<p>as a freshmen for the class of 2015 who plans on going in as a philosophy major, which university/college is better? I am from the bay area so I’m familiar with the city of Berkeley and UC Berkeley itself. However, I am somewhat nervous about the notion of going to Dartmouth because it’s all the way on the east coast and I’m from the west coast. like how different is the culture at Dartmouth from the culture I’d find at UC Berkeley? do you think that as a west coaster I could learn to appreciate the east coast culture? and lastly, how would one compare the desolate nature of Dartmouth to the big city nature of UC Berkeley? thank you!</p>
<p>If money and weather preferences aren’t issues, I would go for Dartmouth. I haven’t heard too much about the Philos Dept at Berkeley.</p>
<p>The philos. Department at berkeley is pretty good; it’s tied for #9 in U.S. with a bunch of other schools including UCLA.</p>
<p>What i can tell you is that dartmouth doesn’t have a ranked graduate philosophy department so going there it’s possible you won’t get professors who are leading researchers in the field. However, CalTech is recommended as one of the best philosophy schools for undergrad (small teacher to faculty ratio?) and it isn’t ranked either.</p>
<p>this is a bit unrelated, but if you want some of the best researchers in philosophy in the country, UCLA is a great school with philosophers like david kaplan, tyler burge, and barbara herman. You should note that the strength of UCLA is analytic philosophy though (which is the current dominant school in american philosophy) so i hope you have an understanding of what type of philosophy interests you. </p>
<p>so if you want leading researchers, go to berkeley. If you want small faculty to class ratios, go to dartmouth. Both are reputable schools and you should be able to get into any school of your choice if your gpa and GRE are high enough.</p>
<p>For a liberal arts major like philosophy, Dartmouth. You will really appreciate the small environment. Also, it’s probably better to have more flexibility in changing majors, the way philosophy major is taught is maybe not what you have in mind.</p>
<p>Dartmouth will certainly provide more care and feeding as an undergraduate. You just have to weigh that against how much extra it’s going to cost you out of pocket, and if you prefer being in a bucolic, sorta isolated town across the country versus the more dynamic environment Berkeley would provide. It could be a fantastic experience, but only you can decide for yourself. You can’t go wrong either way.</p>
<p>Dartmouth.</p>
<p>As much as I love Cal, you will probably be better off going to Dartmouth given your intended major.</p>
<p>This is especially true if money is not much of a concern.</p>
<p>go to dartmouth</p>
<p>trust me</p>
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<p>Not true for the vast majority of students. Dartmouth’s financial aid is almost as good as HYPS. Thus, unless your family income is $130k+, Dartmouth will likely be less out-of-pocket that Cal is at instate prices. </p>
<p>But the short answer is that as a Freshman, it is way too soon to even consider D. (No grades, no test scores.) Or even Cal for that matter. The Regents are seeking OOS money, so they are stiffing great, instate kids and redirecting them to a lower-tier UC.</p>
<p>btw: NYU also has a great philosophy department and is much easier to get into (but more costly).</p>
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<p>exactly. But if cost isn’t going to be a factor: Dartmouth > Cal philosophy</p>
<p>If money is not a problem - go to Dartmouth. I’m a Dartmouth grad from New Jersey - my daughter is a Senior at Cal - I’ve been living in the Bay Area for two years. My daughter loves Cal but one of the reasons she came West was for a change and she wanted a big big school. She got it. </p>
<p>You can always come back to the Bay Area - I’m amazed at how many Californians I’ve met who’ve never left the State. Or maybe they spent a week in Tahoe. Ridiculous. Go experience the East Coast, and the cold, and a small town, etc. Dartmouth, by the way, has its own Skiway - and Boston and Montreal aren’t that far away. If you want an idea of the social life at Dartmouth - rent Animal House - it was written by a Dartmouth alum (but filmed at the Univ. of Oregon).</p>
<p>Re: politics - Dartmouth’s pretty liberal these days but nothing compared to the crazies at Cal.</p>
<p>if you’re white go for Cal. if you’re Asian, go for Dartmouth. it’s as simple as that. :D</p>
<p>There are a lot of Asians at Berkeley…</p>
<p>As an east coast native who went to a local college (Wesleyan) for undergrad and a Berkeley grad school (Wright Institute) for my master’s and Ph.D., I would encourage you to see Dartmouth as an opportunity to try something totally different. I would not describe Dartmouth as “desolate”. When I think of “desolate”, I think of the desert, and actually, where Dartmouth is, there are fifteen small towns within a short drive all within the same river valley. And while nowhere near the size of Berkeley, it’s not tiny–4000 undergrads, 2000 grad students. Surely from an academic standpoint, you are going to get to know your teachers at Dartmouth; from what I see at UC Berkeley, get in line for office hours and see if you can get a couple minutes. Of course, if those issues are not so important for you, UC Berkeley is a fine school, and you won’t have t adjust to snow, slush and cold winds in the winter. Good luck!</p>
<p>How was wesleyen? For undergrad philosophy id pick dartmouth, cal for master or phd. Live free or die!</p>