<p>Hi guys!</p>
<p>I have been accepted by both colleges and am trying to see which to decide. </p>
<p>I want to consider factors such as the quality of their biology program, pre-professional advising, internships, scientific research, relationships with the professors, and student and campus atmosphere.</p>
<p>Also does anybody know the disadvantages/advantages of each college toward helping their students get accepted to medical school?</p>
<p>If its for premed, then duke. I have a friend who chose Duke over Stanford and Princeton just because she wanted to be premed</p>
<p>Premed is a wicked hard major. Further, premed is not the only path to get into medical school. Med schools take kids from all sorts of backgrounds, so long as they have the requisite math and science courses and a good MCAT. </p>
<p>Duke and Dartmouth are different schools with different student bodies. Dartmouth is somewhat remote and its cold in the winter with nasty weather for months and months. Duke rarely gets much snow and if they do it lasts about 3 days and its gone. Raleigh Durham and Chapel Hill make up the Triangle in NC and its a major metropolitan area. Duke has phenomenal sports and Dartmouth is very well…lets just say they are more likely to be dodgeball targets…meaning Dartmouth is the bottom of the Ivy League in sports competition. Then again, very few people (only the athletes) go to an Ivy for sports. </p>
<p>But I know doctors who went to Dartmouth and they wouldnt trade those years for anything. So where does it come out? Depends on you and your interests, personality, objectives etc. Go to both campuses BEFORE May 1 and see for yourself, get the vibe from students there now and make your choice. There is no wrong answer.</p>
<p>Hmmmmm…what if I can’t make time no matter what to visit these two campuses?</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that all the classes at Dartmouth are small, while the classes at Duke are mostly small with a few rather large introductory classes. I’ve also read that professors at Dartmouth are rather personable with their students while for Duke that is <em>mostly</em> so. Is this true and is it rather a big difference?</p>
<p>I’m leaning towards Dartmouth right now because I’m really nature type guy and I don’t really like the hustle and bustle of cities.</p>
<p>Well then, Dartmouth may be for you. Dartmouth has a lot of nature stuff in clubs and people who get into it. Also a fair number of yuppies. On that count, they are both the same it seems to me. Dartmouth does have small classes, but its also that weird trimester calendar and you wont be on break when your friends are…and they start really late too. And their trimesters are short and you have LOTs of work to do…much reading on your own. Don’t know if that appeals to you or not. Duke is the basic Semester system and on the same calendar as most other schools. </p>
<p>But go where you feel you can thrive and grow and be happiest.</p>
<p>Hello again ghostbuster!</p>
<p>Do you know what type of readings Dartmouth tends to assign the most? Or does it depend on what major or courses I choose?</p>
<p>duke is too big and you dont get much attention as an underclassman undergrad. Id choose dartmouth, i think it’s overall better academically and socially</p>
<p>^Duke is a medium-sized private research university. What are you talking about? Also Fishier, Duke is located in Durham which is not really a “city” in the traditional sense.</p>
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<p>Duke has 6,000 undergrads in total. That’s not big at all.</p>
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<p>Duke is in a forest man - 8,000 acres of trees and nature to be more precise!</p>
<p>A little about Duke and premed:</p>
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<p>Being premed at Duke honestly rocks. It’s a great place to be for a premed student.</p>
<p>I think academically, those two schools are a tie.</p>
<p>You need to make your decision on other factors. To some, good collegiate sport scene is important. To other, weather is important, some likes it cold (my ex-roomy loves snow, so he can x-country ski), some likes it warm (I can not stand being cold most of the academic year).</p>
<p>Fishier 2000 wrote:</p>
<h2>“while the classes at Duke are mostly small with a few rather large introductory classes.”</h2>
