Dartmouth College Top Questions

The frats are the most popular organizations I would say. students do leave their dorms open and i am on the womens lacrosse team. The dating scene is what you make of it, there is the casual and the serious. My closest friend is on my team and she is also from back home. The frats are pretty much where everyone goes when they go out. Last weekend I hung out with my team. You can always go to the Nugget and see a movie if you dont want to drink. or you can go to the frats and just not drink, most people really dont care anyway.

The Greek life here definitely dominates the social scene. It has its benefits and its drawbacks. It unifies groups of people that may not know each other outside the bonds of the organization. However, it puts an emphasis on drinking, often in male-dominated spaces.

Dorm room doors are almost always unlocked. Hanover is incredibly safe, and if anything Dartmouth students are too trusting and leave their coats/books/ipods laying around the library. Stuff RARELY goes missing when you consider how much stuff is just left unattended for long periods of time. The most often theft is a coat from a frat basement, but that's usually just a drunken mistake, since everyone here owns the same black northface jacket. (If you come here, but a BRIGHT colored frat jacket so you can always find it easily and no one can mistake it for their own) Athletic events aren't especially popular...men's hockey is huge. Lacrosse is big too, because our teams are so good. Volleyball has become a lot more popular. Basketball and football don't draw as many students as one would expect. Traditions- there's a big festival every term- Homecoming, Winter Carnival, Green Key, and Fieldstock (formerly Tubestock). They're all amazing and fun and involve a lot of parties and drinking. Frats and sororities are HUGE but they are very different from what people typically expect from them. Since so many people are involved (especially in the sorority system), you can basically be as involved or uninvolved as you want- there's no psycho hazing or mandatory meetings. It's just a way to meet more people sophomore year. People at Dartmouth claim there is no dating scene and that pong takes the place of real dates. I agree somewhat but also think that's an excuse a lot of people use so they can hookup with anyone they want and never putt forth the effort to be in a real relationship and not feel bad about it. I met my boyfriend here as a freshman and we've been dating ever since. There are a LOT of Dartmouth couples- if you know what you want and don't use frat culture as an excuse, dating is very possible.

Athletic events, besides hockey, are not very popular, and even hockey could use more attendance. Closest friends tend to start out with people in your dorm, then shift as you meet more people through classes, other friends, organizations and what not and begin to understand the difference between friends of circumstance and people you really have a lot in common with. The greek scene is unavoidable if you're the type of person who enjoys going out at all. But it's not all bad (or at least not as bad as at other schools). Parties are open to the whole campus and it's not weird at all to attend parties at houses other than your own. Also, as you don't join a house until sophomore year, your friends are in no way confined to the people you meet in your house, and as most people don't live in their house, you're completely able to be as involved or uninvolved as you wish. Downsides to the frat scene include, however, an aura of exclusivity, as well as the fact that everyone's hanging out in gendered, usually male-dominated, spaces according to their rules. Off-campus parties do happen sometimes, but generally are confined to upper-classmen (since they're the one's who tend to live off campus). Very fun though.

sports teams at all levels and frats/sororities are very popular. I'm on the lacorsse team and it's absolutely amazing. we're a family. the dorms are great...the people in your hall become some of your best friends. people leave rarely lock there doors.

There are definitely certain images to which each fraternity or sorority is thought to adhere. I'm lucky to be in a sorority that prides itself on having a very eclectic membership. But especially in the fraternities, there is come pooling of team members in specific houses. There are also houses in which the members are not of a specific team and have more in common in some other aspect (ie: EXTREMELY community service oriented, the more preppy boys, etc). Hockey and Lacrosse are big at Dartmouth due to their past successes. I sometimes think that because there is so much to do and be involved with here, the support for sports teams could be stronger than it is.

i would say that the teams like the hockey, football, lacrose, and soccer teams are the most popular people on campus. athletic events vary each game. The big ivy games are usually the most crowded ones. I play women's lacrosse. almost everyone i know leaves their doors unlocked. if i am awake at 2 am on a tuesday i am doing a project. DOC trips, bonfire, winter carnival, toga party, tdx mas, people party up to 4 times a week typically. frats and sororities are pretty important to our social scene as there isnt a 'bar' scene here. if you do not want to drink you can go see a movie, hang in the dorm, see a show at the hop, hang in collis etc. the only true off campus thing would be to go to west leb for food, movie, wall mart etc.

traditions/event that happen each year: homecoming bonfire and freshman sweep, snow sculpture, greenkey. People party any and every night of the week. There are huge dance parties almost every weekend and other parties every other night. Frats and Sororities are huge. The frats host huge dance parties and pong in the basement. Going to the frats is like going to the club with your school but alot more fun. Last Saturday night I went to a dance party at one of the frats.

The most attended sporting events are definitely football and men's hockey, which is not surprising. Women's volleyball gets a good number of fans probably the most out of female sports which is nice. The kids in my dorm almost NEVER lock their doors. We all feel so safe that there is really no need to lock them. People party probably almost every night here, but mostly on monday, wednesday, and of course friday and saturday. But if you want to play pong at any time, any day of the week you probably could. Fraternities and sororities are a big part of the social scene, they almost make it up in entirely. i am not really sure what you can do on a Saturday besides go to a frat party

There are lots of activities at Dartmouth, most of them being free or very cheap. Although students spend lots of time in the frats and sororities, there are a large amount of performances at the arts center on campus. Sometimes there will even be famous people that come and talk about their glamorous (or not so glamorous) lives to make us feel less important than them. There are also a lot of student organizations to join. I am a Sexpert, which means that I have been trained to counsel students on topics ranging from contraception to sex toys. I also assistant directed a play last term, even though I had not been involved with a stage production since middle school. Usually, dorms are also centers of student life and entertainment. Very frequently, students will just pop into each other’s rooms and say hi, especially if they live on the same floor. Every now and then, I take a bus to Boston or even West Leb (which is much closer) for nice shopping, food, or entertainment.