Why should anyone apply to Dartmouth

<p>Why would you apply to apply to Dartmouth ?
(Other than its an "ivy")</p>

<p>Uh oh </p>

<p>Not the best title.</p>

<p>Other than its an "ivy"</p>

<p>Well that's not a good reason in itself.</p>

<p>yes, that's my point.
I was on a flight and the person next to me was the Dartmouth alumni that does interview in my area.
When I told him i was interested in MIT , he said that Dartmouth is just as good "its an ivy league" (quoting him). but somehow that answer didnt satisfy me.</p>

<p>i have looked at the website, (Cant visit due to financial problems), i like the fact that the cafeteria close at 2:30..the MBA school looks good...but somehow , it doenst seem to me that students there are very passionate.
i would like to hear the good side of the pic too.
thank you.</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, if you haven't visited, how can you tell from a website that the students are or are not passionate? I actually have to say that I feel that Dartmouth students have more school spirit than many similar schools. Homecoming, Winter Carnival, etc. are all huge events. The turnouts for football and basketball games (at least the big ones) are impressive, even when the teams stink. I don't think that student passion is a problem.</p>

<p>Actually Dartmouth I would say has the most loyal alumni and strongest school spirit of any ivy. Its academics focus on undergrads, the community is amazing, the people are awesome, and it has many special things about it like the most extensive study abroad/ language program of any ivy, the most big weekends, sophomore summer, etc. The professors are passionate, and people are there because they truly love the school. I went to columbia for a year and felt like a number, Dartmouth is much more a family.</p>

<p>I agree with slipper1234. Choosing to go to Dartmouth out of the Ivies was easy for me since Dartmouth fosters the best relationship between faculty, staff and students than the rest; I'd actually compare Dartmouth more to an Amherst or Swartmore as far as the whole small liberal arts college feel but. I'd say try and visit before you make up your mind. Admissions often pays for prospective students to come visit so just give them a call.</p>

<p>“Why would you apply to apply to Dartmouth ?”</p>

<p>Ambreen, you really don’t need to apply to apply. I’ve certainly never heard of anyone doing it. The application process at Dartmouth is available to everyone with no pre-application process required. </p>

<p>Sounds like your friends have played a bit of a trick on you.</p>

<p>Thank you for your attention and reply to this threat.
I'm still considering whether Dartmount is a place for me or not.
:)</p>

<p>the D-plan is flexible....you can take classes in the summer, graduate early, internships any time of the year, etc.
not only is the campus gorgeous...but surrounding area is.
and a lot of what the others said...
lots of options for "outdoorsy" people. hiking skiing etc.</p>

<p>I must say as I looked at the Ivy League posts and saw that dartmouth had like the fewest posts and then seeing yor post title I honestly had to laugh. It is the same question that I have! :) What is soo interesting about it..well besides the family thingie</p>

<p>Dartmouth is like Princeton except less pretentious and with nature to boot. That plus so many other things like awesome academics, caring alumni, a totally community oriented social scene, happy students, sophomore summer are all things that make it unique. What makes any school special? I would say Dartmouth is perhaps one of the most uniques top schools out there. Dartmouth is the smallest school in the Ivies so of course it has the fewest posts.</p>

<p>
[quote]
but somehow , it doenst seem to me that students there are very passionate.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>haha, this actually made me laugh out loud. through my experiences, I have come to believe that D students are actually THE most passionate and positive out of all the Ivys. </p>

<p>Hmm, I can't possibly list every reason I loved Dartmouth, but some are on the Does Dartmouth live up to its hype in the college books? thread. I really liked the D-plan in that you can take less classes per quarter, which means you can focus much more on each class and therefore make the most of it. The campus is beautiful - the rural setting promotes a really big community feel that you won't find at city schools like Columbia or NYU. The size - 4000+ undergrads - is, in my opinion, a perfect size, not so big that you'll feel as though you never see a familiar face (a la Cornell) but not so small that you feel stifled (a la Haverford). It has excellent departments in what I'm interested in, excels at the extracurrics I was interested in, etc. Slipper right above me has me salivating at the thought of sophomore summer with his descriptions of swims in the river and late-night barbecues...when we visited, the students were the friendliest and most eager to help us out of any campus I had ever visited, and I've visited over twenty. And then there are all the small, relatively unimportant things, like the delicious food, skiway, access to cabins, etc. Just the way that people acted on this board - whether it was a current student, an alumn, a parent of a student, a parent of an alumn, they were all here praising Dartmouth to high heaven and always ready to help out and offer words of encouragement to the struggling applicant. Anytime I ask a Dartmouth student/grad about their alma mater, their eyes light up and they start convincing me to apply, citing personal experiences. Whereas when I ask, say, a Penn grad, they just say "I like Penn. It's a good place." And say nothing else. So if Dartmouth itself is even a fraction of how wonderful this board was to me over the past year, I'd definitely spend four years of my life there, no question. Even after I was waitlisted, I still read The Mirror because it is SO FUNNY.</p>

<p>In short, apply. My mom suggested I apply three days before the app was due, and I did for the heck of it - THEN i did the research and realized that D was exactly what I was looking for, and was so glad that I had applied on a whim. I mean, it's COMMON APP, and all you need for the supplement is a peer rec. JUST DO IT.</p>

<p>ETA: oh, and as you can see from this thread, D kids aren't pretentious and don't care about the fact that D is an Ivy - they just care that it's a wonderful place.</p>