<p>My point has been proven…</p>
<p>I don’t have a dog in this fight, but was wondering if there’s a term for “a ■■■■■ who is not the OP?” OP, I also found DartmouthAlum’s first few posts interesting, and honestly had some concerns about D’s reputation (fed by DS’s friends who attend/will attend and also by friends/family). That said, the thread has misplaced its focus and orbit, which is unfortunate. </p>
<p>If I were a betting man, I’d bet you will have a great experience at D. </p>
<p>PTDC18 - you are wise to take DAlum’s commentary in context and in its entirety. I have said before, S is a '16 and is having an amazing experience at Dartmouth. I’m sure you will too; the vast majority (some call them the ‘silent majority’) have and will continue to, regardless of admissions trends.</p>
<p>“Is Dartmouth on the decline, as compared to recent years? If so, who/what is causing this?” That was the initial question. But I guess only a certain type of reply was acceptable to and expected by the “OP.” Dartmouth’s problems are well documented. If one is looking for its good points, maybe those are well documented, too? That would balance the picture. And there has been balance on this thread, in any case.</p>
<p>Here’s another point that I think is cause for concern: In the US News rankings, Dartmouth’s “academic reputation” ranks far below that of the other schools in the Ivy League, as well as below that of the highly ranked schools in the “Liberal Arts College” ranking. The place is just not as academically focused or rigorous as some other “top” colleges. Something to consider.</p>
<p>Also in US News rankings, Dartmouth is ranked #1 in undergraduate teaching. While I take all of the rankings with a grain of salt, my D has had an absolutely fabulous academic experience. She has found her professors to really care about their students and their understanding of the material. Dartmouth has been very academically rigorous, but she has nothing but praise for her professors. I have no idea why DM alum says Dartmouth is not academically focused or rigorous. That is simply not true. Maybe for the geniuses out there. But for the bright, focused student that works hard to get results, Dartmouth is tops for undergrads.</p>
<p>It’s clear to me that DA’s repeated attempts to hijack this site is a personal vendetta. It’s pathetic. Wonder what would happen if there really was a button labeled “nuclear option” would DA press it? You bet! Come on DA get a life and do something positive with your time. Your talk radio rant is irritating. My son’s friend drinks at Harvard, and was mugged in Cambridge. Parents, should your kid still apply to Harvard? Do I prohibit my son from going to Yale next year because of New Haven’s crime rate? Would he have been accepted at Yale if he didn’t go to Dartmouth? Hmm… Am I worried that he will be on this site 20 years from now trying to blow up Dartmouth? Not really. Have a great weekend and be positive. Each day is a gift. </p>
<p>Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose. Here’s what I wrote in a prior thread in July 2013: </p>
<p>“Welcome back, Dart [after he was absent for some months]. I was wondering when we were going to be blessed again with more of your anti-Dartmouth rants. For the benefit of anyone new to this site, please use the search function to read DartmouthAlum’s prior posts on thread after thread after thread, and make up your own mind about the college. I’ve wasted enough time trying to deal with his (I assume) comments.” </p>
<p>Déjà vu all over again. I’m outta here. I suggest we all just let DartAlum talk to himself. </p>
<p>DartmouthAlum, I said in all of my posts that I appreciated your (and others) initial comments and insights, but it was your repetition and extremism that bothered me. Yet, each time, your only response to my disapproval was how I “only accept certain replies.” These attacks on me are neither true nor are they in any way good for justifying your argument. If you would take a second to read my responses, you would see this. Everything I have said in my responses to you directly oppose what you claim I am doing. </p>
<p>I have already come to a conclusion on the situation I posed at the beginning of this thread. I, for one, form my opinions on a matter (or college) based on BOTH sides of the argument. Thanks to all of the responses, I was able to do that, and I hope others who have the same questions will be able to as well. That being said, I have no further reason to reply to your inflammatory comments, as I will only be wasting my breath. At this point, I am beginning to seriously doubt that you graduated from Dartmouth at all.</p>
<p>I 'd like to add one thing even though OP arrives at the answers already. Sorry for that.</p>
<p>Is D’s rankings to fall?</p>
<p>There seems to be a general consensus that the main reason for the decline in applications (last and) this years is the media coverage of campus-culture-or-fraternity-related issues. Also some fear the possibility of the falls in US News rankings next a few years if it get worse decreasing applications further.</p>
<p>This might be happen, however, should NOT be the LONG-TERM EVENT at all. Dartmouth is one of PRESTIGEOUS universities with top reputation for a long time. This means that Dart has the power and PRIVILEGE to recover from the adverse challenges and return to the long-term path after short-term turmoils. </p>
<p>We can see this (UP-AND-DOWN but NEVER-FALLING-BEHIND) from the experiences of similar level schools, in terms of the reputation, as Columbia, Penn and Brown (Actually D’s rankings are higher, on average, and more stable than others in 1984-2007 period). </p>
<p>US News rankings (<a href=“U.S. News Rankings Through the Years”>http://web.archive.org/web/20070908142457/http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews</a>)
Columbia: 18('88), 15('96), 11('04)
PENN: 19('88), 20('90), 16('94)
Brown: 17('92, 03, '04), 19('93)</p>
<p>Folks, Dartmouth is not alone in suffering a decline in apps. UChicago is reporting a 9.5% drop in applications this year. </p>
<p>The significant population decline in college age people predicted to affect college enrollment beginning in the coming year is likely an additional factor here. </p>
<p>My S who graduated recently never complained once about academics not being challenging enough. He never joined a frat but had a great group of friends. Never felt pressured into joining a frat either. He had an awesome experience and the only negative I heard was that he was weary of being in more isolated town. He’s now in grad school in a small city. I personally am sad not to be able to continue visiting Dartmouth. It’s hard to describe but as a parent the whole 4 years went by so quickly…everytime we visited Dartmouth there was something very special about our time there. Loved the isolation of it personally, felt like we were really going somewhere special whenever we visited. Rankings will come and go but after nearly 250 years of a solid reputation, Dartmouth will be just fine!</p>
