Dartmouth vs. UChicago vs. Hopkins

<p>Hi CCers, I just have a dilemma in choosing between these colleges and it would be great if you guys could help. So I am interested in pursuing pre med in college and possibly studying Neuroscience while having a strong liberal arts background. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks so much. </p>

<p>All three are very strong in liberal arts (by which I assume you mean lit/humanitites and social sciences). All three are strong in neuro. All three have strong premed students and curricula. </p>

<p>So it comes down to costs and the experience that you are seeking. </p>

<p>Dartmouth is in a bucolic New England town, and has the D plan. Chicago and Hopkins are urban campuses. Both of the latter are major research Unis, so in general, undergraduate teaching would be a little better at D. I would guess that approx. one-third of the matriculating Frosh at Hopkins are premed, in contrast to one quarter at the other schools. Chicago has a Core curriculum.</p>

<p>Chicago does not offer a neuroscience or cognitive science major. That does not necessarily mean you couldn’t put together a program to meet your needs. Have you investigated that?</p>

<p>Thanks bluebayou! I actually visited Dartmouth and really loved Hanover and the campus a lot. I’m not sure if I can visit Hopkins but I will be visiting U of C in a few days to help with the decision. And tk21769, that is true. However, UChicago does offer a Biological Sciences major with a specialization in Neuroscience. </p>

<p>“All three are strong in neuro”</p>

<p>And this is why I don’t trust CC.</p>

<p>So I am currently deciding between UChicago and Dartmouth (Hopkins is great but I also just love liberal arts and think I want to go to a school where I can get a lot of exposure to that while studying sciences as well). When I visited UChicago, I felt that it was the best fit for me socially because there is no sense of divisiveness between those who are in Greek life and those who are not. I loved the House system. However, I have heard that for those who are pre med, UC is not the best place to go. In order to get a higher GPA, should I probably go to Dartmouth? I loved Dartmouth’s campus as well and the people I met, but I was not a fan of the emphasis on Greek life. Any advice on this? I’m also concerned about UC’s grade deflation since med schools really value GPA. </p>

<p>What makes you think that you won’t be exposed to the liberal arts at Hopkins? That statement is just so false. This is what disappoints me about CC, people make extremely false assumptions on here without knowing anything (you didn’t even visit…). JHU has top ten programs in History, English and Creative Writing amongst others, and the distribution requirements at the school make it so that everybody must take Humanities classes. And if you’re so worried you can always add a double major in an arts subject, which is extremely easy to do at JHU. Therefore that statement is laughable. Hopkins is better off without you anyway.</p>

<p>Wow thanks for the info JHU518. I just got that impression from my counselor and am sorry for making that false assumption! I will certainly look more into JHU then. Thanks again.</p>