<p>I am very conflicted about which school to choose and May 1st is coming up. I am interested in social sciences/humanities/ legal studies. I haven't yet visited dart, but I am in a few days. I visited Amherst and it was pretty nice. Maybe my choice will become clearer after I visit Dartmouth, but I was just wondering if anyone on here has any advice. I am a little worried about what has been going on at Dartmouth as of recent and I am not a big fan of the Greek system. I am a little worried that I am letting the name, "Ivy league", influence my decision.</p>
<p>I would disregard any 'news" about Dartmouth as jusy that, todays news, by the time you matriculate, things likely will have subsided. D has no issues just normal college stuff, D is a great school as you will see when you visit, you are able to avoid the greek scene at D easily enough, plenty of non-greek stuff going on, I know for one where I would attend = D. Ignore the Ivy and look the undergrad experience you will get, second to none…</p>
<p>If Greek Life turns you off, then I’d steer clear of Dartmouth. It’s a great school, of course, but from everything I’ve heard, Greek Life really does have a big impact on social life at campus. About 40% of people are enrolled in it, might might not seem like that much, but it’s really more than enough to have an impact on campus life. Amherst will provide you a comparable (if not superior) education to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Some people say that the Greek life overtakes social life on campus and others say that there are many other social alternatives, but I feel like there can’t really be both, and that students who don’t want to go greek will feel left out of campus social life.</p>
<p>@Guest15 “About 40% of people are enrolled in it, might might not seem like that much, but it’s really more than enough to have an impact on campus life.”</p>
<p>It may have a slight impact, but 40% is not much at all. @5oclockhero There can definitely be both. A greek community of 40% leaves 60% with other parties to attend. </p>
<p>OP, I would disregard the greek life. Dartmouth has a majority percentage of people who do not participate, meaning there are definitely alternatives. The recent news reports can be a little exaggerating, because not the whole school is like that, and a smart person should be able to steer clear. (Don’t get drunk too often at parties with no sober friends, etc.) Overall, I would choose Dartmouth (if they have a good program in your area of interest; I have no idea), because it has an amazing undergrad liberal arts curriculum, while providing access to all the things a large university offers. </p>
<p>One more thing to consider though, (and I fear this will make the decision harder) Amherst students are able to apply to courses at UPenn. Again, I suggest comparing specific programs in your area of interest. Congratulations in getting into both top schools!</p>
<p>Are you sure, Woandering? You might be thinking of Swarthmore! Amherst is quite far away from Upenn.</p>
<p>And just to address the comments about Greek Life - yes, it’s probably possible to avoid it, but going out of your way to avoid 40% of parties and people on campus might not be the undergrad experience someone necessarily wants. At Amherst, there’s -no- greek life. Well, no official greek life, anyways. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/cds_2013-2014_updated.pdf”>This Page Has Moved; indicates that 63-64% of upperclass students join fraternities and sororities at Dartmouth (46-47% of the total undergraduates because frosh are not eligible to rush fraternities and sororities). I.e. it would not be surprising if fraternities and sororities were the dominant social scene for upperclass students at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Amherst has the five college consortium which includes umass, hamsphire, Mt.Holy, and Smith. Woandering, you we thinking of the exchange between upenn, bryn marw, and swathmore haha. Yeah, I am kinda concerned about such the large presence on campus, but idk ive never had any personal experience with greek life and frats. I wonder if they are as bad as the stereotype suggests at Dartmouth?</p>
<p>“I am a little worried that I am letting the name, “Ivy league”, influence my decision.”</p>
<p>Amherst may not be in the Ivy League, however, among graduate schools and sophisticated employers it (and Swarthmore and Williams) are generally perceived to carry at least as much gravitas as Dartmouth (and perhaps a dollop more). </p>
<p>Note the following link:
<a href=“Ranking Colleges by Prestigiosity - #166 by rjkofnovi - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/978040-ranking-colleges-by-prestigiosity-p12.html</a></p>
<p>I’m partial because I’ll be attending Amherst :)</p>
<p>However, I didn’t even apply to Dartmouth for the following reasons:
- too remote (and no other colleges nearby)
- weird schedule (activities are hard to organize because someone will always be gone)
- too heavy of a frat presence
- too much drinking (compare the drug safety scores on college p r o w l e r)
- just not appealing (just because it’s in an athletic league doesn’t make it any special) </p>
<p>I’ve found Amherst to be wonderfully diverse in people as well as interests and weekend activities 
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