<p>Having received all of my admissions decisions this past week, I have narrowed down my choice for school next year to Dartmouth, Princeton, Brown, and Stanford. I have visited all of these schools except for Princeton and was looking for insight into college life from people who have attended/are attending these schools. My focus is not so much on prestige as on substance, so I don't really need statistics on cross-applicant decisions and whatnot. </p>
<p>I know Princeton is a phenomenal school, but having not ever been there I can't say that I have a very good idea of its general ambience and attitude. My worry is that as it is located in a very wealthy, secluded environment, it might lean towards more elitist sentiments (not to put too much weight in overblown stereotypes). I want to go somewhere that is politically active, but I'm definitely more the working class hero-type leftist than an ivory tower liberal (hence Brown). Also, broad-based and very rigorous academics are what I really want to dive into.</p>
<p>Dartmouth was one of my favorite schools primarily because of its undergrad focus, fantastic outdoor recreational opportunities, and more rural environment (being a farm kid/nature freak, I've never been a big city person). Still, new experiences in an urban setting are not unwelcome. </p>
<p>Any input regarding what it is like to be a part of any of these schools is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m in a similar situation (excluding Princeton, but including the University of Chicago). I’ll definitely stay tuned to this thread, and I think I may be able to give you input on Stanford. Although I don’t go there, I know a bunch of friends that do and one of them told me about the negative feeling of the ‘Stanford bubble.’ The fact that you can’t bring a car the first year combined with the drab, suburban Palo Alto area traps you in a bubbled environment that can get repetitive. He also added that it got much better the 2nd year due to the fact that cars were allowed, enabling either he or his friends to drive their group to other areas. Hope that helps and I also hope some others can give more input.</p>
<p>And yay for being a farm kid. Me too! My hometown, Vacaville, literally means Cow-ville in Spanish =)</p>
<p>Replace Brown with Yale, and this was my choice last year. I’ll write something up within the next few days. I’m pretty busy with school right now, but I’ll try to make some time to post in this thread.</p>
<p>Go to Dimensions in my opinion.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to me to try and separate any four of those schools based off more ‘elitist sentiments’ - all four are truly elite schools where your peers are all going to be pretty elite regardless of their background. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’re going to encounter an elitism wherever you go amongst those choices in one form or another and the real substantive distinctions between those schools is rather different than the way you’re framing the basis of your choice.</p>
<p>There are pretty huge differences between all of those schools in terms of look, feel & location. This is really truly a matter of you figuring out what it is that you want out of your college experience. I’d say P-ton provides the most obvious ‘Ivy’ experience & of the four is the most well-resourced, Brown has a pretty unique (in Ivy+ terms) progressive student & academic culture and is the most ‘urban’ of your choices, Stanford is far and away the largest of those 4 schools (take that for what it’s worth - still an excellent undergrad choice) but don’t underestimate how nice February in California can be vs. New England/East Coast, and lastly, Dartmouth as pointed out in a few other threads probably has the most distinctive undergraduate experience relative to the rest so long as you’re up for the NE winters & rural location (features for some, not so much for others).</p>
<p>Those are awesome choices - do your homework on what you want out of your ugrad years & you can’t go wrong with any of 'em.</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation only a couple days ago! I was choosing between Dartmouth, Columbia, and Princeton and I had very similar choosing criteria going into my decision. I ultimately choose the Big D and I’m very excited to say that I’m part of Dartmouth’s Class of 2015!</p>
<p>I can list a billion reasons why I chose Dartmouth, but in a nutshell it was that I wanted a traditional, unforgettable college experience that catered to my preferences. I didn’t like Princeton’s location at ALL. It’s still out of the way when considering going to NYC or Boston, the neighborhood is an exact clone of my hometown, and I hate the color orange… But seriously I felt at home when I visited Dartmouth at Dimensions. I hope you are happy wherever you choose!</p>
<p>I’m just starting the admission application process and my top choices are Yale, brown, Amherst and Williams. Im curious as to what you think made your application stand out? Im assuming you had strong test scores and solid grades. I know of several kids that appeared to have it all but didn’t get in. Congratulations.</p>
<p>I live 10 minutes away from Princeton University. Yes, there are rich people there. Although, there are a lot of middle class people. People are very active in their community and there really isn’t a snobby feel. As for the town, it is very laid back and easy going with the perfect cross between city and suburb. I feel like Dartmouth and Stanford would compare to Princeton, but not really Brown…</p>
<p>Congratulations! Like Dorthyb, I’d also like to know what you did to make your app stand out! By the way, what did you pick?</p>
<p>My son’s top two choices were Dartmouth and MIT. He visited Princeton, but the suburban (pratically rural) feel had no appeal. After spending weekends at both Dartmouth and MIT, it became clear that MIT was a much better fit.</p>
<p>oops - correct spelling is ‘practically’</p>