<p>how difficult would you say the coursework at dartmouth is? </p>
<p>how much competition exists among students in classes? </p>
<p>is it very difficult to get good grades, or is there somewhat of a grade inflation?</p>
<p>do you feel that the quarter system makes the academics harder, or in general what do you think of the quarter system?</p>
<p>thanks to anyone who helps!!</p>
<p>Much of this depends on the major you choose. Some majors like Econ and the premed track (which is not a major) are very stressful and competitive. Some classes require little work to get good grade, while others require a lot. However, the median grade for all classes is B+/B. </p>
<p>The quarter system is great because you can take more classes over the course of the year. That being said, you also learn in 9-10 weeks what other college students learn in 18 weeks. As a result, you’re slammed with midterms and papers from Week 4 of every term until finals (generally speaking of course). You get used to it very easily, but can be stressful.</p>
<p>so do you think that the coursework is significantly higher at dartmouth than at most schools? </p>
<p>is it really hard to balance all the work with everything else, or do you just learn to deal with it?</p>
<p>The coursework at D is similar to other highly ranked colleges. Frosh Chem is Frosh Chem. Your competition for grades is the other students – their innate smarts & their work ethic. Not saying that D has a competitive environment, but the simple fact is that math-science grades are curved everywhere. Thus, even in an extremely collegial environment such as D, A’s may not be easy bcos there are always a bunch of students brighter than you. </p>
<p>While D’s quarter system is compacted, it means you only take 3 courses per term, where at other quarter systems you would typically take 4 courses, and semester systems you would take 5.</p>
<p>At Dartmouth, as at other Ivies, if you can get in, you can do the work. Dartmouth’s 4-year graduation rate is among the highest in the U.S. But almost all your classmates were in the top 10% of their high school class, and, of course, 50% of them will be in the bottom half at Dartmouth. So, it’s tough to excel.</p>