<p>I see I see. But what would the definition of "strong alumni relations and connections" ? If I picked up the phone and called up an alumni would I get hooked up with a job?</p>
<p>Also what do you think about minority culture at Dartmouth? Would minorities like asians, hispanics, and blacks benefit from this tight knit alumni as well? Or is it more atone to this WASPY image of seclusion (for some reason I just get this imagery in my head).</p>
<p>Well ofcourse I wouldn't expect to just pick up a phone, call an alumn and demand a job. I meant that Dartmouth was always percieved as a school where the alumni take care of their own and provide an easier in road into certain sectors. Similar to Princeton. </p>
<p>I doubt that its just a WASPY thing though. I was just curious if the alumni networking was also helpful for graduate students.</p>
<p>"I see I see. But what would the definition of "strong alumni relations and connections" ? If I picked up the phone and called up an alumni would I get hooked up with a job?"</p>
<p>Not literally. No. But as far as I've seen, the columbia grads I've spoken to or interviewed with have been exceedingly helpful and/or supportive</p>
<p>Many of Dartmouth's more successful alums happen to be minorities and the networking is welcome to all. The WASPy image is a remnant of a time passed. But choose a school for fit. </p>
<p>At the end of the day if you work hard and follow the right path there isn't going to be a huge difference between most of the Ivies. Choose Dartmouth because you like community, the idea of great study abroad, enjoy arndom fun like jumping off a rope swing or having a snowball fight, like an intimate academic environment, and prefer lots of school loyalty. Choose a place like Columbia if you aren;t as community focused, like the idea of being in NYC, don't really desire intimacy from the administration, like high culture like fashion and art, or even if you prefer to hang out mostly with a set minority group as opposed to the entire school.</p>
<p>I like a little of both. If Columbia had an alumni network and a really helpful adminstration, then I would go there in a heartbeat. The thing is that I am going to be shelling out quite a bit of cash for these advanced degrees. </p>
<p>"Many of Dartmouth's more successful alums happen to be minorities and the networking is welcome to all. "</p>
<p>Do you attend or did attend Dartmouth, slipper1234? Also, what did you mean by the successful Dartmouth alumni being in the minority? What do the majority of alumns go off to do?</p>
<p>Yes I attended Dartmouth. I mean many successful Dartmouth alums are part of minority groups. I was debunking the myth that Dartmouth only helps WASPy types. Totally not true.</p>
<p>If I were you I would go to the best and most structured graduate program possible. I think Georgetown seems like the best bet off the cuff.</p>
<p>Wait, Texassoccer is looking for grad programs, not a college?</p>
<p>I think we need a clarification on his/her situation. Can we get some background here please?</p>
<p>Finished a BA in Economics from a top 20, have one internship under my belt, do not want to go into the workforce yet and am thinking about jumping into an MA program at either Columbia or Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Texassoccer84-
It's not surprising that Dartmouth placed high because the studies ignored people with grad degrees. Dartmouth undergrads are smart (it's SAT's median and 75 percentile is lower than only Caltech, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT), which partly explains why its undergrads are so successful even without going on to get grad degreed.</p>
<p>So it has nothing to do with Dartmouth's alumni network being so strong? I mean Dartmouth beat out the other schools with higher SAT median scores.</p>
<p>For a job in finance with comparable stats, I highly highly doubt a dartmouth grad could land a job over a Columbia grad. Students at different schools, have different preference's. I think Columbia is more intellectual and Dartmouth more pre-professional, so more dartmouth grads choose to go into those high paying jobs. Yet if your interested in wallstreet both will serve you equally well.</p>
<p>Strong alumni network definitely matters. People tends to support their school. I think people on CC proves that. And therefore, people tend to support others who attended their school. I do agree with Bescraze. Dartmouth grads tend to choose business while Columbia students tend to choose research. It doesn't mean that Dartmouth grads would have an edge in business or Columbia grads would have an edge in research.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So it has nothing to do with Dartmouth's alumni network being so strong? I mean Dartmouth beat out the other schools with higher SAT median scores.
