Brown vs Dartmouth and Undergrad Education in General

As far as banking/consulting goes, Dartmouth is fantastic. I am actually somewhat surprised at their ridiculously strong representation on the street, since they're so small. Great alum network.

Still, it's a little heavy on the drinking culture and none of the academic departments really stand out...

I would've picked Dartmouth (a college I was accepted to when I was applying) over Brown, but the difference in opportunities shouldn't be substantial.

Do not attempt to learn a language as a resume booster. Not only will you have a harder time than those that really care, but it does not help you in the business world unless you are fluent and in a job position where it would be required. As someone who has pursued learning a language for fun, I can tell you it is an extremely long process that requires a lot more dedication than taking a few classes.

though bankers are loathe to admit this fact: there is more to life than making money.

(not really, but why not make money AND have a fulfilling life?)

when the recession comes and goes and you're burnt out by 25, and when banking goes nowhere and you're spit out the bottom of the porn industry at 26, you'll always have x months in Florence, Paris, or wherever to remember.

You already have a foundation in the language so I would stick with Spanish. I'd suggest studying abroad in a spanish speaking country (I'm sure Brown has a Madrid program) sometime during your time in school. I've had friends who did 4 unspectacular years of hs spanish (and like you didn't really learn much), but ended up becoming fluent after taking more classes in college and studying abroad in Spain.

Also, it Portugese will not be difficult to learn once you get spanish down.

I would have picked Brown over D-mouth as well. Good luck, enjoy your summer.

By the way, were you just an amazing candidate, or is it just b.s. that the tier 2 ivies have really become incredibly difficult in regard to admittance.

Feedback I've always heard from recruiting teams is that Brown requires you to show a little more determination than simply dropping your resume. At Dartmouth, most consulting/banking firms have more established recruiting programs. However by no means are you at a disadvantage at all, you just need to make a little more effort at getting your resume in front of someone; after that you're on the same playing field.

May be different for other firms, but by and large that's what I've heard.

P.S. That was information I learned by talking to recruiting people while I myself was interviewing, not inside knowledge.

i know ppl who majored in astronomy, physics, and astrophysics. all will serve you well, especially on the trading side, provided you have reasonable grades.

that being said, you dont see that many brown grads on the street. the kids are smart, but generally i think they're interested in other careers. Like being Peter Griffin's dog?

You realize taking a language at college doesn't cost any extra money? He (or she) is implicitly saying that he is willing to give up the other classes that he may have took in place of those language classes.

Getting a tutor is always more expensive.

Getting a tutor is not more expensive than paying for a private college course. A tutor will charge you 40, 50 an hour (and you might even get one to do if for 30) .

Don't get a tutor, go do a badass program during your freshman summer and maybe split soph summer between finance internship and another half-program abroad... that will look badass.

Learned Russian in Moscow, 2 summers while still getting a 8 week internship at @#$%@#$ Boutique.

Find a nice foreign girl and make her bring you to her home country. Also, make her speak to you in entirely her own language. If you do that, you can always fall back on the "oh, I didn't understand what you were saying" line. Flawless.

Both have similar recruiting and reputations but I think it favors Dartmouth slightly.

But I'm sure you had the right choice for yourself.