<p>I was accepted to Dartmouth, and I love nearly everything about the school: good academics, great research opportunities, the outdoor club, great sense of community etc. But I am extremely hesitant to commit to the school because of the crazy frat life/drinking culture.
I attended dimensions and frat parties were going on, and while there was other things to do, it seemed that most of the people there simply went to the frats.
I am not opposed to drinking, though I don't drink myself, but what bothers me is that the drinking culture there is embraced, even encouraged by the school. I am concerned that if I attend the school I will have trouble finding other people there whose idea of fun is not sitting in a dirty frat basement 4 nights a week getting hammered.
Can anyone speak to this? Is there really other stuff to do there? Everyone says there are other things to do, but what else do people do at dartmouth other than drink and study? And if there is other stuff to do, how many people actually seek these other opportunities out?
Any info would be greatly appreciated, I am extremely conflicted in my decision.</p>
<p>The administration has a very uneasy relationship with the frats/drinking, but you’re right – the school as a community is quite Greek-oriented. I wouldn’t say it’s the only thing you can do, but it’s the main thing. I think Dartmouth is great, but I think sadly a lot of people here really do mainly relax by hanging out in a basement 2 to 4 nights a week. It’s possible to find a social niche outside of that, but it’s by no means easy – and because those are niches, it’s hard for me to generalize about them. I can tell you about the niches I’ve found – which mostly center around playing cards, room parties, and some of the less mainstream Greek houses – but that wouldn’t necessarily be representative of what people do besides fratting.</p>
<p>The Dartmouth Outing Club as well as The Dartmouth (the student newspaper) are I think two of the biggest cores for social interaction outside the Greek system. The D has a huge staff, the DOC’s people are all very outdoorsy…I’d mention athletics too, but those are often stereotypically associated with the Greeks.</p>
<p>My Dartmouth kids found good friends and spent tons of time doing theater and playing in music groups( the jazz band and symphony). Curious, what do kids at the other colleges you’re considering do in the evening besides study? How does that differ from Dartmouth?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This. I went to Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford admitted students weekends. At all 4 schools, kids get hammered. Welcome to college.</p>
<p>At Dartmouth and Stanford, kids get hammered in frats. At Yale, kids get hammered at room parties. And at Princeton, kids get hammered in eating clubs.</p>
<p>Limerick, I feel you! I went to Dimensions and noticed the same thing, and have the exact same reservations. I’m a bit shy to begin with, I don’t want it to be that much more difficult to find my own social scene to jive with because 80-90% of students are enjoying themselves in ways I don’t gravitate towards at all. To each his own, obviously, but it’s nice when there are plenty of like-minded people to chill with!</p>
<p>But as others in this thread have said – college will be college. By and large, these are the kind of “cons” you’ll have to deal with almost anywhere you’re considering.</p>
<p>At least if we both chose Dartmouth, we’ll have company? :P</p>
<p>You guys know Tri-Kap was alcohol free, right? You can still have a ton of fun at frats without drinking…</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from dartmouth in 2009. She also is not much of a drinker. She found the frats amusing during her freshman year. After that she lost interest in them. She said they are a one trick pony. She found other things to entertain herself. She hung out with friends, went to movies and concerts, on and off campus. She also went to sporting events and she would use the fitness center to exercise and to take classes (yoga, etc.). I am sure there are other activities in which she partook but I can’t recall them now.</p>
<p>Yes, there are other activities besides drinking. But that statement loses much of its integrity when you consider that the large majority of kids are drinking like animals in the frat basements. This leaves non-drinking activity partakers in the minority of the social system, and you will end up with a smaller social group and share your college experience with fewer people (also, it may be harder to find a bf/gf in that smaller pool of people)</p>
<p>“also, it may be harder to find a bf/gf in that smaller pool of people”
Remember you only need one bf/gf most of the time, why bother the people who has different interests than you? I understand kids at this age want to be part of majority, but I believe ursdad’s daughter did not have any trouble to have friends other than drinking time.</p>
<p>“the large majority of kids are drinking like animals”</p>
<p>Also, this is probably true at just about every college.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s not really something one can avoid. The Dartmouth difference lies on the intensive margin, not the extensive. (In non-econ terms, most Dartmouth students may drink, but the drinking is more intensive than it is elsewhere.)</p>
