Dartmouth vs. UChicago vs. Middlebury vs. Northwestern -- I can't decide!

Applying to College
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<p>Senior year turned out a little too well for me. I got into my four top choices.
[ul]
[<em>]Dartmouth College
[</em>]Middlebury College
[<em>]Northwestern University
[</em>]University of Chicago
[/ul]
Yippee!!
Now, I have to choose which one to attend!</p>

<p>Concentrations: I think I'm going to major in Economics, and I know that all four of these schools have a strong econ program. I also want to major (or at least, study/become fluent) in Arabic and minor (or study/become extremely fluent) in Mandarin Chinese. I'm also pretty interested in international relations and/or political science.</p>

<p>Careers: I was thinking of going into international banking, finance, or just business in general (it definitely doesn't have to be finance-related). For a while, I was really interested in getting into some sort of business between China & the Middle East. That's tough though. Maybe between China and US? Anything with a happy (as in high) salary.</p>

<p>I'm also thinking of going into some venture capitalism in my 40's or 50's.</p>

<p>Other:I know for sure that I'm going to get an MBA later on in life. So right now, I want to have a nice, solid foundation and connections.</p>

<p>For Economics, all of these schools are at the top. Three of them (Dartmouth, UChi, & Northwestern) have graduate business programs ranked in the Top 10 (Tuck, UChi Grad School of Business, and Kellogg, respectively). </p>

<p>For language programs, Middlebury has the #1 Arabic & Chinese programs in the US. Dartmouth also has very strong Arabic & Chinese programs. I'm not too familiar with the University of Chicago but I'm pretty sure they've got at least a basic program going in both. I know Northwestern just started an Arabic program.</p>

<p>For location, I'm very adaptable and I feel like I would enjoy everything from urban life of U Chicago to the rural, isolated life of Dartmouth & Middlebury.</p>

<p>In terms of school atmosphere, I think I'll survive/enjoy all of them.</p>

<p>Since these schools all have solid academics, now I'm most concerned about:</p>

<p>-starting salary right out of college & prospects of advancing (yeah I know a lot of this depends on me but still...).
-what major companies recruit from where and how heavily.
-connections, connections, connections. Do alumni help often getting recent graduates nice jobs? Are alumni active?
-prestige (Ivy vs. elite non-Ivies)/name recognition.
-opportunities.</p>

<p>Money aside, which school should I choose?</p>

<p>I also got into NYU's Stern.
Thanks!</p>

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<p>bump...................</p>

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<p>In my opinion Dartmouth wins. It has top graduate/ business job placement, great undergrad focus, terrific graduate placement (WSJ top 7), and a great social life to boot. Easy choice (for me). I think Northwestern loses the Northeast Ivy cache of Dartmouth, Chicago is out instantly for its social life, and Middlebury doesn't do as well with top recruiters or grad placement.</p>

4

<p>I would have to vote for u of chicago. The campus is great and there are lots of social opportunities there and in the city of Chicago. I have to disagree that the social life sucks. It really depends on what you are looking for and what you consider fun to be. The economics department is phenomenal and the language classes you want tend to be small and you get a lot of personal attention. I think that you should take a trip out there to see it and then decide for yourself. Furthermore, Chicago has one of the best Graduate schools in business and it is right on the main undergraduate campus.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the responses! I don't mind the size of the language classes as long as I learn. I'm not sure about the size of Dartmouth's language classes, although I have heard that they're both intense and effective.</p>

<p>What does WSJ stand for?</p>

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<p>uchicago has one of the best economics program. plus the campus is just gorg.</p>

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<p>UChicago's economics program is widely known as the top in the nation. Saying it's "out instantly" simply because of what one has heard about and assumes of the social life is completely foolish.</p>

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<p>I know that UChi's top, but how's company recruitment?</p>

9

<p>UChicago will give you great recruitment, especially for an econ major. I would say go to Chicago.</p>

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<p>UChicago all the way - the Econ department is most often cited as the best in the world. It is top ranked in other programs if you end up in another field. It is in a great city, the students are amazing and quirky, and the Core is great too. It is a school with great graduate resources yet will feel like a liberal arts college in terms of class sizes and prof access (or so I hear). You may want to know, however, that the Chicago Graduate School of Business and the Econ department are seperate, though some profs overlap. As for the social life, if you want to get wasted every night and never do homework, UCHicago is not for you. Dartmouth seems to me to be a party school at the opposite end of the spectrum.</p>

<p>Note: Dartmouth and NW's top graduate schools don't translate to good undergrad programs, IMHO, espeically the Tuck school at Dartmouth. However, I think Chicago's does b/c the Econ professors all teach undergrad courses that are small and personal.</p>

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<p>Chicago's econ dept doesn;t give any leg up on recruiting except for econ think tank jobs. Otherwise for top jobs Dartmouth has the most among these in terms of being a core school at top banks (5/7 elite banks) and consulting firms (4/5). Dartmouth's language programs are unique and fantastic, there is drill (Rassias method) to bring quick recall + classes with 10-15 people. The language programs all also have chaperoned study abroad programs with about 20 students led by a professor with both Dartmouth and native professors abroad. </p>

<p>Chicago's social life isn't close to Dartmouth's. Dartmouth has four big weekends a year, many friendly outgoing students, and everything is campus focused. With sophomore summer (you meet your entire class) and the study abroad (67% of Dartmouth students fo one, 1/3 do two), you get to know people really well.</p>

<p>Dartmouth will get you a top job and the teaching is amazing with incredible access to professors and no TAs. Students are far more loyal than Chicago students, over 70% of the class attended the last fifth year reunion. Its a no brainer in my personal opinion.</p>

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<p>"Chicago's econ dept doesn;t give any leg up on recruiting except for econ think tank jobs."</p>

<p>I just don't believe that is true.</p>

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<p>What silpper1234 said seems to be true. All Dartmouth alumni seem to be really die-hard when they talk about their school.</p>

<p>Dartmouth it is. Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>Nice!! Enjoy an amazing college experience, I loved it more than anything.</p>

<p>Drummer, Chicago's strengths put it among other top schools, no better, no worse. Business recruiters look at how elite the institution is, not how departments are ranked. That's why unranked econ at Amherst and Williams still leads so many recruiters to visit the campuses.</p>

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<p>slipper just earned a nice sales commission. :D congrats!</p>

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<p>Wow slipper! Amherst and Williams are unranked because they are LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES. They don't have a graduate econ program to rank!</p>

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<p>Dartmouth doesn't have a graduate econ program either! Grad department ranking is irrelevant to career placement, especially when it comes to elite business jobs!</p>

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<p>I agree. Though UChicago has the best economics program, I'd rather get a nice $$$$$$$$$$ job. Thanks for helping me decide.</p>

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<p>for Economics, UChicago is a no brainer... if you're serious about econ there's probably no better place anywhere in the world.</p>

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<p>As a potential econ major, I am interested to hear how this situation would change for someone who plans to complete at least 6 years of education right off the bat for a master's degree in Economics-based business. In that case, potentially at least, the drawback of UChicago's not being able to win great jobs would not be a concern, especially if graduate work was done at another top school with a better job recruiting reputation. Surely a world-class economics education would not be a detriment in this case, would it?</p>