Questions from prospective applicant

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

Hi, I’m a junior interested in applying to Dartmouth next year and I’d like to get some answers from current students!
I’m interested in going premed, with a possible major in Biological Chemistry.

  1. How common/easy is it to get a research position as a freshman?
  2. Is there anything to do on campus if I don't participate in Greek life? Is it better to participate in Greek life at a school where it is so dominant?
  3. How are hazing and sexual assault policies on campus? There have been quite a few stories in the news lately and I'm kind of concerned.
  4. How is medical school placement for premeds at Dartmouth? Do students usually take a gap year before starting medical school or is are they usually able to finish all requirements before applying?
  5. How hard is it to maintain a respectable GPA (>3.7) to be competitive in med school admissions if I major in the sciences?
  6. Your favorite aspect of Dartmouth's undergraduate experience?
  7. Your least favorite " " " " "?

I really love the undergraduate focus and smaller size of Dartmouth College and hope that you guys will be able to answer some of my concerns. Thanks! :slight_smile:

2
  1. How common/easy is it to get a research position as a freshman? Depends on the type of research and area. Generally the answer is "tough" because you're still taking intro classes and haven't gotten into any real specialized coursework yet, and also haven't gotten to know professors or had them get to know you yet. The exceptions to this rule could be you took a ton of advanced college-level classes already and are already doing specialized research and that professor happens to be doing something similar and has an opening, likely for non-credit and just experience. It could also help if you're female through the Women in Science Program, since they have dedicated channels to encouraging females in the sciences which include research. On the flip side, Juniors and Seniors (and even some sophomores) actually have it pretty easy if they have the motivation to go ask.
  2. Is there anything to do on campus if I don't participate in Greek life? Is it better to participate in Greek life at a school where it is so dominant? I'd rate it as "sufficient" other events if you don't do Greek life. I didn't go to a frat for almost my entire freshman year and there were comedy shows, midnight breakfasts, bingo night, dorm events, movies, intramural sports, clubs, etc. It's easy to call Dartmouth's Greek Life "dominant" as a knee jerk reaction to perception, but only about 55% of students are in greek life, since Freshmen can't join houses. This gives you time to feel out the greek life and other events. You should ONLY join greek life if you find a house you truly enjoy and feel comfortable at. There's not a huge division, in my own experience, between "Greek" vs "Not-Greek", since everyone does so many activities, that you'll interact with people in so many ways and can't divide it neatly by that single parameter. On reading your wording a second time, I'm not entirely sure if "participate in greek life" means "join a house" or if it means "go play pong in a house with friends" or if it means "go to a fraternity/sorority/co-ed registered party"
  3. How are hazing and sexual assault policies on campus? There have been quite a few stories in the news lately and I'm kind of concerned. Haven't been involved in campus as a student for a few years, so I'll let a more recent grad answer this. My own take is the policies were set up sufficiently, assuming the students would call out violations. The college isn't putting cameras and security officers on top of you 24/7, but they were extremely responsive to incidents reported to them and took them seriously. They just wouldn't know about most of them until someone on the inside reported them. My take is they are getting stricter on both of these, and less reliant on reported violations by actively watching now.
  4. How is medical school placement for premeds at Dartmouth? Do students usually take a gap year before starting medical school or is are they usually able to finish all requirements before applying? Unsure - wasn't premed. Pass. (Though most of my friends went right to med school)
  5. How hard is it to maintain a respectable GPA (>3.7) to be competitive in med school admissions if I major in the sciences? Don't procrastinate. If you don't procrastinate, ANY college is doable. There are a LOT of smart people here, and just being smart in high school won't prepare you for how smart everyone else is. Learn to study, work hard, and don't procrastinate on reading, studying notes, writing papers, etc. The school is set up to help you succeed, so use their resources, like tutoring and office hours with professors. If you want a 3.7 and are truly willing to work for it, you'll get it. If you want a 3.7 because you're smart in high school and you're just used to 3.7s floating your way almost by accident, buck up little camper, and get ready to learn how to learn.
  6. Your favorite aspect of Dartmouth's undergraduate experience? The people. Everyone is from such a different background, but all coming together with the same goals and motivations. It's a great mix of people who can be so different than you but still so similar to you. College is the first real place YOU got to choose. High school you go where you live. College, every single one of these people CHOSE to be here. You get to meet so many different people that will all affect your life here. Second would be just the crazy random things you GET to do. Want to take a class on archaeology but you're a government major? You can! Want to LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE FROM SCRATCH? Come on in! Want to create a club that teaches people how to cook, using only the ingredients found in dorm fridges and topside? You can go get funding and START THAT CLUB!
  7. Your least favorite " " " " "? Realizing how smart people are. An important clarification: they NEVER made me feel dumb because everyone's so down to earth, you'd almost never know this guy you're eating with has a 3.99 gpa, but you realize that coming from a public school with 2 AP classes offered compared to people who already had 8 credits coming in and totally understand the Krebs cycle and how it relates to bioluminescence vs phosporescence on the second tuesdays of each month under full moon conditions because they totally had a research grant in high school on that sort of thing, you have ground to make up, and sometimes you feel dumb. Especially when you studied so much harder and did worse than them. But the best part of this is they are there to help you. And by they, I mean the college obviously, but also the people in your class and in your dorm and your TAs will all bend over backwards to help you with NO JUDGEMENT as long as you're trying to work hard. There is no "me vs you" mentality. And that's not too shabby.
3

