Duke or Dartmouth

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, I was recently accepted to both Duke and Dartmouth, and I love them both. This is an extremely difficult decision, and I need help.
So, I'll say what my pros & cons are for the schools and hopefully you guys can help me decide which is best for me.</p>

<p>Location: Dartmouth wins barely, because it's farther away from home, and it's located in a town rather than Duke's urbanness. But Duke's not terrible because it's isolated from Durham.</p>

<p>Nature: Equal. Dartmouth has ski slopes, woods, etc... while Duke has its forest. Theyre both pretty amazing in this aspect.</p>

<p>Architecture: Duke. lol.</p>

<p>Strength in major: Equal. I feel like they're both pretty strong in economics/business.</p>

<p>Size: Duke. I feel it's big enough...and small enough for me.</p>

<p>Undergraduate Focus: Dartmouth.</p>

<p>Prestige: Basically equal.</p>

<p>Activities/Clubs/Interests: Equal. They both have a lot I'd like to do.</p>

<p>Financial Aid: Duke's is slightly better.</p>

<p>Some unique aspects about Dartmouth: </p>

<p>The D-Plan: Helps with internships.....but I feel like it hurts with social interaction among students.</p>

<p>Dartmouth Outing Club: The best thing ever. Excited for the first year trip if I go.</p>

<p>Study Abroad: I've always wanted to, and I know almost everyone at Dartmouth goes....but I'll be on nearly full financail aid so... I don't know if I'd have the money to go.</p>

<p>Some unique aspects about Duke: </p>

<p>Sports: I'm a sports fanatic.</p>

<p>Research: If I decide to go into science, Duke is better.</p>

<p>Weather: I love warmth.</p>

<p>The Focus Program: Sounds amazing.</p>

<p>Students seem really friendly TBH.</p>

<p>Cons about Dartmouth: </p>

<p>Cold: yeah.</p>

<p>Fratty: not sure if pro or con to be honest.</p>

<p>Less Diverse.</p>

<p>Cons about Duke:</p>

<p>Bad Surrounding Area:</p>

<p>Fratty: Again, not sure if it's a pro or a con.</p>

<p>so yeah, I need help deciding for undergraduate economics/business.</p>

2

<p>How much is “slightly” better for Duke financially? I would opt for Dartmouth based on your major UNLESS Duke is 3K or more cheaper.</p>

3

<p>fliger, Well, they both gave great financial aid… and Duke came out to be 2,000 cheaper. Thanks for your opinion, but is Dartmouth that much stronger than Duke for my major??</p>

4

<p>No it is not that much stronger for your major. Honestly either choice would be great and if Duke is cheaper even slightly - then why not? I sense you are leaning a bit towards Duke based on your original post and by all means go there if you prefer it - don’t let the “Ivy” tag make you feel as though you have to accept Dartmouth.</p>

5

<p>true what he said about Dartmouth being an ivy</p>

6

<p>Duke is a fantastic school.</p>

7

<p>They’re equal in academic quality basically and are both strong in economics/business. Just choose where you think you’d be happier. Just a few notes on your comments. While I’m sure it’s popular to study abroad at Dartmouth, it’s also extremely popular at Duke. About 50% of all students study abroad and an unheard of 25% of engineers do so as well. They really encourage it and there’s a lot of curriculum flexibility to do so. </p>

<p>In regards to the cost of studying abroad while on financial aid, it makes no difference. They calculate your expected expenses and simply provide a check with your name on it to cover them. So, while obviously if you’re going on expensive trips abroad, financial aid office probably won’t pay for it, but if you’re simply using it for room, board, tuition, etc. it won’t cost anymore. They don’t pay for these things directly, they just provide the funds and you do with them as you see fit basically. Studying abroad can actually turn out to be cheaper in the end even with financial aid. </p>

<p>I agree that undergrad focus is a strength of Dartmouth, but Duke is also very solid in this regard. A lot of undergrads participate in research and there is a lot of professor-student interaction. But perhaps it’s fair to say Dartmouth is more LAC-like, while Duke is more major research university-like, although in the end, I think both provide great experiences and they’re probably not all that different. There is also an outing club at Duke that is pretty vibrant, so I wouldn’t worry about that either way.</p>

<p>Based on your descriptions, I would think Duke would be a better fit simply due to the fact that you’re a “sports fanatic” and love warmth. Those two things can make a difference in your collegiate experience and when you’re talking about universities that are as close in prestige/opportunities as Duke and Dartmouth, those things should probably tip the scale. Those two items were factors in my decision as well as I’m really into sports and think it enriches the collegiate experience (and connects you to the university FOR LIFE, there are many Duke alumni hoops watch events) and being outside a lot in nice weather really makes things a lot of fun. So, I think the sports thing goes beyond the four years. </p>

<p>If you said you loved skiing, then Dartmouth may be a better choice. I didn’t really see anything on your list under Dartmouth pros that Duke lacks besides isolation. But if you want isolation, Duke’s campus is pretty easy to find it actually. You don’t feel like you’re in an urban area at all if you want to avoid it. And Duke being a bit cheaper doesn’t hurt either. $8k over four years isn’t peanuts, although I wouldn’t say it’s so much to overcome if you really preferred Dartmouth greatly. </p>

<p>And while you say Duke being “fratty” might be a pro or con, only about 30% of students actually join fraternities, so the majority do not. It’s certainly a decent number and some are very involved in Greek life, but if you choose not be involved, you’re certainly not in the minority. There isn’t a large Greek/non-Greek divide really (except when people complain about housing assignments) and everybody is still in the same overall Duke community. I don’t know the Greek numbers at Dartmouth…</p>

<p>You really just need to go with your gut. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Dartmouth is the better undergrad school. I’d call their financial aid office and tell them they’re your first choice, but Duke came in with more aid and your parents want you to go there. I’m all but certain they’ll match Duke’s offer.</p>

9

<p>fliger, I’m honestly not leaning toward anything haha, I was just wondering if I was overlooking Dartmouth’s strength haha.</p>

<p>bluedog, That’s really exciting about the percentage of Duke students studying abroad, and thank’s for easing my thoughts on the cost of studying abroad. Also, that’s good to know that there’s an outing club at Duke. And yeah, I’ve visited Duke before, so I know you don’t really KNOW you’re in the city while on campus. And I agree with you about the warmth and sports haha. Also, the $8,000 is a lot to me, haha, so I’m grateful for Duke’s offer, I just don’t know if I can let go of all Dartmouth has to offer. I wish I could attend both…haha. But thank you!, and I definitely will go with my gut.</p>

10

<p>It sounds like Dartmouth’s Greek Culture is a lot more intense.</p>

<p>[Confessions</a> of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth’s Hazing Abuses | Culture News | Rolling Stone](<a href=“http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/confessions-of-an-ivy-league-frat-boy-inside-dartmouths-hazing-abuses-20120328]Confessions”>Dartmouth’s Hazing Abuses: Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy – Rolling Stone)</p>

11

<p>^Although Rolling Stone wrote a piece during the lacrosse case about Duke that wasn’t too flattering either. Could be sensationalist journalism…they DO want to sell magazines, obviously. No idea how true that story is or not, but if it is true, it’s probably a small subset of the population that you can easily avoid. Having said that, I’ve heard the Greek scene at Dartmouth is pretty prevalent, but those who participate in it, are probably better suited to speak to that.</p>

12

<p>i’d go with Dartmouth.</p>

13

<p>why, zed1994??</p>