<p>well, there’s the rub. It is PRECISELY the introductory classes that are the most critical. Misconceptions or errant thinking at the base of the tower makes for a dangerous foundation. Intro classes are the base of college education. The smaller, the more specific individual feedback, the better. 99% of colleges cannot afford to deliver introductory classes in a small format … if you find one that does, you’ve hit paydirt.</p>
<p>The counterargument is that smaller schools lack the diversity of course selection and specialization at the more advanced levels…</p>
<p>I have the same decision, and not only is Duke more expensive for me, I also feel like the social life is so much more inclusive at Dartmouth. Dartmouth has much more of a community feel and is a place that people really seem to love unconditionally. (On the other hand, I know a few people who were unsatisfied with the east coast, preppy atmosphere of Duke). On the flipside, though, by choosing Duke you get much better weather as well as ACC sports. For me, the Dartmouth Skiway makes the cold completely worth it. I already snowboard and really want to learn how to ski. </p>
<p>You should also consider the academic calendars, though. Dartmouth is on the D-plan so you’ll have less, faster-paced classes and you’ll have the opportunity to take more classes there than in the semester system at Duke. I like Dartmouth’s calendar because many students only have approximately 10-12 hours of class per week which leaves more time to load your schedule with ECs that you wouldn’t have time for otherwise. Also, you can even load your classes so that you don’t have any class tues and thurs. The D Plan also affords you tons of opportunities to study abroad, which is very appropriate considering how easy it is to learn languages at Dartmouth because of their outstanding foreign language programs. </p>
<p>Besides the fact that it’s just too much fun rooting against Duke in all that they do, I also would hate to miss out on the many Dartmouth-isms like DOC trips, winter carnivals, bonfire night, sophomore summer, etc. I still haven’t decided whether I’ll be attending Dartmouth next year, but I have officially ruled out Duke. Hope this helps and good luck with your decision.</p>
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<li>thickfreakness -</li>
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<p>Like everyone else has been saying, its up to you. Both are really good schools, and they each have advantages and disadvantages. However, Durham is NOT a very large city, but you will run into a bunch of other college kids from NC State and UNC. Plus, if you are a nature person that hates the cold, Duke may be better for you because of the Duke gardens and the Duke forest. I don’t know much about the premed program, but I will probably attend Duke and go into prelaw advising, and I feel that the school does have a strong advising program for most professional grad schools.</p>
<p>If you want a school with extracurricular and social benefits, I feel that the size of Duke may be to your advantage.</p>
<p>I attended Duke and it was awsome. Many of my friends went on to become doctors with no sweat. I’d recommend Duke.</p>
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<p>Ehhhh…Durham’s no Hanover. The gardens are beautiful, but don’t mistake the atmosphere of rural New England with an urban center.</p>
<p>Oh, and premed is by no means the only way to med school. My dad was an econ major at Duke, now a doctor.</p>
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I suggest doing your own research rather than going by what you’ve “heard.” Intro biology courses are rarely tiny at most colleges, including LACs. Here are a few low-level courses at Dartmouth:</p>
<p>Fall 2009
Human Biology - 98 people
Life Through Compound Eyes - 95 people
Biological Systems - 155 people
Cell Structure and Function - 111 people</p>
<p>I have heard complaints about Duke from many posters, but an urban feel has never been one of them.</p>
<p>Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Here is an analysis of the MD admission GPA listed on MDapplicants.com for a few selected schools:</p>
<p>Applicant’s Undergraduate School: Average GPA to get into medical schools</p>
<p>Princeton: 3.532
Dartmouth: 3.542
MIT: 3.547
Johns Hopkins: 3.584
Duke: 3.598
Harvard: 3.601
Stanford: 3.605
UC Irvine: 3.621
WUSTL: 3.624
UCLA: 3.635
UC Berkeley: 3.636
U of Florida: 3.688</p>
<p>Dartmouth’s GPA is more valuable than Duke’s. In other words, it would be easier for a Darmouth student to get into a medical schools than a Duke one.</p>
<p>^No, the competition’s probably a little stiffer coming from Duke but you can’t honestly tell me that it’s better to be premed at Dartmouth than at Harvard like that statistic shows.</p>