@Tank07‌
Wow, thank you so much for your incredibly detailed response! I will definitely take your answers into account when deciding which schools to apply to next year-- Dartmouth has become a possibility!

4

Hello, I am a current premed at Dartmouth.

  1. How common/easy is it to get a research position as a freshman? I agree with the previous comment. Wait until your sophomore year, that is still plenty of time to do research before you graduate.
  2. Is there anything to do on campus if I don't participate in Greek life? Is it better to participate in Greek life at a school where it is so dominant? I am personally unaffiliated (not a member of a fraternity) and it is not a problem at all. All parties are open and everyone is incredibly welcoming. If the greek scene is not your thing, there is tons to do.
  3. How are hazing and sexual assault policies on campus? There have been quite a few stories in the news lately and I'm kind of concerned. We now have an absolute zero tolerance policy on sexual assault. If someone is found responsible, they are expelled. The administration takes it incredible seriously. I do not know about any hazing having happened in recent year. There have been allegations (specifically in the past few weeks) but I would say to withhold judgement until all facts come out.
  4. How is medical school placement for premeds at Dartmouth? Do students usually take a gap year before starting medical school or is are they usually able to finish all requirements before applying? We have incredibly high placement (85%-90% first try admission).
  5. How hard is it to maintain a respectable GPA (>3.7) to be competitive in med school admissions if I major in the sciences? A 3.7 is hard to keep with a STEM major. Chemistry and Biology departments have fixed B median so 50% of the class gets a 3.0 or lower for those course. That said PLEASE DON'T WORRY!!!!! a 3.4 at an Ivy League school is not the same as a 3.4 else where. Med schools know what it means that you are here.
  6. Your favorite aspect of Dartmouth's undergraduate experience? The people here are amazing and the community is beyond belief. Everyone is so supporting and loving.
  7. Your least favorite? Most people come in used to getting amazing grades and being the best at everything. It can be hard to realize that there are tons of people who are all much smarter than you or more athletic or more artistic or whatever metic you want to measure.

Bottomline: Premed advising will take care of you. Don’t stress about that.

5

@Wheelock9‌
Wow, thanks for the in depth response as well. I think I will definitely apply next year… These responses have completely changed my perception of the environment at Dartmouth, so thanks for that.

Perhaps I should clarify my question on Greek life- is it better to join so I can network for opportunities outside of school? Or is that more for the business-focused? I’ve always thought that frats and sororities were where people got access to work offers and stuff. Sorry if this is a stupid question, I’m a little confused.

Forgot to ask- is the curriculum at Dartmouth centered around a core?

Also, is it hard to double major? I’m interested in economics, if that means anything significant. While I am focused on becoming a doctor in the future, I want to keep my career options open.

Thanks!

6

Having visited Dartmouth this last summer, the Admissions Office stressed that a double major was doable.