Ask A Dartmouth Student

<p>I have heard that economics is the most popular major at Dartmouth and it is pretty hard to get into some of the courses .... is this true ??</p>

<p>I've attached the following link for you</p>

<p><a href="http://oracle-www.dartmouth.edu/dart/groucho/timetable.subject_search%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://oracle-www.dartmouth.edu/dart/groucho/timetable.subject_search&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>click subject area
you can select a course by term to see how many seats are available in each class.</p>

<p>if the link does not work</p>

<p>go to the dartmouth site</p>

<p>click registrar
click timetable of courses
click subject area
you can select a course by term to see how many seats are available in each class.</p>

<p>sometimes it does become a luck of the draw since econ and gov't are popular majors and courses when it comes time to register, don't procrastinate.
Some professors are really cool. My D though not an Econ major is taking an econ class this term. She was orginally waitlisted went to the first class and the professor took her in from the wait list.</p>

<p>No, it's not very difficult. This is literally what you do:</p>

<p>All you have to do is e-mail professors (you don't have to know them). They'll e-mail you back if they have positions open. You'll probably send out 5 or 6 emails to the professors doing research that interests you, and you'll probably get interviews from about half of them, if not all (unless you're really unlucky, in which case you should just send out more emails). Go for interviews, and get you'll get offers.</p>

<p>Oh boy, I'm a bit behind. I'm gonna kinda pick and choose a few questions to answer for now, but I promise I'll go back later for the ones I missed.</p>

<p>
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How is the economics major there? And mathematics?

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</p>

<p>Econ is very strong at Dartmouth. It's a very popular major, and Dartmouth produces quite a few i-bankers. Many econ profs are "stars" and well-known in their fields. For example, Andrew Samwick was recently appointed to be one of the regulators (or something, don't recall what the technical term is) for the Bank of England, one prof (whose name I forgot at the moment) served a term as an economic advisor to the President recently, and Meir Kohn is so well known on Wall Street that if you take Econ 26 with him (which is hard in general but insane with him) and do well you are practically guaranteed a finance internship. And that's another thing - lots of recruiting on campus, both for econ internships and jobs. As I said, there's a lot of Dartmouth people in banking/econ/etc, and they don't forget their own so to speak. Dartmouth students regularly get internships at places like Lehmann Brothers and JP Morgan. One of my fraternity brothers got a pretty competitive (8 out of 50 or so) spot at Bridgewater because one of their co-CEOs is a Dartmouth '96 from our frat. So there's a lot of opportunities for econ. The downside is, as I said before, that the econ major is so popular at Dartmouth that over-subscription is a big issue. Wait lists and big classes are common in the econ department (though these aren't the norm at Dartmouth as a whole) and the administration is sometimes maddeningly slow at increasing the amount of quality professors. However, I think it's no exaggeration to say that Dartmouth really is one of the best places to go for undergrad econ in the country. Our math department isn't quite as distinguished, but it's still pretty good. My freshman fall I took Math 11, which is basically a multivariable class for people that did BC (because the normal cycle covers all of BC and half of multivariable in one class and the rest of multi in another). I was kinda in over my head, and I was pretty worried about the final. I showed up at my professor's 3-5 extra help session the day before the final, hoping to get as many questions answered as I could. Well, he stayed with me until 9 answering my questions and helping me get ready for the exam. So, if nothing else, you'll get what you'll get at any department at Dartmouth - professors that actually care about teaching you the material.</p>

<p>
[quote]
What's the social life like? How much does Greek life dominate the social scene, and in your judgment, is this good or bad?

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</p>

<p>Being in the middle of nowhere as we are, the Greek scene definitely dominates the campus. However, at Dartmouth this isn't really a bad thing. I feel like a lot of people at Dartmouth that join frats weren't necessarily planning on joining one before they came here. The frats are pretty inclusive - meaning you don't have to have an "in" to be able to get into a party (just a Dartmouth ID, we don't want any high schoolers drinking our beer) and pledging a house is more about finding the group of people that you feel comfortable with and less about "who do you know?" But of course there are also plenty of independents that have a great time at Dartmouth - there's plenty of clubs and things to immerse yourself in and you can easily have a good Dartmouth experience without joining a fraternity or sorority (or coed house). As for whether or not it's a good thing - the unfortunate thing is that rather than just letting the Greek houses be, the administration has made it its business to "alter" the Greek houses to an image more "p.r. ready." The administrations feeble and frankly rather pathetic attempts to tinker with Dartmouth's social life are honestly much worse for the school than any drunken belligerent frat boy could be. Dartmouth students consistently rank in the Top 20 for happy students in the Princeton Review rankings; why change a good thing? Here's a miraculous sociological discovery that apparently hasn't occurred to most people yet - people will act like pricks and *******s and douchebags whether frats exist or not. Sure, I have gotten the feeling that being in a frat goes to some people's heads, and some people that I knew freshman year have gotten pretty fake now, but because the Greek scene really has "something for everyone" it's really less about arrogance and elitism than it is at a lot of other schools. But apparently that doesn't suit the administration - I would tell you about my house except that the administration managed to close it down for the next 3 years (guess which one I'm in!) </p>

<p>
[quote]
Do people at Dartmouth really drink a lot?

