Does this sound like Dartmouth?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>Hey. I had a post up that got lost but I had some great responses that were really helping me narrow down my choices & think about the schools I could fall in love with & apply to. So I’m re-writing!</p>

<p>I’m a sophomore at a university in the northeast majoring in English Lit (minors in History & Classical Civilization). While I don’t hate it I definitely feel it’s not the school for me, somewhat in terms of academics but definitely in terms of atmosphere & student body.</p>

<p>I’m not a big partyer/drinker & this school is! I’d love a school where the students’ interests vary, they attend on-campus events in high numbers, and also like going to the movies/day trip/hanging out with friends. I would also love to meet more people like me: non-apathetic, interested in learning & friendly. </p>

<p>I’d love to be heavily involved in 2-3 EC’s (esp. student events). I feel that this school not only has few EC’s to choose from but they’re not varied or well-attended. I’m not bothered about sports.</p>

<p>While academics come first for me, I don’t want to go crazy & spend 10 hrs a night on homework! I do want small classes (generally), great class discussions & personal attention from professors, although this doesn’t mean I’d like a school with only 1000 students. I’d also like to take classes outside my major such as Marketing, Design (Graphic, web etc.), Philosophy etc. However I know a lot of schools I’m interested in don’t offer Marketing; I’d sacrifice that for the ‘perfect’ school & just take summer classes.</p>

<p>The schools I’m researching right now are: DARTMOUTH (great transfer program but too much partying?), Haverford (great academics but too small?), Middlebury (great English dept. but too outdoorsy?), Brown (can design own curriculum, first choice at the moment), Trinity College (don’t know enough about it but has been recommended to me), Williams (good academics, friendly students, don’t know much else), Amherst (good academics, but not sure it’s a fit for me), Boston University (has Marketing classes, good location for travel & internships, not sure about student-body), Wesleyan (sounds a bit like Brown). Yes, it sounds like I'm Goldilocks.</p>

<p>My stats, if it’ll help:
HS-
Full IB program in England. 6, 5, 5, in highers
1200 old SAT- did very well on Verbal, terribly on Math cos I’m beyond bad at it
Lit and Writing SAT II- 700 & 640
Some EC’s but not a great deal but it was a non-American school in England</p>

<p>College-
3.81 GPA. Dean’s List all 3 semesters. 4.0 GPA in major
In honors program
In honors English
Heavily involved in 2 EC’s, in a couple more
Great teacher recs</p>

<p>If anyone could offer any insight on the schools, comments or suggestions I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!!</p>

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<p>Dartmouth has one of the lowest transfer stats at little less than 15%. You should apply if you are really compelled that Dartmouth is the perfect match for you, then go ahead, but you might want to look at other Ivies such as Brown or Cornell which have bit more generous admit rates.</p>

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<p>Thanks green. Cornell definitely isn't for me, just in terms of atmosphere. Brown is no. 1 at the moment but I heard great things about Dartmouth's transfer program, laid-back students and academics. But yeh, I'm not 100% positive yet and would only want to apply to 2-3 schools anyway. I just wanna get some good first-hand info to compare and help make my choice.</p>

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<p>Have you looked into any liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Williams, etc.? They have similar feel to Dartmouth and are very respected schools and their transfer admit rates should be at least above 20%.</p>

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<p>I've been to Amherst (the place) before and I love the area, even if it is hours away from airports/cities. And I know the academics are great but I think I'd be behind as a transfer in terms of graduating and I'm not sure the student-body is for me? Someone compared Williams, Dartmouth and Middlebury for me and said Williams was the best academically but both Williams and Dartmouth lean towards drinking in terms of social activities. I just don't know enough in-depth detail about so many schools! Do you think my stats wouldn't be high enough to get into Dartmouth and some other places?</p>

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<p>Depends on where you are transferring from. The school will also want a good reason as to why you are requesting a transfer, not simply I heard great things about Dartmouth's transfer program, laid-back students and academics.</p>

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<p>Sybbie, once I visit Dartmouth and speak to professors in my major I'll have a much more focused idea on why I want to transfer to Dartmouth (if I end up wanting to). At the moment, I'm only trying to get info I can't from all the web sites and brochures I've already read so I can compare schools and hopefully find one I love.</p>

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<p>Are you looking to transfer and start as a sophmore or junior?</p>

