of dreary winter days, especially in March when you think it will never end. And yes, there were some very cold periods. On some days the temperature differences between where we live and Williamstown was over 100 degrees F.</p>
<p>But in the end my son really, really enjoyed New England weather. Like you, he's involved in outdoorsy activities and having ready access to the mountains was a plus all year round. Having something that you like to do in the snow -- like snowboarding and skiing -- is a big positive. Long New England winters are even longer for hibernerators. </p>
<p>The best approach to not let winter get you down is to dress for it and get out there and do something. </p>
<p>My son has several friends who are Pomona grads/students and it's a wonderful school. But ultimately he was glad he chose New England because of the weather. Autumn is always a crowd pleaser, but the same goes for snowy days of Winter and the first Spring days. It's invigorating.</p>
<p>[Actually, I think you should look at Williams. It's very much like Pomona in attitude and teaching style and very much like Dartmouth in character.]</p>
<p>It is better NOT to have a favorite among these two (or among any set of very selective colleges). Then you can approach each with new eyes when you have your acceptances (and likely rejections) in hand, financial aid offers if needed, and still more information.</p>
<p>And, trust me, you will be a different person by April of your senior year. </p>
<p>(For the record, I went to Williams, got a great education, didn't like the social environment or the weather, and it was a long time ago. But I am sure I could have gotten an equally good education by attending at least 30-50 other schools. There are so many good ones out there!)</p>
<p>thanks for all of the input. momrath I'll definetly look more closely into Williams.
How intense is the quarter system though? Does it really allow you to absorb the material as well as the semester system? Would Middlebury be an alternative to Dartmouth, not as in a safety but as in are the two schools similar enough to be on most applicants shortlists?</p>