<p>which one would you guys say is better on what youve seen and experienced??</p>
<p>I'm just a rising senior, but I recently visited both campuses.
I didn't like Cornell
I loved Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Dartmouth wins, hands down</p>
<p>I wrote this a while back:</p>
<p>Here's my two cents, much of it comes from a point of view you might not have thought about:</p>
<p>Academics:
Cornell is a research institution, Dartmouth is an undergraduate focused school. But the things that matter in business - alumni network, recruiting, reputation, community (how well you know your own classmates), selectivity (this is much of your future network) - are the things that Dartmouth excels at. If you look at the number of recruiters from "elite" firms recruiting on campus, Dartmouth has almost twice as many compared to Cornell, coming from a much smaller school. If you look at graduate placement, Dartmouth is much closer to Princeton than it is to Cornell when it comes to placing grads in top MBA programs. The reasons for this are likely because Dartmouth has alot of credibility with the "old boys" club, which exists much less today but seems to have lasting effects on the strength of the school when it comes to alumni networks, recruiting, etc. Ten years ago Dartmouth was a much harder place to get into than Cornell, so its reputation in the communties that matter persists. Its the same reason as to why Wash U might be a great school, but in the business its still not close to many of the Ivies in terms of reputation. In business, you want to go with the horse with more momentum, and in this case its Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Cornell has an "international" reputation edge, but this edge is for a chinese student looking to do hardcore science research. Dartmouth's edge is in the United States in the industries that matter.</p>
<p>An additional benefit to Dartmouth is you'll get to study Econ, which is theoretical and in my mind much more fun than AEM, but you'll be racing for the same job. Truthfully, in the elite industries and undergraduate business degree is far from Critical, and I would argue that at elite firms outside of Wharton there is no edge to undergrad business over econ at a top 10 school.</p>
<p>SOCIAL: (taken from another post I wrote)</p>
<p>Dartmouth is full of some of the most happy go-lucky, down to earth, brilliant people anywhere. </p>
<p>The biggest difference between these two schools is Dartmouth feels very much like a a LAC. Its also one of the most unique schools in america. 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>Dartmouth is hopping every weekend and people are very inclusive- everyone is invited everywhere and people are all out at once. It feels sort of "festive" on the weekends. 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 a laid-back environment, and its a total 'college experience.' </p>
<p>The D-plan is a major distinguishing factor - and a plus in my book. Study abroad is HUGE at Dartmouth (2/3 study abroad, 1/3 go THREE terms), but what makes it special once again is Dartmouth's special way of interacting with its students. At other schools to go abroad requires signing up for a program run through another school. At Dartmouth, 100% of the students on your program are Dartmouth students, you get a professor as an advisor on your trip, you go on special excursions every weekend with that professor, and there are trips, etc with the whole group. Dartmouth feels like the opposite of the red-tape bureuacracy you get at other schools.</p>
<p>Sophomore summer is also a great part of the experience. You get to know your entire class, and make friendships that last a lifetime in a laid-back, "summer camp" feeling environment. Lots of jumping into the river, parties under the stars, etc.</p>
<p>Cornell is a larger school with more access to research, but less of the undergraduate focus and coddling. The town of Ithaca is more fun than Hanover, so the social scene has more options but less community. this also makes it more cliquey than Dartmouth but this might be good if you like cliquey scenes (i.e. minority groups hanging out together, etc).</p>
<p>Personally I think Dartmouth is a much better choice.</p>
<p>I transferred from Dartmouth into Cornell, so perhaps my view carries more weight than the two half-baked replies above. Neither has attended Cornell, so what validity could they possibly have? </p>
<p>First, you have one reply from an admitted high school student (Illinois kid) who, incidentally, left a "troll-like" message on the Cornell board suggesting that Cornell has a non-serious academic atmosphere (!!!) and was quickly laughed away from there. Then there is Slipper who certainly would make a great ambassador for Dartmouth because he/she is skilled at carefully selecting half-facts and hearsay, highlighting it, and publicizing it on CC. I've seen this same post cut and pasted a bunch of times. He/she says "Dartmouth is a much better choice" basing it on nothing more substantial than being a current Dartmouth student with a strong opinion. Do you not see the lack of critical detachment here??? It's absolutely fine to be patriotic about your own college, but don't try to make it sound superior to a college you know little or nothing about. Your long paragraph under the "academics" heading, for example, is utter rubbish. In fact, based on my experience at both schools, the opposite is true, but I will not discuss academics here because it would make a longwinded post even windier. </p>
<p>I was admitted to both Dartmouth and Cornell out of high school, and chose Dartmouth against my first instinct because my sister and uncle went there. I thought my classes at Dartmouth were fairly good, and actually very good in foreign language (Chinese), but I was not a fan of the social scene or the small campus. They put me in one of the crappiest dorms you can ever imagine, which was within a short walk of the frats (which, by the way, are also crappy looking), so I was "privileged" with the sight of frat boys still playing beer pong at 11AM on their front lawns every time my roommate and I drove off campus. My parents visited twice and, both times, commented on the drunken idiocy that they saw, which, in the vicinity of my dorm, carried over to the afternoons after a frat party. They were also dismayed at the condition of my dorm given the money we were shelling out (my family is low to middle income). I will stress that not all Dartmouth students habitually act like anti-intellectual clowns when they "party" (I stay close to two friends I made there), but it does have a high number of people who think acting like a drunken fool is what college is all about, and the rest, like me, feel marginalized.</p>