<p>As green09 stated your chances for a transfer may be low (and even harder as an incoming junior). Last year 3
12 applied for transfer, and 36 were admitted.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eoir/pdfs/CDS2005_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/CDS2005_2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>2004
304 applied for transfer, 34 admitted</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eoir/pdfs/cds_200405_02.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/cds_200405_02.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>2003
314 applied, 36 admitted</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eoir/pdfs/cds2003_04.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/cds2003_04.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Yeh I know it's difficult but I think most of the schools on my list are reaches with a couple matches. I just have to visit, feel passionate about the school and write great essays. I don't think my stats are <em>that</em> bad that I'd have no chance whatsoever, right? I'd be applying as incoming junior (why is that harder than sophomore?). Do you go to Dartmouth? Do you have any insights on the social life, student body, classes etc?</p>

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<p>haha @ the too much partying comment</p>

<p>I went on a visit recently and I found it absolutely refreshing that kids here actually had fun as opposed to stressing out and locking themselves in their rooms. The students at Dartmouth were some of the nicest I have met (I have visited havard, princeton, yale, and Georgetown this year) and the school was pretty impressive overall. A lot of the kids drink, and a lot of the kids don't. you aren't being forced to do anything you don't want to. The frats even don't make you do anything if you pledge.</p>

<p>The student body is extremely smart, but in their own Dartmouth way. I didn't notice the kind of kids I which I met at other schools where it seemed like they needed something to prove when they met other people. Granted, all this was only on a three day visit, but I felt the most welcome at Dartmouth then in any of the other schools (and I'm not bias because I didn't even apply there early)</p>

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<p>it's pretty funny how people that are upset this persons first choice is brown instead of dartmouth, have decided to post irrelevant admissions stats instead of just answering his or her questions.</p>

<p>the truth is that transferring to any of the schools you listed is competitive but transfer admissions also tend to be less stat driven than regular admissions. the reason for this is that colleges use traditional stats like high school GPA and SATs to predict your success in college. since these are poor predictors anyway, actual performance in college factors in for transfer admissions very heavily. this person seems to have done very well in college and i would bet you have a better chance for being admitted than many.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info on your visit Whitesox. While I know I'd never be forced into drinking (I'm certainly not someone who gets forced into anything esp. stuff like peer pressure), I just want a school where fun doesn't mean frat parties and alcohol. But I like that you really thought the students were the friendliest, I think that's important.</p>

<p>Thank you so much dcircle, that was a really sweet comment about my stats. I do know most of those schools are reaches, but I've got nothing to lose (apart from pride, haha). But I want to make the right choice for me this time around; the freshman application process was not smooth or full of knowledge for me! So thanks for the uplifting post! :) Do you go to Dartmouth?</p>

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<p>No, it's not like "hey, try some another college, I don't think you'll get in" but I'm saying there are good alternatives with higher admit rates in case you don't get in. Dartmouth was my dream school all my HS years(hence the green in my name, graduating in 09) but I gave up applying after my senior year in HS. Their admission is too competitive for me.</p>

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<p>I can't remember but does anyone on this go to Dartmouth?</p>

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<p>keep in mind that there is a large drinking scene at dartmouth</p>

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<p>I went to Dartmouth, am a recent alum...</p>

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<p>My son attended a weekend event at Dartmouth and ended up at Frat parties both nights because his host said that there was nothing else to do. He also spent a weekend at Cornell and loved it there. There was much more to do and he loved the whole environment there. He was very excited about the classes and internships and general school spirit. He's been accepted and checks the weather every day because he thought it would be -20 degrees every day in the winter. It doesn't seem any colder than anywhere else in the Northeast. So, check out Cornell and ask questions with the Cornell people on CC.</p>

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<p>lol..
Yes Dartmouth is known as the party ivy... but whats wrong with that?
Focus all your attention on school and nothing else? Robots.
Go out and live a little.. experience life and if that means drink.. well be my guest... go for the full college experience.. jeez
Anything is better than highschool.</p>

<p>Dartmouth is great. I enjoyed it when I visited.
Hopefully I'll be there next year.. the people there are incredible.</p>

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<p>If you don't want to have fun at school don't go to Dartmouth, thats what I gathered. I ran into many kids that didn't drink, and they all told me that their school was the greatest thing they've ever experianced. </p>

<p>A cool part about the school was the complete security. All the rooms in the dorms were open! The doors don't lock behind you like at Princeton</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for all the replies everyone. At the moment it's literally 50/50 as to whether I want to apply. I know that it's a great school full of great people but is it for me? I'm not so sure and if that's the case it means it's not my no.1 choice. And the fact that the odds are so low, of course! So I think I won't apply, just because I think I need to get far away from the type of environment I'm in now. But Good Luck to all of you applying and thanks again! I love reading the Dartmouth board!</p>