I have effectively narrowed down my college selection to these two choices. I am out of state for berkeley, and got 0 financial aid from Dartmouth 
I am majoring in bioengineering, but this is very flexible, and I am not sure whether I want to go to work/grad school for engineering or work in consulting/banking.
Please let me know what you think the better option would be for my case or what I should consider when making my decision.
Thanks for your help!
For engineering, UCB. (However, changing to another engineering major is not automatic and may require a high GPA.)
For Wall Street or consulting, Dartmouth.
Would I have both options available at either college, or there a pretty clear division?
I’d go with Dartmouth. As mentioned previously, it would be easier to get a Wall Street or consulting job having come from an Ivy. And while Berkeley is better known for engineering, a degree in biomedical engineering from Dartmouth is more than acceptable, and school name isn’t that important in engineering anyway.
any other opinions?
Just finished trip to Dartmouth… Son has been accepted to Gatech, UVA, Michigan and UCLA for Mechanical/Aeronautical. Dartmouth requires fifth year for an accredited Engineering Degree. Big chuck of $$, but IF you think you want NYC consulting or I Bank go ahead and go to Dartmouth…but know you are not a working engineer until you get more education. BTW it was cold, really cold in both Ann Arbor and Dartmouth but in Ann Arbor it was only the air temp…not the feel of the place. Just my opinion.
Agree with @TStark2016. DS wanted an ABET-certified engineering degree and was told a few years ago it was extremely difficult to do in 4 years because of all the humanities/social science requirements. So he dropped Dartmouth from his list. (He ended up at Swarthmore, so he still got the full liberal arts experience, but got his ABET-certified degree in 4 years.)
Now, if you’re sure you DON’T want to be a practicing engineer then Dartmouth’s program would be fine.
Btw, DH went to Berkeley and loved it; not in engineering though.
Since you don’t know exactly what you want to do, I’d go with Dartmouth for the better undergrad experience and a name that will open up doors in consulting.
Bear in mind that Dartmouth’s BME program is med school focused : http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/academics/undergraduate/ab/biomed-major/
Also, while most students do an ABET degree in 5 years, it is possible to do it in 4 years with proper planning: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/academics/undergraduate/be/
@insanedreamer thanks for the link…we just finished visit and there was not much talk from anyone regarding getting ABET degree in less than 5 years maybe 4.5…especially with the idiotic sophomore summer trimester requirement and or their research opportunities…which too many students love but at great expense to their budgets.
The D-plan at Dartmouth is apparently to get more students out of the potentially overloaded fall quarter and into the underused summer quarter. In theory, students will only pay tuition for 12 quarters (but 13-15 for ABET-accredited engineering).
@TStark2016: the sophomore summer is one of the best things about Dartmouth. If you think it is idiotic, then you think the entire D plan is as well and you should choose a different school.
Ended up committing to Dartmouth!
Good for you! You have some wonderful years ahead of you. Enjoy.