<p>I will be attending Dartmouth as a freshman this fall. I read this somewhere on the Dartmouth discussion board:</p>
<ul>
<li>It seems like everyone played varsity sports in high school and are really active in sports and physical activity (in Dartmouth). Don't take this the wrong way though - I'm all for healthy exercise and avoiding the freshman 15 - but it feels like this is conducive to a prevalent "jock mentality" on campus.</li>
</ul>
<p>(thanks to dragon mouse)</p>
<p>Now, I'm not the sports kind... at all... and I'm starting to hate it. I intend to pick up a sport at Dartmouth, but the excerpt above gave me the impression that the students there are pros who wouldn't accept newbies into their circle. I know there are, of course, other students in Dartmouth who don't enjoy sports, and they are in no way pressured to participate. But as a person who WANTS to join, will I feel left-out and suffer from the jock-mentality there, or will there be extra room for a beginner? I know this is a very subjective question, because it depends on the people there, but right now, I'm just terrified that, maybe, I don't belong there.</p>
<p>I know many many people not involved with sports at a high level, and who just played casually or in intermurals. If you want to join a sport you'll have every opportunity, Dartmouth is not an athletic powerhouse.</p>
<p>You'll be fine. A guy on my floor was a walk-on to the track team, and he's doing fine. I think most athletes at Dartmouth are recruited, but this is true for all top schools.</p>
<p>If you want to pick up a sport, that won't be a problem. There are tons of intramural and club sports that you can join. </p>
<p>Dartmouth recently merged their Physical Education and Sports team web pages, so it's a bit disorganized right now. But below are links to intramural and club sports.</p>
<p>club soccer is full of people who didn't play for their high school team. the fencing team has lots of walk-ons that have never held a sword in their life. the debate team plays IM hockey. they can't skate. My community service/mentoring club is starting an IM softball team. we can't play softball. there are pe classes for free where you can learn squash, tennis, diving, yoga, karate, spinning. the doc will teach you how to kayak, hike, rock climb, canoe, clear trails. the equestrian team wins championships largely because of their high-performing novices. the climbing gym is open to everyone. and those are just a few examples from people I know.</p>
<p>seriously, dartmouth is great for people who want to play sports casually.</p>