Dartmouth College
On a recent rainy Tuesday I set out on my first college visits since the Covid Pandemic began. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post spotlights of each of the ten schools on my tour.
Driving into Hanover, New Hampshire it’s impossible not to notice how interwoven Dartmouth College is with the town. Cute cafes and shops line the main street leading to Dartmouth’s Green. Considered “the heart of campus,” the Dartmouth Green is bounded by the college-owned Hanover Inn on one side and Baker Library on the other. (The Baker Bell Tower plays the Alma Mater at 6pm each day, and students regularly put in song requests to be played throughout the day. Tradition is a HUGE part of the Dartmouth experience from the bells to homecoming (and its 75-foot bonfire) to Winter Carnival.)
At just under 4400 undergraduate students, Dartmouth College is the smallest of the Ivies (and often considered the most conservative, though Princeton might beg to differ). It is also the Ivy most focused on the experience of its undergraduate students (its 2100 graduate students are in engineering, business, medicine, and advanced studies). Students rave about the faculty, routinely describing them as engaging, dynamic, and accessible. Faculty who choose Dartmouth do so because they love teaching, knowing that the choice means living in rural NH rather than in one of the dynamic cities and towns that are home to other Ivies and elite schools. Students are able to participate in paid research internships with faculty, and more than two thirds of classes have fewer than 20 students.
Dartmouth has a unique schedule, affectionately known as “D-plan.” Instead of the usual two semesters or occasional trimesters, the year is broken into 4 10-week terms, including one over the summer. Students are required to spend three terms on campus during freshman and sophomore years, and must be there the summer after sophomore year. Many students (over 60%) choose to go abroad, most often in one of Dartmouth’s faculty-led programs. Popular majors are in the social sciences, engineering, biological sciences, foreign languages, and economics.
Dartmouth has a reputation as a bit of a party school, in large part because of the popularity of Greek life on campus, though the school has done much to reduce this in recent years. College-sponsored programming is offered every Friday and Saturday night and includes fun events such as comedy shows and roller skating. The college owns a small ski mountain, about twenty minutes away, and the Dartmouth Outing Club is the oldest in the US. In addition to participation in winter sports and a general love of outdoor activities, Division I and club sports are popular.
Dartmouth is exceptionally competitive for admission, accepting only around 9% of its applicants. It does fill around 45% of its freshman class through Early Decision… if you have your heart set on Dartmouth, your chances of admission do go up by applying early. The school offers free tuition and no loans to students from families with incomes less than $100,000 a year but does not award any merit or athletic scholarships.
Dartmouth offers an excellent education and experience for the right student. If you’d like to explore if it’s a best fit for you or are interested in putting together your strongest application, call us 617.447.0186) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat.
