<p>Long time reader, first time contributor...
Hey guys, I'm wondering if you could help me out.
I'm torn between Duke and Dartmouth. I felt more right at Duke, but everyone else is telling me Dartmouth. Are they right? Why is Duke better? I need some good reasons to convince mis padres. Duke is giving me a bit less than Dartmouth, but my parents tell me that if I give them 5 good reasons to go to Duke, they'll make the check out to it. I need to decide by April 30. Please help? Thanks.</p>
<p>incollege88, here's another one.</p>
<ol>
<li> Broader curriculum to choose from</li>
<li> Stronger graduate programs (if you go to Duke undergrad, you'll have a better chance of getting into Duke Med/Biz/Law)</li>
<li> Larger, more diverse student body</li>
<li> Geography (not as isolated and better weather)</li>
<li> Because it should be your decision, not your parents</li>
</ol>
<p>dartmouth. sucks.</p>
<p>Haha, no offense Dukies but I am countering jamesbduke's countering in favor of Dartmouth. Honestly though, there is no prestige difference. Take this from a Dartmouth alum.</p>
<ol>
<li>Dartmouth gives more attention to undergrads</li>
<li>Dartmouth business is better than Duke's</li>
<li>Dartmouth is actually more diverse, and smaller is better = more intimate and closer</li>
<li>The snow is so fun! Especially when you own a skiway</li>
<li>Agreed.</li>
</ol>
<p>BTW- WOW, so many Dartmouth/ Duke splits this year!</p>
<p>I agree with slipper about prestige. The funny thing about this dilemma is mostly that the two schools are so similar in terms of student body, reputation, and social scene. There is no wrong choice, you should follow you gut feeling (which, in this case, seems to be leaning towards Duke). However, there are several things that may tip the scale:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Duke is still a very undergraduate-focused school. And, with the addition of President Brodhead, whose chief expertise is running the undergraduate college at Yale, it should stay this way. However, Duke has some amazing resources that Dartmouth just doesn't have. For example, the Duke Primate Center, the Duke Forest, the Duke Marine Lab, and a more extensive library than Dartmouth. Duke also has a top-5 hospital right on campus in which to do research. In fact, doing research is incredibly easy at Duke regardless of the field--you can literally start first semester of your freshman year. </p></li>
<li><p>Duke's campus--come on! Have you seen it?? With the new construction going on it is just getting better. The campuses/gardens here are gorgeous and meticulously well-maintained. I've never seen Dartmouth, but I know you can't get better than West Campus.</p></li>
<li><p>As for diversity, I think slipper is going on old numbers. Nowadays, Duke is the more diverse school: At Duke, 11.3% of students are black, 17% are Asian, 8% are international, and 6-7% are hispanic. At Dartmouth, only 7% of students are African American, 13% are Asian, 5% are international, and 6% are hispanic--though there is a sizable Native American population (4%) which Duke lacks.</p></li>
<li><p>Weather, location, and social scene--Again, come on! Do you really want to make yourself miserable for four years living in Cow Hampshire?? Dartmouth is extremely isolated. And whereas Durham is no gem, it at least has plenty of great restaurants, clubs, and bars to change the social scene up a little. At Dartmouth, everything is even more Greek-dominated than at Duke, though I do believe that the Greek system is better-organized at Dartmouth.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, Duke is a young school that is getting better at an incredibly fast pace. Dartmouth is old and has become somewhat sedentary, resting on its age and Ivy laurels rather than striving to achieve the very best, which is what Duke is doing. Though I am not one to believe in rankings, there is something to say about how Duke, 150 years younger than Dartmouth, is already ranked more highly in just about every ranking you can find. </p></li>
<li><p>As for what most students do when in this situation, they come out (of course lol) completely split 50-50, so that is not helpful. However, you might wanna talk to "divagurl" who is a student on CC at Dartmouth who's presently trying to transfer to Duke if you want a unique perspective on the situation.</p></li>
<li><p>Oh, and though it's not incredibly important, Duke does a tad bit better in getting kids into the best medical and law schools than Dartmouth. You'd think that "Ivy begets Ivy" but actually if you look at how many kids from both schools end up going to Harvard and Yale law schools in the last two years, Duke clearly wins, even when correcting for Dartmouth's smaller size: Duke has sent 166 students to HY law in the last two years versus Dartmouth's 78. There's also that Wall Street Journal ranking, but that's a whole other story...</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>Do you really want to make yourself miserable for four years living in Cow >Hampshire?? And whereas Durham is no gem...</p>
