<p>Dartmouth’s greek scene is laid back. Not too many snooty sorority girls, everyone is welcome everywhere, people are much more oriented towards having fun than being exclusive or being judgmental.</p>
<p>There are many questions about WASH U vs. the Ivies. I was looking into running track for WashU but didn’t apply, now wish I had… I was also did the same for Dartmouth and managed to get accepted. I have a friend who goes to WashU and says that it is like an Ivy without the snoodyness and elitism. When I visited Dartmouth, I got that “Ivy” feeling… you know. It wasn’t for me. Anyone with a WashU/Dartmouth decision has a tough one. Ivy league reputation vs. great education and not-so-easy name recognition by employer… I’d go with WashU.</p>
<p>It is so irritating to hear comments like this^</p>
<p>Your friend goes to Wash U and says its like an Ivy without the elitism…how does he know what an Ivy is like? Why does he assume Ivies are more “snooty”? How do you know he’s not just another bitter Ivy reject.</p>
<p>And the fact that he’s comparing Wash U to an Ivy and saying its better is extremely cocky in itself. Please.</p>
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<p>No, I’ll validate this feeling right here. To be honest, the Ivy-sort of mentality is really difficult to avoid unless you went to a State school like I did (which was truly <em>laid back</em>). But come on, you don’t think Wash U students are snooty/elitist in the slightest? There are after all, bitter rejects. Same goes for Dartmouth as well.</p>
<p>Aside from the old South fraternity structure, if you really want to see <em>laid-back</em>, just go to a State U in Georgia or something. Just not the state flagships though.</p>
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<p>I am not going to lie that made me giggle.</p>
<p>Anyway, I said my bit earlier, vouching for Dartmouth. OP, you should consider visiting both schools I suppose.</p>
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<p>good thing all you made a claim to was harvard and yale law. oh wait…</p>
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<p>haha, any other reasons you feel the need to defend wesleyan because you feel insecure about your choice? you don’t see AWS kids on here defending their schools, maybe it’s because they’re “too busy being happy?” or more likely getting jobs. when you can’t find one law school is a pretty good prospect.</p>
<p>^Hey, wait a minute, when I’m on CC I’m at work and its before most of the real stuff comes in(post 5 pm)</p>
<p>^^ brand was asking for it, look at this guy, going to a second-tier liberal arts school, attacking schools he could only dream of getting into, and talking like he’s already going to harvard law.</p>
<p>elsijfdl, do you feel as if you are a good representation of the student body at Northwestern?</p>
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<p>Wait, top 10 is second tier now? What does that make Northwestern?</p>
<p>I mean, sure, Wesleyan is totally second tier, if first tier is only HPYSMC and AWS or something like that. But certainly if we define tiers like that, then Northwestern would be second tier as well (as are many other fantastic schools, but that’s the point).</p>
<p>“What does that make Northwestern?”</p>
<p>-Awesome?</p>
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<p>hawk – these are 2 different discussions.</p>
<p>There is nothing inherently wrong with the use of merit aid (that’s not the issue; artificially pumping down the admittance rate otoh…) – and while WUSTL is a fine school and doesn’t really need to justify or compare itself with the Ivies or other top schools – there’s something to be said when people post about how good WUSTL’s SAT scores are or how LOW its admit rate is in comparison to some Ivies or other top schools.</p>
<p>There’s a bit of self-serving when it comes to using such metrics – since we all know that WUSTL’s numbers are artificially boosted or lowered (to clarify, there’s nothing wrong in saying that WUSTL is a top school – but to use SAT scores and the admit rates as “justification”? I don’t think so).</p>
<p>jazzymom - merit aid is merit aid and need-based aid is need-based aid (there are students who get offered both).</p>
<p>^^^^^Well, if you ask me, Northwestern has always had an inferiority complex. It’s always had one vis a vis Chicago and now it seems to be whipping itself into a frenzy over an LAC in Connecticut a fraction its size. Maybe you want to try for Pomona next. Go ahead. Say, something about Pomona. I think Pomona is more prestigious than Northwestern.</p>
<p>^^^ good thing you go to wesleyan so you probably couldn’t even get in to any of the three schools you just mentioned so your opinion is… collateral.</p>
<p>“I think Pomona is more prestigious than Northwestern.”</p>
<p>-If you define ‘prestige’ as being less-known and less desired, then yeah, I can see that.</p>
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<p>Well, sure, Northwestern does seem pretty awesome, I never said otherwise (in fact, it was on my list, though not near the top, only because I preferred LACs). Wesleyan’s awesome too, IMO. Certainly they’re both top schools that are great (and have relatively similar stats via admit rates and SATs), but aren’t considered quite as “top” as HYP(etc.) or AWS. There is no reason to for Northwestern students to bash Wesleyan or act superior (or for Wes students to do the same to Northwestern students). Which was kind of what I was trying to say, though I admit I was being a little defensive. </p>
<p><em>holds everyone’s hand and sings Kumbaya. Or, if we MUST bash some school, we can all band together and bash Harvard, since they get all the fame even though we all know our schools are secretly WAY cooler</em></p>
<p>(That last part is a joke 
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<p>Regardless of how you view WashU’s practice in admission and FA, the fact is they do have a student body of very high caliber. You may question the process but you can’t deny the end result. I have criticized the way its admission office reported/calculated its stats and financial aid practice (not so much merit-aid itself but more on providing merit-aid while being need aware at the same time). But whatever goes on inside the admission/FA office stays there and has nothing to do with its academic programs. The academics is just as good as any of the top-10 school. It has high med school admit rate and students have done very well in winning prestigious scholarships…etc.</p>
<p>I don’t think Northwestern has inferiority complex. Honestly, most NU and Chicago crowds don’t interact much and most don’t think about each other. The two are so different anyway. I agree that calling Wesleyan/WashU as second tier is inappropriate and incorrect but the behavior of any poster isn’t representative of the student body. I think this thread has made people defensive.</p>
<p>It seems like johnny is making much to do about nothing.</p>
<p>Pomona>Northwestern.</p>
<p>^ not in size :D</p>