Williams vs Bowdoin vs Amherst vs Dartmouth

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>Hey guys! I am a rising senior in high school and am interested in the four following schools-- Williams College, Bowdoin College, Amherst College, and Dartmouth College. I am very interested in psychology (mainly) and education, as I want to work with special needs kids in an educational way when I grow up. I go to a very small private high school (300 kids) where there is an obvious community feeling, awesome teacher-student relationships, no bullying/cliques, everyone is accepting of each other-- we're pretty much one big family. I am not really a very social kid outside of school, as I am the kind who'd rather stay home in a comfortable setting than go out partying; have also never drunk nor smoked or done any drugs, so I wouldn't be really comfortable in a social climate where such behavior dominates. </p>

<p>Knowing this about me, I have a few questions--</p>

<p>1) How are the psychology and/or education departments at each school (versus the others)? In terms of professors, academics, post college-successes, etc.... strengths and weaknesses</p>

<p>2) How would you describe the social life? In terms of the people, dominant activities (drinking, extracurriculars, weekend stuff), etc. </p>

<p>3) Regarding the people, how would you describe them? Are they cliquey? Or are they accepting of one another, generally happy, care for one another, etc? What is the feeling you get when you walk through each campus?</p>

<p>4) In general, how are the professors? Are the professors willing to meet with you outside of class, answer questions readily, want to help you, care about your success, are knowledgeable in their respective fields, etc? Or the opposite?</p>

<p>5) Since I am pretty uncomfortable partying and doing a lot of social activities, how is the residential life? Is it beneficial in that you are able to make friends easily? Any good or bad experiences?</p>

<p>So I'm pretty much looking for pros and cons, similarities, differences, uniquenesses, etc. Anything else you want to add, please do! Thanks in advance!!</p>

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<p>All of these questions could be easily answered by looking at each school’s site, reading college prowler or unigo, or doing an overnight visit. Posting the same question in each of the 4 schools’ CC pages is not the way to go about this.</p>

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<p>I will say this:</p>

<p>Williams, Bowdoin and Amherst are among the very best LACs, so you will likely find that professors are fairly approachable.</p>

<p>And Dartmouth is probably the most undergrad-focused Ivy (maybe along with Princeton), so it fits in fairly well with the LACs in that regard. Plus, being a major university, there will be more courses available to help you shape the all-around education you prefer.</p>

<p>But since you already know the direction in which you are heading, and all of these are excellent schools… I think you should spend some time on each campus and set up some interviews/lunches with Psych faculty, if possible.</p>

<p>And as the previous poster stated, check out other online sites featuring student reviews.</p>

<p>The main point is, since the four schools are virtually equal in the quality of undergraduate education… you should be doing primary research to find your best fit. </p>