<p>My oldest daughter currently attends Wellesley, and the "fit" is phenomenal. She deliberately made the right choice. Now, it's D2's turn to apply. Sigh. I'm not ready for another year of college apps.</p>
<p>D2 has a lot going for her in terms of her resume, but she's looking for a university, not a LAC, but one with a focus on UG teaching. She's also looking for a place with very strong study abroad/language programs, and a focus on service. She also wants to have fun. </p>
<p>She'd like a city, and is also considering BC, Georgetown (we're not Catholic), Northwestern, and a few others. She has two teacher parents, so aid from Dartmouth is likely to be better, based on D1's experiences. (She didn't apply to Dartmouth, but did apply to some of the others D2 is considering, and got a lot of aid from Wellesley). There is still one D left, and one in college, so $ is important.</p>
<p>I am somewhat concerned about sending my D to Dartmouth, but I guess I feel that the dialogue is open and there is likely to be an increased focus on student behavior. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I agree with siliconvalleymom. It’s my daughter’s first choice too right now and I was shocked when she loved it. The buildings look severe to me; outdated and sparse, the town isolated. However, my D dislikes urban campuses and this town is quaint. Plus, there is a real movie theatre. Additionally, the college runs buses to Boston and NYC multiple times a day everyday. I think they have strong foreign languages and study abroad programs.</p>
<p>The college does not run buses to Boston & NYC. Dartmouth Coach (a private business) does so. The college definitely has strong study abroad programs – maybe the best in the country. But, “severe” and “outdated” buildings? Dude/Mom, have you ever been to New England? I call that charm. Sparse? It’s a very compact campus. There is a real movie theater. There are many real restaurants. It’s a beautiful town. </p>
<p>I live in New England in a town celebrating 375 years and my house was built in 1815. I love charm. Just my personal opinion- it reminded me of army barracks from a previous era. I said the town was quaint, I said they have a theatre, great coffee shop called dirt cowboy and I was just repeating about the bus what the tour guide told me last week. </p>
<p>We are visiting in a couple weeks. I grew up in New England, and have been to the campus many times, but that was a long time ago. I remember it as quaint.</p>
<p>My husband is concerned about the rowdy frat boy image, but students we’ve taught who’ve gone to Dartmouth were very nice kids, and more on the friendly, athletic side, which my D is, too. She’s very social, but isn’t really keen on a binge drinking culture. Of course, that happens everywhere, I guess, but if you’re confined to campus, it may be a drawback if that’s the only party outlet.</p>
<p>If your daughter would like a city, and a “university” why is Dartmouth on the radar at all? </p>
<p>We made a memorable trek up there to visit. My daughter had decided that Reed was the school for her, and I figured Dartmouth would be similar, a small college with focus on undergraduate teaching but good preparation for grad school. I loved it, D hated it. The tiny town and distance from a city was a deal breaker for her. </p>
<p>BC, Georgetown and Northwestern are all pretty similar - Dartmouth is a real outlier among that group.</p>
<p>It is there because of the focus on undergraduate teaching, study abroad, and the language department. It is an outlier, and she may hate it, but it was one of the best fits from an academic standpoint.</p>
<p>@bsalum. Was not trying to call you out. Sorry if it came off that way. It was halftime of the USA-Ghana match and I was rushed. I still don’t understand the “army barracks” reference. Do you mean Reed Hall and the other very plain buildings along the east side of the Green? Have to admit they’re not that different in appearance (from the outside) of the places this Marine brat lived in at Pendleton. What goes on inside is very different. Or, maybe you meant the Choates. No one would try to defend them as have any aesthetic appeal. Regards. </p>
<p>For anyone is concerned about sending their daughter there, I suggest you read some of the other current threads in which the parents of daughters are raving about how wonderful their daughters’ Dartmouth experience was. :)</p>
<p>Clearly many young women love it.</p>
<p>Sakacar3, D admirably meets all of your daughter’s criteria except being in a city. Study abroad and languages are particularly strong, as is undergraduate focus.</p>
<p>Is there a particular reason that she wants to be in a big city? Keep in mind that there are plusses and minus to attending big city schools also.</p>
