<p>Does anyone know what the racial demographics are for Dartmouth? More specifically does anyone know the percentage of Asians at Dartmouth?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know if Dartmouth is more conservative or liberal politically?</p>
<p>Reason why I want to know is that the stereotypes I've heard are they Dartmouth is full of white frat-boys.</p>
<p>Heh. I'm sure that's not true but I just want to know before I accept my offer to go to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>^^Go to Dimensions and see for yourself.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is 17% Asian. The notion that it is only comprised of rich, white jocks who join frats is absolutely false. It leans to the left, just like every other top school in the country. (It is, however, known to be the most conservative ivy, alongside Princeton.)</p>
<p>“White frat-boys” may not be what you think. My S is a white person who belongs to a frat. He is intellectual, musical, does not play a helmet or varsity sport, and has a very diverse group of friends. At any other school he probably would not have joined a fraternity. Beware stereotyping: it cuts both ways.</p>
<p>Hah. Thank you guys. @DmouthGrad2014, is there a link that shows that statistic? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. (Demographics at Dartmouth)</p>
<p>Thanks for making me find the link, Mike. I (slightly) misreported the statistic. Dartmouth is 16% Asian; 17% of students are from the South.</p>
<p>[Class</a> Profile](<a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/admissions/facts/class.html]Class”>http://www.dartmouth.edu/admissions/facts/class.html)</p>
<p>EDIT: Do notice that this is the profile of the enrolling class, not the admitted students. That’s why the SAT score ranges, for example, seem a tad low.</p>
<p>here you go…</p>
<p>look up the common data set year over year for the admitted freshmen classes and overall population</p>
<p>[Common</a> Data Set](<a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/data-reporting/cds/index.html]Common”>Common Data Set)</p>
<p>My DS is also a white frat boy who is living in a quad. Two of his roommates are Indian (born in the US) and the other is a white frat boy who plays a helmet sport. Another frat bro is Asian; his parents are from Taiwan. </p>
<p>So there are Asian frat boys too.</p>
<p>when my daughter and i visited dartmouth last year (she’s not attending dartmouth), she asked at a forum of dartmouth students what dartmouth was like politically (at the time she didn’t want to go to a school of overbearing political correctness, but she ended up going to what is probably one of the most politically correct colleges in the USA-- your priorities may change over time as well). she was told that dartmouth ‘has students of every political point of view’. which way the faculty leans she didn’t ask (I’d guess left), but it sounds like wherever you are on the right-left spectrum you’ll find like-minded people at dartmouth.</p>
<p>What I think people don’t realize is that intensity of political activity matters as well. For better or for worse, even though a lot of people at Dartmouth may have political opinions, if you’re expecting a sort of activist campus, Dartmouth isn’t it – right or left.</p>
<p>As for the culture, I think that is very hard to explain verbally. It’s absolutely true that you don’t have to be the stereotypical preppy WASP to thrive at Dartmouth – but I think it’s also true that</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s a lot easier to thrive if you are a stereotypical preppy WASP</li>
<li>It’s harder to thrive if you don’t participate in the Greek system (which I think is linked – but not necessarily causally – with why so many people whom you normally wouldn’t expect to rush elsewhere rush at Dartmouth)</li>
<li>Unless you join a minority-affiliated Greek org (incidentally Asians are the only minority I think with a very active and mainstream Greek house, Tri-Kap), as a minority it’s easy to get swallowed up by the white-boy frat culture that will indubitably exist in some way within the house</li>
</ol>
<p>I would recommend visiting but after some years here, I would say it’s still very difficult to understand campus culture here in the span of only a few days. It’s not what it first appears to be.</p>
<p>Hmm, not sure I completely agree with johnleemk there.</p>
<p>I guess it depends what you mean by “thrive”. But as a non-affiliated non-WASP, I think I can say I thrived at Dartmouth. And so have pretty much all my friends - they largely fit the same description.</p>
<p>there are enough Asians here that there’s no such thing as any sort of dominant Asian sub-culture. Do you mean Asian -Asians or Asian Americans? South or East Asians? If American Asians, EC or WC? If WC, SoCal Asians or NW Asians? Or Islanders?</p>
<p>rightnotleft yeah I don’t think I was very coherent, I think you’re right FTR. My main point is that I think the reason Dartmouth is seen as preppy and WASPy is because it’s probably easiest to thrive if you’re one of them (and not that it’s significantly harder to be happy if you’re not a WASP) – the whole culture and institutional framework are to your benefit.</p>
<p>ok that’s more believable.</p>
<p>I think it’s just that true WASPy people are outgoing, know how to make connections, and usually come from a background that allows them succeed. I know people who came from less-than-great high schools. They struggled. It’s very different here. Most WASP-types (if we’re going to stereotype hugely, let’s go all out) have a good secondary education. That’s a big plus in doing well here. If you’re doing fine in your classes, there’s more time to hang out.</p>