Dartmouth College Top Questions

Given that Dartmouth's alumni giving rate is always one of the top, it's pretty obvious that the vast majority of students love their time here. Because Dartmouth is located in the middle of the woods in Hanover, NH, students here really live in the Dartmouth bubble and get to become very close with each other. I think having just around 4000 undergrads is a great size--big enough that there are plenty of people you don't know, but not so large you need a bus to shuttle around campus. Hanover itself is beautiful in the fall, although winters here tend to be rough. That's the one thing I would change about the school. One of the most unique things is the freshmen "Trips" that around 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of incoming freshmen attend. Groups of around 8-10 kids are lead by upperclassmen on a variety of outdoors trips and instantly fall in love with the school. Freshmen floors themselves tend to be very close. Quality of housing is quite good, and as much as we may complain abou the food, the quality is actually decent. Also, every term (we're on the quarter system), we have a giant party weekend that's always lots of fun. Pong here is better than beirut played at every other campus

Dartmouth is the best. I cannot imagine myself anywhere else. The campus is beautiful and the professors are extremely accessible during office hours. Classes are very small so you get to experience very engaging classes. Hanover itself is a small town and there is very little to do, but you can find many things to do on campus through clubs or just with friends. I myself am from Los Angeles and I thought I would hate being in a small town, but I love it.

I think the best tool that will give anyone an idea of what Dartmouth is like is The Dartmouth: http://thedartmouth.com/ Although the News and Sports are obviously unbiased, the Opinion section, "The Mirror" Section, and the Comics section really represent the unique Dartmouth culture, be it receiving fifty blitzes about lost jackets or depicting the frat scene and rushing.

Dartmouth is the perfect size. You often see familiar faces as you walk around campus, but it's not like you'll know all of your classmates by the end of your four years here. Because of the D-Plan, only 3/4 of the student body is on campus during any given term. And Hanover is the quintessential college town! There are plenty of cozy cafes to sit at and study, and a variety of decent restaurants and retailers. Although Dartmouth's location is really out of the way, it's a beautiful part of the country and you grow to appreciate it. Boston is only 2 hours away and there are buses going back and forth from there and NYC all the time. It's easy to "live to good life" at Dartmouth. Spend 10 hours or less in class each week, play frisbee on the green, eat yummy organic food (but don't worry, we've got classic college dining hall junk food, too!), watch the leaves change colors in the fall, be surrounded by smart and funny and ambitious people, develop close relationships with your professors, and party to your heart's content every other night.

I'm the last heir from a very distinguished family from India. I like posting thoughts on the World Wide Web. My interests include Culinary Arts, Economics, Movies, and Christianity. Dartmouth College was a good fit for me. The school is neo-classical and gives people like me an opportunity to question aspirations. My college major was Cognitive Science which is interdisciplinary (Math, Psychology, Computer Science, Neurobiology). If I won the lottery, I would donate a sum to Dartmouth College, because I am grateful for the education gained, the friendship memories, and the interest in American politics and life I acquired. Dartmouth College is a small school with a personal community that thrives on intellectual curiosity and service. Its student party scene is thrilling if managed properly. The campus itself is very scenic (and the food is great).

Dartmouth has all of the resources of a world-class research university and the personal touch (and close-knit intellectual environment) of a small liberal arts college.

Just an amazing place with amazing opportunities. It's very hard to answer this question without writing a book, so read my responses to the more specific questions.

The greatest thing about Dartmouth is that so many who go there people feel the same way about it; it's a wonderful, unique place and one of the best to spend your college years at. There's a great sense of school pride and love for all things Dartmouth. I never thought a love or miss a place so much, but it's true... there will be always be a warm spot in my heart for it and the memories I've had there. This probably explains the very high retention rate and the very high alumni giving rate. The size of the student body, for me, was perfect. It wasn't so small that you knew everyone and everybody was in everybody else's business, but it wasn't so large that you'd always see people you knew around. If you hooked up with someone over the weekend, you'd be sure to see them walking to class or in foodcourt (the dining hall) that week. Dartmouth lives by the "work hard, play hard" mentality, which I suppose isn't different from many colleges. Classes are fairly rigorous and students take work seriously, but they always manage to go out on weekends and Wednesdays (when Greek "meetings" are held which are really just an excuse to get sh**faced.) The student body is also overwhelmingly unique and accomplished. It seems like everyone you meet is super-smart, has either published a book or founded a clinic in Uganda after graduation, and also is pretty cool to hang out with. Even that guy in the ratty cap and tshirt who sleeps through your math class and is stoned every weekend probably knows everything about string theory and has a 3.99 GPA. When I tell other people I went to Dartmouth, they either say, "Oooh Dartmouth... Ivy League... you must be really smart", or ask, "Is that like UMASS Dartmouth?" Either way, I tell them how much I loved going there and don't often bother to try to explain how awesome it is, since there is just something "Dartmouth" about it that I can't quite put into words.

Dartmouth is AMAZING, period. The campus is gorgeous and the tiny town of Hanover is adorable. Dartmouth is known for its academics and its focus on undergraduates, and I feel completely at home and welcomed here. I'm proud to go to Dartmouth, and when I tell people where I go to school, they are either impressed, or they don't even know where Dartmouth is. The way most students are introduced to Dartmouth is through Dimensions, when accepted students come to Dartmouth, and the college tries to convince them to come. It's ALWAYS gorgeous weather that weekend, and there are so many fun activities. Now, I could not go to Dimensions, so my first experience at Dartmouth was DOC trips, camping trips at the very beginning of the year. It's an INCREDIBLE experience. It's where you meet your first friends, realize how much fun Dartmouth can be, and see how techno music and flair are kind of a big deal.

When my father helped me move in this September after DOC trips, he best articulated Dartmouth's sense of community, “I can see where Dr. Seuss got his inspiration. Walking around campus and seeing all of your class together on the Green is like being amongst the Who’s in Whoville,” which in my opinion, is so true. We’re an odd bunch, Dartmouth students, but our unique community is extremely close-knit. The second aspect of Dartmouth is hard to put into words. It is the view of Dartmouth as a “world of its own.” The only way I can describe it is that when I arrive in Hanover on the Dartmouth Coach I feel alive and in true form; and as soon as I board the bus to leave for break, I immediately feel homesick and long to return. I literally feel as though everything about me changes when I’m here. While at Dartmouth, I feel invincible in a way. Nothing is out of my reach, and everyone is open-minded. I feel separated from the harsh realities of being an adult, but at the same time feel free to reap the benefits of living on my own. In high school, I was always told my goals were too lofty and that I needed to put things in perspective; and because of this, I was not able to truly enjoy the time I spent there. But at Dartmouth, the “perspective” is always ambitious. In fact, dreaming big and thinking out of the box are expected. On top of that, I’m encouraged to live these next four years of intellectual and social exploration to the fullest. Dartmouth has become my safe haven; a separate place where I’m free to aspire and take pleasure in what education has to offer. I know this isn’t a concrete idea, more ideological than anything, but is truly what I feel is the most defining aspect of Dartmouth College.