<p>I have a “there is NYC and there is everywhere else kid”. She would be the person turning the lights off of the Brooklyn Bridge when she leaves. I know that mine did not want her whole education experience to be on the island of manhattan. She also knew that she would be returning to NYC after college so Hanover was an amazing change of pace for her. Dartmouth was the last college that she visited. I thought that she was going to hate it (actually I told my sister that she would probably choke off of the fresh air). She came back and said that this is where I am going. </p>
<p>I still did not think that she would go to Hanover; she went to dimensions, called home and said her decision was made. She committed with a group of 4 friends she met at dimensions and they are still friends to this date long after graduation. She, like may others bleeds green. She had an amazing time in law school, has some great friends but does not hesitate, that her people are her friends from Dartmouth. They truly make connections that last a life time. </p>
<p>I was one of those people at the beginning who said, "I can’t believe that my child is attending the Animal House. I am happy to say that I had to eat those words as she had an amazing 4 years at Dartmouth (accessible professors, study abroad, etc). I remember her living in the tree houses during sophomore year (which did look a little like barracks), other than that she had some really great housing (freshman year in east wheelock,sophomore summer her sorority house, junior /senior year, Mass Row/ Gold coast). I would say, visit, keep an open mind, talk to other students. No matter where she goes, she will find her people.</p>
<p>On the city thing, also do not forget that because of the D plan students can spend terms in cities all over the world. S spent one term in Washington DC and another in Paris.</p>
<p>And, as has been pointed out in the context of many schools, most people will spend the rest of their lives working and living in suburbs and cities. This may be their only chance to have an interlude in an idyllic setting with engaging peers and unlimited intellectual opportunities. </p>
<p>That also seemed attractive - the flexibility to travel. Of course, at some off the other choices (like BC) she would go in as a sophomore credit-wise, which would give her a lot off flexibility. One of the negatives my D has noted at Wellesley has been scheduling of some classes in some departments, which is a downside of a smaller school, and can mean more time has to be spent on campus. Any thoughts on this at Dartmouth?</p>
<p>Well I think visiting is a major factor, and after visiting she may decide that she doesn’t like it at all. Or she might find that it is a perfect fit for her. I know that it made a huge difference to me in deciding between what looked good on paper and what I really wanted in a college.</p>
<p>“She’s looking for a university, not a LAC, but one with a focus on UG teaching.” What state do you live in? If you are willing to go down south, W&M fits the bill, a university that focuses on undergraduate teaching, but it’s not in a city and it is a public institution of that state. Best of luck in your search!</p>
<p>She’s a quadruple legacy at W&M, so it’s not attractive. We tried to sell it, but she wasn’t buying. We live in AZ and she grew up in SC until high school, and she wants somewhere cold. Go figure.</p>
<p>I like the safety of schools like W&M and Dartmouth. Georgetown makes me a bit nervous. Her reactions so far: She didn’t like Hopkins, but she liked UVA. She didn’t like Duke or UNCCH. She wasn’t feeling Yale or Harvard (although she thought Yale was attractive visually). She didn’t like Tufts. She liked Brown, but I think she’s a little too “mainstream” for Brown (I’m an alum.). She’s iffy on WUSTL. Loved BC and Georgetown. Iffy on Rice. We’re visiting Dartmouth and Northwestern this summer, and then she has a fall break to get in any final visits.</p>
<p>One of our big concerns is financial. Based on our experience, the more selective the school, the better the aid for us. She’s a reasonable candidate for merit $ at some schools like BC and UVA, but it’s still a bigger reach to get those than it is to fall in love with a school with significant aid and get in.</p>
<p>My older son was determined to go to school in a city. We toured a large school and because we had time, visited a LAC nearby. We pulled up in the parking area that is next to a cornfield and I’m thinking “way to go BTMom - this will be a total waste of time”. Four years later he’s a rising senior at the rural college and couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else. So you never know. </p>
<p>If you are focused on undergraduate teaching then Notre Dame has a stronger reputation than either Boston College or Georgetown. I can’t speak to study abroad, but languages at ND are also excellent.</p>
