Dartmouth College Top Questions

Dartmouth is amazing. First it is a fairytale land of love, and then after Homecoming the freshmen are loathed. Then it is up to every schmuck to make it. If you are coming you'll love it for its intensity. The resources stay plentiful and it is up to you to find and access them. Everything is competition so get ready to get better at whatever it is that you want most. You are in for a surprise if you think you are the best singer... for instance. The people are friendly as ever. Come, I'll show you the ropes.

The one complaint I have about Dartmouth is Hanover, the town itself. There is no place to shop and it's pretty secluded. There is, however, a lot of school pride which is a huge plus. Everyone here loves the college. It is the perfect size: not too big or too small so that you run into a lot of people you know while still having the opportunity to meet a lot of new people as well. Dartmouth's D-Plan is pretty unusual, but really cool because it allows for students to take any term off in the year rather than just summer. And staying on for sophomore summer allows for class bonding. We are also on a quarter system, which is pretty unusual. It's great in that we get more opportunities to take a variety of different classes and makes things seem to be moving along faster. The major drawback is that everything is moving long faster so that it seems like finals are just around the corner from midterms.

Dartmouth has amazing professors who are incredibly accessible. You will fall in love with them and they will open your eyes to academic subjects you never would have thought you'd find interesting. You will also find it really easy to get to know your professors on a personal level, to take them out to lunch, to be their research assistants (no grad student competition!), etc. The size of the school is pretty good. It keeps class sizes down and gives the school an intimate feel. If there were more students, then extracurricular student groups would have higher membership/meeting attendance, but that's really the only downside to a small school in my opinion. There are some really fucking awesome students here, whose ability to juggle difficult classes while saving the world will blow your mind away. Overall, everyone has a love/hate relationship with this school. There are things about it that suck --winter, Hanover, the fact that friends leave campus for off terms. But then again, there's winter carnival, the cuteness of all of the mom and pop stores in Hanover, and the fact that the "D-plan" (Google it) allows us to have amazing internship and study abroad opportunities all over the world.

I love my school and right now I don't think there is anything I would change. If life was perfect all the time, then I wouldn't look forward to the good things or appreciate them. And the troubles bring me closer to people because we can help each other through them. At the start of the term, there seems to be a lot of school pride, with people wearing clothing that has the Dartmouth insignia on it. It's quite amazing and I don't think anyone wouldn't be happy to go to Dartmouth.

The best thing about Dartmouth is the atmosphere and the people who go here. The one thin that I would change is the language requirement. I think the school size is just right. When I tell people that I go to Dartmouth, they are generally like "wow that is a really good school" and they think that I have to be a genius to go here. I spend most of my time in class or on the field/doing anything that involves lacrosse. I think the administration at Dartmouth is great. The biggest controversy lately has been the return of Beta and kicking out the sorority that was in their house. One experience that I will always remember is going off of the rope swing into the river in the fall. most frequent student complaints are about the difficulty of the class.

The best thing about Dartmouth is all the awesome students. Everyone has done something incredible and is brilliant in a different way. Plus, students care about each other- there's no competition. Students are incredibly proud of Dartmouth and are very loyal to the school and other Dartmouth alums/students. I think the size is just right, maybe a tiny bit small.

The best thing about Dartmouth is the sense of community. Unless, for some reason, you hate Dartmouth -- then the sense of community becomes a constant irritation. But in my opinion, it's this sense of community, fostered by the remote (but beautiful) location, the relatively small size, and unique traditions that makes Dartmouth so awesome. We're like a little self-contained society with its own unique slang/lingo, games (pong), and inside jokes that only Dartmouth students understand (mostly built on DOC trip traditions). And most of the students do enjoy it. There's a ton of school pride and you hear about alumni "bleeding green" until they die. Very hard core.

the best thing about dartmouth is the school spirit. there's just the right amount of people. people are dartmouth are really down to earth. I spend most of my time in foodcourt. the small town is perfect because it has everything one needs, but nothing extra.

Dartmouth is a wonderful college located in THE PERFECT college town. Local restaurants with a few bars, and small shops line the main street of Hanover which is set just beyond the campus' central meeting place in beautiful weather, "the Green". That being said, the social life truly is on Frat Row - don't be turned off if you think you aren't the stereotypical "sorority girl" or "frat dude". The Dartmouth students pride ourselves on offering inclusive, creative and, yes, wild parties. I never would have predicted that I would become a member of a local sorority (less restrictions imposed on you because you're not affiliated with national organizations), but I've met really great women as a result! The surrounding community loves its students and the students as well as the many organizations they are involved in are very tapped into serving the community.

best thing about dartmouth is my friends and the campus. I would change the river dorms. they are TERRIBLE (far away, not nice at all). The school is just right i think with any more people it would be way to crowded. People are taken back when i tell them that I go to dartmouth. they are always like wow. i spend most of my time either in my dorm or on the lacrosse field (includes floren, field, locker room etc) hanover is a cute college town, the only thing i would change is i would put a chipotle in it. the administration tries to support everyone as best as they can. recent controversy is an athlete cheating on a test. there is definitely a lot of school pride.

