Dartmouth College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"feeder"? Not local, but in the context of the downhill and nordic teams, then definitely places like Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton Mountain School, and Sun Valley Community School.

Locally, Dartmouth is a place that people choose in a deliberate way that they don't necessarily do for other Ivies, so which schools send kids there varies a lot from year to year.

Can you say more about what you mean here? My 11th grader fell in love on a visit last year but hasn't come up with the list of where they'll apply.

It's small. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to. Winters are long and mud season feels longer.

There are plenty of kids who apply to Penn + Columbia, or Yale + Princeton, or Yale + Harvard, etc. They can tell themselves that the schools are basically similar even though they're obviously not.

Dartmouth doesn't get the same "well they're both pretty equally elite schools so I could be happy at either." It's more common to apply to Dartmouth + Cornell, or Dartmouth + a similarly preppy, outdoorsy NESCAC school, or Dartmouth and an equally outdoorsy state school like UVM or UCSC. It's quite self-selecting. The numbers suggest that there are people who have graduated from there who applied regular decision, but I've never met them. Everyone seems to want Dartmouth from day 1 and feel really happy to end up there. Including me.

-Dartmouth grad and big fan of the Upper Valley but not so sure about my DH's plan to retire there only because I hate driving from Manchester or Boston at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“American education might benefit from a few more Dartmouths” - final words on 60 Minutes last night.

+1 I know a great kid who's been accepted and going to be a freshman. He's very smart, a great athlete, has bern accepted at several top schools, a southerner, and politically moderate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"feeder"? Not local, but in the context of the downhill and nordic teams, then definitely places like Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton Mountain School, and Sun Valley Community School.

Locally, Dartmouth is a place that people choose in a deliberate way that they don't necessarily do for other Ivies, so which schools send kids there varies a lot from year to year.

Can you say more about what you mean here? My 11th grader fell in love on a visit last year but hasn't come up with the list of where they'll apply.

It's small. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to. Winters are long and mud season feels longer.

There are plenty of kids who apply to Penn + Columbia, or Yale + Princeton, or Yale + Harvard, etc. They can tell themselves that the schools are basically similar even though they're obviously not.

Dartmouth doesn't get the same "well they're both pretty equally elite schools so I could be happy at either." It's more common to apply to Dartmouth + Cornell, or Dartmouth + a similarly preppy, outdoorsy NESCAC school, or Dartmouth and an equally outdoorsy state school like UVM or UCSC. It's quite self-selecting. The numbers suggest that there are people who have graduated from there who applied regular decision, but I've never met them. Everyone seems to want Dartmouth from day 1 and feel really happy to end up there. Including me.

-Dartmouth grad and big fan of the Upper Valley but not so sure about my DH's plan to retire there only because I hate driving from Manchester or Boston at night.

Thank you! I'm PP who asked for more info. I was concerned it might basically be kids who love to ski, cuz my kid has never been skiing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a child at Dartmouth, what's ur experience? And what are the feeder schools in DC to Dartmouth

Yes, DC loves it! None of the nonsense you see on the news happening at other campuses. Kids can roam and have fun without worrying about crime. Small classes with professors who love interacting with their students. Don’t know about feeders.

Why is it “nonsense” that they want the killing in Gaza to end? I know that Hamas is barbaric also, but watching a people be starved, bombed and deprived of medical treatment is not comfortable for young people who have compassion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no feeder schools into T20 universities.

Not accurate. Just look at the instagrams for the 2024 college placements of by NYC or Mass private school.

DP. PP pretty obviously meant that there are no local DC metro feeders into any t20, and that much really is the case.

[Anonymous]

. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to.

This seems more part of ancient Dartmouth lore (before the advent of the interstate highway system) than current day reality. Dartmouth is in the middle of a ‘micropolitan area’ of about 200,000 people - for sure it’s not the big city, but there are multiple thriving towns within a short drive, and lots of amenities to serve well-off retirees and tourists. Hanover is just over a two hour drive to Boston. And the college is located a few miles from the intersection of two major interstate highways. It may seem inconvenient compared to some other schools right on the east or west coasts, but compared to many colleges in the Midwest or South or Rockies - or even to Middlebury or Cornell or Penn State - Dartmouth’s hardly off in the middle of nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no feeder schools into T20 universities.

Not accurate. Just look at the instagrams for the 2024 college placements of by NYC or Mass private school.

Those schools are not in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"feeder"? Not local, but in the context of the downhill and nordic teams, then definitely places like Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton Mountain School, and Sun Valley Community School.

Locally, Dartmouth is a place that people choose in a deliberate way that they don't necessarily do for other Ivies, so which schools send kids there varies a lot from year to year.

Can you say more about what you mean here? My 11th grader fell in love on a visit last year but hasn't come up with the list of where they'll apply.

It's small. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to. Winters are long and mud season feels longer.

There are plenty of kids who apply to Penn + Columbia, or Yale + Princeton, or Yale + Harvard, etc. They can tell themselves that the schools are basically similar even though they're obviously not.

Dartmouth doesn't get the same "well they're both pretty equally elite schools so I could be happy at either." It's more common to apply to Dartmouth + Cornell, or Dartmouth + a similarly preppy, outdoorsy NESCAC school, or Dartmouth and an equally outdoorsy state school like UVM or UCSC. It's quite self-selecting. The numbers suggest that there are people who have graduated from there who applied regular decision, but I've never met them. Everyone seems to want Dartmouth from day 1 and feel really happy to end up there. Including me.

