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i don't care much about coed or single sex. both provide satisfying finaid.
i'm into history and international relations. i am probably not able to visit campuses, but i do need to know the atmosphere in the two schools.

which do you think is better for an international student? thanks

By Landy (Landy) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 11:41 am: Edit

hey i'm international too! for me the determining factor is whether they would offer me financial aid.

By Itziar (Itziar) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 04:07 pm: Edit

I believe that Wellesley has many more international students than Dartmouth. Also, there is *so* much more going on in the Wellesley area than in the area around Dartmouth--Wellesley ppl go into Boston & Cambridge all the time; Boston is the best college city in America and so much fun!

I'd suggest Wellesley. =) Their history and international relations departments are also very strong.

By Zhoo (Zhoo) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:19 pm: Edit

thank you landy: they both provide enough finaid
and itziar: i'll take that into consideration
any other suggestions?

By Melon (Melon) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 04:26 pm: Edit

i would say wellesley---as itziar said, boston is such an awesome place. i've been to both, and dartmouth is a great place, but hanover is...well everyone who lives there works for dartmouth. in terms of academics and activities, both schools offer just as much, so i can see why it's a tough choice.

ultimately, i would choose wellesley for three reasons: you can cross-register at other colleges in the boston area, it's 20 minutes away from boston, and it's much more diverse. people say that since dartmouth is so isolated, there's more life (read: parties and drinking) on campus, whereas people tend to wander off wellesley alot...to hang out at other colleges. i have friends at both schools, and the ones at wellesley tend to be much happier, b/c the weather is comparatively better than that at dartmouth (one of my friends said it hurt to breathe outside during dec. windchill was like in the -40 F), and they meet more people. boston is the ultimate college town, and it's impossible not to meet people from other schools. so, if you really dont care for coed or single sex, go for WELLESLEY!!

By Zhoo (Zhoo) on Wednesday, April 07, 2004 - 10:18 am: Edit

quote
you can cross-register at other colleges in the boston area

what schools? i know MIT and boston univ.
what about harvard?


as i've never been to the US before, i wonder if an ivy name is that important? (it seems that everyone is saying so)

By Taru (Taru) on Wednesday, April 07, 2004 - 04:31 pm: Edit

No, an Ivy name isn't *that* important, esp. when you're dealing w/a college like Wellesley, which is just as highly regarded. I've heard that a degree from Wellesley for a woman is worth more than a degree from a school like Dartmouth, Williams, etc.

I'm not sure about cross-registering w/Harvard but I know that sometimes you can work things out with professors and department heads if Harvard offers something that Wellesley, MIT, or BU don't.

By Luda (Luda) on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 02:26 am: Edit

Ah, no doubt bout it, take Wellesley over Dartmouth. I'm a guy, but I know plenty about the school and I can definitely say that it was one of the best schools in the country. Great professors/classes. I've visited the school for a number of reasons and it's one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever seen.

By Zhoo (Zhoo) on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 05:31 am: Edit

quote
I know plenty about the school..

oh great! are you willing to talk about it more? it seems that i am leaning toward wellesly now :p

By Twitch86 (Twitch86) on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 08:48 pm: Edit

I'm looking at Wellesely and Dartmouth as well.
I'm going to visit both places--have you visited? I'd love to talk with you about your experiences or share mine if you are interested.

Screen names and e-mail addresses may not be posted on CC. Please refer readers to your Profile. --Admin

By Cancuys (Cancuys) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 11:14 am: Edit

hey
i can give you some input...my sister in law was at wellesley and graduated last year, and her sister transferred just this jan and she loves it! both of them did! they told me there was so much to do, and the campus was awesome!! though its really cold..much colder than where i am right now ...im international btw and a guy too..so if anyone i knew was given a choice between wellesley and any other college, i would tell them to choose wellesley..
as far as your prospective majors are concerned, history is pretty good at wellesley..no clue abt intl relations but then again, its a great liberal arts school..i mean..cmon...who would give up the oppportunity???
hope ive been helpful...somehow!!

