<p>Hi all, I heard about this site from one of my interviewees and I thought it'd be a great place for me to share my thoughts on my Dartmouth experience. I graduated in 2009 and I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Right now, I'm preparing to apply to graduate school next year.</p>
<p>I'll try to be as honest as possible, but keep in mind that I am only one perspective. Ask away!</p>
<p>Maybe you could tell us what you liked most about Dartmouth? Thanks.</p>
<p>I’d really like to know about the weather and the city. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Hi perseverence. I can probably distill what I liked most about Dartmouth into three points.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>D-Plan. I loved the freedom that the D-Plan and the quarter system allowed. I’m a fairly laid back person and don’t like being locked into one path, so the ability to design my own schedule and adapt it to my needs was a huge benefit. Some people complained that the variability in students’ schedules made it hard to keep friends (you could be on campus one quarter and off the next while you friends have the exact opposite schedule), but for me the benefits outweighed the costs. Also, the winters are harsh. Taking a winter quarter off was a no-brainer. :)</p></li>
<li><p>Study abroad. Dartmouth provides plenty of study abroad opportunities no matter what you major is. I myself studied in the UK, and I’ll always consider it a highlight of my life.</p></li>
<li><p>Professors. Every single one of my classes were taught by professors. None of them made it difficult for me to stop by their office to ask questions or just to chat, regardless of the class was a relatively large intro course or a higher level course. For the most part, they all excelled in teaching. It really instilled in me a love of learning and made me appreciate the art of teaching.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I can elaborate on any of these points, or you can always ask me more questions!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A student takes on average how many classes per term?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there a variety of personality types on campus? Will my INTJ daughter be able to find her niche?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Hi dancingjuicedesu.</p>
<p>Well, if you’ve seen any pictures of Dartmouth, you’ve basically seen Hanover. The campus dominates Hanover. By and large, all of the buildings in Hanover are part of the College, and Main Street is a quaint little strip of small specialty shops and restaurants. (Lou’s diner will always have a special place in my heart!). You can walk or bike to pretty much anywhere on campus. Outside of Hanover is the Upper Valley. The only times I’ve ever needed to go off campus (if I could borrow a car or hitch a ride) was to go to Target, Walmart, or eat at some restaurants. By and large, you’ll be staying in Hanover. Realize that the closest big city is Boston and it’s 2.5 hours away. Hanover is remote, but there are those that like that. :)</p>
<p>The weather…Oh boy. The weather is like a crappy freshman year roommate. You just learn to live with it. Those that live in the New England area may have already been used to it, but for someone that lives in an area where there is no humidity in the summer and getting a couple inches of snow is an event, the weather was brutal. The snow starts falling absurdly early in the year, and stays until the two weeks of good spring weather arrive which then makes way for a hot and humid summer. New Hampshire residents sometimes joke that there are only two seasons: Winter and summer. It’s the truth. I learned to love my thick jacket and Baker library’s air conditioning.</p>
<p>Feel free to ask more questions!</p>
<p>can you give me an honest assessment of my chances at getting in?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1258014-chance-former-hanover-resident-dartmouth.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1258014-chance-former-hanover-resident-dartmouth.html</a></p>
<p>Wheelock, you think summer’s in Hanover are humid? I call them a nice relief from home. Remind me to move to wherever you’re from, haha. Also you left out the most important season-mud season. Seriously kids, invest in rain boots. </p>
<p>But yeah, the weather is pretty brutal in the winter, but Summer is nice. My sophomore summer there were 2 weeks it was consistently in the 90’s, which is rough without AC, but otherwise it was low to mid 80’s and quite pleasant. And Spring is pretty wonderful. Academically unproductive, but wonderful. Fall this year was gloriously warm. We had a bizarre pre-Halloween snow, but otherwise it was really nice for most of Fall.</p>
<p>There is definitely a mix of personalities on campus. Certainly the extroverts are more visible, but go figure. </p>
<p>Students generally take 3 classes per term, though students will sometimes take 2 classes a term and sometimes 4. 2 classes over Sophomore summer and during senior spring are especially common.</p>
<p>Hi Hard_Knocks. </p>
<p>Generally, most students take 3 course per quarter. Some take 4, others take 2, though there are limits to how many 2 class quarters you can have.</p>
<p>There are absolutely a variety of personalities on campus. However, I am hesitant to definitively state whether your INTJ daughter will find her niche at Dartmouth. A Myers-Brigg test measures psychological preference and not outright behavior. Whether your daughter will take the initiative to actively find her niche is entirely up to her. But speaking as an INFP, introverts generally have a tougher time around people as our preference is to be alone rather than among people. And in a college environment where nearly everything is designed to facilitate social interaction, some introverts (myself included) can easily become overwhelmed. However, MBTI is not fate. During my time in college I learned how to explore and try new things despite my preferences, and my college experience became that much more richer because of it. If your daughter truly has a drive to find her niche in college, she will either find it or create it on her own, whether it’s starting an organization, creating a modified major, or doing an independent study. Dartmouth affords near-limitless opportunities to find ones passion. It’s what the school is designed to do.</p>
<p>Bottom line, I believe that any personality can thrive in college. It’s just a matter of whether they believe this or not.</p>
<p>Feel free to ask more questions!</p>
<p>Green99, if Hanover’s humidity is a welcome break from your home, then I don’t want to be anywhere near your home!! 