-Dartmouth grad and big fan of the Upper Valley but not so sure about my DH's plan to retire there only because I hate driving from Manchester or Boston at night.

Another Dartmouth alum here, I applied RD with many of the same reservations you indicated in sentence 1. Visited the campus only after acceptance and that’s what sold me on it. Overall, amazing undergrad experience I’m grateful to have had and my college friends are close, lifelong friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a child at Dartmouth, what's ur experience? And what are the feeder schools in DC to Dartmouth

Yes, DC loves it! None of the nonsense you see on the news happening at other campuses. Kids can roam and have fun without worrying about crime. Small classes with professors who love interacting with their students. Don’t know about feeders.

Why is it “nonsense” that they want the killing in Gaza to end? I know that Hamas is barbaric also, but watching a people be starved, bombed and deprived of medical treatment is not comfortable for young people who have compassion.

lol what- PP was talking about local crime, not Gaza

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to.

This seems more part of ancient Dartmouth lore (before the advent of the interstate highway system) than current day reality. Dartmouth is in the middle of a ‘micropolitan area’ of about 200,000 people - for sure it’s not the big city, but there are multiple thriving towns within a short drive, and lots of amenities to serve well-off retirees and tourists. Hanover is just over a two hour drive to Boston. And the college is located a few miles from the intersection of two major interstate highways. It may seem inconvenient compared to some other schools right on the east or west coasts, but compared to many colleges in the Midwest or South or Rockies - or even to Middlebury or Cornell or Penn State - Dartmouth’s hardly off in the middle of nowhere.

It's "not inconvenient" if you've never missed the last Dartmouth Coach of the night and spent a cold overnight in the Logan baggage claim waiting for the next one. A two hour drive is a big deal for most people, especially college students from other parts of the country who don't have their own car! On the bright side, there is a nearby Target now. Until recently the closest one was over an hour away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to.

This seems more part of ancient Dartmouth lore (before the advent of the interstate highway system) than current day reality. Dartmouth is in the middle of a ‘micropolitan area’ of about 200,000 people - for sure it’s not the big city, but there are multiple thriving towns within a short drive, and lots of amenities to serve well-off retirees and tourists. Hanover is just over a two hour drive to Boston. And the college is located a few miles from the intersection of two major interstate highways. It may seem inconvenient compared to some other schools right on the east or west coasts, but compared to many colleges in the Midwest or South or Rockies - or even to Middlebury or Cornell or Penn State - Dartmouth’s hardly off in the middle of nowhere.

It's "not inconvenient" if you've never missed the last Dartmouth Coach of the night and spent a cold overnight in the Logan baggage claim waiting for the next one. A two hour drive is a big deal for most people, especially college students from other parts of the country who don't have their own car! On the bright side, there is a nearby Target now. Until recently the closest one was over an hour away.

Another Dartmouth alum here. The remoteness is part of the draw. Coupled with a small student body and undergraduate-focus, you get a tightly-knit college community and an unparalleled NE liberal arts education experience.

I would also note that the commute from Boston to Hanover is much easier than the one to Williams or Amherst (no windy local roads).

For OP, you absolutely do not need to ski to enjoy the Dartmouth experience.

[Anonymous]

Beautiful in the fall and the summer (where students do spend there one year.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"feeder"? Not local, but in the context of the downhill and nordic teams, then definitely places like Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton Mountain School, and Sun Valley Community School.

Locally, Dartmouth is a place that people choose in a deliberate way that they don't necessarily do for other Ivies, so which schools send kids there varies a lot from year to year.

Can you say more about what you mean here? My 11th grader fell in love on a visit last year but hasn't come up with the list of where they'll apply.

It's small. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's inconvenient to get to. Winters are long and mud season feels longer.

There are plenty of kids who apply to Penn + Columbia, or Yale + Princeton, or Yale + Harvard, etc. They can tell themselves that the schools are basically similar even though they're obviously not.

Dartmouth doesn't get the same "well they're both pretty equally elite schools so I could be happy at either." It's more common to apply to Dartmouth + Cornell, or Dartmouth + a similarly preppy, outdoorsy NESCAC school, or Dartmouth and an equally outdoorsy state school like UVM or UCSC. It's quite self-selecting. The numbers suggest that there are people who have graduated from there who applied regular decision, but I've never met them. Everyone seems to want Dartmouth from day 1 and feel really happy to end up there. Including me.

-Dartmouth grad and big fan of the Upper Valley but not so sure about my DH's plan to retire there only because I hate driving from Manchester or Boston at night.

This sounds right for a significant number of Dartmouth students. At our suburban high school, though, the kids who end up at Dartmouth more often than not just appear to have ended up at Dartmouth. In other words, they applied to a score of Ivy League schools and decided Dartmouth was the best option among those (if more than one) to which they were admitted.

[Anonymous]

I think it goes in waves for what’s popular at certain high schools. Potomac has 5 going so far next year and at least one more acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it goes in waves for what’s popular at certain high schools. Potomac has 5 going so far next year and at least one more acceptance.

Most of these kids were pre-destined to attend Dartmouth at birth. Their parents are super active alums.