<p>My son is graduating this year. Academics are EXTREMELY rigorous. My son went in with perfect SATs, valedictorian, multiple accomplishments, etc. etc. and worked his butt off but in the end when you ask what his favorite part of Dartmouth is he will tell you it is his classes. I do think the college could do a better job of getting the students out more and develop the local area to include more activities and opportunities for fun and blowing off steam. I also would say, in my opinion the study abroad is deceiving in that it is not as accessible as at other schools. They are competitive and some have pre reqs. Very limited selection also. All in all, a Dartmouth education is hard to beat and will be very well respected for years to come.</p>
<p>It’s good to see various perspectives posted on this thread . . .</p>
<p>I have a son who is a senior at Dartmouth. Over the past 4 years, it has been an emotional roller coaster. High highs, and low lows. He has had an incredible education, made friends that will be for life and fully embraced all Dartmouth has to offer. He has a great job waiting after graduation and “bleeds green” for his school. On the negative side, not much support with corporate recruiting and class selection along with trying to represent Dartmouth as an athlete while trying to maintain the academic integrity expected at such a highly regarded academic institution. Not easy when your on the field while your peers are in the library. His choice and he had to navigate as best he could. As a parent, I have watched the changes taking place at Dartmouth grow from a movement for social justice, equality and better distribution of power to an all out free for all attack on anyone who does not think and want what a certain group demands. ( read the Freedom Budget) The articles written in The Dartmouth over the past few weeks have made some valid points, and I agree with many of them. But where I draw the line is when my son, and others “like him’ are being made to apologize for all that is wrong at Dartmouth and labeled as the cause of such problems. My son cannot apologize for being male and white. He takes pride in being a member of a fraternity and he and his brothers have done wonderful things over the years for many good causes. His house, along with other fraternities are basically the only social venue in Hanover for the students. No one is forced into a frat basement, and the comments I have read in this thread only touch on the negative. Nothing is perfect, and there are bad people in every group. That is not limited to a fraternity. But for certain groups at Dartmouth to label fraternity members as those who " cultivate a culture of rape” and blame them for “promoting sexual assualt” is slander. Why is it ok to label these young men in such a horrible way? It is being allowed because they are seen as the ones with power; the anointed kings who need to be knocked off their thrones. If groups are protesting to have the campus become more inclusive and accepting of others, why attack the fraternities because these groups don’t want them to exist? Don’t we all have the right to exist and be who we are? The message that is being sent is entitled white males need to be disbanded and put to shame. Will that solve all of Dartmouth’s problems? Will it be better when we all have to accept the disruptive protests that cancel classes and constant demands of certain groups? Will it be better when “they” are the ones in power and the balance shifts? Of course not! Both schools of thought are wrong. Dartmouth needs to learn to be accepting of each other and stop blaming each other. Nothing is perfect, but ripping Dartmouth apart and exposing our faults to the world only diminishes how we are regarded. I am all for change, but not at the expense of attacking and slandering one group to strengthen another. There has to be a better way to work towards a social climate that embraces all viewpoints. I hope I have given another perspective towards this discussion. I am not a Dartmouth graduate so I apologize if I did not clearly get my point across in my writing with my grammar and whatnot! I truly believe the decline in applications and comments being made regarding Dartmouth have everything to do with the attacks on one another and the finger pointing on campus. The administrators are hiding their heads in the sand ( the President is weak and the Dean is on her way out) and are afraid to insult any of the groups making demands as they are so politically correct that they do nothing. If the boys in the fraternities joined together to make a “demand list” and threaten protesting and disruption if the slander does not stop, they would be suspended! Dartmouth is a special place, and although I have not always been in support of what goes on there, to watch this debacle is very sad. It most definitely has turned some potential students away from applying to Dartmouth. </p>
<p>Here is an article written by one of my son’s fraternity brothers, which appeared recently in “The Dartmouth Review”. I think that it reflects the views of many students, professors and alums who are concerned about the demands made on the college by the current group of dissidents in Hanover these days. (I hope I have reproduced that article here successfully here.)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dartreview.com/dartlog/2014/2/24/thoughts-on-the-freedom-budget.html”>http://www.dartreview.com/dartlog/2014/2/24/thoughts-on-the-freedom-budget.html</a> </p>
<p>When we start ranking Dartmouth by US news and popularity contests, we have really gone too far, imho.</p>
<p>(No connection with Dartmouth at all, here. Different coast, Stanford and UC family. But substance is substance and US News rankings and the application blip crises of the week aren’t substance.)</p>
<p>People should know that the “Dartmouth Review” cited above is not affiliated with the College. Instead, it is a noxious organ privately funded by reactionaries, with a past marked by anti-semitism and flagrant persecution of gays and Native Americans. Historically, it has done much to foster a hostile climate on campus. It is a black eye on Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I think if people knew there was going to be a 14% drop in apps they would have applied. I tried to apply to a range of schools, and it came down to Brown/Dartmouth and I chose Dartmouth. Still surprising though, because they’re need blind for internationals and I could see alot of people in my situation choosing them for that. </p>
<p>Please read the Dartmouth Review for yourself and make your own judgment. </p>