<p>One of the reasons I was so attracted to Dartmouth is because their alumni are renowed for their fierce loyalty. Can anyone describe to me just how strong the Dartmouth alumni network is?</p>
<p>anyone…?</p>
<p>well, they have alumni all over the world, just see how many people get interviews!</p>
<p>I’m not really sure if I can quantify out alum network’s strength, but it is sufficient to say it’s quite strong. A fun experiment is to wear Dartmouth apparel in an airport when traveling and see how many alums stop and talk to you about it.</p>
<p>Its really strong and loyal and I think it works in two ways. </p>
<p>1) Alums tend to really support the school and its graduates, which means helping them get int he door</p>
<p>and more importantly</p>
<p>2) The college does an amazing job of keeping people connected. Whether this means a fantastic alumni magazine, class notes, mini reuinions/ events, major reunions, calls, calenders, whatever. So you basically keep in touch with your classmates and are “plugged in” far after you graduate. When it comes time to make moves in your life (moving to a new city for example) or career, you are more likely to be plugged into the lives of your friends and even acquaintances from Dartmouth.</p>
<p>People who went to Dartmouth absolutely love it. So people who went to Dartmouth love other people who go or went to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Five years after graduation, my husband played rugby with other “Old Greens.” The camaraderie was intense.</p>
<p>Personal anecdote: I got an internship with a very competitive think tank. I had found a few Dartmouth alums working for them, and sent one an e-mail asking if he had any tips for getting a foot in the door ahead of the other applicants. Ten minutes later he e-mailed back saying I had the internship and asking when I wanted to start.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends have similar experiences. And I’ve yet to go to a Dartmouth friend’s wedding with fewer than 15 or so other Dartmouth alums in attendance. At the last one, the 25 or so alums got in a circle and sang the alma mater at the end of the reception.</p>
<p>This past term I needed an internship due to a family emergency that kept me at home, but because it was unexpected I didn’t have a chance to apply for anything or go through recruiting. So instead, I sent this alum a 2 paragraph email asking about any opportunities at her company (she’s a senior executive at a Fortune 500 retailer), we met for coffee and after about 10 minutes she hired me!</p>
<p>I never filled out an application and most of the “interview” was spent talking about Dartmouth. During the internship we’d always make Dartmouth inside-jokes or make fun of this woman in our office who went to Penn lol.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine too many schools where a student can get a high paying internship from a stranger for really no other reason than attending their alma mater and being somewhat qualified.</p>