Dartmouth Residential Colleges

So someone posted about this last year but the thread never got any traction and it was closed. I’ll repost it here.

"I seem to remember reading somewhere that Dartmouth is converting to a residential housing system. Has this change occurred yet? If so, how is the new system? Does it function as a true residential college system should with a strong sense of communities or does it exist as a meager attempt by the administration to weaken the greek system?

Also, on a more general note, what is the quality of the dorms like at Dartmouth? Are they nice and spacious, or do they reflect the age of the school and tend to not be a benefit of going to Dartmouth?"

My daughter is a freshman at Dartmouth. The residential housing system is definitely in place but it doesn’t seem to compete with the greek system. “Residential houses” are actually comprised of several dorms. They have some social events to help kids get to know one another but it’s really pretty loose.

My daughter is in the Choates so that’s the only dorm I’ve been inside. She has a single. The dorm itself looks like it was built in the 70’s and is pretty industrial looking. However, her room is a good size and she has a very large window that overlooks the courtyard and lets in a ton of extra light. The bathroom is tight but clean, as are the halls.

Next year the whole housing group will move into a different set of dorms, closer to the main dining hall. So the housing lottery is just for those dorms and with the people in her group.

@HMom16, I assume there are no private bathrooms? Just a shared bathroom off a main hallway?

Some of the dorms have suite style rooms that offer private bathrooms but those would not be singles.