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</p>

<p>Short answer - yeah. The long answer, as someone else pointed out, is that first of all people drink a lot at most non-religious (and I'm sure even some religious) colleges and I feel like we're smart about our drinking (not to imply other places aren't, I can't make any value judgments about other places due to lack of experience). Sure, people get drunk and do stupid (and funny things), but at the end of the day we are still driven, motivated Ivy League students that do lots of community service, start clubs, win awards, etc etc. I know a few people that drank themselves out of school, but those are pretty rare cases. Dartmouth students follow a work hard, play hard mentality and it shows. Also, people respect your choices, whatever they may be. There is no pressure to drink, people that don't drink can still have fun at Greek houses, and you can join a fraternity even if you don't drink. It's pretty laid back; if getting drunk appeals to you, go for it. If it doesn't, it doesn't mean you're going to be some sort of pariah with no friends and it doesn't mean you won't necessarily become really good friends with people who do drink.</p>

<p>i asked a dartmouth dean what they liked most about the school and they said it was the cows. i didnt see many cows. should i be worried?</p>

<p>cows? i dont think theres many cows around....i think that was probably a facetious answer...</p>

<p>Thanks for the link sybbie .....
Is econ at Dartmouth very competitive ? Also , do you need to have a background in econ to do well ?</p>

<p>I'm an econ major. The department is really very good. To answer your question, no you don't need any background in it to do well. There are a lot of econ majors, but I wouldnt say it's especially competitive...it's difficult, but its not a cutthroat environment at all if thats what you're picturing...hope this answers your question</p>

<p>can you tell me more about east wheelock?</p>

<p>no one else with info about these cows?!?!?!?</p>

<p>Hi collegeofmydreams, </p>

<p>could you do a search for east wheelock on the dartmouth forum as there are a lot of threads at EW.</p>

<p>I haven't seen any cows either. Maybe he was referring to Cornell (kidding, kidding).</p>

<p>East Wheelock (quickly) - some of the nicest dorms on campus (used to be hands down THE nicest but with the new dorms probably not quite anymore). Has a bit of a reputation as full of quiet, studious people aka the nerd dorm. Not entirely deserved, sure there might be more people than in other dorms that like to stay in and study when other people are out drinking but there are also people that party, etc. The main con, along with the "quiet" stereotype (or that may be a pro, of course) is that it is relatively far from the center of campus, which especially sucks in the middle of winter when its freezing. But of course the advantages are that you get big rooms, lots of singles and two rooms doubles and the like, and a lot of the rooms have private bathrooms.</p>

<p>is dartmouth a lot like high school in terms of cliques and people sticking to their own groups?</p>

<p>quick question...</p>

<p>I love everything I've read about Dartmouth but would like to visit before making a final decision. I can't make it to Dimensions (band trip), and actually can't visit any time before the last weekend in April (due to tennis and such). The day I'll be able to come to campus, Saturday April 28, there isn't a guided tour or info session. What would be the best way for me to get the best possible (highly condensed) view of Dartmouth? Are there any points of interest I shouldn't miss? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am also planning to contact the undergrad admissions office but figured I'd ask on CC first since I was reading some of the threads and would really like a student's perspective.</p>

<p>Call the admissions offices at the schools you've been accepted at and ask for an extension.</p>

<p>see if you can get a host. thatll at least help your lack of the dimensions' experience</p>

<p>and by the way, in regards to the question about cliques at dartmouth, its really not at all like high school. at least from my experiences, but i suspect probably from others' as well.</p>

<p>
[quote]
The day I'll be able to come to campus, Saturday April 28, there isn't a guided tour or info session. What would be the best way for me to get the best possible (highly condensed) view of Dartmouth?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>you will be coming during first family weekend (parents weekend for the freshmen class). It is going to be really crowed but there will be a few organized activities but you may have to ask admissions if you will be able to register for this weekend since it is geared to current students and their families.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Esao/events/family/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sao/events/family/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>1)Can you please give a rundown of dorm life at each dorm for incoming freshman?
2) Are there quiet hours in the dorm on a regular basis?
3) Is there roomate matching by early morning types verus late nighters?
4) How noisy is the typical dorm - re: loud music/huge speakers on a daily basis?</p>

<p>Sorry to pile on...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If one requests to room with 3 other people, does this mean 4 people in 1 room? in 2 rooms? in 3?</p></li>
<li><p>Grade inflation ?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>
[quote]
1. If one requests to room with 3 other people, does this mean 4 people in 1 room? in 2 rooms? in 3?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>it depends on where you live, but definitely not 4 people in one room. link to residential communities and floor plans</p>

<p>here is the Welcome home book that you will be sent later in the year which talks about 1st year housing</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eorl/documents/welcome-home-06-07.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~orl/documents/welcome-home-06-07.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eorl/housing/communities/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~orl/housing/communities/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>