<p>For instance, the big nights to drink at Dartmouth are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. (Wednesdays are when Greek houses meet – even if you aren’t in a house, you’ll probably enjoy going out on those nights because post-meetings there’ll be a lot of people hanging around the various houses anyway, and lots of leftover booze.) At a lot of schools, it’s hard to find something happening after midnight or 1am, but as long as it’s one of those big nights, MWFS (and sometimes even if it isn’t), you can usually step into a Greek house and get something to drink and/or find someone to hang out with.</p>
<p>Personally, I like drinking, but I do not like the culture surrounding Greek houses. On my foreign study program in London I had a lot of fun getting hammered with students from both Dartmouth and other schools, because it was a lot more enjoyable for me than standing around in a basement trying to talk over loud music or playing drinking games (not that those are never fun).</p>
<p>Having said all that, a lot of people who come to Dartmouth never think they’ll pledge a house, and they wind up doing so. As you may be able to tell, the Greek scene here is a lot more inclusive than it is at other schools, which is nice. And there is no pressure to drink either – the question is more whether you will enjoy the environment of a Greek house, and a decent majority of Dartmouth students clearly do.</p>
<p>I have heard about substance free housing and the East Wheelock cluster as housing options for those students not as interested in the drinking scene. Are these good alternatives for someone such as myself? Or do they have a kind of stigma attached to them that would make for a more negative social experience?</p>
<p>East Wheelock definitely has a negative stigma attached to it, although it’s nothing like the silly drama of high school. I think the people who enjoy socializing in East Wheelock are the type who never go out, though – there are definitely people who live there and do go out, but they are a definite minority there. I don’t know if East Wheelock has much of a community that persists past freshman year, though.</p>
<p>Similarly with substance-free housing, I’m pretty sure there isn’t much of a community in the sub-free dorms. For freshmen, the sub-free dorms tend to be mixed between kids who don’t want to drink, and kids whose parents forced them into a sub-free dorm. For upperclassmen, most people are there by choice, but that’s no guarantee it’ll form into a cohesive community.</p>
<p>I think the D-plan is in many ways responsible for this. It’s much easier to have a community in a Greek house because you’re going to see at least some of those people around whenever you’re on campus. It’s difficult to have that sort of community because if you room with a friend in the fall, should they take the winter off, you’ll live with a rando for the winter and perhaps spring, depending on that rando’s D-plan. Extend that to a whole floor or dorm, and you can see that people will be moving in and out the whole year. And after the year is over, everyone will move to different dorms the next year, so there’s not much sense of community there even without the D-plan being involved.</p>
<p>ManyMoons and Limerick 2090…
I am also a prospective 15 with the exact same reservations!
I love everything else about the school except the excessive drinking… I don’t care if others do it, but it’s not really my thing and my main worry is about finding friends who share the same outlook. Are you guys any closer to making a college decision?
If you are, and you do choose Dartmouth, please message me!! I think it’d be awesome to get to know some people who have the same concerns :)</p>
<p>In my opinion, the whole “excessive drinking” is ridiculously exaggerated. I’m a '15 but know a lot of students at Dartmouth who say that they have never (nor have any intention) to drink a drop of alcohol. They still find things to do and never feel any pressure to drink, etc.</p>
<p>Every college has a large drinking population, so no matter where you go, you’re going to find the same thing. Nobody is going to force you to do anything that you don’t feel comfortable doing.</p>
<p>I will not be drinking in college or hanging out in frat basements, so you’re not the only one. 
And I guarantee that there are more people than you can imagine who feel the same way, so you won’t have any difficulty finding friends with your same values.</p>
<p>Oh, and my friend lives in sub-free housing (not sure which one), and she has had a wonderful time with the people in her dorm.</p>
<p>
I thought this before coming to college, but there is a definite difference in culture between a school like Arizona State and a school like Dartmouth – just as there is between Dartmouth and say, Swarthmore. People drink everywhere, but how much they drink, and their attitudes to drinking, still vary very significantly.</p>
<p>
This is absolutely true. College is very different from high school in this respect.</p>
<p>
Is she a '14? Most freshmen have great experiences with their freshman floor. The dorm-based sense of community mostly disappears after freshman year.</p>