<p>please compare and contrast quality of education and social scene at the two exceptional schools. THANKS</p>
<p>for those students accepted at both schools, how did you decide?</p>
<p>A kid at my son's high school was accepted to both last year. He wound up selecting Amherst because the town is bigger and there's the five-college consortium. He thought Hanover would be too small.</p>
<p>That said, I thought he was nuts. But, to each his own.</p>
<p>My D was admitted to both and chose Dartmouth. Amherst is a wonderful school and the 5 college consortium is a really good draw. However, for her she felt that you really get to feel the smallness of the school (~1600 undergrads compared to ~4000). </p>
<p>In addition, she loves the flexibility of te D plan. She did final visits at 3 schools (Dartmouth, Amherst and Williams). While she thought while she would have had a great time at Amherst, she felt is was a little too small for her and from Dimensions, she called and said see was definitely attending Dartmouth and hasn't looked back.</p>
<p>I go to Amherst, and it's a choice that a lot of people here have had to make. I think it all boils down to personal preference; have you visited the two schools? I found Hanover to be too small, too cold, and I just got a bad feeling there. </p>
<p>Amherst has a 5-college consortium. It's a plus to some, not to others. I love it because I have quirky interests that neither Amherst nor Dartmouth could satisfy on their own (I need Hampshire or a large university for that ;-)) It also means that we have a 5-college supervised language program, so you can take extremely rare languages with tiny classes. Dartmouth apparently has a great language program, but different. Again, personal preference. </p>
<p>Amherst feels like the perfect size for me. It isn't as isolated as Dartmouth, and I love the location. The neighboring town of Northampton is very hip and exciting. If you are big on outdoor sports, Dartmouth is probably a better choice, but they both are good for that. </p>
<p>The rural isolation of New Hampshire scares me a little bit, I have to admit. I think I am a Massachusetts snob, though.</p>
<p>Do you like the idea of the D-plan? If so, Dartmouth may be a better choice. Some love it, some don't. </p>
<p>Also, what do you feel about frats? Amherst doesn't have them (officially), they are a large part of Dartmouth's social scene. </p>
<p>Educational quality at both schools is surely very comparable. What are your primary interests?</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Amherst provides the best education(no par, probably tied with Williams), and Dartmouth provides the best experience.
I would really have had a hard time if I had been accepted by both. Amherst was the first choice of my freshman roommate and he was waitlisted. I was rejected by Amherst, so that made choice easier since no other school comes close to these two to me(I turned down full rides at Caltech and Stanford). So the best solution is to attend things like Dimension after you are accepted by both.</p>
<p>Wow, william, what made you turn down the full rides at Caltech and Stanford? I mean, that does seem very tempting option as well.
Was your priority the small size of the student body or something?</p>
<p>I don't know if you could necessarily say that the experience or education is better at either school. I'm sure I could have gotten a fabulous education at Dartmouth, but I doubt I would have enjoyed the experience. It's so subjective.</p>