Dartmouth

[Anonymous]

10:13, I get that you love Dartmouth but I don't think anyone was saying the students there aren't highly intelligent. Your laundry list of impressive students is not the point and sounds like an admissions brochure. Yes, Dartmouth students are intelligent, but what about the culture of the school? When you say "I was frequently guilty of that myself," it sounds like the rep is based on truth, at least in your experience. And/or you made it all up -- not clear which?

Any student who can get into Dartmouth, or be on a level to apply, will be able to go to a school with a similar laundry list of fellow students and things to do. The question is, do the frats have heavy drinking rituals as part of their hazing process, and must students participate if they want a future career in business?

[Anonymous]

I found this website useful in figuring out how happy students are at various schools: http://www.studentsreview.com/NH/DC.html
Apparently, students at Dartmouth are, for the most part, extremely happy to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found this website useful in figuring out how happy students are at various schools: http://www.studentsreview.com/NH/DC.html
Apparently, students at Dartmouth are, for the most part, extremely happy to be there.

I just went there, and Dartmouth got a B+ while Columbia got a C. Huh? There was an actual comment about Columbia that said, "walk around on a Sunday morning and see all the bodies of students who jumped out their windows." Makes me wonder about the reliability of this site!

[Anonymous]

I think College Confidential may be more reliable.

[Anonymous]

I went to Dartmouth for Govt/ international relations- graduated in 2004. Also now married to a 2006. It was spectacular. Really top notch instruction, and the focus is all on the undergrads. My whole college experience was pretty darn good. I am happy to answer questions for the OP- can reach me at soggydog @ gmail (no spaces).

[Anonymous]

I went to Dartmouth too, and did not join a sorority. I went to a fraternity party-- once-- my freshmen year and that was enough. I am still close friends with my teammates from my sport, which was definitely my social outlet as well. I did not have as much interaction with professors as I wanted because of large classes for my major, but I received a good overall education and was able to do well in grad school from the preparation I had. Because of my sport and p/t job, I did spend a lot of Sunday afternoons in Sanborn, and Saturday nights in the reserve corridor, so not all students have time to spend partying/recovering. However, I never wrote a thesis, nor did I have any friends who did. I did not produce any sustained or in depth academic work beyond the three papers that were commonly assigned in each class during each 10 week quarter. (Interestingly, I have learned that all students at Bates College are required to write a thesis. That would not have gone over at Dartmouth in my day.)

I found the D plan to be a major drawback at Dartmouth. There were students you met freshmen year, saw them for 10 weeks sophomore summer, and then did not see them again until senior fall. It wreaked havoc on dating relationships, and seemed to contribute to the hook up culture more. I do read the Dartmouth Alumni mag each month, and have no idea who many of my classmates are because we were rarely on campus at the same time because of the D plan.

The D plan was great for students with specialized interests who needed time off campus during certain seasons to pursue those interests (Olympic hopefuls in various sports, etc). You could make up the time during another quarter and keep going on schedule. That was an upside for many students.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much! DD has a specialized interest -- international relations -- so I think the D plan will benefit her in that she'll be able to take advantage of some great internships when students at other colleges are in session. And I think she'd love to join a sorority; she's very social. So I think -- hope! -- that her experience would be closer to 15:05's than 17:32. P.S. I had to write a thesis where I went to school and it was a miserable experience.

[Anonymous]

19:32, I meant.

[Anonymous]

I am the pp Dartmouth grad. Your description of your daughter's interests, including joining a sorority and her use of the D plan, lead me to think she will have a very good experience at Dartmouth. All the best to her!

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth IR/govt grad working in DC now. Absolutely incredible academic experience both in and outside the classroom. First rate IR and comparative politics professors despite no PhD program- undergrads end up getting the attention usually reserved for grad students in comparable faculty. Equally substantial is the out of ballpark is the out of classroom learning. I regularly (i.e. couple times a month) dined with visiting luminaries from heads of state, senators/ congressmen, Nobel laureates etc. in small group student dinners and lunches, and learned an immense amount from these types of experiences. Give the small size of the school and no grad program, the experiences are readily available, vs much more competitive for undergrads at Harvard etc.

I later did IR grad school in DC, but the Dartmouth education was truly the bedrock. Now work at one of the principal institutions in my field.

Oh and on the social life issues. Ignore these folks who don't know Dartmouth. Guess what- I was a teetotaler for four years, still made friends and contacts for life.

[Anonymous]

Thanks SO much! DD thought her interview with a DC-area alum in the IR field was by far her most interesting, thoughtful interview. Dartmouth alums rock!

[Anonymous]

PP here. Best wishes to your daughter. Sure she will have great experience in and outside the classroom. She should make sure to be involved in the policy/IR student groups through the Rockefeller and Dickey Centers- some of the best learning opportunities are there i.e. opps to engage American and global FP leaders over lecture, meals and seminars.

Should add that as I write this, I'm on a business trip sitting in a foreign capital engaged in the business of international affairs! Owe this in no small part to my Dartmouth experience!

[Anonymous]

I graduated in the 90's and as a mother if be thrilled to see my son or daughter go there for college. I think that in any college you can choose what to be exposed to and will have access to the best and worst scenarios a parent can imagine... I never, ever heard of any hazing in the sororities or secret societies. There was definitely some dumb stuff that went on in the fraternities, but nothing that your daughter would face unless she's planning to rush a fraternity. Of all the dumb stuff in that Rolling Stone article, the only thing I actually ever heard of happening was the "ass chug" and that wasn't hazing, it was done by choice. it's very hard for me to understand what goes on in the mind of a 20 year old boy...

[Anonymous]

I graduated about a decade ago and am married to another alum. I'm still involved in the College as an alum interviewer and with my class Dartmouth College Fund committee.

I think the best thing I can say about my time there is that if my DD (currently only a toddler) were to be accepted in the future I would be thrilled and delighted for her to attend.

I was very much a part of the Greek life scene and extremely involved in my sorority. I was never hazed, nor did I ever haze anyone. While there is indeed a drinking culture at Dartmouth, I think the same can be said for almost any college. I certainly found it to be prevalent at all the schools where I visited friends during my college years.

Overall, I benefitted greatly from the D-plan as it allowed me to apply to selective internships during terms when other students would be taking classes, so I got to have those experiences without having to compete with the whole universe of college students. Also, sophomore summer is probably one of the times of my younger years that I look back on most fondly and it also gives you an opportunity to be in a leadership position in campus organizations fairly early in your college career.

It sounds like Dartmouth would be a great fit for your DD. Congrats to her!

I would highly recommend that she attend the Dimensions program if she's able to, I know many of my friends said it sealed their decision to matriculate.


(Likely letters aren't new. My H got one back in the late 90s, I did ED.)

[Anonymous]

Big blowup at the Dartmouth prospective students weekend. Some students tried to raise issues about sexual assault, racism and homophobia on campus in front of the prospective students, and a ton of bricks (including threats) fell on them from other students and the adminstration. Dartmouth ended up cancelling classes for a day in an effort to restore civility, but that seems unlikely.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/24/1911741/dartmouth-protest-cancels-classes/

http://realtalkdartmouth.wordpress.com/