[/quote]
the results of that study have nothing to do with anything. what part of "the methodology was flawed" is not making sense?</p>
<hr>
<p>What sort of MA program are you looking at in the two schools? What jobs would you like to get after graduation? How is the MA going to improve your ability to get those jobs, or internships to help you get those jobs? Why Columbia vs Dartmouth, why not a whole host of other schools?</p>
<p>I'm not seeing a lot of focus here.</p>
<p>This is all a function of the student body. More Columbia students are content to be freelance artists than anywhere else, and there are fewer pre-law and business school types. The opportunities are certainly at the school, though. This is a top 10 school in the US.</p>
<p>Texassoccer84,</p>
<p>In attempting to help posters, I sometimes find in istructive to look at their old posts. Here are some of the posts I found for you:</p>
<p>8/26/08
Finished a BA in Economics from a top 20, have one internship under my belt, do not want to go into the workforce yet and am thinking about jumping into an MA program at either Columbia or Dartmouth</p>
<p>8/25/08
Dartmouth PhD in Mathematics.... </p>
<hr>
<p>I was accepted into the PhD program at Dartmouth but I was wondering if I should accept now or wait until I recieve an offer from another top school</p>
<p>6/29/08
Well that's really good to hear. It's great that Duke is getting the respect it deserves. And in a booming place like the UK too. My first degree was in Econ from Harvard and I am hoping to do Public Policy and International Development at Duke. I am hoping to work overseas and one of the places I am looking at is the UK/EU.</p>
<p>6/21/08
Trying to decide between an MA in East Asian Studies and Modern European Studies. These degrees would both focus on socio-political/economic issues.
I want to go into Consulting, Finance or Development (foreign service, NGO, Public).</p>
<p>6/18/08
Please rank the following schools... </p>
<hr>
<p>Columbia
Duke
Dartmouth
UPenn </p>
<p>Please rank these in the order you think is the most prestigious and internationally recognized? I recieved acceptence letter from all of them. Thanks</p>
<p>4/7/08
LSE or Georgetown? </p>
<hr>
<p>MSc Management and Stragedy or Georgetown Masters in Social and Public Policy? Which would seem like a better deal? </p>
<p>Which school has a better international reputation? Which one can I be sage to travel with if I ever want to skip town ( or the country) and settle in a nation abroad?</p>
<p>According to this, you have been accepted to, but not yet enrolled in, graduate programs at:</p>
<p>Dartmouth - Math Phd
Columbia MA
Duke MA
Dartmouth MA
UPenn MA
Georgetown MA
London School of Economics MA</p>
<p>To say that this stretches credulity would be a vast understatment.</p>
<p>I have found that people on this site are sincere in the desire to help others, and go out of their way to take the time to do so. When poster like you degrade the system with obviously false information, everybody loses.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that Columbia's alumni connections are weak by any means. While it is no way to the same extent as HYP, I know plenty of people (my mother included) that have their jobs because of their Columbia connections. The connections may not be as strong as some of the other Ivies, but it is certainly strong compared to other schools.</p>
<p>dad4son, I am thinking about ALL of those grad schools, but the main ones I am focusing on are the MA at Columbia and the program at Dartmouth. Simply, put I want to go into the development/economics field.</p>
<p>I would go to Gtown for International development, Columbia for econ at the GRADUATE level. I think Dartmouth;s advantages, simply put, are far greater at the undergrad level than graduate level.</p>
<p>The MA at Columbia would be in Modern European Studies, but the department said I could focus my studies on the Economic and Socio-Political issues of the region. I would take some courses at Columbia Business School and SIPA as long as it related to my thesis. So there are some advantages with that program. </p>
<p>Dartmouth offered a lot more aid and their program would be a hell of a lot cheaper than Columbia. The only reason why I strongly pursued this option was because of Dartmouth's rather open administration and less bureaucratic nature. I figured I would've taken advantage of the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, started up a few campus groups and found work at the Med School or where ever as a research assistant. That sort of stuff. But if doing any of that wasn't an option than I would pass on the Big Green. </p>
<p>Gtown is one that I was considering the most but am a bit afraid that I would be turned down. Columbia and Dartmouth were more of the shoe-ins.</p>
<p>I see what dad4son is saying.</p>
<p>All of your posts say that you "accepted" to those programs.</p>