<p>Hey, im a junior. just getting pumped (yeah oookay) for college apps n whatnot.. my current top 2 are dartmouth and northwestern..i dont know which is #1 and which is #2 yet, but was wondering if you could basically compare the two schools..im going to be the first one from my family to attend college in the US, so its basically the one-eyed man leading the blind here...</p>
<p>ive only visited dartmouth. (im visiting nu soon though)...but im curious as to their trimester/quarter systems?...firstly, how does that effect the vacation cycle and how often do we have exams?..</p>
<p>+/-'s to both schools?..which one would you attend?..just trying to get a general feel of the general opinion of the school (dont deny it, it always has some pull on your decision). </p>
<p>alright so dartmouth is obviously very isolated but a beautiful campus. northwestern is in a suburb of chicago and only about 30 minutes from downtown chicago. dartmouth is also half the size of northwestern (4,000 compared to 8,000 kids). both are very strong academically and both have a sort of work hard, play hard mentality. the greek scene is prevalent at both schools but especially so at dartmouth....thats about the basics...any specifics you need to know about?</p>
<p>i would go to dartmouth over northwestern by the slightest of margins.</p>
<p>thanks bobobob..ive read some of your posts in the ivy section..where are you ending up going [if u dont mind me asking].</p>
<p>yeah, the location seems to play a great role in people's decisions..but surprisingly not in mine..ive lived on 4 continents..so ive moved around quite a bit so getting used to a certain environment isnt tough for me.. im more concerned about the people.. i prefer to have well-rounded classmates/friends, and live/study in an environment where there is mostly just personal competition instead of between everyone..i would burn out in an MIT or a UChicago..</p>
<p>the quarter/trimester system seems to scare a lot of people off for some reason..um..why?</p>
<p>the quarter system scares some kids because each quarter is about 10 weeks...so only 4-5 weeks into a quarter, youre having your midterm on the material. i personally dont think its too bad, but, if you get sick or something, you will miss a lot of stuff.</p>
<p>in terms of the people, ive talked to a fair amout at both schools and both schools have those kids that are going to be competative, but the majority of kids realize that they are surrounded by smart kids like them and are really nice. i stopped random kids at both schools and most were more than happy to answer my questions and were for the most part very amicable.</p>
<p>oh nice nice..dartmouth has always been my dream school...im just afraid that my gpa isnt up to par..my GC is vague in terms of telling me how good my chances are at a school..</p>
<p>coming from a school w/o honors programs..is a 3.8 unweighted good?.</p>
<p>i see your from long island..im from westchester county..about 20 miles north of manhattan...i take the most rigorous load of courses at my school (which is 3 ap's), and i have hte rest of the application on lock, but i feel like im going to take a definite hit gpa-wise</p>
<p>IF ur doing good yes where on Long Island do u live(full bred Born and raised Long Islander...Grew up on south shore now Im on the North shore and lets just put it this way i miss my old town but I belong here)</p>
<p>Both Northwestern and Dartmouth are on the quarter system as previously stated, but from what I was told when I toured Dartmouth is that it's less stressful at Dartmouth because most students at Dartmouth take 3 courses per quarter and most students at Northerwestern take 4 courses per quarter.</p>