<p>Quick disclaimer: I am a mid-90’s Dartmouth grad, who has worked on “both sides of the desk” as they say in college admissions. So, in the past I have represented the College in the admissions cycle and have worked with high school students going through the college process. I’ll be as objective and professional as I can in my reply! Also, keep in mind that times change - so my memory of some of these details may not be as reliable as the impressions of current students and parents. Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to communicate more.</p>
<p>Q: … frattiness …</p>
<p>Social life without Greek life is not only possible, but a reality for a large number of people on campus. While a huge number of people are involved, when I was there you could not rush during the first year, and by senior year even a solid number of the most frat-tastic individuals were more focused on their thesis, job search, or other interests to still be spending a lot of time at “the house”. I joined a house because, frankly, a lot of my friends were doing rush and I said “what the heck… I’ll give it a try”. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for leadership development and budget management. In college, I wasn’t the sort of person who would run for student body president, but I volunteered for leadership positions in my house and before long I was one of the main officers. That taught me a lot about working with people; those are skills I still use in my profession. But like I said before: by senior year, I was spending Saturdays working a shift at a local tavern and spending other weeknights with friends. Also, keep in mind that only a small percentage of the members of a fraternity or sorority actually live in the house (as an officer, I did for four terms) but many people choose to live with friends, and in many cases that means friends that are not in the same house. Senior year, I lived in an off (but not too “off”) campus apartment with six of my friends. Of the seven of us, six were in different houses and one was not in a Greek house. At Dartmouth, there were only a few Greek organizations where the members tended to socialize mostly among their own members - most of my classmates had multiple circles of associates and friends.</p>
<p>Q: Are there substance free frats? </p>
<p>-I don’t know what the current landscape looks like, but in my time people would respect the wishes of other people. I knew of men and women in Greek houses who often chose not to drink for various reasons (on occasion or at all) and I did not know of anyone who felt like they were an outcast for being true to who they were. I also remember thinking that it was weird that there were so many people who (as it appeared to my 18-year-old self) were drinking not from an obvious sense of peer pressure, but more of a way of fitting in, or establishing themselves as cool and “fun”. I remember saying to my friend that it was hilarious that a bunch of high school super-nerds were competing for being the biggest party animal in the first month of school. That settled down right quick as soon as the first midterms rolled around and everyone was in the library.</p>
<p>Q: Can I survive without a frat? Will I be a social outcast?
- YES, of course. NO, most certainly not!</p>
<p>Q: I would LOVE to join a frat, but I just don’t wanna… well… DIE!
- There is time at Dartmouth to investigate the scene and find out what various houses are like before you choose to rush or commit. </p>
<p>Q: I go to a small school of about 1000 and frankly, I’m sorta the biggest fish on campus, and I’d like to be a mid-big fish in college too. Ya know, be noticed, but not be too ostentatious or have pressure to be anyone else but myself.</p>
<p>I felt fortunate to have come to Dartmouth from a large, rather competitive school where I was not a big fish, so I was pretty used to being around other people who were as good or better than me at almost everything I did. Humbling, yes - but also realistic. The adult world isn’t like high school, and having the experience of not being a “big deal” is actually a great lesson. Just my opinion - not a judgment of you, but a suggestion that Dartmouth might offer an opportunity for personal growth in that regard.</p>
<p>Q: Dartmouth’s undergrad teaching is ranked #1 and I don’t doubt that. However, albeit an ivy, it’s ranked extremely low in everything else; it’s 113 on QS Rankings AND USNews, and its medical school isn’t even ranked in the top 20 anywhere. Why? I have a hypothesis, but I’m not sure…</p>
<p>Not meaning to sound sarcastic, but my goodness - would you let an algorithm pick your spouse? Rankings might be an interesting way to consider possible matches within wide bands of characteristics, but as May 1 is approaching, you are choosing a highly individual experience. Weigh your options on the opportunities available, your ability to take advantage of them, and ultimately, how you feel about your choice. It has to feel right to you. For me, Dartmouth was #1 because I felt like I could see myself being there. I found the classroom experience to be excellent while I was there, and found proof later when my graduate school professors would later remark on occasion that I’d done something as an undergrad that usually students are not asked to do until they are in a grad program. That’s the strength of having professors that are focused on motivated undergraduates - if you want to be pushed, they will push you! </p>
