<p>It is not a matter of the board being anonymous.</p>
<p>I think that you just don't realize how put off you made people feel by your question. I don't think that this was your intention but this is how your question came off. While it is an anonymous board, the dartmouth bubble is a small one and it would not be hard for anyone who really wanted to know to find out who you are in real life (you would be suprised to find out how small the world really is).</p>
<p>As a person who applied ED and was accepted, from your question it seems that from a social aspect, you really know very little about Dartmouth or the Dartmouth community . One of the reasons that there is such a cohesive sense of community is that people don't walk around talking about what is the most elite sorority as people are very comfortable in their skin, as WG stated, asking about SAT scores, whether you got in ED or from the waitlist, what is the most elite sorority, etc are things that people just don't care about and many people would consider you to be socially awkward if you were on campus with this mindset.</p>
<p>Oh geez guys, apparently I'm not good enough for your school for asking a question so intentiontly obnoxious (partly because its anonymous, and mostly because I really want to know how women at Dartmouth relate to each other at a school where a good percentage of women join sororities). </p>
<p>Seems to me that you guys are really sensitive about how the school can come off as effortlessly classy. This is a good thing. But then all you guys can do is talk some vague rhetoric about how everyone at the school is in this great community. Then, you proceed to insult me and mark me as some girl without sophistication with the hope that people will believe in your great community.</p>
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mostly because I really want to know how women at Dartmouth relate to each other
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<p>Then why not ask that? Why ask which sororities are "elite"? The usage of that term alone will turn many people off (you could easily have substituted "popular", which might have ruffled less feathers).</p>
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Seems to me that you guys are really sensitive about how the school can come off as effortlessly classy.
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<p>Classy? I suppose you mean not elitist/arrogant? It's not sensitive so much as surprised that someone would apply ED without understanding this aspect of the school's culture. Nobody brags about being a brother at Sig Ep, or successfully auditioning for the Aires, or scoring a distinction in a class last term. That's just how it is, and the reason you ticked quite a few people off is that you came across as obsessed with one issue that is virtually completely absent from the school's culture.</p>
<p>Anyway, since you apparently still don't understand what sybbie originally tried to say, I'll try to recap:</p>
<ol>
<li>When you rush, you can "suicide" and choose only one sorority.</li>
<li>But that sorority can reject you.</li>
<li>You seem to be trying to decide which sorority you will gun for when you rush, which means you could very well be susceptible to this failed suicide.</li>
</ol>
<p>Elite? Popular? What's the difference? Subtlety usually doesn't work when you communicate through an internet message board.</p>
<p>I don't understand why you go back to talking about suicide etc. I get the feeling that you just want to put me down as some stupid girl who "didn't understand sybbie's post." </p>
<p>I guess if there's anything I learned on this message board it's that girls at Dartmouth can't make a vulgar point without "ruffling feathers."</p>
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I guess if there's anything I learned on this message board it's that girls at Dartmouth can't make a vulgar point without "ruffling feathers."
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<p>not to throw salt on the already gaping wound, but wouldn't "vulgar points" by definition be expected to "ruffle feathers"?</p>
<p>Just curious and not trying to be mean--what attracted you to Dartmouth in the first place--while I'm only making this judgement based on your question, you don't seem like the type.</p>
<p>Wow, everyone really just needs to relax. dartgirl clearly wasn't trying to start any conflicts and just asked an innocent question.</p>
<p>dartgirl, you'll fit in just fine here, and you'll have plenty of chances to explore the sorority system for yourself to meet people and learn about each of the houses. in the meantime just know that the answer to your original question isn't really clear-cut at all for a number reasons.</p>
<p>I'll just echo johnleemk's point, and repeat my earlier point as well. I hope the OP will take this as non-antagonistic advice. It's not just a matter of being 'classy.' Dartmouth people (and I've found this generally goes for alums too) just really don't like to set themselves above others. I've got several friends who graduated summa cum laude, PBK, etc.--but I never knew they were up there until it happened. Another friend got 7 citations--again, never heard a peep until I accidentally saw the resume. Another won a number of awards for volunteering and humanitarianism--and I never knew until his name was called on Class Day. It's just totally anathema to the Dartmouth culture to 'self-call.'</p>
<p>Finally, please don't make this into a gender thing ("girls at Dartmouth can't make a vulgar point without 'ruffling feathers'"). This is something that would have made an equal number of people cringe were it a guy. I hope I misinterpreted it.</p>
