Rice, Dartmouth, or Berkeley?

cptofthehouse
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 13:47:25 +0000

Love Dartmouth, but for those who want to be closer to some city than a couple of hours a way, that is an issue. Hanover is not a major city by a long stretch. As for internships, if you are not a “connected” student with family in places to help with the jobs and not in a field that has a lot of jobs out there, and not at the top of your class, getting a good internship, job can be a challenge. Though east coast name recognition is higher for Dartmouth, especially in Boston and NYC, Rice has a lot of opportunities that east coasters do not get a whiff of, as does Berkeley. So unless the East Coast is a priority , do look long and hard at the opportunity stats. And this winter was one that really is making a lot of people rethink living up north. Brrr.

Be aware that at Berkeley and RIce, you are less likely to know people, even indirectly if you are an east coaster. The overwhelming % of those at Cal are Californeans and RIce is nearly half Texans. My son went to an OOS public where a cousin goes. The cousin is in state. Big difference in having history in common, and tough for my shy, not so great in social situations son… Not a single kid from his high school there or anyone at all from the area that he knew even slightly. He’d have had more social ins at Dartmouth than there, without a doubt.