<p>Hey guys
Based on conversations with some Dartmouth alums ive heard some stereotypes, and as an interested applicant i was wondering is they have any validity.</p>
<ol>
<li>The campus and Hanover are too small and students get bored/feel limited </li>
<li>The D- Plan makes the workload very fast-paced and hectic/makes it hard to maintain friendships and relationships</li>
<li>Greek life is the only social option around campus </li>
<li>The women are less-than-attractive or "butch"</li>
<li>The winter lasts too long and gets really depressing</li>
<li>The Dartmouth name is as renowned outside of the East Coast</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m so surprised you heard this from alums. With such a negative starting point, I’m not inclined to defend and or change your mind. Find another school and leave Dartmouth to the hopeful applicants who ALREADY love it.</p>
<p>Jeez - go easy on the guy. I’m a prospective student with an overriding love of the colour green, but come on - the guy has some legitimate concerns, and all you guys can say is “■■■■■!!!”. It seems obvious to me that these points weren’t raised up front by alums, but are angles on what they might have said (eg. - “the fraternities are great - most people are involved with them, so they’re very inclusive”).</p>
<p>OP - I’m really not qualified to answer your questions, but I hope you get some more helpful responses. And in the future, try to bear in mind that more positive phrasing will probably lead to better replies - most people are understandably defensive when you criticise their college.</p>
<p>I don’t think this post is a waste of time, as a current student these are absolutely the criticisms I had and have heard from other students when discussing their college search.</p>
<p>No school is perfect, it is valuable to talk about potential faults.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes Hanover is small, as is the college. However a very large percentage of Dartmouth students come from big cities (including myself)…and I am troubled to think of more than a few who after a few years at school still hold this complaint. When you’re at Dartmouth you get wrapped up in Dartmouth and it seems to fit people very well. </p></li>
<li><p>The argument about the D-Plan making work more hectic/intense is not valid at all, in fact from my experience it works the other, 3 classes at a time is very relaxed. It is somewhat hard when friends are coming and going for terms, but I see it as an opportunity to meet new people.</p></li>
<li><p>You’ll find posts all over this board about greek life and social life at school. No one can reasonably deny that Greek life is the most prevalent social outlet at school, but that comes with two caveats. There ARE plenty of other things to do here and there ARE people who choose to participate in only non-greek social life which works fine for them, and the Dartmouth greek life is incredibly different from traditional perceptions of greek life, it is entirely open, there’s a wider array of house types and there is, in my opinions, a less cliquish vibe</p></li>
<li><p>I’m gonna find a lot of resistance on this one I’m sure, but I believe, as do many of my peers, that yes the girls at Dartmouth are less attractive than your average college. Of course this is entirely subjective and of course there are countless very attractive girls at school…but as a guy who grew up around the big ten and schools where girls were always very dressed up and concerned with appearances, there is a notable difference at Dartmouth. Butch is not the correct characterization whatsoever, though.</p></li>
<li><p>The Winter is long and cold and dark. This is a fact. Some hate it some love it. Your freshman winter term will be a blast, it is for everyone, after that if you’ve had enough Hanover snow, then set your D-plan to take off those terms, many many people do that.</p></li>
<li><p>The Dartmouth name is rock solid. In a professional setting, people will be extraordinarily impressed with the Dartmouth name, and I say that having grown up and worked primarily in the Midwest, and internationally. On a social level, I have run into people who aren’t as familiar with the Dartmouth reputation but a) I don’t think this matters whatsoever and b) these people don’t tend to be the type of people who care about school reputation in the first place.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This kind of crap makes me furious. Okay, let me make this perfectly clear: you are a pathetic, shallow jerk. Boys like you who are afraid of female companions who are your intellectual equals make me sick. Boys–Get the idea? Boys, not men–who think that “attractiveness” in women is defined by dressing and acting in a manner calculated to appeal to BOYS are insecure fools who don’t deserve to kiss the foot of the average Dartmouth woman.</p>
<p>By all means, go find yourself a stupid clothes horse. That’s all you deserve.</p>
<p>Is the name-calling really necessary? I think that any perspective (as shallow as it may seem to you) is welcome in these sorts of threads for prospective students. Also, his “shallow” post may actually serve the purpose of deterring further shallow people from attending so your problem is solved, haha.</p>
<p>If by having preferences in looks and applying those to girls I meet, yes I am shallow. Sorry to disappoint, but so is every other male I know in my age group.</p>
<p>That’s not to say that some guys prefer different looks but when judging looks, I use the traditional American conceptions of hotness, sorry if this bothers you but it is normative.</p>
<p>And finally, that observation has nothing to do with intellect. The point is that Dartmouth compared to all schools from Southern Oklahoma A&M to Harvard has less attractive women. I’ve been to most Ivies and Ivy equivalents and I, in general, believe this observation to hold up.</p>
<p>But AGAIN, this is simply an average, there are many, many, many very attractive girls at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I fail to see how this poster is a ■■■■■. Sorry for barging into this thread but I just thought I would say something. As a rising college freshman, I know exactly how it feels to be scoping out potential schools. You really want all the information you can get, good and bad, about a school before you commit to applying. If he’s heard these troubling stereotypes, of COURSE he would want them addressed. And where better to find the information than the official Dartmouth forum? By calling anyone who points out potential faults at Dartmouth a ■■■■■, you guys are really in danger of coming off as pretentious :/</p>
<ol>
<li>The campus and Hanover are too small and students get bored/feel limited</li>
</ol>
<p>I went to Columbia because I felt BORED there. How many bars can you go to in a city? The amazing thing about Dartmouth is that there is SO MUCH to do. I literally went terms without a TV, because Dartmouth always has stuff going on. The weekends are full of parties, and there is so much “random” fun like jumping off of the river ranch or ice skating on occum pond - to be had. I never understand this argument. This is COLLEGE!</p>
<ol>
<li>The D- Plan makes the workload very fast-paced and hectic/makes it hard to maintain friendships and relationships</li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe in the sciences, but on the other hand you have less classes so you focus more. I think the D-plan is amazing. Sophomore summer is most students favorite term and it allows for amazing study abroad and internship opportunities.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Greek life is the only social option around campus
Not true. There is a large non-greek social scene (most of my friends weren’t in frats)</p></li>
<li><p>The women are less-than-attractive or “butch”
Hey its an Ivy. But in my opinion they are about mid-pack among the Ivies (brown is the best IMO).</p></li>
<li><p>The winter lasts too long and gets really depressing
Winters are long (but they are long all over the east coast). The good thing is that Dartmouth has tons of winter activities that actually take advantage of the snow.</p></li>
<li><p>The Dartmouth name is as renowned outside of the East Coast.<br>
I’ve found Dartmouth’s name is strong everywhere that matters.</p></li>
</ol>