<p>Alright so i've seen pretty varied info on darmtouth on CC and would like to get a better understanding considering its pretty high up on my list. Some people endlessly gush over it, while other claim it doesn't deserve to be in the ivies, is extremely easy, and consists primarily of drinking and frat parties, so whats the truth? particularly in regards to its academic and intellectual standing and pervasiveness of partying</p>
<p>Had I not got into Duke, Dartmouth would have definitely been another option. It’s a good school going there is a matter of personal choice. 
Not overrated, IMO.</p>
<p>its neither. dont listen to extemists</p>
<p>It’s not overrated or underrated. It’s just…uhh…rated!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure it is renowned both for academics and partying…just because SOME (lesser) schools can only excel in one or the other, it doesn’t mean it’s a zero-sum game for every school ever.</p>
<p>I think its rating is juuuuuuust fine</p>
<p>I always find that Dartmouth is an interesting phenomenon (like Amherst and maybe Brown). Its does incredibly well in most areas: </p>
<p>1) Its among the richest schools in the world per student (700K per student, about 2-4 times Cornell/Penn/Brown/Columbia)
2) Spends the most on advising, grants, and research per student of the Ivies (COHE), 3) Has the 7th best grad placement rating overall (WSJ and pretty much every list of elite grad schools that publish data)
4) Easily has among the best business recruiting among the Ivies (better than most of the Ivies)
5) Essentially has 100% of classes taught by Professors - who are among the most accessible professors of any school in the country - part of the culture
6) Sends the most students among the Ivies to the Peace Corps, etc.
7) Offers countless unique benefits for its students - from the best study abroad in the country - to one of the highest percentage of students doing a thesis of any school</p>
<p>All these benefits are huge and in my opinion serve 99% of students better than almost any school in the country with the exception (IMO) of maybe Princeton. But they are the intangible benefits that make all the difference. Dartmouth is not a research university. So on certain grounds such as nobel prize winners and graduate dept. rankings Dartmouth is not even playing the game compared to a school like Berkeley. The reality though is none of this seems to matter to Dartmouth students because at the UNDERGRAD level Dartmouth excels at almost everything. I guess I will never understand the fixation on CC regarding research universities for undergrads.</p>
<p>I agree with slipper completely. I think Dartmouth, Duke and Princeton and to an extent Yale are the most undergraduate focused schools in the country. The world is yours if you do well at any of these schools. People on CC mistakenly think the undergrad and grad prestige of a school can’t be broken down and compared but I believe it can.</p>
<p>^ slipper, didn’t you attend an Ivy research university and hate it? </p>
<p>
Dartmouth doesn’t want Nobel Prize winners, top research faculty and top graduate departments? Or is it the case that they can’t attract top faculty to Hanover (despite being rich) and thus have to settle for what they can get - and look on the bright side of things?</p>
<p>UCB, I DON’T THINK Dartmouth wants Nobel Prize winning faculty or top graduate departments if it means that the undergraduate teaching and intimate attention between profs and students at the university is reduced. Not every school is trying to appeal to international students who care only math/science/engineering/graduate school prestige.</p>
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<p>How is the world not yours (by your definition) if you attended Stanford? Or Harvard? Or even Berkeley?</p>
<p>Now as a disclaimer I may be a bit biased as a Dartmouth student.
I personally think Dartmouth is one of the best <em>undergraduate</em> programs in the country. Slipper pretty much summed that up though.
and UCBgrad: I’m really wondering what got you so angry? Slipper was clearly saying UCB beat Dartmouth at the Graduate level, so why get defensive over grad programs? However, the OP was no doubt referencing the UG level, so I think it would be prudent to focus on that. :)</p>
<p>It might just be me, but i think Dartmouth gets the least recognition out of all the ivy schools. I think its slightly underrated or the least prestigous out of the ivy schools. I remember one time i mentioned Dartmouth and they thought i was talking about Umass Dartmouth! Gasp horrible.</p>
<p>spunaugle, it’s the wording that my alma mater is “playing the game”…like Dartmouth is somehow above such “nonsense”.</p>
<p>To be fair, I do not think that’s what slipper meant. I think slipper meant that Dartmouth isn’t a serious contender as opposed to they do not care about Nobel prize winning profs.</p>
<p>
Didn’t Princeton “fire” one of the best assistant prof a year or two ago because his research sucked?
Look, Dartmouth, Duke, Princeton all want Nobel prize winners. For some reason, they just can’t attract them.<br>
I think Dartmouth is slightly overrated.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is the only ivy focused on undergrads. The relationships students have with profs are not even close at the others.</p>
<p>It will always be hard for Dartmouth to attract Nobel prize winners because of it’s location. If high profile profs are important to you, it’s not your school You’ll find these profs in major cities and great retirement towns–so head to NYU and UCSB for those.</p>
<p>If you want a wealthy school that focuses it’s resources on undergrads and where your prof will actually be teaching you, Dartmouth is your place. The new President there, a major talent from Harvard, will make it higher profile. I see that as a negative, the beauty was in the secret, but most think it’s a plus.</p>
<p>Underrated for undergrad IMO.</p>
<p>I think UCB chem missed my point. By not “playing the game” I meant Dartmouth is focused on undergraduates first and foremost. This is what drives the school. In many areas there are no graduate departments, and undergrads carry the day and are the focus. Combined with Dartmouth’s spending per undergrad, phenomenal programs, advising, grants, etc the formula works - it means better chances at graduate schools, incredibly loyal alumni, and a legacy in business that surpasses all but a couple of schools in the country. If you get more attention, have a more tightknit experience, and visibly appear to have a better chance at getting where you want to go after school - I don’t understand the issue.</p>
<p>^ Fair enough. </p>
<p>Regarding its ranking, I don’t think it’s over or underrated. It’s a small college with a liberal arts bent located in rural New Hampshire…beautiful? yes. tight knit? yes … but appealing to all? not exactly.</p>
<p>Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>Curious to know why you think high spending per student is a good thing? It could just indicate that Dartmouth is disadvantaged through economies of scale. Only in education are spending inefficiencies rewarded.</p>
<p>I actually think in the general world, Dartmouth is rated appropriately, and on CC, where we have quite a few champions for the tremendous research behemoth, it’s probably underrated.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget about Brown when mentioning undergraduate focused institutions!</p>
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<p>And in business, they often research exactly how long a product has to last so that consumers won’t be ****ed at them and then build to the minimum quality necessary to reach that lifespan, then call it “efficiency” and are rewarded with margins.</p>
<p>I still don’t get why virtually guaranteeing all the students you serve success, and not a superficial success, is a negative versus saying some people are going to **** up and it’s tough **** on them.</p>