Regarding rigor, student life, class sizes etc.
For someone majoring in computer science at Dartmouth, is it hard to have a good social life and still do well in school?
This is a second-hand response, from a parent, but I can tell you that my son, also a CS major and in his third year, is having a full social life and is getting fantastic grades.
To be honest, the only downside I can see about Dartmouth is its location. As we are located on the west coast, it is logistically difficult to go to and from, both for him and for us, and thus we don’t visit very often!
A con, from what some Dartmouth students have told me, is the competition. My friends doing pre-med were all stressed out about the cutthroat rigorous science courses, and how there’s more of “I hope you do worse so that I can get a good grade” than collaboration. It is probably more low-key for CS, but it is something to think about.
Also, don’t know if it counts as “student life,” but the food there is SO GOOD. Major plus for me! 
One possible con is the quarter system. The classes move super quickly and if you do poorly on one of you mid-terms you might not have the opportunity to make up the grade. under the quarter system you just don’t have the luxury of time settling into the course and getting to know the professors or the other students as well as you would have with a longer, more forgiving semester system.
I liked the quarter system at a different highly ranked university. However, I certainly agree that under a quarter system classes move very quickly, and you need to keep ahead at all times.
I agree that the quarter system could be seen as a pro, especially if you have a course or a professor that you are not crazy about. I have one D at Dartmouth (who absolutely loves the school!) and another D who attends an equally impressive school that is under the semester system. The second D is less stressed about her workload.
Just to clarify, D1 at Dartmouth takes 3 courses per quarter, and D2 elsewhere takes 5 courses per semester. Theoretically, you would think the workloads would be similar, but you need to think about what kind of learner you are. Somehow having more time over the length of the course seems to be easier to manage because all 3 courses at Dartmouth go like gangbusters!
I agree with location being an issue. My home airport is a small, regional airport in Idaho, and it will definitely be difficult for me to get there if that’s where I end up.
Isn’t this going to be a challenge to you attending a lot of places. Are you saying that your regional airport does not fly into Logan?
I should clarify my remarks about logistics to point out that, if you can get to Logan, then you just hop onto the Dartmouth Coach which takes you right to campus. Dartmouth Coach is a godsend. It just makes for a very long day of travel, especially from the west coast. In order to arrive at Logan in time to make the last bus to campus, my son has to leave home before dawn. Then it’s a 5+ hour flight, then you wait for the bus, then it’s a 3-hour bus ride to campus. So it’s straightforward, just long and involved. He doesn’t seem to mind it, loves being a student there, and wouldn’t change a thing!
Would you say that workload for a student at Dartmouth is still manageable despite being under the quarter system?
@sybbie719 No direct flights to Logan. Connections are usually in Salt Lake, Denver, or occasionally Chicago. There are direct flights to my safety in Reno and one of my matches in Denver.
My Dartmouth kid has no issue with the workload - and has a very active social life. She worked 30 hours per week fall term and has still managed a 3.x GPA. A few things that I think help her fit everything in:
- She is a very speedy reader, which significantly cuts down on the time requirement for many classes.
- Her high school was tough and prepared her well, particularly in regards to papers.
- Her AP Spanish test results were accepted in lieu of the college language requirement. Language instruction is very time consuming at Dartmouth.
- She rarely procrastinates and uses a detailed calendar to manage her time.
@strawberryfondue12: At Dartmouth College, students take just 3 courses per quarter & seem to really enjoy life. If you want intense academic pressure, then try the quarter system at Northwestern University, or enroll at the University of Chicago.
D loved the quarter system. Being able to concentrate on fewer subjects [and not having papers to write in as many disparate subjects] more than compensated for the faster pace.
Hers was a very collaborative department, so I can’t say anything about the apparent competitive nature of others. Her girlfriend the last couple of years was biology/premed and never complained about it, however, so that just doesn’t really ring true to me. YMMV.
As far as west coast travel is concerned, the red eye worked out best for us. Even if you catch the first flight of the day to Boston, you’re not getting to Hanover until after dinner – and, if it’s the beginning of the quarter, then you have to find the secondary place to get your room key [unless they’ve made that more automatic, which you would think would be possible with the D Card]. The red eye tended to be less crowded, and she generally caught the first Dartmouth Coach north. She may even have viewed it as a pro that we didn’t visit that much. 
Fortunately, the rugby team made a couple of tours in the west during her years.
@AboutTheSame Thanks so much for the reply! If I may ask, what did your daughter major in?
Classics. A very small and very close-knit department. They often had to negotiate with each other to get enough people to agree for a given class to be offered. [Okay, I’ll take that Ovid thing if you agree to XX next quarter.]
Oh sure @strawberryfondue12. I think Dartmouth students are quick to get on board with the workload. But since I have 2 kids in college right now, I thought it was worth mentioning the difference I see. I still think if you’re the kind of kid who wants to forge a deeper, stronger relationship with professors and fellow students then the semester system is more conducive to that. But my D1 wouldn’t trade Dartmouth for anything and makes the most of its framework. (Under dartmouth’s schedule, students are off from Thanksgiving to early January, which is a positive. Also Dartmouth’S sophomore summer is a great experience!)
Pro
Dartmouth may be worth its tuition: