<p>"That's what any self-respecting Bruno would say"</p>
<p>And Napoleon Dynamite :-)</p>
<p>Hey, I have this same decision to make. How would you compare (a) the political science departments at the schools and (b) the intellectual character of the student body/"nerdiness"?</p>
<p>You are ALL posting your D v. B questions in the Brown only forum and expecting to get impartial comparisons about social atmosphere and academic strength from students who have only had one experience, and whose knowledge of the alternate experience, with maybe the exception of dcircle, is only hearsay. In other words, you want confirmation of your inclination - if you wanted a straight comparison you would post these questions on both boards.</p>
<p>This indicates to me that you prefer Brown and that on one level, you no longer have a real decision to make. </p>
<p>But I want to tell you that if you find you have to 'settle' for D because of financial constraints, you should understand that:</p>
<p>a) B does not have a lock on all the nerdy, cool kids and is not devoid of prestige-consciousness. Thousands and thousands of the same applicants are applying to the same schools after all and the student body at D is not so different from B or from HYPCCP for that matter. On the other hand, especially for those who state they attended Dimensions and really enjoyed the sincere friendliness and interest of the students, you should know that wasn't just for show. D too has interesting, nerdy, and quirky students -all across the board. As an example in today's paper:
TheDartmouth.com</a> | Senior fellow Nasser 08 explores Einsteins life through play</p>
<p>b) Lack of frats does not equate to lack of drinking, partying, etc, even to excess, nor does their presence mean that drinking, especially to excess, is your fate and your only social option - doesn't mean that there are not a good number of students who don't go in for that at D, and who do not feel marginalized at all - its a pretty inclusive place.</p>
<p>You all would not be posting on the Brown forum instead of the Dartmouth forum for the purpose of gaining helpful information for this decision if your gut instinct was not Brown, so I am not trying to sway you to Dartmouth but rather, to say that if you have to make decision in favor of a better financial package - you will not suffer the loss of an amazing academic experience. </p>
<p>I hope it works the way you want it to but once you finally make the agonizing decision, never look back.</p>
<p>ohmadre, I have mainly been posting here because this is where the question got asked and the thread got started. I have actually been pm'ing with advocates of each school. My son is down to the wire with his B-D decision.</p>
<p>Can you say more about the frats/drinking/social scene thing at D? I mean, even a very pro-D alum told me he wishes the scene there were less frat-party-based, etc., and that Hanover has little to offer. (On the top side, it has the outdoors activities.) Tell me, what do students who are not interested in partying and drinking do after dark on weekends? (Can you get a couple of others to post here about that?)</p>
<p>Also, it's my sense that although some really like the quarter system, others say it feels rushed and that it interrupts friendships. Any comment?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Hey wolrab,</p>
<p>Lol I guess I'm the token D responder. A lot of the non-partying after dark activities involve things like movies at the nugget, ice skating, climbing up the firetower, Collis events, formals (which are actually really fun), club activities, and general goofing off with friends. Dartmouth holds concerts and people generally hang out all over campus. There are lots of beautiful places to "chill" and hang out. But the truth is that at any college, including Brown, a great majority of the students will be drinking. </p>
<p>Actually I've found that city schools are even more drinking oriented than rural campuses, its just under the radar because students do it off campus (which IMO is much less fun). This is why I left Columbia. I've found that in NYC, for example, life revolves around drinking whether its dinner or at a bar because there is little social space to do anything else.</p>
<p>As for the quarter system, personally I felt the upside greatly outweighed the downside. Sophomore summer more than makes up for any friendship interruption, its almost like getting to spend a term at a camp with your best friends. The access to internships is incredible, and the access to multiple study abroad is unique and really can offer a tremendous experience. </p>
<p>But Brown might be a better fit. Most of the time I spent at Brown I was drinking, but Thayer street does offer much more variety in terms of restaurants than Hanover does.</p>
<p>Hi Wolrab - will respond to your pm.</p>
<p>Whoa, that Nasser guy took my group on our after dark tour! Awesome.</p>