Hi All,
My son received offers from Swarthmore (4 year tuition free) and Dartmouth. He plans to study CS or Engineering, cost difference is 40K per year. Dartmouth closes to home. Decision will be made by him after visiting both schools, I would like to hear some input on alumni network and job placement in CS or Engineering field.
Thank you!
I hear Swarthmore and save $40k a year. That’ll buy a lot of trips home for arguably a superior name to begin with. Congrats.
Swarthmore advantage is also that it’s in society vs Dartmouth although not as close to skiing if that’s a love. . But it’s known to be intense so you may need to look at that.
Not sure either is tops for CS but what great names. And great campuses.
Congrats.
It takes 5 years to get an ABET accredited engineering degree at Dartmouth. Neither are engineering powerhouses. So, $200K more for Dartmouth wouldn’t be the call I’d make.
Even if you are saying that, as the parents you are willing to full pay, I’d suggest you save that $160k either to pay towards their grad school or gift as a nice down payment on a first home.
$160k is a ton of money especially when you consider that Swarthmore is a well regarded school. It’s not like he would be settling in turning down Dartmouth…
We looked at both for D14/18 for engineering, including several possible 2/3 programs that finished at Dartmouth. She attended Swat and graduated with an engineering degree.
The Swat Engin degree is general…there is no specialization. It was exactly what she wanted. Her professors were amazingly supportive, and she still communicates with one or two of them occasionally. Most of her engin friends went on to grad school at places like Princeton, MIT, Hopkins, and Berkeley (the ones I remember).
She was recruited by a start-up and has been there since. They told her after the hiring that they targeted Swat because they wanted someone with a different background from their own (the founders are all Ivy undergrad/grad engineers).
Dartmouth is a great school, but it was a bit isolated, and the partying reputation concerned her a bit. Both have great new engineering buildings. Swats wasn’t finished until after she graduated.
In principle I am on team SaveMoney, but irl I can not imagine that he won’t immediately have a very, very strong preference for one or the other. The campus cultures could hardly be more different.
Was there a 3rd choice?
Or more?
Thank you so much for all the inputs! Appreciate your kindness! He also got offers from Tufts, UIUC, Purdue, Colby, McGill…, I personally prefer small size school, and will let him make his final decision. But would like to hear some suggestions, comments, opinions.
I’d stick with your initial reactions, and not re-evaluate unless he isn’t comfortable with either. There is going to be a lot of support for some of the others that you just listed…but you posted the first 2 for a reason.
You prefer but yes what does he ?
Others you mentioned…UIUC specifically…are well known in cs. What’s the $ delta there ?
Yes, I think I will narrow down for this two. Thank you!
I would eliminate Colby if he wants to be an engineer. It’s a good school, but the only way into engineering is via a transfer. There are lots of problems associated with that.
I’d also eliminate Dartmouth if he wants to be an engineer, unless he’s interested in a non-ABET degree as a gateway into finance. There’s no reason to take 5 years for a BS.
Of the remaining schools, McGill, Illinois and Purdue are the strongest engineering programs (as judged by facilities and depth of curriculum), but they are large.
Tufts is smaller, but they don’t offer merit aid. It will likely be full pay.
That really leaves Swarthmore as the best option in my opinion.
I am not sure how strong the career support in Swarthmore, I do know Dartmouth’s Alumni network is strong, and friends’ kids were very proud and satisfied on that. Thank you!
One could easily argue Swarthmore is superior to Dartmouth in most any area …and as @eyemgh stated Dartmouth is 5 years (up to 5.5 per their website)for engineering. That’s not just another year of $80k+ but it’s a year of lost income.
Frankly and I was thinking CS…I missed engineering….you could go to U of Kentucky and I’d say that over Dartmouth for engineering.
My point is. Dartmouth is a great name but not necessarily a great engineering name whereas Purdue and UIUC are.
The problem is he has not decided if he will study in Engineering or CS, I am guessing the chance to study CS is higher. Not sure if Dartmouth CS is better than Swarthmore’s. Thank you!
Even if it were, not $40k better.
Not sure at each did you apply to a specific major? If so is it easy to move? Likely although I’ve not researched to know.
I’d go with Swarthmore, for free tuition. Even bottom of the barrel Comp Sci program grads are getting great jobs, and after your first job, it’s all about what you can do, rather than where you went to school. Plus he can always get a master’s from someplace else. Plus he’s in the Quaker Consortium, and so would probably have access to Penn. Swarthmore is near Philly, for possible internships. Plus it may very well be that the atmosphere at Swarthmore would be a better fit for him.
Full tuition scholarship at Swarthmore? Very nice.
CS or Engineering, I’d still choose Swarthmore among those two.
I’ve been to Dartmouth. I liked the campus. It just seems like far too much money to pay for a program that is less well regarded than the likes of Iowa State, for either CS or Engineering.
Swarthmore is a different beast all together. They are small and have limited facilities, but they have a strong faculty and strong student body. They are more analogous to Harvey Mudd or Olin.
For engineering and CS the program gravitas is much more important than that of the whole school.
Thank you so… much for all the responses! it is really helpful! Will see how he feels after the school visit.
Swarthmore. It was our surprise favorite college visit. The students we met were down to earth, articulate, inquisitive, and multi-faceted. Individualized student support seems outstanding. And your child received an excellent financial aid package.