Dartmouth vs Amherst

College Search & Selection
1

<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). </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?) </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. Do sororities and frats dominate social life at Dartmouth?</p>

<p>A plus for Dartmouth would be Ivy status/name recognition. I know that Amherst is also prestigious but literally 2 people have heard of it where I'm from XD</p>

<p>Sorry 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>

2

<p>Amherst has a lot bigger campus than Dartmouth but ironically Dartmouth has larger student population. Dartmouth has more endowment. If you like smaller classes Amherst wins. Both are rural. Dartmouth does have more prestige nationally but Amherst is generally known towards the Northeast. I don’t think there is a way to decide between them. You have to visit. Personally, I would go for the ivy.</p>

3

<p>I would pick Dartmouth - I think its just the more well-rounded university.</p>

4

<p>The 65% of eligible Dartmouth students in fraternities and sororities may be a minus for someone not interested in fraternities and sororities.</p>

5

<p>It’s not that I think that sororities/fraternities are inherently bad; I’m more concerned about things that are typically associated with them. I think it’s more about not having a social scene that consists entirely of drinking & partying.</p>

6

<p>The frat situation at Dartmouth is a problem. Check out the Rolling Stone article on this.</p>

7

<p>Go with whichever fits you better, they are both great schools.</p>

8

<p>@LakeClouds
I literally read that article earlier today. You would never think that something like that could happen at such a prestigious school; it’s so vile and disturbing… That’s part of the reason I have such a negative perception of Greek life. That and the fact that my Dartmouth interviewer told me straight-up that I shouldn’t do it. He graduated in the 80s and was in a fraternity. He literally said “If you were my daughter I would strongly advise you against it.” </p>

<p>But is the social scene at Amherst significantly better? Or is it also mostly partying? I don’t think I would mind it too much (at either school), as long as there are a good number of other students that have similar inclinations/don’t party 24/7.</p>

9

<p>bump 10char</p>

10

<p>Personally, I would go with Dartmouth. It has ivy-league prestige and global name-recognition. It’s programs are all very strong, except for maybe engineering.</p>

<p>However, I’m not sure if it’d be the perfect fit for you. I’ve heard it’s heavily Greek and there’s a lot of drinking. Apparently, students are really into skiing too. If I were you, I’d talk to someone that goes to Dartmouth/Amherst and see how they like it.</p>

11

<p>Go to dimensions and go to admitted student’s days at Amherst. Both are great schools and will provide you with a great education. However you will feel the difference between 2k and 4k students. Talk to Dartmouth about the health insurance (I think that if you don’t have adequate health insurance, they will pay for half of it).</p>

12

<p>I’m going to chime in for Dartmouth -</p>

<p>Name-brand may be the tipping point somewhere down the line for you, whether it’s for a job, a grad school, an alum, a group, something. Coming from a high school with a class of ~230-250, I thought Dartmouth’s class of 1000+ was great. Large enough that you meet new, great people each term, but small enough that it’s not overwhelming. </p>

<p>Insurance.
If you can’t afford to pay for the whole thing, the school pays for half, leaving you with roughly $860 or so per year, if I recall. The coverage is great if you use services at DHMC/on-campus. It’s ehh/alright outside. </p>

<p>Classes.
Be smart about your selections and you can graduate having taken 0-5 classes with more than 40 people. I sought small (5-20 people) classes, and I took plenty of them!</p>

<p>Sports.
Some people get up at 6 am each morning to do whatever crazy things they want to do; some hit the gym, touch the shiny machines, and socialize; others do purposeful exercise maybe twice their entire time there - trips & swim test. This should be concern #989723895798237 in your decision to choose between the two. There are oodles of athletic people on campus, but aside from body-envy as they roller-ski or run past shirtless, you won’t feel left out. </p>

<p>Social scene -
Freshman year is the time to explore, whether it’s in the basements, the dorm common rooms, outdoors, your own room, or wherever. Soph year is all over the place with people taking terms off/internships/FSP/LSP/etc. By soph summer and junior year, you notice more events organized by frats and sororities, but also with random groups of friends that don’t involve greek life whatsoever. It’s just an evolution. There are a million things you can do inside and outside the greek system for fun so don’t worry about it. There is seriously a group for everyone on campus. If there isn’t, you can probably get COSO funding to start one. </p>

<p>Lastly, Andrew is one student out of a class of more than a thousand, and a campus of more than four thousand. He’s one perspective of stories that require more than one storyteller to share. He also speaks of one frat in particular on a campus that holds at least twenty diverse, open-minded social and community groups. That article is a story of maturity (or lack thereof) that depends more on the strength of the individual than the school.</p>

13

<p>I would go with Dartmouth. I have doubts about the authorities of Amherst ever since that rape case in Amherst last year.</p>

14

<p>How does OP feel about the D plan and having to attend in the summer?</p>