<p>I have been trying to choose a first choice school. I am stuck choosing between Dartmouth and Bowdoin. Both of these schools drew me with their proximity to the outdoors, and outdoor programs, as well as academic rigor.
There are some big differences between the 2 schools. Mainly the size, greek life, and academic focus. At Dartmouth I loved the academic possibilities and the emphasis on undergrads. However, I am someone who is not a huge party-goer. That is not to say I do not like drinking and want a alcohol-free environment. I like the fact that there is a party scene and having the opportunity to drink and go to a crazy party if I want. However, I fear that the student body will be overwhelmingly filled with students who are only concerned with partying, and don't really want to make good friends. It is hard to accurately describe but I don't want a college where my only friends are people I know from a dark room with music playing, I would prefer to be able to form meaningful friendships and have a relationship besides partying. I want to be able to leave a class with somebody and go talk for an hour about academic topics, or a canoeing/hiking trip we went on, or a cool idea I had for a new school club rather than just how many girls we hooked up with last weekend. That is part of the appeal of outing clubs, is it offers a chance to form friends in a fun, healthy, and deeper level.
If I went to Dartmouth, would I be able to fit in and connect with interesting, intellectual, and awesome people?
Anyway, onto bowdoin, I really liked the small school feel, where everyone really knows each other. I also liked the outing club and outdoorsy feel around the campus. The only thing I did not love is that although Bowdoin has great academics, it is not the most challenging school I could get admitted to. I am afraid if I go there I will spend my time wondering if at Dartmouth, Brown etc. I could have had more opportunities. I am afraid I will end up feeling like I could have done better.
Does anyone have any input on how going to bowdoin would vary/fall short/exceed going to dartmouth?</p>
<p>“Does anyone have any input on how going to bowdoin would vary/fall short/exceed going to dartmouth?”</p>
<p>Both Dartmouth and Bowdoin will have some people who are primarily interested in partying and hanging out in dark rooms with music pumping… but you will have LOTS of other people to hang out with at either place. Most people at Dartmouth are, as you are, really interested in connecting to people in other, meaningful ways. The stereotype of Dartmouth as a party school is overblown: the student body is also full of other types. I found an awesome crew of outdoorsy, fun, interesting people who were not uberdorks but who were interested in meaningful connections and experiences, including everything from late night sledding (sober) to having great dinner parties to intellectual conversations over coffee to going for awesome hikes on the weekends.
The main differences between Bowdoin and Dartmouth, I’d say, will be size and the exposure you get to the things that a slightly bigger, higher profile school can offer: international programs, a bigger national profile so that there are more programs and bigwigs coming to campus, exposure to groundbreaking research and more resources. Dartmouth is also less isolated than Bowdoin: if you want to, you can take a bus to Boston or NYC, which means more people come up from those places too. I chose Dartmouth because it was small enough to develop a tight community but big enough so that by senior year I wasn’t bored and I was still meeting new people. And the exposure to ideas, people and world class opportunities was fantastic. </p>
<p>As a very very rare partier, I loved Dartmouth! I found friends who will be in my life for a long long time, and who are amazing people, as did everyone I know from Dartmouth.</p>