Definitely a college town. I'd say the best thing about Dartmouth definitely the people and the environment. From the moment I arrived on campus my freshman fall I felt welcomed and like I just became part of a family.

The best thing about Dartmouth is by far the people that go to school here. Everyone is an amazing individual and there are very few people who are not nice and genuine. If I could change one thing it would definitely be the location. I mean sometimes the rural New Hampshire wilderness is beautiful and I really enjoy it, I just wish we were a little closer to Boston or New York.

I love Dartmouth because everyone is so friendly and I constantly feel like I am part of a big, happy family (sort of like Barney except not G-rated). It's just the right size. There are days when I see twenty people I know just on my way to lunch, and there are days when I might not see a single familiar face unless I plan to meet up with someone. Dartmouth has the least pretentious students of all the Ivies, but I still get an awed reaction from people when I tell them I go here. Of course, there will always be that annoying freshman who thinks that if you don't go to an Ivy League than you might as well not go to college. I usually ignore these students, because they are soulless creatures that never see the light of day. I divide my time between relaxing in my room, studying in the library, and partying on frat row. I hardly ever spend time in Hanover proper because it is tiny and lacks vitality. The tourism board might call it charming, though, and I would probably agree. The only problem I have with Dartmouth is the board of Alumni. It’s nice that they donate money to the school, but sometimes I feel like they need to get a life. So many of them complain about how Dartmouth should go back to the “old days.” Unfortunately, this means when there were no women at Dartmouth and most of the school’s money went into training the football team. Other than that, Dartmouth is a pretty progressive school and there is a tremendous amount of school pride.

Dartmouth is Hanover. The town was created because of the college, but it is a very nice place even though it doesn't have much.

The best thing about Dartmouth is definitely the feeling that everyone is so happy to be here. While people talk about the "Dartmouth Bubble" as though it were a negative, I think its a positive. Yes, its easy to completely lose track of whats going on outside of about a five mile radius from where you are, but what the bubble does provide is a sense of togetherness that I think a lot of people miss at larger schools. Since about a quarter of the student body is off-campus on any one term because of the D-plan, Dartmouth has an effective student body size of about 3000: big enough so that you don't feel like you know everyone after a month, but definitely small enough to create a tight community atmosphere. I wouldn't really call Hanover a town... its more like a few streets with some shops and restaurants. Fortunately, that's totally irrelevant, because Dartmouth provides plenty of opportunities for its students. The Hop, our arts center, holds concerts, shows, art exhibitions, and movies; the Tucker Foundation coordinates community service; student clubs and performance groups blitz (Blitz = Dartmouth email, which is checked by students approximately 100 times a day) out about activities and meetings; frats and sororities provide the parties. If you're apprehensive about coming here because of its location, don't worry - you won't be bored. One word of caution - the frats dominate the mainstream social scene. Unlike at other schools, frat basements are always open, and open to all, but they are where the parties are. Obviously not everyone chooses to frequent them, and there are always other things to do on weekends, but the majority of the student body goes Greek.

Best thing about Dartmouth - People. They're smart, open-minded, active, and loaded with talents. For instance, most people speak at least two languages and play at least one instrument. Thing I'd change - Cost. I've been out for nearly 10 years and I'm still paying for it. They do make it affordable for everyone but it's still so expensive. School size - Just right. 1,100 students per class. It gradually increases (used to be like 40 per graduating class in 1770s) but the rate of increase is acceptable. I like graduating and at least recognizing 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}+ of the names being announced at graduation. People's reaction when I tell them I went to Dartmouth - Impressed. They know Dartmouth is a smart school and, perhaps, didn't think I was that smart. Most of my time on campus - Student Centers. Whether it was dining hall (most students are on centralized meal plans), performance spaces (like the Hopkins Center or Collis Commonground), or meeting areas for clubs/radio station/tv (like Robinson Hall), I tended to be where other students were. College town - Yes. Dartmouth is the epitome of a "college town" Dartmouth's administration - Love to hate them. It's a unifying thing, us (students) vs. them but really they're fantastic. They truly care about everyone and want the school to survive and thrive. Biggest recent controversy on campus - Greek vs. Non-Greek. The Greek (frat) system was a very key component of campus life in Dartmouth's past but, in an effort to take more control, Administration is offering more alternatives to becoming a part and harsher penalties for Greek misbehavior. School pride - Yes. Tons of it. I still have five shirts, a calendar, a facebook application, an email account, countless address labels, an improv troupe, and several bumper stickers with "Dartmouth" on it...and I don't even have a car! Also, I don't think I'm alone. I'm in touch with several other alums with similar paraphernalia. Anything unusual about Dartmouth - There's a graveyard surrounding about 1/3 of the campus. One experience I'll always remember - Late Night Food Court. Meeting some friends just before the dining hall closed (~1am) and eating mediocre food and chatting about everything. It felt like we owned the campus. These were the seeds of inside jokes that I still share with my friends 9 years after graduation. After the dining hall would close we'd return in a blizzard to our respective dorm rooms and blitz (Dartmouth for "email") each other until the server went down at 3am (which I'm told doesn't happen any more). The most frequent student complaints - Lack of diversity. It's true. It would be nice to have a more diverse campus. I feel that the Administration is moving that direction.