Dartmouth College Top Questions

yes

Not really. Maybe we were all overachievers in high school (since it's pretty hard to get into Dartmouth), but on campus people tend to be chill/relaxed. I don't think we drink more than students on any other college campus, but our drinking habits are blown way out of proportion since the student body is so small and since the frats have such an obvious presence. Most students here have only one true outdoorsy experience - the freshman orientation trip (DOC trips).

The stereotype is accurate. The problem is that the campus is isolated so wealthy students find it a place to vent frustrations by drinking alcohol. If punishments became too severe, students may turn to harder narcotics. The only solution is to foster inter-fraternity joint-student activities like multi-house parties/festivals.

Are Dartmouth students misogynistic, drunk trust-fund babies? No; that describes less than 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the population (which is true of any old private college).

-60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus is involved in atheletics but there are no pressures/you are not treated differently if you aren't one. -There are a lot of parties. The students here get a play work balance. Generally it makes it a lot more fun. -The college has things going on everyday. You are normally too busy to think about off campus. Only time you feel this is during a long weekend in which you decide to stay back.

I believe all of these stereotypes have some background and validity, but far from paint an accurate picture of the school. While Greek life, both fraternities and sororities, play a large role in the social atmosphere of the school, they aren't as rambunctious as portrayed in the movie Animal House, and the culture isn't as it was in the early 1960's, from when the movie was set. Students do drink a lot of beer and know how to have a good time, but they also spend time in plenty of other productive ways, such as making jewelry in the jewelry studio, catching up with friends in collis student center, or hiking in the white mountains. The stereotype of Dartmouth being very conservative and based on the old boy network is quite inaccurate. I would consider most students liberal, and all but some of the older alums would oppose the old boy network system. Fraternities are sometimes referred to as "male dominated social spaces", but most times there are just as many women there as men and I have always felt comfortable being in the frat houses as a woman. The third stereotype is half true. Students are definitely all very smart, but I would say few are stuck up. Most people are laid-back and don't flaunt their accomplishments. There is almost pressure sometimes to pretend that you don't care much and are completely easy-going, but the reality is most people do care greatly about academics as well as social life/status. I'd say a Dartmouth student is like a duck: you see them calmly gliding across the surface, but underneath the water they're paddling like crazy.

Yes. Obviously the majority of us are pretty smart, and most of us like to have a good time, too.

Not at all. You can't categorize a Dartmouth student. We're a kaleidoscopic bunch.

1. Not at all. An unofficial motto that I hear often around campus us "Party hard...study harder." Does alcohol play a role in the social scene on campus? Absolutely, but there are plenty of people that don't drink at all and they aren't shunned or treated any differently. Just as with any college there are some students that abuse substances, but a majority of students still get their work done (the library is always packed on Sunday nights and there are few party attendees during midterms and finals). 2. Dartmouth's isolated location is a big turn off for many people and discourages them from applying. So do you have every high school senior in the country applying (like they do to Harvard or Yale?). No, so it is SLIGHTLY less difficult to get in. But don't let that fool you. Everyone here is really smart and talented and although the school is really competitive, it's not cutthroat. If you're used to being the best in high school and succeeding at everything, Dartmouth is the perfect environment to give you a wakeup call. Competitive enough so that you have to work really hard to get A's but you'll have a lot of support and guidance. 3. I'm a city kid from California and I'm rarely bored here. Since there's not much outside of town, there is ALWAYS something going on on campus. In my freshman year of college I've got to attend the Democratic Presidential debates, meet Kevin Bacon, travel all over the east coast with the Crew team and experience my first frat parties. Blitz (our version of e-mail and AIM) will become your link to what's happening on campus and even though you'll get dozens everyday, you'll find out about many fun things. 4. I don't know where this generalization came from. Granted, there is a small, but vocal group of conservatives on campus. Nobody really cares about them and they're main purpose is to stir up trouble. Their newspaper, The Dartmouth Review is covertly delivered to the front of people's dormrooms in the middle of the night because nobody would care to look at it otherwise (and if someone saw them distributing that bullshit they'd be ostracized). Much of the student body is very liberal and open to people of different backgrounds and cultures. 5. With the name "Dartmouth" on your resume you won't have to worry about finding an internship or job ever again. Our alumni are CRAZY, okay. They are so loyal and in love with the school that they practically throw unheard of opportunities at current undergrads. One pet peeve that I have is that the school isn't well known amongst the general population. Who cares! The ones that matter (grad schools and employers) know that you go to one of the best universities.

Nope. Not only do we have a lot of people that are ridiculously fun at varying degrees of sobriety, but the Urban Chic crowd running around will remind you of the intellectual haven to be found in Hanover.