I went to Dartmouth and then Michigan for graduate school. My sister went to Cornell.

I would take winters at Dartmouth over the other two locations, hands down. Dartmouth is colder, but the sky is blue for most of the winter, which keeps the Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD)-related incidents down. Also, i went to Mexico for language study one winter under the D-plan.

Michigan was a bit warmer, but there was more snow and there was only grey sky for most of the winter. Michigan has an early winter break and ends its winter semester early to reduce SAD.

Cornell had the worst of both worlds. It was cold without sun and with lots of snow, so SAD is a real problem here.

You shouldn't chose a school just because of the weather (if you did, then everyone's kids would be applying to UCSD and USD). But it's something to think about.

Butt ass cold. Frigid. Miserable. Totally worth it.

I was shocked by how miserably cold it was and i grew up in Massachusetts. You would need to actually learn how to dress for the weather. It’s not a “buy a nice coat” kind of cold. It’s like a learn to wear long underwear and layers to get to class kind of thing.

I grew up in wisconsin and i could not believe how cold cornell was in january.

Anonymous wrote:I remember in the past few years college kids have died in the snow storms right outside their dorms. I think kids actually got lost in the storm. You can Google to see these cases.

Didn’t happen

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These comments are ridiculous. They are very cold. Plan on 50s in October, then 30s in November, 20s in Dec. and Jan., 30s in Feb and honestly, even a lot of March. There are a handful of days with temps around 0.

No one goes to Cornell or Dartmouth for the weather!

I went to Dartmouth for the weather (and because it’s a great school, obvi). I love New England weather and skiing. I only applied to colleges in cold weather places.

Yes, back in the day New England was THE place to go for your higher ed experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember in the past few years college kids have died in the snow storms right outside their dorms. I think kids actually got lost in the storm. You can Google to see these cases.

Tragic but VERY rare! What a stupid comment.

It's not stupid when you have a kid living away for the first time. My kid said she literally couldn't see more than a few feet in the snow storm. I suspect this is how several kids frozen to death very close to theirs dorms at several universities. They probably went out thinking like PP - that this is stupid - and got disoriented in the storm.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/us/iowa-student-death.amp.html?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16536774861709&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2019%2F01%2F31%2Fus%2Fiowa-student-death.html

Lol, you do realize people live their whole lives in Upstate NY, upper Midwest, Canada and you’re worried about your kid going to college at Cornell?!

You people are such softies 😀. It’s New England not Antarctica. Heavy winter coat, scarf, hat and gloves and your good.

just adding re: my post above -- heaters likely are going to be forbidden by dorm rules but that's an issue possibly for an accommodations office at whatever college she attends, FYI.

Is your DD going into her senior year of HS in the fall? I cannot say this strongly enough: Visit these schools IN WINTER.

I was interested in Northwestern but being from the South wasn't sure about the weather. My very wise mother said we needed to see the campus in the dead of winter so I could see it at the coldest. We went in late January. Black, old snow crusted all over the gutters, and wind chill off Lake Michigan. I still loved the school and I went there! But I knew exactly what it would feel and look like (yes, grim and gray and punishingly cold at times--there were way-sub-zero periods all four years). I also realized, when visiting, that the university did a great job clearing sidewalks, paths, steps etc. so navigating around campus in snow wasn't the issue my inexperienced warm-weather brain thought it might be.

Take your DD to see these schools, or just one if she narrows this down, in cold weather. It's the only way for her to make a really informed choice, if the weather is truly an issue for her. I know her applicatins will be due, what, Nov.-Dec.-Jan? But still. I'd visit maybe early Jan. or Feb. if she's still serious about them. Just for a reality check.

OP, it would also be advisable to check the dorm heating situation. Are rooms adequately heated? Over- or under-heated? That's all about personal preferences, of course, and one student could find a dorm frigid while another thinks it's fine. But I'd want to ensure that a kid with a cold-sensitive medical condition could feel adequately warm while in her own dorm room (or apartment, later). You can't tell now, of course. But if she chose a cold-weather school you should invest in high-quality, portable heaters with auto cutoff switches (and tipover switches, so they shut off if they tip over -- it reduces fire risk). So she has that option if things get really cold in her living space.

I went to Cornell. The weather there is no joke. I'm from the snowbelt and Cornell, while less snowy, felt much colder plus it was gray a LOT. I still walked everywhere in that big campus and never took the bus -- not sure why but probably because I came from a place with no public transportation and I never bothered to learn how to use it. The city kids seemed to use it a lot.

You really have to love Cornell and be able to get past the weather. It's a great school for the right kid, but do not underestimate the impact the weather can have in an already stressful environment.

Anonymous wrote:These comments are ridiculous. They are very cold. Plan on 50s in October, then 30s in November, 20s in Dec. and Jan., 30s in Feb and honestly, even a lot of March. There are a handful of days with temps around 0.

No one goes to Cornell or Dartmouth for the weather!

I went to Dartmouth for the weather (and because it’s a great school, obvi). I love New England weather and skiing. I only applied to colleges in cold weather places.

Mine was accepted to Dartmouth and also has Raynauds. I thought about this too, but I think her thinking was that she wouldn't be outside for long and inside would be warm. She chose another school but not because of cold/Raynauds.

Anonymous wrote:As an alumni of both those institutions (undergrad and grad school), I can say that for most of us, the weather was just . . . the weather. You put on a jacket and boots and gloves (rarely a hat, because hat hair), and you carried on with life without giving it a second thought. Except for big snows or a couple days here and there where it was unusually cold, it just wasn't something that most of us really thought about or talked about in the context of our daily lives. None of my school memories involve me suffering because of the weather, except maybe a few nights I ventured out to a frat party without a coat because I didn't want to bother with dealing with it once I got to the party.

So I guess if your kid is super sensitive to weather, it is a consideration but otherwise what is there to say. Both places are colder and generally get more snow than DC.

I will say I preferred Dartmouth winters.

Who can forget her sharp and misty mornings,
The clanging bells, the crunch of feet on snow,
Her sparkling noons, the crowding into Commons,
The long white afternoons, the twilight glow?
See! By the light of many thousand sunsets,
Dartmouth Undying, like a vision starts.
Dartmouth, the gleaming, dreaming walls of Dartmouth,
Miraculously builded in our hearts.

Beautiful poem!

Dartmouth is cold but not super windy. You can usually avoid one winter with a leave term or study abroad. I took skiing for PE and there is ice skating on the pond. A lot to keep things fun and active.

It’s not super cold cold.

But it’s a wet cold that chills you to the bone.

The mud/slush/grey was the worst part of the bad weather. Not the actual temperature.