A couple atmosphere questions--

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Hi everyone-</p>

<p>I'm really caught between Dartmouth and Brown right now and was wondering if some Dartmouth students could help me out here.</p>

<p>First, do you find the core curriculum restrictive at all? I'm REALLY humanities-oriented. I do well in the other subjects, but don't especially enjoy them and so I've been really attracted to Brown's OC. Are math/sci requirements a big deal? (I'm taking BC and Chem APs and will prob get 4/5's, so that should knock some of it out.)</p>

<p>Second, my friend goes to Dartmouth and says the D-Plan isn't as incredible as it sounds (WHICH IS PRETTY AMAZING) because it prevents JYAs and separates friends for extended periods of time... Has the offbeat nature of the plan been an overall positive or negative for you?</p>

<p>Last... the social scene/drinking/drugs. I'm socially liberal, and I definitely party, and I dislike the whole meathead, self-congratulatory, boys-will-be-boys jock scene. That said, obviously Dartmouth's social scene relies on frats... but does beer and bro-ness dominate? Are women marginalized on campus? Is it a boys' school that really just lets girls in on the fringes/as companions?</p>

<p>And how big are recreational drugs on campus? Do they pale in comparison to beer consumption?</p>

<p>I love the outdoors, so the DOC is clearly a huge draw for me over Providence. But I also love the laid-back, hippie atmosphere that one would think the DOC would provide but Dartmouth's reputation rejects. Brown seems like it tries a little hard in the opposite direction; I loved the campus and the atmosphere when I visited but think students are a little TOO image-conscious and Urban Outfittersy.</p>

<p>Basically, does the DOC have any influence on social life? Can I go to frats and not feel dominated by meatheadedness? Can I continue my earthy-crunchy, liberal (if you see what I'm hinting at...) tendencies without being an outsider?</p>

2

<p>Hi, I'll try my best to answer your questions. Nice post btw-- I think it provides a more diverse view of Dartmouth and whatnot.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Core curriculum-- to be honest, I didn't know we had one. All I know is that Dartmouth prides itself extremely on being a liberal arts school. As of right now, I know that the most obvious req. is the lab course, and that can be easily fulfilled with a class you can take during sophomore summer with astronomy. Further, I think that the curriculum is extremely thorough, but not particularly restrictive if you do want to pursue something in the humanities. A lot of classes contain multiple distrib. req---say "Nonwestern culture" as well as the art distrib and a tmv...so it's really easy to get those out of the way. In my opinion Brown's loose curriculum goes a little bit far. Granted, I have heard some negative things about the core curriculum at Columbia, but I haven't heard any Dartmouth students complaining about distribs.</p></li>
<li><p>What are JYA's? Sorry, I'm not really familiar with the term. As for the D-plan: my personal experience has been a positive one. I think it is extremely flexible, and that it allows for study-abroad..which a lot of my friends are doing this term and the next. The D-plan also makes it so that it's easier to find internships/ jobs (esp if you want to continue an internship that you had in summer into the winter). I have a friend who's an econ major who's staying on campus for 6 terms and then taking 3 consecutive terms off so he can work. As for the not-being-able to see friends part.... I haven't had any trouble with that at all. High school friends have generally the same schedule, and yea, there'll be a term in sophomore year when you wont see all your friends...but I don't think that's completely unbearable.</p></li>
<li><p>I was afraid of this too...this and the fact that Dartmouth is supposedly conservative (though I haven't seen any indication of this at ALL). So in other words, yes there are many athletes on campus (given the outdoorsy feel of Dartmouth) but they're all extremely and incredibly welcoming, at the Frats, on the green for football, whatever you want. Sports frats like GDX(football) and Chi Gamm (baseball) along with a bunch of other frats host parties quite often and there are never any restrictions.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>As for drugs- if you want them, they'll be there, but your next door neighbor's not going to be dealing crack out of his room. I haven't seen any drugs here b/c I personally don't go out of my way to find them. </p>

<p>And I don't think that Dartmouth rejects the hippie feel. I mean... considering that DOC trips in the whole beginning of the year as well as MANY campus organized events stem from the DOC (like dimensions). We're not really ashamed of anything and dont hide whatever's seemingly bad or ...well w/e you want to call it.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>

3

<p>first of all, dartmouth does not have a core curriculum. there are certain distributive requirements that you must complete ...</p>

<p>are they restrictive? not really ... almost all the requirements are fulfilled by a LOT of classes, it's not like it's hard to find classes that actually fill them all. Sure, it takes you out of your comfort zone, but that's their premise - the idea is to make you a well rounded scholar ... if you focus entirely on the sciences or entirely on the humanities, you will be one-dimensional. That being said, i usually hear humanities people complaining about the requirements, but only 3 of the 10 requirements are necessarily science related at all... i would say it's more of a hassle for sciencey people. Also to note, you can't use AP credit to get out of distribs.</p>

<p>the dplan: can it separate you from friends? yes. absolutely. does it have to? no. does it give other opportunities? definitely. Now, you will have the opportunity to apply for and participate in programs/internships against much smaller competition pools because you will not be relegated to only summers. I really like the dplan - i like having shorter, intense terms, and i like the fact that i can opt to take essentially 6-7 straight months off from school to do a lengthy internship, research, travel, whatever, if i choose to take two consecutive off terms. Furthermore, the dplan is what drives dartmouth's pretty awesome study abroad programs, in which more than half (i don't have the actual numbers in front of me) of students participate.</p>

<p>social scene: is beer the drink of choice? yes. are women marginalized? most would say no ... i mean, there is definitely no social exclusion ... but gender equity was a pretty big topic on campus the last couple of terms, mostly to do with an old fraternity not renewing a lease on their house to a sorority. i think this question will get mixed reactions, but if you look at the stats, the '10s and '11s are more women than men, so i think it's hard to say that it's a boys' school...</p>

<p>recreational drugs are here, but not in a big way, definitely paling to drinking.</p>

<p>the DOC - </p>

<p>the DOC presents a host of opportunities that have really made my time here ... i cannot imagine college without it (or an organization like it), but obviously, a lot of people can. Does dartmouth reject the crunchiness of the DOC? definitely not. Sustainability's a big deal here (or at least the administration pretends it is, and student groups work hard to make it one), and the DOC can play a pretty big role on that front.</p>

<p>DOC on social life - I mean, the first thing almost all dartmouth students do here is go on a pre-orientation freshman trip into the New Hampshire wilderness, run by the DOC. So, most people's first friends (most stay long lasting) are through Trips and in that regard, sure. But other than that, those involved heavily in the DOC are definitely a close group and a social circle, but other than that, no, not really.</p>

<p>frats and meatheadedness ... depends where you go, who you hang out with, when you go, and how you define "meatheadedness"...</p>

<p>but i would say as long as you're sociable and come here with an open mind, you probably will not feel like an outsider no matter what you're interested in ...i think the majority of people who are unhappy here are the people who chose to come here simply because it's the "best" school they got into without regard to fit at all</p>

<p>but maybe that's just me.... this was long, hope it helps.</p>