<p>You are right; there has been some terrific and helpful input on this thread, and I thank all of those who gave it for doing so freely, thoughtfully, and without judgment. </p>
<p>EK - I don’t really know the answer to your question as I have only heard that she is having trouble deciding between the two. I know that she didn’t like the location of the third, but you know some of these kids make decisions based on all kinds of odd things, including if someone they know and didn’t like chose school X (not saying she is doing this, but I know my own kid did!)</p>
<p>If only high schoolers would learn to not express opinions as if they were fact, or at least take with a huge grain of salt the opinions of their classmates.
I have heard about Princeton offering full merit to attend, that an excellent in state university is a " party" school despite the lack of attractions like a football team or fraternities, and that one of the most rigorous schools in the country is full of rich druggies.
Ive also heard about kids not wanting to get out of the car after they’d traveled 500 miles to visit.
I encouraged both mine to take a gap year, I think it gave them a more mature perspective when they finally arrived on campus.</p>
<p>I actually took the title to mean the OP’s friend was quite aware of her good fortune. Much better than others I’ve seen that complain that they “only” got into x, y, z (with x, y, AND z being schools many cc kids only dream of attending). I agree with those upthread: if we can’t be helpful without including a solid dose of attitude, maybe it would be best to move on to another thread.</p>
<p>Telling the OP to come back after the acceptance is helpful IMO. This thread is like when HS kids ask for chances when they haven’t taken any ACT or SAT. Nothing is certain, even likely letter (well maybe 99.99999% sure) until you see the “Congratulations” banner.</p>
<p>It’s funny–we’d have no trouble discussing “which should I apply to, Dartmouth or Brown” long before applications, or “which should I go to?” after decisions–it’s during this period that it gets dicey, and people are sensitive about it.</p>
<p>Not everyone who joins TFA wants to teach. A lot of kids do it because participating gives you a better chance of getting into some grad programs and ups your chance of getting merit $ at some of them. Some new grads do TFA because most of the top law schools will defer your admission for 2 years if you do TFA. Not many things give you an auto deferral for 2 years. Usually, acceptances can only be deferred one year. And some schools give merit $ for community service. Having done TFA at least puts you in the running to get some. There are a few programs where all TFA alums are guaranteed merit $. </p>
<p>Some graduate schools will also automatically give a 2 year deferral to participate in TFA. There are also some employers who give job offer deferrals if you want to do TFA. For example, if you are offered a job at Google and want to do TFA, Google will hold the job for 2 years.</p>
<p>Agreed. In fact, the common stereotype was that Dartmouth had much more of an anti-intellectual atmosphere because of the party school like atmosphere, dominance of fraternities/sororities and jocks in the social life, pre-professional orientation, and lack of tolerance for those who weren’t conservative socially or politically. </p>
<p>The last part may be a bit of an exaggeration and may not apply within the last few years, but it was more true 15-20+ years ago from what I’ve heard from HS classmates who attended back then*…and was a factor in why conservative/libertarian-right HS classmates gravitated to D and similar schools as they were during that period like Princeton and UVA. </p>
<ul>
<li>One HS friend and Dartmouth graduate was a staunch conservative Republican during our HS and college years and she admitted someone who was hippieish/artsy or had strong lefty political orientation/activist streak wasn’t likely to have the optimal college experience from a social standpoint when she attended.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<p>That link’s a bit off regarding Columbia. It’d be more like 1 to change the light bulb, 5 on each side protesting for/against the bulb change, and the rest going about their business trying to land an ibanking/wall street job or otherwise become the next master of the universe. :D</p>
<p>If I’d ended up at Dartmouth instead of Brown I have no doubt I would have gotten a fantastic education and found my 'peeps". It might have taken longer, but I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d have woken up in Hanover every morning and thought, “OMG, this is unbearable”. I also suspect that for the vast majority of students at Dartmouth, the reverse holds true. So I don’t want to go on record as claiming that the schools are so beyond being similar that anyone who sees differences in the culture, climate, etc. are being ridiculous.</p>