By Archermom (Archermom) on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 12:23 pm: Edit

Zhoo,
My D was also accepted to Wellesley. We visited schools in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts over spring break. Wellesley is simply gorgeous and everyone is friendly and forthcoming. The facilities are fabulous! D has had 13 yrs of piano training...so met with the Dir of Music Performance during our visit. Unfortunately, our D has attended an all girls secondary school and decided (understandably) that she wants a coed college experience. You can't go wrong with Wellesley. Good luck!

By Adsf12 (Adsf12) on Friday, May 07, 2004 - 10:39 pm: Edit

Hey--I got into Wellesley, Dartmouth, and Cornell and am choosing Dartmouth hands down. One of my best friends from high school attends Wellesley. I've spoken with her and her W friends extensively and, while they do gush about the beautiful campus and rigorous academics, all of them more or less told me to choose Dartmouth. Apparently the social scene at W is nonexistent, and it's more or less impossible to meet guys unless you frequent MIT frats. My friend was also upset that students from the affiliated schools (esp Harvard) totally looked down upon her when they found out she was from Wellesley. Wellesley is well-known by Asians (I'm Asian, so that's not racist), but over half of the people I've spoken to have never even heard of it.

By Browninfall (Browninfall) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 01:08 am: Edit

Dartmouth. Three family members went there and ALL loved it. A very close friend of my daughter's went to Wellesley who said that the academics were certainly fine but the social life needed some work.

By Miami2000 (Miami2000) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 09:03 am: Edit

It's really sad when people think that the colleges they have to go to has to be the absolute most popular school in the entire universe! It's so superficial...and the social scene thing? C'mon! Any school where students ACTUALLY study (ie Wellesley) would have people who would rather hit the books than chug a beer...and besides, is that why you're going to college? To get your a** drunk? Pleeeeeeeease!

By Adsf12 (Adsf12) on Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 10:41 pm: Edit

"Chug a beer"...I hope you're not referring to Dartmouth, which is academically superlative. It is also crazy to think that students at D don't ACTUALLY study--how in the world do you think they got in? I don't think the point of college is to get drunk, but it is to take part in an vibrant student community that has interests outside of the classroom. Boston may also be fun, but Wellesley isn't in Boston--it's in very suburban Wellesley, and it's far enough away (about half an hour) to prohibit going to Boston frequently. I suppose I feel very strongly about this b/c the half dozen girls I have spoken to about W are fairly dissatisfied, and I would hate to see you, Zhoo, having to make the same decision I did without all of the facts.

By Multinational (Multinational) on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 09:35 am: Edit

Hi Zhoo,
I'm also Chinese (going to Harvard) and I'd recommend you to go to Wellesley because it is more well-known in China than Dartmouth (Dartmouth has more prestige in the US, though). More importantly, you will be in the most intellectually stimulating city in the world. For science and engineering, you can easily cross-register at MIT, and Harvard is also considering cooperating with Wellesley. It is not true that Harvard students look down on Wellesley students. Rather, they are well-respected.

By Taru (Taru) on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 08:07 am: Edit

Hey Zhoo, which school have you chosen?

Adsf, I disagree with the statement that "Dartmouth is academically superlative." Wellesley is known to be one of the most academically challenging schools in the country, and I feel that it outpaces Dartmouth.

And I agree w/Multinational that Wellesley girls are well-respected by all students in the area, including Harvard ones.

By Miami2000 (Miami2000) on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 02:38 pm: Edit

FYI...
Princeton Review has ranked Dartmouth #5 and #10 in the "Lots of Beer" and "Major Frat and Sorority Scene" (in other words more beer...) categories respectively. Just stating the facts

By Kimfuge (Kimfuge) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:40 am: Edit

go to Dartmouth