<p>I am a high school senior struggling with the decision of Dartmouth College or Pomona College. A little bit about me: </p>
<ol>
<li>I am very uncertain of my future college/career plans and I'm hoping for the next couple of years to really help me discover what I want to do with my life. </li>
<li>As of now, I'm thinking pre-med, but that is susceptible to change. </li>
<li>I am a very introverted individual. </li>
<li>Cost is not an issue. </li>
<li>I'd prefer Pomona's location highly over Dartmouth, but Dartmouth's prestige over Pomona's.</li>
</ol>
<p>What are your impressions of each school? In terms of:</p>
<p>1) Overall social vibe/scene. Lots of partying/drinking? Very liberal thinkers? etc. etc.
2) Academic prowess and preparation for graduate school (i.e. medical school).</p>
<p>Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>I have first-hand experience with Pomona and only impressions of Dartmouth, although for what it’s worth my roommate’s brother goes to Dartmouth and I have heard a lot from him about it. </p>
<p>Both schools will provide you an excellent education and prepare you well for graduate school. However, my impression is that there isn’t quite as much to do at Dartmouth, when considering its location and weather. In addition, it seems like there is a lot more of a drinking culture at Dartmouth. On the other hand, Dartmouth is more well known than Pomona, although among the people who matter (in your case, perhaps med school admissions officers), Pomona is just as prestigious and well-regarded.</p>
<p>I think Dartmouth would be more fun-- one of the few “smart schools” known for partying</p>
<p>As a current student at Pomona I have a bias towards Pomona, but I’ll explain why:
First off, the only person I know who went to Dartmouth was my mother’s coworker. She told me that at Dartmouth the only thing to do was drink, and she developed an alcohol problem. Additionally, Pomona undoubtedly has the better classroom experience, and the freedom to move around (we only have a very loose requirement of 5 department). I do not know Dartmouth’s core requirements.
I dare say Dartmouth is more fun… I’m sure one can enjoy dart and pomona equally if you make it so. Pomona kids do party, and with the great parties at HMC and CMC that go on all the time, Pomona students have the opportunity to get wasted and dance all night if they choose to.
Also take into account that you have to spend a summer semester at dartmouth (if i remember correctly). At pomona this is an option, but certainly not mandatory.</p>
<p>You’ve said you prefer Pomona’s location highly over Dartmouth’s. This is easily understandable (assuming you prefer a warmer, urban/suburban location). But what makes you think that Dartmouth is any more prestigious than Pomona? </p>
<p>In terms of selectivity, they are almost exactly identical
(<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/687793-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined-usnews-method.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/687793-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined-usnews-method.html</a>).</p>
<p>There is a lot of partying at Dartmouth, but you can get away from all that if you want. If you like to drink and go to frats, you can do that. The school has tried to set up alternative events along with other organizations so you can always find something to do. The distributive requirements aren’t very hard and I’ve found that I can get classes that I enjoy in even my most hated of subject areas(Linguistics for a math, for example). The town is nice and you get a sense of community that comes from being away from it all together(as cliche as that may sound).</p>
<p>As far as the political environment, it does tend to be liberal here. Professors vary on how open they are in their opinion, but I’ve taken classes where a Republican professor had me thinking he was a liberal. Whether a liberal or conservative, you’ll find a group. There are more liberal-leaning groups, but the conservative ones tend to be very active, vocal, and cohesive. </p>
<p>PS: It gets cold, but it wasn’t unreasonably so this year, and I say that as somebody from a much warmer climate. </p>
<pre><code> We have three grad schools(med, business, and engineering). The undergrad departments in those fields have the backing and support of those schools and create a qualified applicant base for those and other top schools. We are strong in English and Government as well so if you’re looking into Law school, we send people to all the ivies and top law schools every year.
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