<p>One's college choice needs to be made by the heart. While at Dartmouth, I visited my friend at Cornell over her fall break in '04 and was smitten with the atmosphere. I stayed in an incredible dorm (Cascadilla) overlooking the gorge in Collegetown and felt I was in heaven. Cornell is large, vibrant, and always boisterous and exciting. It has a huge frat system too--the largest in the nation--but thankfully the frat houses (many of which are more like mansions and castles than houses) are scattered all over the peripheries of the campus and do not dominate the social scene like they do at Dartmouth. At Cornell, there is more to the social life than a frat party; I feel that I have many more social options now. College Prowl*r says Cornell has the best campus (grounds and facilities) in the Ivy League, and this is important to some people. I love Cornell's hilly and dramatic campus, its amazing dining system and quality of the food, and, for other rather ineffable reasons, I just feel happier there. Having said this, I will not say something dumb like "Cornell is a much better choice" because, honestly, college fit is an individual and even idiosyncratic matter. I am giving my personal reasons why I preferred Cornell over Dartmouth, and these reasons won't be valid for everyone, but at least I can say I attended both colleges before making a comparison.</p>
<p>thnx a lot for the input i guess ill just have to go visit the schools to make up my own mind....btw whats the best way to get to hanover from boston other than driving?? hehe</p>
<p>If you are flying into logan, take the Dartmouth coach which lets you off right in front of the Hanover inn.</p>
<p>SorGirl you spent one paragraph bashing slipper for utilizing half truths, and then you turned around and did exactly what you accused him of in the next paragraph.</p>
<p>Sorgrrl,</p>
<p>It is common to feel welcome when standing upon the doormat; after all, most doormats are inscribed with just such an introduction: Welcome!</p>
<p>Cornell, at the threshold of the Ivy League, I suppose to be no different in this respect. Clearly, you feel welcome.</p>
<p>I say this only in response to your ill-advised rant on the Dartmouth Forum. Had you have posted your propaganda on the Cornell board I may have given it the serious consideration it may well deserve. But lets be honest, there is nothing worse than a reformed or converted anything, theyre insufferable and irrepressiblesmoker, vegan, Christian, Atheist, Democrat, Republican, Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew. </p>
<p>They tend to be, as they say, more Catholic than the Pope in their hyped-up choices; that is, they are prone to an obnoxious zealotry that others can do no more than marvel at while trying to leave the room. </p>
<p>Slipper gave his opinion of his college and, by contrast, Cornell on the Dartmouth Forum, that is, he is not a Troll; you see, he is merely a partisan.</p>
<p>Cornell has everything dartmouth has ... just alot more of it.</p>
<p>FountainSiren, your post makes no sense whatsoever. My Rx: Take one course in philosophic logic and then one in rhetoric...then get back to us here. TheKramer, these were my observations, and my feelings about these observations, and I qualified them as such. There were no half-truths anywhere in my post.</p>
<p>
Don't be so hard on your self Sorgrrl, it may well be that something you said was half-true, its possible...as they say, even a broke-down clock is right twice a day.</p>
<p>As for myself, I have never believed all the talk about Cornell being the "doormat of the Ivies." Two of my close friends are graduating there. Besides, I pay no attention at all to Cornell's cellar dwelling SAT's, Selectivity and Rankings. Its all about fit and that other stuff </p>
<p>From what I hear, Cornell is a very, very good school if you are the right "fit." Im sure you did the right thing--in fact, Im sure your decision pleases many on this board in addition to many of the happy people in our small school on the Connecticut. Although, you do seem to have quite a smarmy attitude for such a happy girl.
Nonetheless, best of luck.</p>
<p>And I, too, never believed Dartmouth was intellectually lightweight, like my friends at Yale told me. I also never believed it catered to white jocks, or that it was self-segregated, as my sister told me. I should have listened, though, when she told me about the alcohol-driven social scene.</p>
<p>Cornell has the size to be multi-faceted while Dartmouth is can seem too small to have large and flourishing representations. Depends what you're looking for but I can imagine a wider range of options @ Cornell.</p>
<p>WealthOfInformation, you are so right. I could get away from that scene at Cornell; I couldn't at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Well,</p>
<p>being a non-athlete minority female majoring in philosophy I feel I should, accordingly, feel guilty for being so happy at this wonderful place. Still, I'll just abide the happiness and ignore the ignorant.</p>
<p>Moreover, were anyone to listen to your only acurate comment--Dartmouth is smaller and more undergrad focused than Cornell--we would have to assume all LACs are somehow less than Cornell...but you'll have to take that to the Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore boards to rant on this.</p>
<p>I, too, am a non-athlete minority female. I guess you are just better at conforming to beer-drinking white jock culture than I was. Congrats on your achievement!</p>
<p>Talk about obsessive self segregation! </p>
<p>Congrats on your flair for the mundane. I prefer actual diversity to self-righteous anger and resentment. </p>
<p>Perhaps I am different. Some simply scowl and look for a new hole to crawl into from which they continue to scowl at the worlds they have determined to be unfair to them. Good luck with that. You'll go far in North America.</p>
<p>What you claim as diversity is really tolerance for the status quo.</p>
<p>It must be hard to be you in this world, Sorgrrl; that is, this world as it is and not as it should be for your specific happiness. Thought about Europe?</p>
<p>Tolerance begins at home, as they say. </p>
<p>Recipe for success: Worry less about other people's tolerance and more about your own.</p>
<p>Actually, it's soooooo easy to be me. Once someone wriggles loose from the shackles of conformation, the world becomes so much more interesting and invigorating.</p>