<p>I'm really excited to have been accepted to these prestigious schools; however, I'm having a really tough time deciding on which I'd like to attend. To make things worse, I'm not entirely sure what I want to major in either (perhaps bio, premed, or liberal arts). I'd really like to know the pros/cons of each one regarding academics and campus life. I could really use some advice. Thanks.</p>
<p>Lol, liberal arts is still pretty general in itself. Probably Dartmouth for lib arts, Penn for Bio or Premed. And... I'm not sure where Columbia fits into all of this.</p>
<p>and probably columbia for liberal arts. premed isn't a "major," it's more just a group of courses you have to take to apply to med school, not an establisehd program.</p>
<p>They are all top academically but very different socially. I transferred from Columbia to Dartmouth and have spent plenty of time at Penn. What are you looking for? Columbia is good for some, but overall Dartmouth is a much more deep college experience in my opinion.</p>
<p>two main factors that differentiate dartmouth from the other two:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>size and undergrad focus: Dartmouth is significantly smaller than the two others, and has fewer graduate students.</p></li>
<li><p>location and campus culture: penn and columbia's big city locations are a plus, but with that comes a lack of campus unity, as people are always leaving campus to go into the city. dartmouth's isolation works to keep people on campus, and create more activities on campus.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for all the great advice. Slipper1234, I was wondering what factors made you want to transfer from Columbia to Dartmouth. Was it more for academics or the general atmosphere of the two campuses? And another thing... everyone keeps telling me how Dartmouth is completely isolated from everything. Is that really true?</p>
<p>the closest major cities are montreal and boston, each about 2.5 hours away. that should tell you something.</p>
<p>Penn doesn't lack campus unity. Sure, Philly is a city, but it's not New York and unlike Columbia, Penn has a real campus.</p>
<p>penn and columbia real schools, dirtmoth is lac like bowdoin.</p>
<p>Hey Urbs,</p>
<p>Sorry for taking so long. I transferred to Dartmouth for both social and academic reasons. Columbia was great for the core, but in most of the bigger classes I felt like a number. I hated taking a "ticket" to see the registrar, or having to go out of my way to meet some of my professors. It seemed corporate to me. On the other hand, it had some great departments that Dartmouth wasn't nearly as strong in - film, arabic, music, etc. For someone going into a vocational field like engineering, music, film, etc Penn or Columbia are better academic choices. For someone going to grad school, professional school, or something more random (I am a former anthro major working my dream job in media) Dartmouth is awesome.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is a gem among the Ivies or any group of schools for that matter. Most people at Dartmouth love it, and with good reason. </p>
<p>I'll give a personal example: Dartmouth paid for my thesis research in the pacific ($10K), gave me TWO thesis advisors, I had 7 classes with less than 5 people, and when I started a company they gave me office space and a whole network of contacts + access to funding! How many schools do that for their students? I had lunch with Ang Lee with 5 other kids, met Broken Lizard (Super Troopers and other movies), etc in my film classes. For my "outer space" class I met with astronauts and every lunch they took 10 kids out with the guest speaker who was often amazing. I probably have visited 7 Professors houses. </p>
<p>When is came time to apply to grad school Dartmouth professors (who knew me personally) gave me some of the best recommendations I could have imagined, since I got to know them so well.</p>
<p>In terms of social life, Columbia had its strengths and MAJOR weaknesses. Its probably why I left. Columbia felt deserted and dark on the weekends, people slip into cliques and went into the city. You just never really feel like a part of anything special, just someone doing his/ her thing and Columbia happens to be where you live and go to class. Even outside of parties it feels this way - the library is SILENT for example, whereas at Dartmouth there are social spaces. Columbia is a serious environment. One thing I did love though was it wasn't a "jock" dominated environment at all. Also (being a guy), there are many girls around which was nice.</p>
<p>Dartmouth makes Columbia look like a ghost town. Dartmouth is hopping every weekend and people are much more inclusive- everyone is invited everywhere and people are all out at once. It feels sort of "festive" on the weekends. LITERALLY, an average weekend at Dartmouth is much more active than the best weekend Columbia has. Also, Dartmouth has a "big weekend" every term, people love getting excited about the place. Dartmouth students embrace the environment and the beautiful campus: they also play in the snow in the winters, jump in the river in summers, have a ski slope, run around bonfires, and hsng out and act silly in dorms. Its just a much more laid-back environment, and its a total 'college experience.' The only downside I felt was that there was a "jock" culture that seems to pervade over the campus (and one the administration is activily trying to curtail), but 3/4 of the students are not really in tune with that culture so you can ignore it if you want to.</p>
<p>Basically: </p>
<p>1) If you are a person who wants a very specific major, could care less about campus life and community, and are more 'independant" - i.e. perhaps on the intense side and more focused on hanging out with one clique - Columbia is for you.</p>
<p>2) If you are happy go lucky, see college as a time to get amazing academic treatment in a more general area (econ, anthro, history, etc), love socializing with many types of people, and think of the world around you as a playground - go to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I can add what I know about Penn if you want - I just know these two super well.</p>
<p>wow Slipper, thanks a ton for the post!</p>
<p>hey, slipper. Great post and great work. Youre very much appreciated on CC. I was wondering about the "jock" culture you mentioned. You said it isn't too prevalent, but could you elaborate? Can jocks/academics mingle easily? Do some football/lacrosse/basketball guys get sterotyped, and vice versa? Thanks</p>
<p>Wow slipper, thanks for all of the extremely valuable advice. It sure helps a lot. If you have time, can I hear your opinions of UPenn?</p>
<p>I can't say except that I <3 Dartmouth and I owe them my undying gratitude (and first born child?) for admitting me despite my low GPA.</p>
<p>You should come celebrate the awesomeness of Dartmouth at Dartmouth. But that's just my opinion.</p>
<p>I bleed green. It's official.</p>
<p>urbs, i go to penn, so if you have any questions you can send me a PM.</p>
<p>Thanks much slipper. That was very informative</p>
<p>I would very much like to hear something in depth as I'm having some trouble deciding between Penn and Columbia, and what you've written so far seems very useful.</p>