<p>I was accepted to Stanford REA but my other top choice is Dartmouth. I am currently trying to decided between the two and holding all other things constant, I am somewhat embarrassed to say that my decision is probably going to end up being based on my non academic activities. I would really appreciate any information you might have on the following question.</p>
<p>What are the parties like?
Do students tend to go to house parties more or bars/clubs?
How often do students go out during a week?
Do the frats have a strong influence on campus?
Are there any issues between greeks and non-greeks?
How well is the gay community accepted?
Are there any openly gay members in the frats?
How well do students of different socioeconomic backgrounds mix?
Is there a strong hook-up culture on campus or do students tend to find someone and stick with them? or both?
Do these tendencies change as underclassmen become upperclassman?
What about race relations? Are there any tensions or race related issues on campus?</p>
<p>and finally: How happy are you with your choice?</p>
<p>Whoa. Lot to reply to here so I’ll go 1 by 1.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Parties here are pretty good. There is always something going on Mondays, Weds and of course Friday and Saturday. A lot of time they are pretty relaxed with just a lot of socializing and pong. Dance parties are a bit rarer but are always going on some where.</p></li>
<li><p>99% of parties are held in frats. There are very bars and almost no clubs (to my knowledge around) and everywhere in Hanover is strict on IDs. That said the Frats are plentiful and very open. Almost all parties are open to the entire campus and they will often email out if they are having something big. Even if they don’t, you can pretty much go from house to house and just walk in. </p></li>
<li><p>It varies a lot. The typical days are Mon., Weds., Fri and Sat. but few people go out all 4 nights. I would say the average student goes out 2 nights a week. But it also varies by couseload and obviously when test come around. I have friends that go out all the time and some that never go out. The benefit to the frat system is that you know there is always something going on so you don’t feel pressured to go out.</p></li>
<li><p>They have a strong influence on campus but very open. More than 1/2 of campus ends up rushing when eligible (which is after freshman year). That said, 40% of the eligible student body doesn’t rush, so you defiantly don’t have to rush if you don’t want to.</p></li>
<li><p>Not typically but every once in a while there might be a debate on the value of the frat system and on creating “alternative social spaces”.</p></li>
<li><p>The gay community seems to be accepted very well here as far as I can tell. I think we have a very progressive attitude and I don’t think you will have any major problems. (That said, no place is perfect)</p></li>
<li><p>Yep. It still is a hetro-normative atmosphere (with the exception of some of the co-ed frats) but a lot of frats have openly gay members. </p></li>
<li><p>Very well. There is a ton of socio-economic mixing and I don’t think there is much tension. That said, there are a lot of rich students here, as with a lot of elite schools.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>9&10. There is definitely more of a hookup culture but there is a dating sene as well. And yes, people become more interested in long term relationships as they become upperclassmen.</p>
<ol>
<li>Not to my knowledge even though there have been some isolated incidents in the past. Typically, the reaction is a lot more visible than the actual cause.</li>
</ol>
<p>I would add that there is a pretty solid non-frat house party scene. It tends to start with upperclassmen after sophomore summer when people start living off campus.</p>
<p>This should be a no-brainer. For you (& anyone who asks the type of questions you did), go to Stanford. You will last there much better. My reasoning, among what I gather are your three main concerns (a: social/greek scene, b: gay scene, & c: socioeconomic/race/etc scene)</p>
<p>a) If you are concerned about Greeks dominating the scene, then this sends a red flag that you may not enjoy Dartmouth. Yes, I’ve found the Greek scene to be pretty open. But that’s all there is, except when the Programming Board holds something like “Poker Night” once in awhile exclusively for the purpose of students being able to have something to do other than the Greek system. As mason said, there are no clubs and very few bars, at least none that students go to. The ones in town are mainly for the old locals. Then again it might be fun to go and crash (or join in) once in awhile. Yes, 40% of students don’t pledge but most of those still go party at frats anyway. So it’s not really a matter of whether or not the Greeks are open, but moreso a matter of whether or not you will be satisfied with that being the dominating social option week after week. </p>
<p>b) as far as the gay scene – people are generally accepting, that’s not a problem. Amongst the gay community, however keep in mind the “available pool” is going to be VERY small at Dartmouth…and by the time you are a senior there is most likely not going to be anyone (esp. among the guys) that everyone else hasn’t already dated and/or done…including the closet cases.</p>
<p>c) students from different socioeconomic backgrounds/different races seem to mix ok. I’m guessing it’s similar to most other top schools, for better or for worse. One thing that is of concern is that most of these schools (D&S both included…the only one that I can think of that doesn’t is Williams) have many race-based groups social groups, which isn’t in itself a bad thing, but leads to self-segregation.</p>
<p>Oh…and a strong hook-up culture? Ohh, yeah…and I think that actually increases as students get older. More work, less time.</p>