<p>Some words of encouragement to Dartgirl12: In spite of the most noble and well-intentioned assertions of the people arguing with you on this thread, people at Dartmouth flaunt their Greek affiliations plenty. People construct social hierarchies on the basis of letters written on their clothing. You'll feel right at home. </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that the people on this forum are mostly parents, who in truth have very little idea of what the Dartmouth social community is like. Although the school would probably be better off if it were a bit closer to their version, the reality is, in fact, unfortunately far from what some people on this forum sometimes represent it to be.</p>
<p>Make no mistake about it, I think you are an incredibly vain, shallow person. But, to reiterate what I said above, you'll feel quite at home.</p>
<p>Xanatos, while I definitely agree that Greek societies form a huge part of students' identities (probably rather too much for my liking), as I think I said earlier, I don't really think there's more than a very loose social hierarchy. Greek societies flaunt their differences, but I don't get the sense that they're particularly elitist about them.</p>
<p>But anyway, it all depends on your own individual perception, I suppose. That's why dartgirl12 should form her own views of the Greek scene, rather than basing them on hearsay.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see if dartgirl will just fade away and morph into some new character at CC. I find it quite interesting to see that she was never on this board during the whole ED process and only recently has come onto this board.</p>
<p>I had always heard about the weird culture about these college message boards from my classmates, but wow, I didn't think it was this intense. People here are so self-righteous. I guess my post was obnoxious and that I got a bit carried away and self-indulgent while writing it. </p>
<p>I bet most of you are weirdos or one of those insane mothers who try to live vicariously through their children's college acceptances (I live in suburbia, so I'm very familiar with this type of parent). </p>
<p>You guys say Dartmouth is this wonderful place where people are so united that they forget what makes them different, and that there's this culture of non-arrogance or whatever. I guess I'll see if this is a reality in the fall, but this is <em>definitely</em> not the perception that people outside of the school have of Dartmouth (not that you should care).</p>
<p>Oh, and I wanted to go to Dartmouth <em>initially</em> because it was ivy league yes. But when I visited, a girl I met pointed out to me that because the school was in the middle of nowhere, people get creative with the ways they have fun and also learn to have fun with each other without the distractions of the outside world. After hearing this from her, I decided to apply early decision.</p>
<p>I don't know about other people, but I see a distinction between trying to differentiate yourself, and declaring that your differentiation makes you elite or superior. We have a lot of the former here (we are quite weird, for the reasons you cover quite well in your last paragraph), but not as much of the latter.</p>
<p>There are of course people who think like that, but the overwhelming sense I get is that although we do try to differentiate ourselves (you'll find that there are a lot of different cliques and different social groups swirling around, even outside the Greek scene), this largely occurs not because we're trying to one-up each other, but because we just want to be ourselves and have fun.</p>
<p>I don't recall anyone saying that we're a largely homogeneous community. We actually are in a number of not-quite-good ways (I think there are a lot of things about the Greek scene we take for granted that could be changed), but there is a lot of differentiation - as I said earlier, you'll find each social group tries to bring out what makes it different and stand out.</p>
<p>I think most of us have the sense to acknowledge that what is best for ourselves as individuals and groups is not necessarily best for others - if you don't have this sense, then of course you'd see a lot of elitism associated with differentiation. But because we're (mostly) chill with different strokes for different folks, I would say there's probably significantly less elitism here than in our peers.</p>
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You guys say Dartmouth is this wonderful place where people are so united that they forget what makes them different, and that there's this culture of non-arrogance or whatever. I guess I'll see if this is a reality in the fall, but this is <em>definitely</em> not the perception that people outside of the school have of Dartmouth (not that you should care).
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<p>Well that's lovely, but that's not the perception I have of you, either, given your behavior on this board. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.</p>
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You guys say Dartmouth is this wonderful place where people are so united that they forget what makes them different, and that there's this culture of non-arrogance or whatever. I guess I'll see if this is a reality in the fall, but this is <em>definitely</em> not the perception that people outside of the school have of Dartmouth (not that you should care)."
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<p>I have to totally disagree with you on this one, because it is this sense of community that made me consider Dartmouth in the first place, and is the chief reason for my application. Everyone I talked to prior to actually seeing the campus for myself spoke of how humble most students at Dartmouth are, regardless of the many things that each has to brag about. </p>
<p>In any case though, I hope you enjoy your time at Dartmouth because there are people who would kill to have your spot as a '12, and regardless of how "elite" a sorority is, you will find the ones that most interest you before you rush.</p>