Premed - Dartmouth or Duke~

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Hm...The title of the thread says it all~
But let me clarify things becuz i noe "many people" will go "another premed...?!?!"</p>

<p>First and foremost, I know that both schools are great~! (I know i'm splitting a hair...)
But i'm simply tryin to find the "best" school~</p>

<p>Research: I feel duke beats dartmouth marginally in this area because duke is a full blown university~ In terms of research technology, # of opportunities, etc. Above all, the research triangle exists at Duke~ Anyone wish to clarify? Dartmouth also has chances and everything, but does it compete with duke?</p>

<p>Undergrad Focus: Dartmouth beats duke here because dartmouth is mainly undergrads...I feel duke, though they do say that they focus on undergrads a lot, still has a preference over grad students in terms of research opportunities, etc. Clarification?</p>

<p>Volunteer Opportunities: Since Duke is next to Durham/Hospital...I feel that duke has more opportunities to do a variety of volunteering chances from tutoring local students to helping people at the local hospital~ I know Dartmouth has its own hospital, but the size is nothing in comparison~ The rural location of Dartmouth simply seems to prevent as many opportunities than Duke...Am i mistaken about this?</p>

<p>Flexibility of Curriculum: D-Plan...OMG!!! I feel that the D-Plan can kind of make up for all the lack of opportunities that the location of Dartmouth fails to offer~ I feel that I can go anywhere to experience all sorts of things at Dartmouth while im limited to North Carolina at Duke year-long except in the summers~ Duke's semester system seems like any other college where i can only study abroad realistically for one semester while at Dartmouth i can actually study abroad many times if i truly want~</p>

<p>Studying Abroad: I know that both schools have great programs...But Dartmouth seems to offer more~ Hahaha What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Fun: In all honesty, both schools seem like O.O when it comes to fun~ Frats exist in both and are crazy at both...Though im curious if Duke is rather exclusive cuz i know Dartmouth parties are open to everyone~ Dartmouth has a crap load of outdoor stuff from kayaking to snowboarding (!!!!!!) but Duke is near Chapel Hill...The classic college town~ </p>

<p>Community: I keep getting the vibe that Dartmouth is very inter-connected and that everyone knows each other~ Everyone becomes good friends with one another while at Duke i feel that everyone splits into factions and has their "own" group of friends~ I wanna ask if that Duke vibe i get is actually kind of true~ Because the tight-knit community that Dartmouth offers is hard to beat, but I wanna know if Duke also has it~ Cuz the Duke vibe seems to be that ppl cant hang out w/ the jocks if you aern't that "cool"</p>

<p>In the end...I wanna become a doctor. However, i know undergrad comes once in my life and i shouldnt limit myself to ONLY the sciences cuz if i go to medical school my life will be dominated by the sciences. As you can tell...I'm really divided b/w the two schools a lot! I feel Dartmouth is more humanities oriented (the LAC style) while Duke gives more of the science vibe (university style)~ Ultimately, I enjoy everything about Dartmouth but i'm afraid that Duke's strong science opportunities/volunteer opportunities/premed opportunities (things i can do to get into medical school) are generally/marginally stronger than Dartmouth's! I feel that Duke could possibly do a better job in placing me into a great medical school with its 85% placement record! But at the same time, Duke might trap me inside that "premed bubble" where sciences dominate me while at Dartmouth i'll be more well-rounded? Haha >.<</p>

<p>Opinions anyone?</p>

2

<p>Research: Duke wins because of proximity to the research triangle, grad facilities, etc. Dartmouth is one of only 2 colleges with an fMRI machine though so if you’re into psych/brain sciences it might edge out.</p>

<p>Undergrad Focus: Dartmouth wins by a landslide. Focus on undergraduates is paramount at Dartmouth COLLEGE and it shows.</p>

<p>Volunteer Opportunities: Dartmouth’s top 2 recruiters after graduation are Teach for America and the Peace Corps; there is a strong ethic of volunteerism. Duke might have more opportunities specifically for volunteering in a premed capacity though.</p>

