Hi guys, so I’ve been very fortunate to gain admission to Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, and would really appreciate any insight in making this decision. I am planning to major in economics (though this is in no way definite) and potentially go onto law school. Atmosphere/location aside (I know this is commonly held against Dartmouth) which school would prepare me the best for law school and provide the greatest connections post grad? Please keep in mind my interest in medicine is very low and I don’t see myself doing anything with pre med; also, I don’t mind frat culture at Dartmouth, no frat culture is also not a deal breaker.
@gocanucksgo I would say Dartmouth. Not as intense/stressful (Hopkins has the reputation for being that), easier to get a higher GPA( needed for law school) and better undergraduate focus, access to mentorship, resources etc.
Also when it comes to location, most would say Hopkins has it worse than Dartmouth. Dartmouth might be a bit isolated but it is located in a nice upscale town with lot of green and nice buildings. On the other hand Baltimore, esp. around Hopkins, is rough, not nice at all.
In terms of overall connections etc the ivy league network doesn’t hurt either at Dartmouth and at top NYC law firms there are way more Dartmouth grads than Hopkins grads.
Thanks for your reply. I understand that they are two very different schools; I guess what I’m really wondering is how much weaker would Hopkins econ program be compared to Dartmouth’s? I know Hopkins is widely renowned for medicine, so I’m just wary of going if I’m almost certainly not doing med…you mentioned serious vs party students stereotype, do you think this reputation will be held against dartmouth applicants looking for grad placement?
Dartmouth is an ivy, people are very motivated and academically focused. The fact that they have more parties than Hopkins doesnt take anything away from the academic quality of the school.
for business econ and business recruiting Dartmouth has a bigger tradition and it is stronger, for pure econ Dartmouth doesn’t have a grad program so it is a bit harder to compare the strength.
For the reason above (no grad program) I don’t think of either school as tops in econ.
As an academic institution though, I would prefer JH over Dartmouth.
But yes grade inflation/deflation might favor Dartmouth for entry to a competitive law school.
And you need a top law school or else law school is a waste of time.
As someone interested in economics, you should understand that
supply and demand does not favor the graduate of the average law school.
Their Econ program is average but law school placement at Hopkins is superb. They place very well in the top 15 law schools in terms of applicant admission rate - don’t let others on this thread tell you otherwise. Not sure about Dartmouth in that regard. Check the lsac stats
Hopkins applicants typically get in to top 15 law schools at higher acceptance rates and with lower GPAs and LSATs than typical applicants at these law schools which suggests Hopkins provides a definitive advantage. You need the same stats from Dartmouth to make a valid comparison
You are correct, @stevensPR. However, success at the latter would be necessary to achieve the former.
I’d mentioned Dartmouth only, and did not compare it to the excellent JHU. Your analysis above indicates that Hopkins would also be an excellent choice for a law school aspirant.
Separately, regarding economics, Dartmouth faculty appear to be active scholars in their field:
