Hello! I visited Dartmouth in October and was surprised at how much I liked it. My only concern is the overt prevalence of Greek Life and Outdoorsy. Let’s be clear that I’m not actively opposed to these organizations and may party and do outdoor activities to expand my horizons, but is not my first choice for fun. I prefer concerts and small, more intimate get togethers; part of that intimacy is what drew me to Dartmouth in the first place. Is there a place for me here??
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
The Greek Life and Outdoorsy-ness do hit you in the face a little bit when you first visit Dartmouth, I will admit! I was never a “party-er” in high school and I do enjoy the outdoors a moderate amount, so I found myself a little overwhelmed by those big ideas at first. But-- I think you will find that you will eventually find your own little community on campus. While those two factors are important, they aren’t everything. When visiting schools in high school, I was very overwhelmed and intimidated by the idea of Greek Life. While Greek Life is certainly not for everyone, I have found it to exceed my expectations at Dartmouth. There are fraternities with big party/dance scenes (what you would expect from a typical “frat”) and there are fraternities with a lot more intimate settings, people hang out and talk, play pong, listen to music, etc. What I love about Dartmouth is that the fraternities and sororities are much more relaxed, and MUCH more open and welcoming than other schools. On the weekends, all fraternities are pretty much open for anyone to walk into. On the concert/music front we do have some live bands that come to fraternities and there is an awesome little coffee shop in the bottom of the student center where live bands come and play. However, we certainly aren’t at the caliber of a city or other schools in the sense that there are unlimited intimate concert venues. Dartmouth is in a small, intimate town, there isn’t a ton of variety as you would see in a city, but there are a lot more options that you would think! The student body is a lot smaller than the other Ivies, but I personally think it is just the right size. There are plenty of groups on campus to get involved in, but its not so big that it would be hard to find your place. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!