<p>A school with a focus on UG education is more likely to be an LAC than a university. Dartmouth continues to call itself a college although it has world class graduate programs in business, medicine, and engineering as well as other liberal arts disciplines.</p>
<p>As has already been noted, Dartmouth scores on UG education and strong study abroad/language programs. There is also a service culture that permeates throughout organizations on campus (e.g., athletic teams, club activities, frat/sorority life).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Of course, you already know this.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Big cities are a bus ride away. Montreal, too. Most students do not want to miss the weekend’s activities on campus. Terms abroad are similarly challenging. As much as you want to go to Pretoria for a quarter of Environmental Studies, you hate to miss what is going on in Hanover.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My guess would be that 90% have a lot more than fun. 8% have fun. 2% chose the wrong school of whom 1% chose the wrong school but did not transfer. As you have already indicated and so many have recommended, the visit is an important data point for her decision. Please have your D be proactive in contacting the EC’s that are important to your D to arrange visits with students engaged in those EC’s. Teams and clubs want to find their next generation and will be very open to arranging a meeting if you lay out your interest and qualifications. If you have laid out the former, there is a message in a non-response – either they do not believe your D is qualified or they are an unorganized group of college students. I expect that most will have more than one EC, so if there are two no replies at Dartmouth, I would be concerned, but in no way would I give up prior to your visit.</p>
<p>If you are visiting this summer, these will be the students who will be seniors and running those organizations when your daughter arrives on campus. If she connects with these people, bingo. If not, need to find the people with whom she connects where she will be spending the bulk of her non-academic time at other institutions. I’m not sure how others feel, but I believe that fit is much more important in EC’s than academics. You’d like both to be tens, but the former is where you spend your “fun” time and want to be among kindred spirits. In academics, your individual investment will speak for itself.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. We are going on a barbeque/professor tour Friday, and hopefully that will give her a good perspective.</p>
<p>She is a varsity athlete and competitive Irish dancer (which she could continue at some schools, but probably not Dartmouth) but she really prefers club sports/ friendly competition. She lives cheering her friends on at events, which is more likely to happen at a smaller school. </p>
<p>Most of her favorite ECs are service/leadership based, so it is hard to find the equivalent, but from my own college experience, she’d love Greek life (for the service and friendship, as well as the partying). She’s student body president, for example, and has implemented a Native American academic tutoring program and a freshman mentoring program; she serves on the community Strategic Planning committee, organizes summer volunteers at the hospital, runs a Spanish-language tutoring program for undocumented kids, etc. She loves people, and making a difference.</p>
<p>Her sister’s perspective from Wellesley has been interesting - it is in the city, but not really - and I think that she is hearing the stories of somewhat bland campus life and wants more interesting options, hence the desire for a city. (Wellesley is a great fit for D1, but D2 would never even consider applying). I think that a vibrant campus life is really what she wants, and the feeling that she could go on adventures if she wanted to.</p>
<p>She isn’t a city girl by upbringing, although she’s not a rural girl either. I guess we’ll see. Her offer sister is more of an “intellectual”, although D2 actually has a better record and better stats and a much better EC record, so it will interesting to see where she ends up. She really doesn’t want a “geeky” school, where everyone is huddled over their own laptop or singing a capella (her impression of Yale) or is socially awkward, but she wants a school where everyone is smart and personable and attractive. That seems to be Dartmouth. We’ll see. :)</p>
<p>I was going to say that if you are visiting Northwestern you really ought to visit the U of C also, but after this description, perhaps not. (I’ve found that there seem to be two kind of people: Northwestern people and U of C people, and I am firmly in the latter camp. <em>Everyone</em> thought my S was born to go to the U of C, but he chose D instead, much to the surprise of many.) Has your D considered Princeton or Penn?</p>
I remember it as quaint.</p>