<p>I generally agree with the sentiments on this thread. It really is a personal decision depending on whether one has an urban or rural preference. There are some things I disagree with, however:</p>
<p>“A research recommendation from a bio faculty member at Hopkins is worth a lot more than one from a bio faculty member at Dartmouth also should you choose to do grad school.
That is a ridiculous statement. The odds are that the Dartmouth rec will be from a full Prof, while the Hopkins rec will be from an adjunct or tenure-track assist/assoc. Which is better? Who knows…”</p>
<p>I’m saying a recommendation from a full professor in biology (which undergrads are accessible to at Hopkins. Go to the bio faculty lab group website to find student researchers for credence to this assertion) at Hopkins is worth more than a comparable one at Dartmouth. If you’re trying to argue full faculty is less accessible at Hopkins, that’s a bit of a stretch as you weren’t a student there. I can attest to my observation of faculty recommendation weighting having partaked in Stanford’s graduate fellowship admissions committee. In this vein, I was exposed to admissions critieria for the most selective fellowships for a variety of fields. </p>
<p>“In the end, they really are academic peer schools. Go where you think you will enjoy yourself more for four years, or whichever is cheapest and offers the best financial aid (which will be D).”</p>
<p>Again, the latter statement is a bit of a stretch. School’s are known to give less financial aid to waitlist admitted applicants. I would not be surprised if the OP received far less in aid from Dartmouth.</p>
<p>"Quote:
JHU applicants get a bump in GPA and MCAT.
Not enough of one considering only 63% get into medical school. </p>
<p>Only JHU students or alums would vote for it here. Dartmouth is the better undergraduate college, more fun, and a lot safer."</p>
<p>That’s an interesting comment considering you didn’t attend both. Great observation that absolutely adds nothing to the discussion. Please quantify fun for me.</p>
<p>One interesting note is the OP is an engineering major at Hopkins. If he does switch, I kind of doubt it would be to the humanities or social sciences (which JHU is more renowned for relative to Dartmouth anyways), despite having these students in the minority (IR is the largest major on campus, however). The fundamental argument in this thread is that Darmouth provides a “better” undergraduate education because faculty will have more time to devote to students by virtue of having less graduate students (even discounting the non-consequential (8:1 faculty to student ratio at Dartmouth versus 9:1 at Hopkins). If this were true, why would anyone go to the top research universities instead of Williams or quasi LAC schools like Dartmouth? There’s a reason. Being able to work hand in hand with nobel prize winning and famous research faculty as undergrads is a definite draw that Dartmouth and other LACs cannot provide. Dartmouth does provide better placement in investment banking and consulting by virtue of Tuck’s reputation and alumni network.</p>