<p>Hey Eric,</p>
<p>Darn. I thought my username was so clever and cryptic</p>
<p>P.S.
Fahey is slowly becoming my new party hub.</p>
<p>The alternate story to BFK:</p>
<p>Normal kid from a small town in average America; lucky and got into Dartmouth with the best grades but low test scores (not that anyone cares at Dartmouth). Not an athletic recruit, a legacy, or a great writer. Sort of a mixed bag of ethnicities. From an extremely poor public school which nevertheless has an IB program. </p>
<p>He adores the social life. He was a non-drinker in high school, had never been to new england or new york city, and had never seen snow. He now loves the outdoors, his fraternity, and his friends, who he visits almost every break. </p>
<p>And yes, although he says “Dartmouth: where the men are men and so are the women”, that doesn’t stop him from hitting on the '13s. </p>
<p>BFK, you should probably transfer.</p>
<p>I’m sorry your experience hasn’t lived up to your expectations, BFK. But if you don’t end up transferring out, I hope you can find this thread again when you’re a junior and find that you feel infinitely happier than you were when you made this thread.</p>
<p>Don’t bash this guy for speaking his mind. Just because his opinion is not positive does not mean it is not valid. I welcome both sides of the story.</p>
<p>You’ve only been here for one term, bro. Give it some time. Plan your on and off terms well and study abroad.</p>
<p>I do like reading negative reviews about schools…particularly in my case with Dartmouth, because although much of the college sounds wonderful to me on paper, I wonder if I would be a part of that 10% hmom5 mentioned. I’m a pretty shy person by nature, and I wonder if I would slip between the cracks and feel isolated in a community like Dartmouth’s.
I applied, but even if I get in I need to do serious thinking about whether the school’s community is a fit for me - and so far I’ve had very little luck in that regard - it’s so hard to try to understand if you’d mesh with the student body without actually attending the school!</p>
<p>I think a weekend visit, staying in a freshmen dorm, would be very informative.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>You don’t actually “mesh” with a student body when you go to a school. There is no single, uniform entity that you must bond with. The student body is a collection of individuals. What you need to find is a few individuals you can mesh with - other kids who share similar interests, whom you like to talk to and do things with. That’s what you need to find to be happy at any given school.</p>
<p>Now at Dartmouth it’s pretty clear that if you are a party-loving frat boy you won’t have any trouble finding like-minded friends. But if you are not, chances are good you will still find enough friends, perhaps even plenty of friends. Dartmouth has a varied group of students enrolled. But it might just take a little longer to make those connections.</p>
<p>Based on attending Dimensions, my non-drinking, non-partying daughter thought it would be easy to find all kinds of “her people” at Dartmouth. But when she actually showed up for school she was kind of lonely for the first week or two. But eventually, mostly through connections in her EC activities on campus, she found other like-minded kids that she is now great friends with. She is enjoying her time at Dartmouth despite not fitting into the Animal House stereotype.</p>
<p>PandoraHearts - I agree with hmom5 that, if you are accepted and still wavering about Dartmouth, you request an overnight visit - be it the official accepted student program or if you can’t make it, another time. </p>
<p>My daughter was much like coureur’s, and while Dartmouth appealed on many levels, she had some concerns. They were allayed by the visit - she found the students warm and inclusive during her visit, and was never disappointed in that. She initially enjoyed the built-in friendship of large groups of freshman, but through ecs found more intimate groups of more like-minded students. Not to say that there were not aspects she did not (does not) like, nor that she did not experience the cycle that Slipper suggests. But like Slipper, she graduated with a real love for Dartmouth, for the opportunities, and the teachers and her fellow students, and the ways in which she was stretched. Her good friends came from widely variant backgrounds. </p>
<p>If you are somewhat shy, but open to friendship, you will find college, whichever you choose, a great way to stretch a little. And Dartmouth is a friendly place.</p>
<p>[TheDartmouth.com</a> | Everyone loves it here, right?](<a href=“http://thedartmouth.com/2009/10/30/mirror/center]TheDartmouth.com”>http://thedartmouth.com/2009/10/30/mirror/center)</p>
<p>This article makes me pretty worried.</p>
<p>Yes, I definitely plan on visiting if I get in.