<p>However- I also can’t imagine a kid attending admitted students events at both schools and not having a pretty strong preference for one vs. the other so perhaps all of this is academic (hah! I made a joke). </p>
<p>Personally, my main issue wouldn’t be the political angle, but being around students who party and drink heavily as that is detrimental for non-partiers or serious students trying to get a decent night’s sleep…especially if they have a lot of 8-9 am classes or need lots of sleep to function well*.</p>
<p>Being around folks who try to put down classmates interested in deep intellectual discussions on the charge of “being too serious” would have been another detracting factor as some Dartmouth alums from the mid-late '90s and earlier have related. </p>
<ul>
<li>E.g. One younger friend who gets cranky if he gets less than 10 hours of sleep even as a 19 year old freshman. A reason why he maintained a 10 pm bedtime policy during his undergrad.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks again for the input. Friend’s daughter has indeed been accepted to Brown. So proud of her! She is planning to go into some sort of business profession which is apparently part of the reason why she is torn - something about Brown not having a program for business specifically but having a location and social climate she thinks she likes more. </p>
<p>First off, that’s great news. Let the celebration commence. Secondly, if that’s the only hesitation about Brown, tell her to pack her bags for Providence immediately. There are tons of great ways to prep for business career without a formal business program – and being at a college without a core curriculum should leave her with maximum flexibility to build her own program, e.g., some blend of economics, other social sciences, a class in regulatory law, and anything where you have to think and write a lot. Heck, those hippies even offer a financial accounting class these days. </p>
<p>But I still think y’all should road trip to Lou’s for pancakes. ;)</p>
<p>My kids did not apply to either school. I will say, however, that when the Dartmouth Admissions team visited our city, they were the most enthusiastic group we had ever seen. Then a few of their alumni spoke briefly. They were so positive and encouraging and in love with Dartmouth that I strongly encouraged S to apply. He would not. Now that I know what I know now, it would not have been a good choice for him, but if I ever get a second chance to be a college student, I will apply. Wishing your friend and her daughter all the best. You are a good friend. :)</p>
<p>Doesn’t surprise me. For those who find Dartmouth a great fit, the campus culture is such it tends to generate strong school spirit and communal bonding which lasts well past graduation. </p>
<p>It’s a factor in why one HS friend is a devoutly loyal Dartmouth alum is willing to discuss anything Dartmouth with prospective students…or anyone who is willing to listen. It’s fascinating and fun to watch. :)</p>
<p>Congrats to your friend’s daughter. I will echo earlier comments and say not to let the lack of a “business” education scare her. Many “elite” schools do not have a business program with the notable exception of Penn. My son and many of his friends landed consulting jobs for after graduation. Some also going into investment banking. Whatever she chooses I am sure she will have a great experience, but again, my son loved Brown.</p>
<p>Good topic, as my D has the same choice, Brown or Dartmouth. For someone interested in science and engineering, would you lean toward one or the other? I told my D that if you were going into finance or banking, Dartmouth would give you more opportunities (jobs, connections) than Brown, but it’s hard for me to gauge how others perceive the quality of Brown vs. Dartmouth grads for, say, a job at Google or for medical school. USN rankings have always undersold Brown in relation to its relative popularity among students, which is a concern, but Dartmouth has seemingly had a couple of down years in applications, while Brown has continued to increase. </p>
<p>(I don’t put as much weight on the culture differences as I believe people tend to exaggerate both Dartmouth’s conservatism and Brown’s liberalism. And I believe that both schools are large enough that you will always find a group and culture that suits you as a student.) </p>
<p>For computer science, I believe Dartmouth is favored slightly over Brown by some technical firms, but the differences are exceedingly minor. </p>
<p>Minor enough that the main tipping points would be the skillsets possessed, grades, how they come across in interviews, and personality fit for a given firm culture. My engineering relatives and I worked with many Dartmouth and Brown graduates and the only differences we’ve seen is based more on what each unique individual brings to the table rather than the school they came from. </p>