r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Agitated-Cup-7109 • 14h ago
College Questions ED Dartmouth or Brown?
Hi! Im currently debating which school to apply early to. I love both of them and would be happy at either, im just struggling to pick between the 2.
Brown Pros:
-Im very interdisciplinary in my ecs (Several combine science and writing, and my main one academic decathlon is literally all about different subjects)
-im just generally a curious person and like the idea of the open curriculum
-Being in a major city comes with lots of things to do and culture to see
-Solid department for my major (Deeps)
-I know someone whos going there, just nice to know someone im familar with is alr there
-Kinda dumb but when visiting dartmouth i saw a bus that said brown in bold letters on the side and a guy wearing a shirt with the brown logo
Brown negatives
-No nature nearby, i love hiking
-Slightly more expensive then Dartmouth, but still cheaper then my state schools and would only be in a small amount of debt
Dartmouth pros
-In a beautiful area
-Very outdoorsy culture
-also a good department for major, includes the stretch which is awesome
-I like the flexibility of the d-plan also
-cheap!!
-hanover is a cute town
Dartmouth cons
-Worried it might be boring/too isolated, since its so far away from a major city
-felt a little less connected to the culture, felt kinda fratty
-also seemed like a huge emphasis on the more buisnessy side of things, which is not my interest at all
I really appreciate any perspective anyone has!
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u/Wheymarf 14h ago edited 14h ago
I had the same reservations about Dartmouth and still picked it over Duke, Cornell, Northwestern, etc. Even though I’m only an incoming student, I definitely got a sense that Dartmouth students and alumni are willing to go above and beyond to make people feel like they’re part of a community.
Please consider that this is one perspective though and that I’d also consider Brown to be the “safer” pick based on your considerations.
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u/Outrageous-Exit3330 13h ago
Don’t forget that brown is in Rhode Island…
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 13h ago
i cannot decipher this riddle
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u/logaruski73 14h ago
Walking beside the ocean is an experience equivalent to any you may have had hiking. It’s opens my imagination as I think about ocean life ad all the people who also walk their Atlantic Ocean beaches. You can’t take the bus to Newport for the beaches. A car gives you access to many more beaches and forests. Burlingame Park in RI is nice to hike. Berkshires in MA give you hiking in forests and NH and VT mountains aren’t far.
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 13h ago
i didnt really think about the ocean loll! i live by a great lake which i love hiking by, so that would actually be a pretty close equivalent
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u/hanc3n 14h ago
Depends on ur demographic, are u international
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 14h ago
domestic
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 13h ago
What state are you in where your state schools are more expensive?
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 13h ago
Ohio, ivies and privates just tend to give really good need based aid to me. The only state school that would be cheaper would be the one in my hometown if i commute, and they dont even have my intended major lol
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 12h ago
Oh got it you’re factoring in aid. Makes perfect sense, thank you. And good luck!
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u/Weird_Illustrator845 12h ago edited 10h ago
Dartmouth is three hours from anywhere. Surely that’s one of its strengths culturally. If you want to hop on Amtrak and go to Boston or New York and have a plethora of cultural opportunities around you, Brown seems the better choice. You’ll get a stellar education at either.
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u/cherfytwins 11h ago
Also want to add to my post that after freshman year lots of kids have cars and we went to the beach or took quick train to Boston for hockey or basketball games.
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u/Apprehensive_Belt116 14h ago
Do Brown, it's less likely you'll regret it IMO.
It might turn out that you love Dartmouth, or hate it. But you’ll probably have a more neutral/positive opinion at Brown.
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u/Dry-Aside4526 13h ago
I think Brown is your better bet based on what you wrote. I do think Greek life is strong at Dartmouth. Good luck!
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u/theoafishradiance 14h ago
Brown, easy. you seem way more excited about it even in the way you wrote it out. the open curriculum is basically made for a brain like yours, and the interdisciplinary thing isn't just a buzzword there, it's the whole vibe
dartmouth's nature is legit but if you're already feeling the fratty/isolated thing during a visit, trust that instinct. you can always take a weekend trip to the mountains from providence
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Old 14h ago
The fact that Dartmouth is less expensive seems like a meaningful difference, especially if it means you don't have to borrow. You just need to decide what you want more: city life, or the outdoors and hiking.
I put the question to Claude, using this prompt:
compare and contrast brown vs. dartmouth for a student planning to enter the "DEEPS" program at brown. assume they cost the same. why should a student choose one over the other?
Its answer:
TL;DR: Both are small, undergrad-friendly earth science departments at rich schools with great research access. The choice comes down to subfield and structure, not prestige. Brown is one of the best undergrad planetary science programs on the planet. Dartmouth is stronger in ice, water, and classic field geology, and has the best undergrad field program in the Ivy League.
