Anonymous wrote:Dartmouth alum here. There is a sense from Day 1 when you arrive for orientation, and get indoctrinated into Dartmouth life at Moosilauke and around a Homecoming bonfire, that you better just LOVE the place like those who have gone before, and you better LOVE the wild and crazy parts of it. Or you are just not a true Big Green student. Alcohol is HUGE at Dartmouth. You don't have to drink, and many people don't, but the alcohol culture is pervasive. Sadly, there are many alums who have battled alcoholism in the decades since graduation and began their excessive drinking as undergrads. Some of them have written about it in the College publications.

None of my DC's applied to Dartmouth. The nail in the coffin for the last DC, who might have applied, was an email letter to alums from the College president last spring regarding the significant problems with "campus climate." You can google the events that led to the President's letter. Not much has changed over the years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spent four years in the late 90s as a non-greek teetotaler at Dartmouth and had a fantastic experience and did not feel in the least socially isolated. Socially there is plenty to do in Hanover whether or not you drink (colleges are inherently social environments no matter where they are), and I still went to plenty of Greek parties (most of which are open) without drinking. If anything, I'm sure the social scene is even milder now after rooms despite the sensationalist stories that crop up.

In academics and extracurricular opportunities as well as post-graduate positioning, Dartmouth was truly amazing. Folks cannot underestimate the value of a college that's a hybrid between a Liberal Arts College and a research university, with the cachet/network of an Ivy. The access Dartmouth undergrads have to faculty is undoubtedly unparalleled in the Ivy League.

Dartmouth would be a great school if it had more students like you. Why can't the frat boy booze loving losers just skip college.

Anonymous wrote:I spent four years in the late 90s as a non-greek teetotaler at Dartmouth and had a fantastic experience and did not feel in the least socially isolated. Socially there is plenty to do in Hanover whether or not you drink (colleges are inherently social environments no matter where they are), and I still went to plenty of Greek parties (most of which are open) without drinking. If anything, I'm sure the social scene is even milder now after rooms despite the sensationalist stories that crop up.

In academics and extracurricular opportunities as well as post-graduate positioning, Dartmouth was truly amazing. Folks cannot underestimate the value of a college that's a hybrid between a Liberal Arts College and a research university, with the cachet/network of an Ivy. The access Dartmouth undergrads have to faculty is undoubtedly unparalleled in the Ivy League.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The Greek scene as Dartmouth is also a lot more diverse -- in terms of people who do and don't drink, and do and don't fit conventional sorority or fraternity stereotypes -- than at other scools I saw at the time, where a smaller percentage of the campus was into the Greek scene but did it much more intensely and uniformly if they did.

Agree with this as well. I had friends at schools with much more rigid Greek scenes - members only allowed, dress codes, pervasive disgust of those who don't go Greek, rivalry to get into the right house prior to even showing up on campus your very first year, forced study hours so students could keep up the minimum GPA required to stay active, etc.

On the other hand my sorority at Dartmouth graduated Rhodes and Fulbright Scholars during my 3 years in the organization, and has subsequently graduated at least one college valedictorian that I can recall. You can't even join a house until you are a sophomore and it appears they are now going back to a policy that stood when I attended, first year students aren't allowed in Greek houses for their first month or so on campus. Nor are our houses truly residential - only a small fraction of the members actually live in, in some houses it is as few as 15 students living in a house whereas at big Greek schools, all members are required to live in.




Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah. The Greek life is so good for you and does great work. Group think will get you far in life. So tired of hearing why frats help the world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Dartmouth Alum,
Hanover called. The development office wants to know where it can send back the $50 you gave last year to the annual fund? C'mon, people, Dartmouth is NOT like the other Ivies that tend to be populated by large numbers of geeks -- thank goodness. Excessive drinking and partying has been an American college tradition dating back multiple generations. If that "scene" is not for you or your darling offspring, then you have a few choices available. I think Dartmouth is trying to balance a lot of interests and not just legislate away "problems" that may actually be learning experiences for the student body.

Dartmouth alum here. This poster above is a perfect example of the attitude that I was describing in my own previous post. I am glad he posted, since he proves my point. Basically this poster is saying that excessive drinking has been around forever, the college culture should not change just because some people don't like it, and if you don't belong in this drinking culture, then you have other colleges you can go to. No intellectuals or "geeks" need apply. He is saying the College does not want your money or your support if you aren't going to go along with the dominant partying culture there.

There are plenty of alums and current students who would disagree with this guy, but his tradition-bound, anti-intellectual outlook is a dominant one on campus, and always has been. So much for real diversity.

Anonymous wrote:My strongest and most positive memories about Dartmouth were actually about academics and non-partying pursuits, but I also had a lot of fun while I was there.

There was alcohol and there was excess, but I think 12:05 hit the nail on the head -- it wasn't materially different than any other of my friends' schools ("There was free-flowing alcohol combined with young adults making questionable decisions at every college I visited as an undergrad.") and if anything the party scene was safer because it was on campus and everyone walks everywhere (as opposed to my UVA or Georgetown friends in off-campus apartments and driving drunk).

The Greek scene as Dartmouth is also a lot more diverse -- in terms of people who do and don't drink, and do and don't fit conventional sorority or fraternity stereotypes -- than at other scools I saw at the time, where a smaller percentage of the campus was into the Greek scene but did it much more intensely and uniformly if they did.

Anonymous wrote:
The Greek scene as Dartmouth is also a lot more diverse -- in terms of people who do and don't drink, and do and don't fit conventional sorority or fraternity stereotypes -- than at other scools I saw at the time, where a smaller percentage of the campus was into the Greek scene but did it much more intensely and uniformly if they did.

Anonymous wrote:Hey Dartmouth Alum,
Hanover called. The development office wants to know where it can send back the $50 you gave last year to the annual fund? C'mon, people, Dartmouth is NOT like the other Ivies that tend to be populated by large numbers of geeks -- thank goodness. Excessive drinking and partying has been an American college tradition dating back multiple generations. If that "scene" is not for you or your darling offspring, then you have a few choices available. I think Dartmouth is trying to balance a lot of interests and not just legislate away "problems" that may actually be learning experiences for the student body.