Hi there!
I really love Dartmouth for its focus on undergrads, it’s strength in languages (which is what I want to study) and the small college feel. It would 100% be my first choice if it wasn’t for one thing: Greek life. I’m not much of a party person, and I don’t drink. Alcoholism runs in my family so it’s definitely something I try to steer away from, and although I don’t mind other people’s choice to drink, I don’t want to be the only sober person in the room, nor do I want to be put in a position where I feel like I have to drink to have fun. I’ve heard frat parties and alcohol dominate the social scene on campus. Can anyone speak to that?
Please help me out here! My family is encouraging me to apply because it’s an Ivy, but I want to know that I would be comfortable and have a good social life. It might not even be something I’ll ever have to worry about since it is a high reach for me, but I plan on applying through Questbridge NCM so an acceptance would be binding if I ranked it.
I’m a '21 at Dartmouth so I don’t have too much experience, but I can say that parties and alcohol are very widespread here. It is possible to find a group/go to a place with no alcohol, but it will definitely limit the friend group.
Hello. There are so many things to do if you don’t drink. Check out a series of Youtube videos by Joelle Park. Search for justjoelle1 on youtube. She is currently doing a gap year as a junior but chronicled her admission, acceptance, and first two years at Dartmouth, including many fun activities that did not include drinking…
My daughter was a '13 and non-drinker and did not go Greek. That put her into something of a minority category right off the bat, but she still had an active social life and plenty of friends. She drew her friends from three main sources - the Outing Club, the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, and her church group. Her friends consisted of both non-partiers like herself plus plenty of party-loving Greek kids as well. To the best of my knowledge she was never pressured to drink by her friends or anyone else.
It probably took her a little longer to find “her people” at the beginning of her freshman year than if she had been part of the party/frat scene, but it still worked out just fine. She loved her time at Dartmouth and today is a proud alumna.
I have two daughters who graduated from Dartmouth recently. Neither was a drinker nor a sorority member, even though they were invited to join several sororities. That had no significant impact on their social experiences or opportunities, and they had many affiliated friends. The frat/sorority parties are generally open to everyone, so you can attend them if you want to. Even at those parties, my daughters said there was no pressure to drink and no ramifications for refusing alcohol. That doesn’t mean that you won’t succomb to the temptation, but alcohol won’t be a requirement for having a vibrant Dartmouth social experience.
Languages are your love? And northern rural colleges? Have you considered Middlebury? No fraternities, among the nation’s best colleges for languages, and similar geographic appeal to Dartmouth. Show your parents the US News liberal arts college rankings if they care about prestige; Middlebury is near the top.
@TheGreyKing , I know great kids who have gone to Middlebury, and one socioopath–not their fault–but I’ve also known kids who visited and found their host student falling down drunk and vomiting.
Sure, they don’t have frats. That doesn’t mean that it is free of the negatives associated with binge drinking. Almost no school is.
I’m applying ED, so if I somehow manage to get accepted we can be introverted non-drinking friends together, lol! I bet there are people like you and me- no worries. No school has 100% uniform beliefs among its students.
Hi, another '21 here, I know this is late so it may not be helpful but from what I’ve experienced so far, most of the social scene/parties are at frats, but there are other things to do, I have plenty of friends who don’t drink or go to frats and have really enjoyed their first quarter and I also know people that go out and still don’t drink; ie you can go to the parties and no one is going to make you drink. I didn’t drink in high school so the first few times I went out I didn’t drink and it was still fun! I’ve even seen some games of pong where half the table plays with water Hope this helps, and hope you decide to apply, I love it at Dartmouth and I hope you would too
