<p>I have a theory that Dartmouth, unlike the rest of the Ivies, seems beyond category. It's not a research school, like HYPCPC(B), and it's not really a LAC like Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Middlebury etc. And it just makes people who need well defined categories a bit uncomfortable when they compare D to other schools: the comparisons just don't hold up and they're confused as to whether this is a good or a bad thing.</p>
<p>It's neither.</p>
<p>Has Dartmouth objectively declined in the last 10 years . . . no.
Has Dartmouth leaped ahead of itself in the last ten years . . .no.</p>
<p>It is more or less what it was: a unique educational experience.</p>
<p>Too often people need to evaluate their schools in terms of knowing which school is somehow beneath theirs. It's a prestige game. Dartmouth is probably very frustrating for these people: comparisons don't hold up very well.</p>
<p>I suppose that itself makes some people uncomfortable
and, of course, many others blissful.</p>
<p>You guys are not alone. Every great school is susceptible to attacks. I went to UCLA and that it is one of the best schools in the US. UCLA sometimes gets bashed on CC. Not only does it get bashed by East Coasters, it gets bashed by one or two West Coasters as well. Berkeley is as great an institution as any school in the world. It is up there with Stanford and Harvard in the US. Look around the various threads at any one point in time and you are sure to see many people put down this great institution. I recently saw a debate between two people who were taking turns insulting MIT and Stanford. It is hard to get much better than MIT and Stanford. Harvard is also a school that gets put down a lot and no one in their right mind can actually say that Harvard is as bad as all these people say. Michigan is easily a top 10 or 15 school and Michigan alums spend a good percentage of their time defending their school on CC as well. Take a look at the USC thread that is going on and you will see that USC has its insulters like every other school. </p>
<p>The point is that Dartmouth is a good school and whoever goes there should be proud. You cannot please everyone. The schools I mentioned above are all great schools that get attacked. I see no reason why Dartmouth must be left alone while all other schools must receive insults. What you guys should do is defend your school and show people why they are wrong. At the same time, you may also realize why your school is not as perfect as you think it is. In my opinion, UCLA is the perfect school but at the same time I must realize that not everyone feels this way. Just because there are insulters out there does not imply that UCLA, Dartmouth, Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Michigan, and USC are bad schools. In fact, anyone who knows anything knows that these schools are the cream of the crop of higher education.</p>
<p>colleges/universities are not football teams. They don't play against each other academically on the weekends. They provide educations for those who choose them.
There is really no sense in criticizing a school you didn't choose. What's the point?
Self-criticism is the only productive one when it comes to education.</p>
<p>Schools are only as good as the students who go there. A bunch of genius professors talking to an empty room does not a good school make. The students are ultimately responsible for how great the school can be. So it's up to us, the future students, to make Darthmouth great.</p>