Dartmouth College Top Questions

There are certainly guys like that out there; stereotypes don't come out of thin air. But, no, on the whole Dartmouth has a very diverse array of students. It's an ivy league school; sure, each one has their own "character" and attracts a certain type of student, but on the whole, people go here because they're smart, and there are all kinds of different smart people. (Misogynistic jocks who drink like fish are usually recruited athletes. They're not always smart. But they're everywhere -- don't think HYP doesn't have them, cause they do.) Drinking is indeed pretty rampant, though. Yeah, you can choose not to, and nobody's gonna ostracize you, but you'll definitely feel less integrated into the Dartmouth social scene. The school provides alternatives for people who don't drink, but not many great ones. Nevertheless there are non-drinkers who fiercely defend their sober and happy college experience. So, I guess you could be one of those.

That's true to some extent. I do know people who party 3 or 4 nights a week. I know people who only party once a week. And I know people who don't drink at all. I mean it's all up to personal choice.

Not everyone drinks and I don't feel pressured into drinking. I think it's good to know what people think about Christians because Christians aren't perfect and it's just another thing for Christians to work on. I personally love my extracurricular activities, which takes up large amounts of time. So between that, classwork, and friends, I don't think there's nothing to do.

Yes, for the most part I think in general they are

I think Dartmouth is more of a liberal campus than most other Ivies. However, there are pockets of conservative voices that are also heard. As for the stereotypes about the students, I would say that there is a great variety. Most kids appreciate the beautiful setting and try to be active.

Not really. Dartmouth students like to THINK they party all the time, but the school is becoming increasingly academically focused. I've talked to students a few years older than me who said Dartmouth lived up to its incredibly ragey reputation back when they were freshmen, but the times are changing. Yes, Dartmouth kids make sure to work hard and play hard, but not to the extent Animal House would have prospies believe. I think a lot of students here have struck a great balance between going out and still working super hard in classes, with a minority falling into either extreme.

All of these people exist at Dartmouth, however, the stereotypes are not comprehensive. If not racially all that diverse, Dartmouth is at least diverse in the types of people (personalities, beliefs, etc.) who go here.

The first is, of course, true for some students. The second (extremely helpful) is for the most part - I have been shocked with how willing people are to help you succeed academically. As for the third stereotype, the strongly male-based alumni have been known to foster an atmosphere that makes stepping out of traditional sex-roles challenging. However, the great thing is that there are hundreds of extremely smart, motivated and strong women to challenge these pressures.

i mean there are definitely a lot of kids that are snobs but i do not think that it is any more than any other school would have

Dartmouth is in the middle of no where, but it is a great little community. There all types of people here, some of my closest friends are from New York City and I come straight from the beaches of San Diego. There is an immense amount of variety here. Alot of the guys here get upset because the girls dont dress up as much as other girls at other schools when they go out. This is true because it doesn't make any sense to dress like that when you have to walk through snow and ice to get to a fraternity.

Although there are always people who don't particularly like to party, the stereotypes are mostly true. We're definitely a work-hard/play-hard school.

Dartmouth students do drink a lot and frat parties are what they are stereotyped to be Dartmouth is not super conservative like it used to be. Overall more liberal

Drinking is definitely prevalent on the Dartmouth campus, but its more by choice than by the fact that we have nothing better to do. Though I don't know many who avoid the party scene altogether, I know a surprising number of people who go out to frats and either don't drink or drink responsibly. That being said, drinking is a large part of the social culture here, and even if you personally don't want to partake in it, you will be surrounded by it. As far as the winter goes, it really is not that bad. Buy some boots and a down coat and you'll be just fine.

Yes, except about being "conservative". It's an Ivy League school so the students are overwhelmingly liberal but there is a newspaper on campus called the Dartmouth Review that few people write and fewer read that is distributed free to everyone courtesy of conservative alums from way back. That being said, I never attended any other school so I really don't know what it's like in comparison to other schools.