PSA about Dartmouth

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth College is a wonderful school for guys (of all races). My DS is a student there and he loves it

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear it. Congratulations on finding the right place for your son. I visited years ago & it looked like a wonderful place to spend 4 years.

[Anonymous]

For guys, only?

[Anonymous]

It is also still September. Wait until December-February before making a broad PSA about Dartmouth!

[Anonymous]

Did you not get enough attention bragging to your friends about your kid's ivy acceptance so need to seek out some strangers? Everyone already knows this is a good school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you not get enough attention bragging to your friends about your kid's ivy acceptance so need to seek out some strangers? Everyone already knows this is a good school.

Never heard of it

[Anonymous]

Where is Dartmouth in the current Ivy pecking order? I've viewed it more as a great large LAC. Dartmouth and Brown are hard for me to judge since they are not as strong as research institutions as Cornell, Penn, or Columbia but seem to care a lot about undergrad education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is Dartmouth in the current Ivy pecking order? I've viewed it more as a great large LAC. Dartmouth and Brown are hard for me to judge since they are not as strong as research institutions as Cornell, Penn, or Columbia but seem to care a lot about undergrad education.

Dartmouth is its own beast, and large LAC is almost a good shorthand for what it feels like. The students who actually get in and say yes are very self-selecting. It’s different from Penn or Columbia where someone might apply as a reach and go regardless of if it’s a fit because of the name alone. The location and vibe of Dartmouth makes for a a very tight-knit campus. Sophomore summer is also unique and gives students interested in internships in DC or NYC or wherever a much better chance at them during a less competitive time of year. Tbh, people at Dartmouth aren’t concerned about where they are in the Ivy pecking order unless they play a sport.

-HYP undergrad, Dartmouth grad alum

[Anonymous]

How is it if you are not a drinker/partier as a guy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is it if you are not a drinker/partier as a guy?

Don't go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is also still September. Wait until December-February before making a broad PSA about Dartmouth!

Agree that the OP's post is premature & possibly will do more harm than good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is Dartmouth in the current Ivy pecking order? I've viewed it more as a great large LAC. Dartmouth and Brown are hard for me to judge since they are not as strong as research institutions as Cornell, Penn, or Columbia but seem to care a lot about undergrad education.

Dartmouth is its own beast, and large LAC is almost a good shorthand for what it feels like. The students who actually get in and say yes are very self-selecting. It’s different from Penn or Columbia where someone might apply as a reach and go regardless of if it’s a fit because of the name alone. The location and vibe of Dartmouth makes for a a very tight-knit campus. Sophomore summer is also unique and gives students interested in internships in DC or NYC or wherever a much better chance at them during a less competitive time of year. Tbh, people at Dartmouth aren’t concerned about where they are in the Ivy pecking order unless they play a sport.

-HYP undergrad, Dartmouth grad alum

I mean…the kids I know going carpet bombed all the Ivies. This was their “best” option based on acceptances.

Not to say they are unhappy with Dartmouth…but they aren’t self-selecting or any different from the kids you describe above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is it if you are not a drinker/partier as a guy?

It's possible. DC's friend is there and not either of those things. The tour guide who showed us around was neither of those things either. But then I suppose all the students we met working in admissions and welcome center were the studious, serious type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is Dartmouth in the current Ivy pecking order? I've viewed it more as a great large LAC. Dartmouth and Brown are hard for me to judge since they are not as strong as research institutions as Cornell, Penn, or Columbia but seem to care a lot about undergrad education.

Dartmouth is its own beast, and large LAC is almost a good shorthand for what it feels like. The students who actually get in and say yes are very self-selecting. It’s different from Penn or Columbia where someone might apply as a reach and go regardless of if it’s a fit because of the name alone. The location and vibe of Dartmouth makes for a a very tight-knit campus. Sophomore summer is also unique and gives students interested in internships in DC or NYC or wherever a much better chance at them during a less competitive time of year. Tbh, people at Dartmouth aren’t concerned about where they are in the Ivy pecking order unless they play a sport.

-HYP undergrad, Dartmouth grad alum

I mean…the kids I know going carpet bombed all the Ivies. This was their “best” option based on acceptances.

Not to say they are unhappy with Dartmouth…but they aren’t self-selecting or any different from the kids you describe above.

Doesn’t really make sense. Half the class applied and got in early so by definition it was their top choice. Yeah perhaps a lot of RD admits would have chosen HYP over it only because they are HYP but a lot of them are probably happy HYP didn’t work out because in some ways HYP is lame. I would also suggest that the half the class that comes in RD probably skews towards diversity and first gen (cannot afford to commit ED without seeing FA packages) so it’s a group of kids getting pulled in rather than self-selecting at any particular institution. If there were one Ivy that is self selecting, it is Dartmouth.

[Anonymous]

^ I would add this is one of the advantages is a remotely located school. They tend to be more self selecting. You don’t just randomly choose to attend a school in the middle of nowhere. There is something about the culture that resonates. This could explain why we consistently hear positive feedback about the experiences of kids such schools. If you attend a school to a large extent because you like the surrounding town (think the coffee shops are cute or whatever) you aren’t thinking about the most important qualities of the school- the community, the culture, etc.