<p>Hi people. The title explains it. I'm wondering about the differences between these two schools. They both top the list of my favorite schools. How do you think they differ?</p>
<p>There are many threads spanning many years regarding Dartmouth and Duke as there is a lot of overlap when it comes to a student being admitted to both schools (the search feature is your friend). </p>
<p>Dartmouth students will say Dartmouth is the best, and Duke students will say Duke is the best.</p>
<p>^And third party schools will say Dartmouth just because it's an ivy. There are reasons for both, but don't simply choose Dartmouth because of that.</p>
<p>yea so it seems like one thing they have in common is a huge frat and party scene. i am very social and like to have fun but i don't drink. At Dartmouth, is there a big hit to social life if you don't drink?? Because i know that there is not much to do in Hanover so im wondering if it will be hard to really be a part of the "Dartmouth community"</p>
<p>depends.</p>
<p>if you don't drink AND you avoid other people who have been drinking ... it might be tougher, but on the other hand, it is entirely possible to have a ton of fun on campus without ever seeing alcohol for a term.</p>
<p>there's always a ton of stuff to do on campus, and most of it does not have to do with the frats, though it's hard to ignore the fact that a majority of social outlets are in greek spaces.</p>
<p>i personally don't drink and find it easy and enjoyable to go out (almost) every weekend, but there are always other options if you don't want to do that.</p>
<p>thats good. i don't mind other people drinking i just don't do it myself. @ rightnotleft- when you say that its easy to "go out (almost) every weekend" do you need a car or are there places to hang out within a walkable distance?</p>
<p>by "go out" i generally meant going to frats/greek houses/off campus parties</p>
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And third party schools will say Dartmouth just because it's an ivy. There are reasons for both, but don't simply choose Dartmouth because of that.
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<p>Gross generalization, and highly unlikely. Outside of the NE, Dartmouth is not as well known. Even in academia, Duke is well known for research. OTOH, Dartmouth is more of a large LAC.</p>
<p>One big difference is Coach K and big time D1 sports in the ACC. Also, while Durham is not bucolic, Chapel Hill is just down the road. Dartmouth has the unique D-Plan, which is great for obtaining internships (but can be tough on relationships).</p>
<p>Dartmouth is much more close knit over many more decades</p>
<p>I think Duke may give merit scholarships, Darmouth does not.</p>
<p>Note: this is purely hearsay and does not reflect my opinion. When I was at Dimensions, there was much talk about prospies choosing either Duke or Dartmouth so my tour guide gave some answers. </p>
<p>Supposedly, Dartmouth and Duke seem very similar academically, but they are worlds apart in terms of atmosphere. Duke is a bit more fast-paced, more competitive, and more high stress compared to Dartmouth (a parent who visited both school on my tour said concurred on that last one.)</p>
<p>I'll elaborate further to the atmosphere part.</p>
<p>A big part of Dartmouth is its location in the Upper Valley in a close knit small town in rural New Hampshire. Duke is located in a metropolitan area within the city of Durham. Durham and Hanover are as far apart as you can possibly get in terms of feel.</p>
<p>The Triangle IS a metropolitan area so at Duke, you'll have a lot to do off campus within 5 minutes driving distance. Concerts regularly go to the RBC Center in Raleigh so you'd probably go there a lot. Raleigh is maybe 5-10 minutes from Durham. Also in Durham, you have large shopping malls and all of the luxuries of a big city.</p>
<p>Hanover isn't that close to a major city. You aren't going to have major events close by so you have to find entertainment on campus. Being in a rural area makes you bond more with the campus because of the lack of outside events to gravitate towards.</p>
<p>Another difference, the weather. North Carolina does occassionally get cold (I think that we had lows in the upper teens to low twenties last year) but this lasts for a very short time. Our winters are quite a bit warmer than New Hampshire's. In NC, you can get away with a t-shirt, jacket and sneakers year round with no problem. This may be a plus for some :-P.</p>
<p>Personal advice here, when I looked at colleges, I tended to look at the surrounding area too. People forget, you do have to live there too. In terms of the surrounding area, weather and EVERYTHING off campus, Dartmouth and Duke are really worlds apart.</p>
<p>wow is Duke really supposed to be more competitive. I always thought that it had a relaxed atmosphere..
^and yea that was one of my concerns that Dartmouth kids did not have enough to do in the surrounding area of Hanover. and also @Colber Nation is Durham really that nice as in nice malls and such?</p>
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Duke is a bit more fast-paced, more competitive, and more high stress compared to Dartmouth
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<p>Possible, but I find it hard to believe. A quarter system, by definition, is fast paced. A student literaly doesn't have time to catch a cold before midterms roll around. And, of course, the D-Plan is even more fast-paced; for example, compressing one year of chem into two quarters.</p>
<p>Dart has more of a "LAC feel" Duke has more of a "big school feel", even though neither is truly a LAC nor a big state university. Both are highly pre-professional. Duke did seem somewhat more competitive, yet livelier. Dartmouth more laid back and peaceful - although I think the competitiveness is just better hidden.
Duke has Chik-Fil-A and an on-campus McDonalds, make of that what you will.
Duke hs a more traditional engineering school, and the medical school and "biomedical complex" are more of an 800 pound gorilla on campus than Dart-Hitchcock seems to be.</p>
<p>^possibly bcos D is considered more "chill", the competitiveness is not as noticed. But, perhaps D is like some have described students at Stanford: ducks apparently floating peacefully on the pond, but paddling furiously underneath the surface. :)</p>
<p>^Can the mods please get rid of this troll.</p>
<p>thanks for the compliment, aerial!</p>