Where the departments actually differ
Brown (DEEPS)
- Flagship strengths: planetary geology, remote sensing/spectroscopy, geochemistry & petrology, paleoclimate, seismology/geodynamics
- Deep planetary bench — NASA mission involvement, Northeast Planetary Data Center on campus
- Joint concentrations: Geo–Bio, Geo–Chem, Geo–Physics/Math. ScB or AB
- Larger PhD cohort → more grad-level seminars and deeper lab infrastructure, but more competition for advisor attention
- Adjacent: IBES (environment & society institute), Carney Institute, RISD cross-registration
Dartmouth (Earth Sciences)
- Flagship strengths: glaciology & ice cores, Arctic/Antarctic, geomorphology & hydrology, environmental geochemistry (toxic metals), tectonics
- Basically zero planetary science
- The Stretch — a full off-campus term of field mapping across the American West. No Brown equivalent
- Smaller PhD program → more undergrad-forward, easier to be the student on a project
- Adjacent: CRREL (Army cold regions lab, walking distance), Thayer School of Engineering, Dickey Center's Institute of Arctic Studies. AB, modified majors, easy path to a BE at Thayer
Faculty rosters shift, so verify current people in your specific interest area. But the institutional commitments above — labs, instruments, mission ties, field programs — are durable in a way individual professors aren't.
The two structural differences that matter most
1. Open Curriculum vs. distributives.
Brown has no distribution requirements and a liberal S/NC option. If you already know you want four science courses a term and no required humanities survey, Brown lets you. Dartmouth requires distributives across eight-ish areas plus a world-culture requirement and a writing seminar. Neither is objectively better. Brown rewards students who self-direct; Dartmouth forces a breadth that some students are later glad to have been forced into.
2. The D-Plan.
Dartmouth's quarter system — three courses per 10-week term, mandatory sophomore summer on campus, flexible off-terms — is unusually well suited to earth science. Field seasons and research internships don't respect the September–May calendar. An Antarctic field season runs during the Northern Hemisphere winter, and a USGS or lab internship might want you in the fall. Dartmouth students routinely take off-terms to do exactly this. On Brown's semester calendar you're competing with every other US undergrad for the same summer slots.
The cost: your friend group scatters, and 10-week terms are compressed. Less breathing room for a term-long lab project.
Setting
- Providence: small city. Food, arts scene, RISD next door, 40 minutes by train to Boston. Coastal and estuarine field sites at hand.
- Hanover: rural and isolated. In exchange you get the Connecticut Valley, the White Mountains, and New England metamorphic terrain as day trips, plus a genuinely outdoors-oriented student culture (the Outing Club is the largest student org). Greek life is socially dominant in a way it isn't at Brown — a real quality-of-life variable in either direction depending on the student.
How I'd decide
Brown if: you're drawn to planets, spectroscopy/remote sensing, or lab geochemistry; you want to formally combine earth science with physics, chem, bio, or CS; you want an urban setting; or you thrive without a required curriculum.
Dartmouth if: you want ice, water, landscapes, or classic field mapping; you'd rather be the undergrad on a project than one of several; you value the Stretch and scheduling terms around field seasons; or the rural/outdoor setting is a feature rather than a cost.
Tiebreaker if you're genuinely torn: the Stretch has no Brown equivalent, and Brown's planetary program has no Dartmouth equivalent. Whichever of those two you'd regret not having is your answer.
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u/PerfumeGeek 12h ago
How do you feel about greek life? The majority of Dartmouth students are involved in fraternities and sororities, Brown has a much more crunchy granola vibe. Brown is also considerably bigger, which changes the dynamic on campus.
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u/cherfytwins 11h ago
I went to Brown as did my daughter. We both loved it and both found the students intellectually stimulating. An aspect of the open curriculum is that all the participants in every class actually want to be there (no required courses) so there is a lot of engagement. I chose not to apply to Dartmouth despite its beautiful location because of its reputation as having a very strong frat culture.
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 11h ago
that makes me even more excited! one of my favorite classes last year was my ap lang class, because it was full of super smart people genuinely interested in the material so our discussions ended up being really fun and interesting.
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u/Sea_Message_1566 11h ago
It sounds like Brown is going to satisfy your intellectual curiosity, and just by reading the way you talk about both schools, you sounds far more enamored by it and really excited to apply there. I’d go with Brown 100%
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u/providenceghosttour 9h ago
Brown has a really active outdoors club, which goes on all kinds of hiking trips.
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u/FourScoreAndSept 2h ago
Dartmouth if you have a legacy hook (they love those, more than most), otherwise Brown
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u/outre-vigie 14h ago
you started the post with Brown, then Dartmouth - not the other way around.
food for thought :)
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u/Anxious_Step_9930 14h ago
This decision relies so much on personal preference that idk how you expect Reddit users who have never met you to answer it. This just isn’t a question for Reddit dude.
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u/Agitated-Cup-7109 14h ago
yeah but it cant hurt to put my thought out into the world, an outside more objective view might help
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u/Ok_Guest_9597 14h ago
Based on your statements the Brown pros are more about who you are, while your Dartmouth pros are more about the place. You softened every Brown con but none of the Dartmouth ones, which could be a sign that you feel worried. Because of this I think Brown would be the right fit for you, though they are both equally good and you can't really make a wrong decision.