Dartmouth vs. Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>HELP! I really love different things about each of the schools. I love Dartmouth's community/location, I love Princeton's architecture (hogwarts!). I know these are the two "undergraduate" Ivies (hence why they're my top choices ;) ) so I know they are obviously academically amazing; So I want to ask students about their experiences and what makes them positive/negative.</p>

<p>I'm not the type of person to even look at rankings so don't bring that sort of garbage up. These are all amazing schools but I need advice on which one would suit me best:</p>

<p>I'm looking for a super traditional college experience. One that I will tell people about School X and be like "Ohhh hahahaha...crazy times..." and things of that nature. My parents didn't go to college so the whole entire "Animal House" college experience has been missing in our family. I know Princeton has eating clubs, how are those compared to Dartmouth's greek system? Obviously you can still have fun, you can do that no matter the party system at a school, but I want to know how different it is compared to the traditional greek system.</p>

<p>Both of these schools are amazing academic powerhouses and I can't even begin to compare them, which is why I think the "Quality of Life" rating is more important to me. If any current students/others could at least tell me about the quality of life in each of these schools, I'd be very grateful!</p>

2

<p>Google Princeton and grade deflation. That might help your decision.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your response :P</p>

<p>I ended up choosing Dartmouth</p>

4

<p>Oh gosh. This is not a reason to choose. On the other hand, if you decide based on that criteria, Princeton is the wrong place for you. Not to say there aren’t reason to choose Darthmout, but that one is not useful.</p>

5

<p>Hahaha noo! That wasn’t the basis of my decision. I went to both admit day previews and after I returned from Dartmouth’s Dimensions I knew it was the place for me. The grade deflation never played a role.</p>

6

<p>Good. Some people are definitely happier in a smaller and more rural environment.</p>

7

<p>Alumother, I was just curious to know why grade deflation shouldnt play a role in college decisions. (Im a junior and just trying to gather more info on colleges as I enter the process). Wouldnt it completely change the academic/social scene at a school?</p>

8

<p>No, it doesn’t that I can see. Princeton has one of the best social scenes in the Ivies now. Much better than when I was there. That has not changed since they changed the grade policy. I think that the kids who competed before still compete, and the kids who didn’t, don’t. Go hang out on the Princeton campus. It just isn’t a place full of grim, clenched-jaw students. Anything but.</p>