I abhor humidity. And yes, rain boots and snow boots!</p>
<p>Thank you, wheeelock and Green99, for your helpful responses. :)</p>
<p>Another question:</p>
<p>Could you describe for me the much-criticized meal plan, so I can better understand it?</p>
<p>Hi Hard_Knocks, unfortunately I’m going to have to claim ignorance on the current meal plan as it has changed after I graduated. Therefore, I have no first-hand experience with the meal plan.</p>
<p>There are three different meal plans and one for students living off campus. Within each meal plan there are two ways to pay for your meal a “meal swipe” or DBA. At a dining hall called 53 commons (FOCO), a meal swipe will get you through the door to all you can eat. These same “meal swipes” can be used at the other dining halls for the meal of the day or can be used to purchase other food up to a certain amount ($5.25 for breakfast, $6.75 for lunch, and $9.25 for dinner). If you spend more than the above amounts you then use your DBA to pay for the rest. DBA is basically just money that you can only use at dining halls. You can use DBA to get into foco, but it will cost you a lot more than a meal swipe would, I’m not exactly sure what the conversion for this is.</p>
<p>Meal Plan 1: 20 meal swipes and $75 DBA (freshmen are required to be on this plan for the first term)
Meal Plan 2: 14 meal swipes and $125 DBA
Meal Plan 3: 5 meal swipes and $875 DBA
Off campus: $875 DBA</p>
<p>One big difference between the meal swipes and DBA is when you can use them. DBA can be used whenever you want wherever you want. Meal swipes have time restraints with four times you can swipe per day and only once per time slot, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night. The time restraint is what bothers me the most about meal swipes because they force you to eat at specific times.</p>
<p>Hello. I am from the Pacific Northwest as well, and I currently attend boarding school in NH. I thought I’d apply to Dartmouth because I thought it would be a lot like my boarding school… but I’m also afraid that it is too much like my boarding school. Why did you choose to come to Dartmouth instead of somewhere in the West? Do you ever feel like the community or the town is too small, and you just get tired of everything?</p>
<p>OP, I am an undergraduate at another well-regarded university, but am considering Dartmouth for graduate school.</p>
<p>Can you tell me more about what it’s like to live there? Winters I am sure are very cold, but I am no stranger to brutally cold winters lol. XD
But how is it in Hanover? Is there stuff to do for a city boy like me? Not a huge fan of nature excursions, and wouldn’t mind them, but definitely not my favorite pastime. </p>
<p>Also, how do the undergrads view graduate students? I know it’s very focused on undergrad. </p>
<p>Do you like the quarter system? I actually am on the quarter system for my undergrad already, and really love it. (Even though there are three sets of finals each year 
haha).</p>
<p>Thanks OP!</p>
<p>^Also, can you please tell me about the sports culture?
My current university is D3, and our sports teams are decent. Not everyone is rah rah yeahhh about them, and most people don’t crowd into a stadium to enthusiastically cheer on a football team on Saturdays. This is what I would prefer. Is Dartmouth very sport-oriented?</p>
<p>So basically what you guys are telling me is…don’t go to Dartmouth for grad school? :P</p>
<p>If environment is any matter and if you are interested in math, I don’t think you could do much better than Dartmouth’s Kemeny Hall. I think it’s one of the nicest buildings on campus. I asked my math instructor if he liked Kemeny Hall and he replied that he thought it was a really superior building.</p>
<p>Wheeelock,</p>
<p>Can you ease my worries? My son has just gloriously been accepted ED to Dartmouth. He’s thrilled. I’m worried with what I continue to read about Dartmouth’s social scene. My son is social, but he’s not a big partier to say the least (at least that has been his HS mojo.) He’s into a lot of things and really enjoys his friends. He’s not morally opposed to partying, it’s just not been his choice so far. With such an amazing student body, I have to assume that there are lots of kids who do things other than drink 3 nights a week. Am I naive? Will he be able to have fun if he decides he doesn’t want to get drunk all the time? Tell me there are lots of kids like him…interested, funny, likable, normal students who are very serious academically,who still have many interests beyond school, but who, while they will probably party a little, won’t ever be frat bros.</p>