<p><strong>Disclaimer-- a bit long--</strong></p>
<p>As of right now, I'm torn between these two amazing schools. I've been doing significant research on both schools and have found Duke to be the more appealing one right now. The beauty of the campus, wealth of resources, and academic prestige are just amazing...and plus there are a billion other qualities that I like. Now on the other side, there's Dartmouth, which I love as well, but there are some things that I dont like about it. Despite the appeal of the D-plan, I dont like the idea of a mandatory summer at the school, I mean comeon, I dont care how good the school is, I dont want to be cooped up in Hanover when I can be on some beach somewhere. The drinking is also...not as appealing, I like to party, but it just seems excessive. This isnt to say that Duke doesnt have drinking, I just think it's on a much smaller magnitude. The prevalence of frats/soros is also...iffy, I dont know quite yet if I want to join a frat. The bad thing about Duke is ...well I dont know if I'm just being an idiot here, but I'm worried about Duke's prestige fading away in the next couple of decades. The rankings did go down from last year (US NEWS), not that THAT means anything, but I'm hoping it was just the lacrosse scandal or whatever. I know that Dart's Ivy League status, no matter how superficial, will always keep it up there, while DUke I'm not so sure. </p>
<p>For majors, I'm thinking about pre-med, or pre-law, and I'm sure that factors into the decision significantly, and I was wondering if anyone knew about the possibilites of double majoring at both schools?</p>
<p>And weather-wise, I could really care less, warm is good, cold is good too.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input in advance!</p>
<p>So far as the "D-plan" goes, my GC told me what the real meaning of it is--Dartmouth doesn't have enough housing to fit everyone on campus, so they make a summer term mandatory in order to try and get around their serious housing issues. She said that any talk of "building community" is complete BS, and she's been dead on about everything else she's said college-wise, so I fully believed her.</p>
<p>And, with regard to Duke, I wouldn't pay much attention to US News--academically, I think Duke is getting stronger every year. They have a BS in Economics now, and are launching Duke Engage, a program that has been called "one of the most ambitious efforts of its kind in U.S. higher education," which will give full-funding to students who want to participate in community service or research projects. The FOCUS program is very impressive as well.</p>
<p>I'll admit that I, originally, really wanted to go to Dartmouth, but most of that was a fear of "southern" schools and wanting to stay close to home, but the more I've looked into Duke the more I've loved it. I'm looking to double major myself (Poli Sci & Economics, with a certificate in PPE) and Duke seems very flexible with that. Plus, if you're Pre-Med, I know that the Duke University Hospital is well-regarded for its research and innovation.</p>
<p>And, if you wanted to read more about Duke Engage, there's an article on it here--
<a href="http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/02/DukeEngage.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/02/DukeEngage.html</a></p>
<p>Exactly, I'm just astounded by the amount of progress that Duke has made, and I truly hope that that success skyrockets even more. I really hope it doesnt fade away. </p>
<p>Btw, what does GC stand for? I thought at first it was grandchild...but that doesnt make sense...</p>
<p>GC = Guidance Counselor. </p>
<p>I posted a reply to your thread in the College Search forum.</p>