What’s up guys, for the past year or so, Dartmouth had been the college I had my sights on. I was deferred ED, then rejected RD. Dartmouth is still always on my mind, despite knowing I won’t attend.
Instead, I will be attending Middlebury College. I never had the chance to visit, though I did visit Dartmouth; perhaps that is why I am still so stuck on Dartmouth despite committing to Midd. I am trying to convince myself that Midd is just as good of a school as Dartmouth, and in fact quite similar.
Would anyone with a knowledge of both schools be able to give me some reasons why Middlebury is equally as good of a school as Dartmouth? I am interested in finance and/or medicine.
In many ways, Middlebury is better than Dartmouth. The immediate environments are extremely simillar, an isolated Alpine village. They both attract athletic, winter sports enthusiasts. But, Middlebury has the added avantage of being a LAC which, in essence, is a small, tightly-knit commmunity that significantly, doesn’t have fraternities or sororities. LACs are not for everyone; you have to be prepared for the emotional ups and downs of being recognized widely wherever you go; every little thing that happens on campus has a ripple effect that eventually reaches you or at least someone you know. This includes political events, athletic events. It even includes academic achievements; if a professor wins a big research grant, everyone takes pride in the achievement.
Take a look at the graduation photos, the seniors are beaming; they all feel as though they have been on a roller coaster - and are willing to go for another ride.
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@merc81: Not sure I would call that an “affinity” or even a comparison.
@AboutTheSame: Let’s say I’d generally agree regarding affinity, but felt that the nature of the topic called for anthropomorphic language. Regarding comparison, Middlebury (#15) places higher than Dartmouth (#28) by this methodology, so I’d say that’s reasonably direct.
@merc81: I looked at the list of 400 ranked plus 100 unranked schools by Kiplinger.
Middlebury College is at #15 while Dartmouth College is at #28.
Dartmouth has a lower admit rate (10% versus 17%).
Dartmouth has a higher retention rate (97% v. 96%).
Dartmouth has a higher 4 year graduation rate (88% v. 86%).
Dartmouth is less costly after financial aid ($23,537 v. $23,541).
Dartmouth has higher standardized test scores.
Dartmouth College destroys Middlebury College with respect to earnings ($75,500 v. $58,200).
Middlebury wins the annual cost for those not receiving need based financial aid by $6,320 per year, but the difference in COA for those not needing financial aid is clearly justified by the earnings results of $75,500 for Dartmouth grads v. just $58,200 for Middlebury grads.
What am I missing ? Seems as though Dartmouth College should be higher ranked than Middlebury College.
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^Pretty sure Dartmouth has a larger percentage of people graduating with dual degrees in engineering.
If so, then why is Dartmouth College’s 4 year graduation rate higher than that of Middlebury College ?
^^Dartmouth engineers typically earn both a BA (after four years) and a BS (5th year) for the ABET.
So, they count as a graduated after 4.
(I too am not sure what point circuit was trying to make.)
OP either school can get you to a top med school. Dartmouth has long had a pipeline to Goldman Sachs so it may be a bit better for Finance.
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Sorry, I thought it was obvious. The annual earnings differential between Dartmouth and Middlebury just - just might - be explained by the existence of an engineering program which very few LACs have. That’s all.
Congrats on going to Midd! FWIW I think their student culture is much better than Dartmouth. Don’t look back. Join the accepted student groups for Midd, proudly wear your swag, and get excited. It’s a great school!!!
My understanding is that Dartmouth is a feeder for Wall Street. If that’s the career you are looking for, then it’s hard to beat. To me, it also explains the salary difference.
@RayManta, @bluebayou, @Publisher - The entire point of the post is that the OP was rejected by Dartmouth, after having applied ED and been deferred to RD… Explicating reasons why Dartmouth is better than the school that the OP will actually be attending is not helpful to the OP— who wrote in asking for reassurance that Middlebury was going to be a good place to be!
OP, the great thing is that many of the things you liked about Dartmouth- and were presumably part of the reason that you applied to Midd- you will find at Midd. The differences between Dartmouth and Midd are differences of degree, not kind.
What’s important though is your mindset. You didn’t get your first choice, which is never fun. But- b/c you put the work into doing well in school and in creating a solid college app list, got a really, really, really good option! Now you have to lean into it! Get the t-shirt… Figure out the skiing situation. Figure out how you are going to get there and back. Mostly, love the one that loves you.
And, seriously, when you get home for Thanksgiving next autumn, come on to CC and tell us how you are liking it. I’m betting some Greater’s Mocha Chip that you are going to tell us that you are loving being a Midd kid & can’t imagine being anywhere else!
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Most posts are in response to @merc81’s in post #2 above which invited a comparison of the two schools just as OP requested.
OP asked: “Why Middlebury is equally as good a school as Dartmouth ?”
Comparisons are, therefore, appropriate in this thread.
OP wrote of interests in finance & medicine.
Maybe some posters could offer insights as to those pursuits at each school.
OP: Both are great schools with beautiful campuses in gorgeous settings. Both schools enroll intelligent, motivated students with interesting backgrounds & achievements.
From the Fiske Guide To Colleges 2020:
Overlap schools for Middlebury College: Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Dartmouth, Williams, Yale, Harvard, & Princeton.
Overlap schools for Dartmouth College: Brown, Duke, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Colgate, Middlebury, & Williams.
Congratulations !
OP asked for reasons that they should be as happy with Midd as Dartmouth- to be fair, a problematic ask.
That the responses are appropriate doesn’t make them helpful to the OP- or kind.
@Publisher: As stated by @collegemom3717, the OP cannot attend Dartmouth.
@merc81: Yes, we all understand that OP was rejected by Dartmouth College. Nonetheless, OP is seeking comparisons between Dartmouth & Middlebury.
Listen–Dartmouth is an Ivy and that gives it a leg up on prestige. But Midd will get you just as far in life as Dartmouth will. I know it stings to get rejected from your first choice school, but Dartmouth didn’t want you and Midd did. Congrats on getting into one of the country’s premier liberal arts colleges! There are thousands of people who would love to be in your position. Lastly, if you look at the Parchment preference calculator, you’ll find that even though Dartmouth wins in head-on-head competition most of the time, by their calculations, 40% of students accepted to both schools choose Midd (based on an analysis of thousands of decisions). Some of your classmates will have turned down Dartmouth for Middlebury. There’s a reason for that.
OP: Acceptance to Middlebury College is a major accomplishment. Reasonable arguments can be made that Dartmouth College is among a very tiny handful of the best schools in the US.
Do you really need to be consoled about acceptance to one of the most elite schools in the nation ?