<p>ummm. You’re sort of contradicting yourself. How would you feel if you were put in a class full of academic powerhouses, knowing that only 3 out of every 10 will get As (regardless of your abilities)? Justmy twocents. I know a current Princeton junior who works his BUTTOCKS off and yet barely manages to make a 3.0 every semester. That sort of competition can NOT be healthy. I actually encourage grade inflation at the most selective schools, since the kids who go there most probably had to go through a lot of competition at their high schools. Again, just my two cents.</p>
<p>The average GPA at Princeton according to the article is now 3.39. That’s not “massive” grade inflation. I think Penn’s average GPA is lower than that as is Cornell and some other top schools like Swarthmore. That means the average grade is greater than a B+ (between a B+/A-). Plus, all of the media attention and letters sent out mean admissions officers will probably give a bump to Princeton students with slightly lower GPAs. It’s really not that big of a deal. Because of massive grade inflation at places like Yale, Brown, and Stanford, students with 3.0’s look really bad there while at Princeton that still looks like a decent/good GPA, so overall I don’t think this “policy” (which isn’t totally followed by faculty anyway) isn’t that damaging. It just makes it very difficult for Princeton students to get those top, top GPA’s (3.88+).</p>
<p>I don’t think the statement about “massive grade inflation” at Stanford is at all true. For pre-med science courses the curve is centered on a B, so that about 30% of the class gets an A/A-, 30% B+/B/B-, and 30% C - hardly grade inflation!!</p>
<p>I would pick Princeton.</p>
<p>^ And I would, most likely, pick Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Nice choice to make!
Our son graduated from Dartmouth last year, but we live in the Princeton area and spend quite a bit of time on the campus. Externally, Princeton offers a lot more than Dartmouth in terms of access to metropolitan areas, on campus speakers, etc. Facilities are superior and dining is much better than Dartmouths offerings. Quality of education is probably equal. Of the Ivys, these are the two schools that really do focus on the undergraduate. Princeton does seem to have have a higher brand recognition nationally.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a column in the Daily Princetonian in which an insider, who attended both schools, gives a perspective.</p>
<p>[The</a> Prox: Orange and Apples: Dartmouth](<a href=“http://blogs.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/01/orange-and-apples-dartmouth.html]The”>http://blogs.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/01/orange-and-apples-dartmouth.html)</p>
<p>Princeton. No doubt.</p>
<p>Congratulations to have earned such a choice. Visiting each school during admitted student weekends is likely the best advice to help you make such a choice.
I have a son who is a recent Dartmouth graduate, and a daughter who is a current Princeton student. In my biased way, I am ready to think that these are the two best schools in America.
Dartmouth offers the opportunity to be isolated with talented and most often incredibly smart people for four years. The opportunity to have a “time out” in a close knit way with your peers on a day-to-day basis, isolated from considerations of career, in an environment that in your biography will not be repeated, is priceless. Chances are, you will live most of your working life in major metropolitan areas. Dartmouth is an exceptional experience.
Princeton is almost like Oz. It is second to Dartmouth, in my opinion, among the most social Ivy schools. On a level slightly different than Dartmouth, by virtue of your enrollment, your ticket has been punched. Doors will open in the outside world in an almost unfair way, whether at the New Yorker or on Wall Street.
Very few students are unhappy for long at either school. No wonder they have such high alumni donation rates, and that graduates get smiles on their faces when their university is mentioned.
You can’t go wrong either way.</p>