Thats what my grandfather’s advice has been: at any school you go to, you’ll find a niche. But I guess my fear is isolation…I’m afraid that I’d end up distanced from the campus community, and never really be able to make any lasting connections with the college. While I definitely consider myself a friendly person, I’m not sure if I’d be all that eager to make the party scene a huge part of my life. I wonder if feeling disconnected from the campus’s culture would make my experience less meaningful than if I attended a school that places less of an emphasis on this (even if that school is lacking in academic/size preferences)</p>
<p>Aaah I dunno, I’m just blabbering on at this point. I guess, why even worry about this now, since I’m probably not getting in, haha</p>
<p>wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
i can’t believe a thread like this exists…
I like Dartmouth and if u don’t like the school then shut up about it… jeez</p>
<p>cdld2008: Remember, people DO have the right to express their opinions, just as you did, especially those that are not commonly talked about. I’ve found this thread particularly interesting and I believe BFK is not an isolated case. Negative comments on prestigious colleges, or just negative comments about anything in general do help us to have a more comprehensive view of them, and in this case, it definitely shatters part of the blind pursue of the ‘ivy league’ imagery… We actually need more threads like this one</p>
<p>Although I agree that we do need some negative threads to balance the positive ones, I do wish that BFK had been less bombastic and more specific. All the generalizations and unfair judgements aren’t really fair. Saying that he “didn’t learn much” doesn’t so much reflect on the college as on himself. The “fakeness” he speaks of isn’t substantiated by anything other than his own opinion. </p>
<p>I’m a big proponent of Dartmouth, and I’d really like to attend next year. Negative opinions are perfectly welcome- if fact, they give a much rounder picture- but I’d much rather they had some backup than this same kind of biased bashing.</p>
<p>It’s probably quite hard for him to distance himself and objectively criticize when he feels he has had such a miserable time.</p>
<p>True, it’s sort of a high expectation, but I’m still not a proponent of his methods.</p>
<p>Hey guys, Just a bit of a different view. Now if you’ve been around these forums for awhile you might of heard from me before, but I haven’t been too active in awhile, anyway, I am a Dartmouth '13 right now and here’s my take on it all. Does Dartmouth have it’s bad points? For sure. Do I have problems with some things here? Definitely. Do I wish I would have attended any of the other schools I was accepted to? Not for a moment.
To be quite honest, there are times when Dartmouth can seem repetitive, isolated, and shallow. But in those moments I’m also very aware this does not affect my love for this place. For background, I’m not huge into partying (though I enjoy it from time to time), I am not a drinker, and I would not same I’m the person who immediately fell into the mainstream Dartmouth culture. When I came here last fall I made my friends primarily through clubs/activities I’m involved in. If you want my background it sounds like me and BFK are pretty similar. I came from a medium-sized town in the midwest, where I attended a public high school that only sent about 50% of it’s students to any college at all, so I certainly am not a prep school type. Now I say this not to say anything about myself, but rather to assure you that someone from an “average” background can love it here.
Also, while I am not sure what classes “bfk” took, or how they approached them, but I found myself significantly challenged and engaged in them. I would say I certainly learned things, and one of my classes had me thinking about some big stuff. </p>
<p>So basically I write all this to say, do not be concerned about those stories of the people who don’t like it, didn’t make it, or aren’t happy here. Just do your research, visit, and make sure the school is right for you. Because a lot of people love it here, me included, and there are certainly many, many ways to excel at Dartmouth in all arenas. </p>
<p>If you guys have any questions feel free to pm me and I’ll respond when I next check this.</p>
<p>-spunaugle</p>
<p>@Post#30</p>
<p>That article from The Dartmouth actually reminded me of the party scene in
Brave New World, where everyone is just concerned about happiness and nothing more
in depth(for the lack of words). Wow, Dartmouth…</p>
<p>Thank you BFK, I’m glad you had the courage to some say something. </p>
<p>I’m a '12 and I can’t stand Dartmouth. Well, academically I enjoy it and I think the campus is beautiful, but that’s about it. Everyone here is so afraid to openly say they dislike aspects of the school. Anyone that criticizes Dartmouth is considered a misfit that hasn’t found their niche. I have never been around people who were so arrogant and immature. I can’t even believe some of things that come out of peoples mouths. So many of these people are unbelievably egotistical and have a sickening sense of entitlement. The students need at reality check. This is Dartmouth, not HYP. </p>
<p>And the social scene is so superficial and repetitive. Students don’t seem to understand that drinking should be a complement to the social scene. Every other night should not revolve around getting drunk and playing drinking games.They also don’t seem to realize that you don’t have to be drunk to have conversation with someone in a frat basement. Of course, being in a frat basement sober is probably not a good idea anyway. Are their alternatives here? Not many, but they do exist if you’re willing to search. I don’t know what they are, and I don’t even know where to begin. Everyone claims that there is an “alternative social life”, but it’s certainly not easy to find, especially after freshman year when everyone has established their social groups. </p>
<p>Also I hate how women are treated here, and that the women accept it in hopes of attaining the ever-elusive relationship status. It’s a male dominated social scene, and girls here prostrate themselves at the feet of the male students. Dartmouth males have no problem openly degrading women, rather than treat them like peers. In class, if a girl isn’t attractive, her opinion is not valid, and these guys aren’t afraid to let her know it. Of course, I must be an ugly, bitter witch to mention these things, because attractive girls would never complain because of the backlash they would and do receive. </p>
<p>I could really list a lot things that I despise about this school, but I’ll cut this short. I mean, I do have to get up and study all day since I have 2 months to learn what a normal college student would learn in roughly 4.5.</p>
<p>WHY IS EVERYONE GIVING THIS THREAD SO MUCH ATTENTION ?? </p>
<p>you dont need to prove that dartmouth is the best or the worst to anyone. nobody here will change their notions about the college. if u like it, good for you… if u dont, transfer… if ur too much of a prestige who<em>e to leave an ivy league institute (BFK) suck it up and deal with it, dont try to make ur mserable self feel better by trying to convince hormonal teenagers not to apply… want to vent coz ur a prestige who</em>e who hates his "prestigious life, call up mommy or dady. </p>
<p>get a life people !</p>