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<p>BS followed by the understatement of the millenium. </p>
<p>I've never heard a single person say he or she was miserable at all at Dartmouth, let alone for four years.</p>
<p>Durham is a pit.</p>
<p>Actually. I beg to differ. I've known 5 people that have transferred out to other schools because this place..is well..just kinda depressing in the winter time. Snow is fun. But when you have snow from...well Nov to April. Now that's kinda ridiculous. College is completely what you make of it. Even if you do have a car, there's still nothing to do. West Leb? Come on...its a Kmart and a Walmart and TJMaxx. And then the porn shop/strip club burnt down there...so I guess there really isn't anything to do now! Housing at Dartmouth is ridiculous sometimes, esp if you are a sophmore. If I don't get into Duke. I'm so screwed for housing. Off campus, a one bedroom apt is $2100 a month, same as Manhattan.</p>
<p>"Off campus, a one bedroom apt is $2100 a month"</p>
<p>WHAT? WHY?!</p>
<p>Cause some people really love Dartmouth, the alums come back and buy property and it's a very expensive place to live. Hanover is a really really wealthy town. The Inn here is $310 a night, and believe me it's nothing special. The stores here are about as expensive as boutiques in Manhattan (sorry, my dad lives there, so I know).</p>
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<p>The Inn here is $310 a night, and believe me it's nothing special</p>
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<p>I was just there, and it was $175/night. It was very nice.</p>
<p>d-dad, u are so biased just because your daughter chose to go to dartmouth. Thus, you feel obligated to defend a school you already agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars into. "Durham is a pit." Are you kidding? Durham is awesome. We have snow like Dartmouth, then awesome malls, restaurants, and boutiques. PLUS, WE GOTTA FRICKING BEACH, SON...errr....DAD!</p>
<p>divagurl, I have no idea what you are talking about. I NEVER paid more than 500 a month, and that was TWO years ago!! We rented 3 Dorrance, a quintessential Dartmouth house for 2000 total. The highest I have ever heard for a place is 650/ month. That is a crazy exaggeration. </p>
<p>As for Lebanon, honestly Durham isnt that much better. And no one goes to Dartmouth to hang out in Leb, you go for the campus. I was in Hanover, or I was in Boston or Montreal on road trips every once in a while. </p>
<p>Finally, yeah first year winted sux if you arent the type of person who likes to ski, sled, play in the snow etc...for me it was awesome. Also, you can design your Dartmouth experience so you can miss winter and spend it somewhere warm. Sophomore summer and the study abroad is amazing.</p>
<p>As for # students in HY law, that's cause only about 6% of Dartmouth's student body annually goes to law school and the school is about 2/3 the size of duke.</p>
<p>Anyway, just defending Dartmouth. Both are awesome.</p>
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<p>d-dad, u are so biased etc.</p>
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<p>No obligation, just saying what I think. Honestly, Duke is obviously a great school, and until my daughter visited, I thought she might go there. She just liked Dartmouth a lot better. I'm glad of that, in large part, due to the high crime rate in Durham.</p>
<p><a href="http://durham.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm%5B/url%5D">http://durham.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.idcide.com/citydata/nh/hanover.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.idcide.com/citydata/nh/hanover.htm</a></p>
<p>d-da, ur daughter will not die at Duke! </p>
<p>Incollege88 and I would keep her safe. haha</p>
<p>exactly it was around 2000 right? That's cause you shared...I just said that the rent was 2100, which is right. 2100 a month. If you wanna share, yeah, if you don't ok. But still 2100 for a one bedroom? Come on now.</p>
<p>I know. my roomate is renting it..the place above Murphy's</p>
<p>look. the main thing is. both schools are amazing academic powerhouses. It just depends what you want in the location.</p>
<p>divagurl--what's. with your. periods.??</p>
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<p>divagurl--what's. with your. periods.??</p>
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<p>We must all resist the temptation......</p>