<p>Hey Yale hopefuls (or if you were rejected or admitted), I was hoping to get your opinions on Dartmouth, Columbia, and Brown. I'm not posting this on their forums because I feel like I'm going to get either "__ is awesome!" or angry comments for questioning how good their school is. And plus, since Yale is everyone's first choice here, I thought we'd have similar mindsets.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm considering applying to Dartmouth because well, it's prestigious and no supplemental essays. But it seems like it's in the middle of nowhere and the people don't seem as amazing... </p>
<p>For Columbia, I feel like it's too small and I'd be taking classes in the middle of a noisy street.</p>
<p>Brown... it seems TOO laidback. Don't really know anything else about it though...</p>
<p>(Btw, the reason I ask is because I'm considering whether or not to apply to them.)</p>
<p>I’m on the west coast, so it’s not really an option at this point, with 9 days left. My point is that I can’t really decide for myself and I was hoping I could get opinions from people who, I assume, think like me and may have perhaps visited.</p>
<p>Cadillac
If you can’t visit those universities, maybe you can visit the websites/ask for brochures/ask current students? I can however, give my take on them since I have friends/cousins at all three institutions:</p>
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<p>Why Dartmouth? The wilderness, close-knit community (I’m a sucker for community spirit :P), intensive but personal classes all scored with me. Particularly the wilderness :P</p>
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<p>I wasn’t going to apply to Brown because I already had a list of 10 colleges that I liked more. I’m a slacker but I like to challenge myself, and I wasn’t (1) a fan of the pass-fail system and (2) sure that I’d stay on my toes all the time. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about Columbia, but I’ll do some research and get back to you :)</p>
<p>Is the drinking culture very pervasive/pressuring?</p>
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<p>Other comments:
Students at Dartmouth are definitely more competitive than at Brown, but again, they’re not cutthroat. Dartmouth isn’t for everyone; it’s quite similar to Williams in many respects. There’s also not much of a dating scene, with hookups being prevalent, but I think this has a lot to do with the partying culture (4 days a wk: Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun) at D.</p>
<p>Columbia (I don’t think it’s too small. There are 7000+ undergrads, but it’s more postgrad oriented. The student body is 26000 strong, 299 acres):</p>
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<p>NYC is the reason I decided not to apply to Columbia, without even looking much into the institution. I have a lot of family in that area and I wanted to be free/indepedent at college. The campus looks quite beautiful for something so urban. Anyway, I really don’t know much about Columbia so I’m probably not the best person to opine. It’s definitely a wonderful institution from what I gather, however.</p>
<p>slakedlime, thanks again for all your insightful comments! I really really appreciate it! You’ve given me more than I had hoped for, and I feel 10x better off to decide whether or not to apply now. I’m still open to other people’s opinions, if any, but once again, thank you slakedlime! :)</p>
<p>Brown is ok but my son didn’t like it. He thought is was a small campus.
Dartmouth is a highly regarded school. But it is cold up there in upper NH.
Columbia had too many graduate students for my son’s tastes</p>
<p>personally: brown > dartmouth >>> columbia.</p>
<p>i dislike the rigidity of columbia’s core, and i want a cohesive campus feel, which new york city does not provide, IMO (manhattan is wonderful, but i would never want to attend college there). i don’t mind brown’s liberal curriculum at all (actually, it’s a plus for me–i love the openness to pursue one’s interests), and i really liked campus. i could see myself at dartmouth, also: i like the small-but-not-too-small size, the cute small town setting (am from a rural area, so to me hanover seems downright cosmopolitan in its proximity to the city), and the strong presence of writers on campus.</p>
<p>Cadillac: I’m applying to Dartmouth because I like their application process. I like how they ask for a peer recommendation instead of another essay. I will consider the school further once I’ve applied.</p>
<p>I’m applying to Columbia because I love the sound of the core, and not to brown because I can’t stand the idea of no core reqs at all. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>I liked the Dartmouth application too, but that’s just my lazy side speaking Duke and Williams also have supplemental peer recs, and I was thinking of applying to both. Having to write an essay or not shouldn’t be the thing deciding where you choose to apply… It’s how much you want to go to a school [unless of course, you’re looking at a safety. :)]</p>
<p>okkkkk ummmm slakedlime, u almost scared me to death
duke uni doesn’t have supplemental peer rec … at least not from what i’ve seen and i’ve read the requirements for like 3 times just nowwwww
where did u see that duke has supplemental peer rec?</p>
<p>damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ittttttttttttttttttttt
i just saw it…
ahhhh goddddddd i didn’t see it
hey do u think it’s ok to e-mail the peer rec to them?? it’s kinda hard to get my friend to actually mail it</p>
<p>The Duke additional supplement is completely optional: (from the website)</p>
<p>We also offer the chance for students to submit a Personal Recommendation. This recommendation is optional, and can come from a coach, a director, a teacher from an elective course, a family member, or anyone else that you feel knows you well and will give us a better idea of who you are. There is no required form for this recommendation. Just ask the person to submit a one-page letter to our office. This optional information will be considered in our understanding of you as a person, but will not be formally evaluated as part of your application. If you do not submit the information, your chance of admission will not be affected.</p>
<p>I applied to Dartmouth about a month ago. With the acceptances I have now, I might not have, but I still like it.
Obviously, it’s a good school academically, as were all the schools I considered, so my considerations were based on other things. First off, the D-Plan seems really cool. Then there were a lot of activities available (mostly through the Outdoor Club) in which I wanted to participate. The winter festival sounds fun. I like snow. It sort of seems like a LAC, but it’s still an Ivy. All very nice. And the app is insanely easy. I know some people who applied just because they were already doing the ComApp and didn’t have to do anything.</p>
<p>Columbia and Brown were two schools I never considered. For Columbia, it’s simply that I don’t like New York City. I visited it when I was in 9th grade because my sister was considering it and thought it was beautiful, loved the required curriculum, and wished it weren’t where it was so I could go there. It was also the first college I visited in a college visiting manner (I’d seen my brother’s and sister’s campuses), so it may be less beautiful and wonderful than I thought at the time. But I really don’t like New York. In the end, my sister didn’t even apply there, but rather tried for Barnard.
I’m irrationally biased against Brown, as are many people I know, because two guys from my school that sort of suck went there. I know it’s silly and likely reveals a lack of ability to ratiocinate, but, there you go.</p>
<p>Sorry if I scared anyone. I meant to say that the peer recs for Duke and Williams were OPTIONAL. Both can be emailed to the admissions office at the general email address (<a href=“mailto:admissions@school.edu”>admissions@school.edu</a> – the one in that format).</p>
Duke and Williams also have supplemental peer recs, and I was thinking of applying to both. Having to write an essay or not shouldn’t be the thing deciding where you choose to apply… It’s how much you want to go to a school [unless of course, you’re looking at a safety. :)]</p>