<p>Flexibility of Curriculum: Dartmouth’s D-Plan is one of it’s biggest selling points and definitely wins out in terms of flexibility.</p>

<p>Studying Abroad: Dartmouth again wins, largely because of the D-Plan but also because of sheer number of study abroad programs.</p>

<p>Fun: Both are quite fratty and very fun, Dartmouth maybe a bit stronger Greek scene. Duke has a more jock-oriented vision of fun while Dartmouth’s is more outdoorsy.</p>

<p>Community: Dartmouth’s rural setting and strong student spirit win out here. There’s no place off campus to go so lots of people are really close on campus.</p>

<p>I’d personally say Dartmouth is better (it’s the one I chose between the two) but as a student here it goes without saying I’m biased. I’d be happy to expound more later on any of the above points or answer questions about anything else! Email me at <a href=“mailto:hix@dartmouth.edu”>hix@dartmouth.edu</a> if you want to chat.</p>

3

<p>Hm…Biggest question is how does Dartmouth do in terms of medical school placement?</p>

<p>I’ve been tryin to find out cuz Duke has reports online…But i cant seem to find Dartmouth’s percentanges at the career service page at Dartmouth >.< (Only lists which schools…)</p>

4

<p>Research: Dartmouth easily, easily wins on this metric. It doesn’t matter if Duke has superior facilities if you, as an undergraduate, can’t get access to them. According to my Dean, it’s absurdly easy to procure opportunities at Dartmouth. He has worked at both Brown and Dartmouth and even at Brown, which is also known for its undergraduate focus, it’s still harder to get opportunities there because of the graduate students. At the very least, you can just sit on your ass and an opportunity will come your way via the Presidential Scholar’s program if you maintain a certain GPA in the Top 40th percentile. I don’t think any other school actually goes out of its way to give you an opportunity just like that.</p>

<p>Volunteer Opportunities: I think the Tucker Foundation is pretty good.</p>

5

<p>Something else to keep in mind: I’m not sure how they do it at Duke, but Dartmouth doesn’t screen their medical school applicants. If you want to apply to medical school, Dartmouth will help you with your application and give you a dean’s letter. I’ve heard of many other schools that ‘screen’ their applicants beforehand and only give letters to those likely to get into medical school so as to artificially inflate their acceptance rate. Even without this inflation, Dartmouth grads are still accepted at something like a 90% rate.</p>

6

<p>It’s more like 83%, and that’s not considering the people who drop out of premed because they know they can’t make it.</p>

7

<p>83% medical school acceptance? That’s really good…Duke is about 85%~ But i dont think a 2% difference is a HUGE difference Haha</p>

<p>Though…Where did you get the 83% acceptance rate from?</p>

8

<p>jrrrmph, You probably have more recent figures than I do. That said, people dropping out of premed track is hardly a Dartmouth-only phenomenon.</p>

9

<p>Yeah I know. It’s just a poor metric to use. What’s more important to know is that premed here is likely not as cutthroat as at JHU or Duke.</p>

10

<p>It’s absurd to suggest that Duke undergraduates don’t get access to their research facilities. Although it is not as small and intimate as Duke, it is definitely an undergraduate focused school and is pretty small to begin with. We’re not talking about Michigan or Berkeley here. Duke is a medium sized private institution with a plethora of opportunities for its undergrads.</p>

<p>Dartmouth is smaller but at some point you have to draw a line regarding how much the small size really “benefits” the school. I personally wouldn’t want to go to a college with just 50 kids per class for instance even though there will be a billion opportunities for research for each kid. Duke is plently small enough to get the attention you need.</p>

<p>Dartmouth’s D-Plan is awesome though. Not sure how it comes into play for premeds.</p>

11

<p>Really? You would PREFER to have larger class sizes?</p>

<p>Also, I think you meant “…not as small and intimate as Dartmouth…” Probably a Freudian slip.</p>