<p>I posted this in the Brown forum, and only fair that I post here. </p>
<p>I am having the worst time trying to decide between the two schools. I won't list what I like about each school because a) there are too many and b) many of them overlap, because lets be honest, these two schools are on par in many ways. </p>
<p>I'm premed for sure (my mind will NOT change, so please don't waste your breath telling me it will), but I am not exactly sure what I'll major in (most likely psych or neuro) and I do want to explore other things. </p>
<p>Some things I'm concerned about: organic chemistry (one of the hardest at Brown and grade being very much dependent on tests at Dartmouth); research opportunities; drinking/smoking (I don't do either); a bunch of others that have just slipped my mind </p>
<p>Dartmouth offers psych/neuro students access to this sick MRI machine. I don’t know the details, but I do know that it’s the only Ivy to offer this to undergrads.</p>
<p>Yeah, orgo’s pretty hard, but the median is like a B or B+. Don’t be a pansy. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>There are tons of research opportunities at Dartmouth. With very few grad students, research opps for undergrads are top-notch. I got a gig in a bio lab in my fall term freshman year with zero prior lab experience.</p>
<p>Drinking and smoking happen on both campuses. Stereotypically Brown smokes more, but I don’t know how much truth there is to that.</p>
<p>Yeah, I did see the fMRI machine during Dimensions- pretty cool. </p>
<p>I know that orgo’s hard, but I just don’t want a class that is only based around 3 tests. Can you elaborate on the class, instead of just a “you’ll be fine”? </p>
<p>The research opportunities part was mostly for Brown b/c I know that at dartmouth I’ll be able to find many as long as I look for them.</p>
<p>I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. I’m also majoring in neuroscience. To be honest, I like Dartmouth a lot more. It has so much more to offer than Brown does. I visited the campus yesterday and the admissions officer said you can start internships at the hospital your freshman year. They allow students to do research there as well. They have an MRI machine available for student research, as well. I thought Brown was the place for me until I saw Dartmouth. Trust me, it’s a beautiful school. P.S. The Ivies are the top party schools. If you don’t do it, don’t go to parties.</p>
<p>I’m taking orgo in the fall, so I can’t say much about it, but I’d like to point out that many college courses at many colleges base your entire grade on just three tests. I’ve even heard of schools that have courses where your entire grade is what you get on your final. </p>
<p>If you’re going to take a lot of big intro science classes or science requirements, you’ll get used to Dartmouth’s test format, namely, two ‘midterms’ or long tests, and one final exam. A lot of the math classes follow this format too. The bulk of your grade is based on these three tests. Part of it WILL also be influenced by lab grades, homework, etc. It can seem daunting but I’ve grown to like this format better because it helps me focus more around midterm time. Trust me - with the fast pace of Dartmouth’s curriculum you don’t REALLY want even more things to contribute to your grade… you’ll start viewing them as extra work to add to your very important midterm studying.</p>
<p>That said, not all classes are like that at this school, just a lot of the science requirements you have to take as a pre-med etc.</p>
<p>I would choose dartmouth. Both are really nice but i think dartmouths atmosphere and campus are superior. Theres also skiing, which i enjoy very much. Also, not sure how much this matters, dartmouth is more conservative than brown, which is very liberal</p>