<p>Q: How bad is the cold and how long does it last? Is it actually an issue since everywhere is internally heated anyways? (I’m speaking as one who has never even seen snow before. Heck I went to the outer edges of the North Pole one summer and I STILL didn’t see snow!)</p>
<p>Well, my hometown was also cold and mountainous, so it was not a stretch for me. One of my two first-year roommates arrived with fifty sweaters, which I and the other member of the triple room promptly handed back to the roommate’s mother and said “Ten… no more than ten…” We had a fireplace in our dorm room and yes, we roasted marshmallows. I was never cold inside a building, even the ones without a crackling fire. In the winter, you just have to know what your “uniform” needs to be - warm socks, waterproof boots (I liked treated leather hiking boots), hat, gloves… you get used to wearing appropriate layers. But the weather is predictable, which is nice. In Washington DC (where I lived for a short time) the temperature swings a lot more from morning to afternoon, so I never felt appropriately dressed. In Atlanta, I never dressed for the weather, because it never seemed like it should be cold… but if you’re walking outside for more than a minute in temperatures less than 50 degrees it’s going to feel cold. In New England, the glorious months of September, October, November, May, and June make up for the snow, rain, and mud from December to early April.</p>
<p>Q: Given good GPA and MCAT results, would having a ivy Dartmouth Degree give me a slight edge over a Duke Degree? or the other way around? Or does it not matter?</p>
<p>For medical school, I have no basis for judgment. More generally, my thoughts on this are: if someone is judging you solely on the “name” factor, they would be making a very biased and shallow judgment. I don’t think one gives an edge over the other unless the person passing judgment already has a bias for or against one of those schools. Both are great schools and both produce many great graduates. As with undergraduate admissions, your edge is not only your school or your context, but what you did in your school or context. Did you make the most of the opportunities available? Do you have a recommendation from mentors who can speak to your accomplishments?</p>
<p>Q: D-Plan. Is it really that inconvenient?</p>
<p>Hmm… I didn’t think so. The benefits outweighed the drawbacks (which everyone loves to complain about, by the way). I liked the 10-11 week terms, and I liked taking three courses at a time. I liked being able to attach my “off” term to my study abroad so I could get more time in the country for travel. It worked well for me. I didn’t like moving a lot (after first year, after sophomore winter b/c I did a term abroad, after sophomore summer, after junior fall b/c winter was my “off” term, etc.) One of the reasons that I loved living in my house was that I could store some of my things in the secure storage room and moving back in just meant dragging all of that junk down the hall, not across campus.</p>
<p>Q: I love the idea of waking up 20 min. before class then biking/running there cuz Dartmouth is so small. Am I disillusioned?</p>
<ul>
<li>No, you are not disillusioned. That is often what I did. I walked, ran, biked, and even cross-country skied to class. (Not joking!) In my case, it was more like 10 minutes because I lived in one of the dorms closest to the quad. Even the river cluster is still only a 20 minute walk TOPS from the academic buildings. And that’s if you are the slowest walker in the world, and remember that it’s cold and people tend to walk fast in the North, even when there’s not snow on the ground. :)</li>
</ul>
<p>Q: What’s there to do in Hanover? What are public transport options out of Dartmouth and where do they lead to? I can’t drive! </p>
<p>There were buses to Boston and Montreal, but I never went to either city on the school transportation. There are a number of people with cars, but another good thing about it is that you have to park pretty far off campus - so it’s not apparent who has cars or not, because people really only use them for trips farther afield, not driving around town. What did I do in my free time? I hiked, biked, skiied, played frisbee, went running, went to concerts on campus, went to the jewelry shop or the wood shop in the Hop, went out to dinner with friends, worked two jobs (one on campus and one off), went to practice, supported my friends in their games, concerts, or events… so many things to do. I was never, ever bored. But you’ll probably find that people who go to Dartmouth don’t let themselves be bored.</p>
<p>Q: If these queries can be clearly answered, then DARTMOUTH FOR SURE!!!
Otherwise, although it pains me to drop an ivy, I’ll be choosing Duke for its general strong ranking, locale, and weather…</p>
<p>I wish that you had a chance to visit these two schools. Again, if you’d like to PM me, I will answer as many questions as I can. I loved Dartmouth, warts and all. I’m sure there are lots of people who feel that way about Duke. Best of luck with your decision - you are fortunate to have such amazing options. So many students I know would be so happy to have the dilemma you do. But it does feel like a momentous choice, and I hope you find the information you need to feel confident about a decision.</p>
<p>-a.</p>
