<p>I'm curious as to what's really great about Dartmouth. What are it's highlights? Why do students really want to go there? Why do current students love it? What are its flaws?</p>
<p>I think that it is a shame that no one has responded to this. As a current student, I think the best thing about Dartmouth is the community. The alumni are so passionate about the school and any one of them could ramble on for hours about their individual experiences there. Because the school is so old, many traditions have been engrained in the culture that give generations of Dartmouth students common ground to talk about. The world-class, ivy-league education doesn’t hurt too much either. The D- Plan also offers a great way to travel the world, sometimes on Dartmouth’s dime, and students have an easier time getting the competitive internships and job experience when they decide to take off the winter term. It can be very cold; the winter is often what people complain about most, but the skiing is great and Dartmouth does own it’s own skiway available to students every day. What I talked about only scratches the surface though. Talk to an alum and I promise they will be more than willing to share.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is the one Ivy that’s tucked away in remote New England(relatively speaking) and offers a campus experience most of the other Ivies can’t. Not gonna go as far as to say a better experience but different enough that if you’re looking for a unique, almost “tribal” atmosphere, Dartmouth has that in spades. Great traditions, communal student body and ties to the great outdoors is the main draw.</p>
<p>Academically speaking, they have their “D-plan,” full-time undergrad Professors(you won’t find many, if any TAs/grads teaching courses), good alumni network, good study abroad programs, tons of EC facilities etc, etc . . . Dartmouth is generally considered THE ivy to choose if a rural school is what you’re looking for. Some would argue Princeton but it’s really tucked away in suburbia and relatively close to NYC and doesn’t have that New England outdoorsie thing that Dartmouth has. </p>
<p>It has its warts too, weather(for those who can’t cope with winter), dominant Greek scene(if that isn’t your thing) to name a couple . . .</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>Echo the community comment. Hanover has to be one of the most trusting places in the world. My D lost her wallet a couple of times first year. Whoever found it would blitz her right away. Never anything missing. Think that would happen in Boston or New Haven (to pick a couple of towns at random)? She felt part of the community from the time she visited post-acceptance when was trying to decide between Dartmouth and Harvard. The contrast with coldness and bigness of Harvard could not have been greater. And, it’s little things: like a professor and her husband stopping to help her with her bags the first time she was struggling to make it through the snow to the Inn to catch the coach to Logan. Superb teaching. Small classes (at least in her major). Those are a few of the things that are great about the college.</p>