Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College Introduction

If you’re thinking of going to Dartmouth, the only Ivy League school to call itself a college, here’s a few things to expect:

• First, you’ll love green eggs and ham (and the color green, in general).
• You’ll be tempted to learn new languages and you’ll probably study abroad at least once.
• You’ll always be taught by a professor.
• Your summer vacations are portable. You can transfer your “Leave Term” to the winter to avoid New Hampshire weather or compete for an internship in the fall and then return in the summer to study.
• If you learn to ski, you’ll do it at the Dartmouth skiway.
• You’ll wonder why every school doesn’t have a version of “Camp Dartmouth” on a mandatory summer term.

Founded in 1769 by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock for the expressed purpose of educating Native Americans and all those seeking education, Dartmouth is the ninth oldest college in the United States. It’s also one of the most beautiful. Nestled between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont, the 200-acre campus has its share of picture-perfect scenery. In fact, visiting the campus for a commencement address in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower commented that “this is what a college ought to look like.” Affectionately termed “the college on the hill,” Dartmouth’s central green is adjacent to the cozy town of Hanover, New Hampshire. On campus, brick dorms and administrative buildings are adorned with ivy, and Baker Library’s tower presides majestically over it all. If you listen carefully, every day at 6:00 P.M. the bell tower plays a recognizable melody. Selections range from show tunes to Beethoven.

Dartmouth, however, has a lot more going for it than aesthetics. A bona fide “college” rather than university, Dartmouth prides itself on this distinction. The whole issue was decided in 1819, during the now-famous “Dartmouth College Case,” in which Daniel Webster, class of 1801, successfully convinced the Supreme Court that Dartmouth should remain a private institution instead of becoming a property of the state of New Hampshire. In what is an oft-quoted line around campus, Webster summed up his argument by saying, “It is, sir, as I have said, a small College, but there are those who love it.” From then on, Dartmouth has fondly referred to itself in the same way.

If Dartmouth isn’t the ideal campus, it’s pretty much as close as you can reasonably get. With its northern location, year-round calendar, and focus on the undergraduate experience, Dartmouth is perhaps the most comfortable of the Ivy League schools. Its intimate atmosphere breeds some of the highest student satisfaction rates in the country, which is probably partly due to the fact that everything balances so well. Dartmouth students are some of the smartest in the country, but they also like to have a lot of fun. The Dartmouth community is incredibly close-knit, yet, thanks to the fact that different students and professors come and go each term, it never feels stifling. Hanover is a beautiful, rural locale, yet the school manages to attract first- rate speakers, performers, and intellectuals. In fact, you’d probably be exposed to about as much culture at Dartmouth as you would in any major metropolis. It’s just that Hanover is a heck of a lot quieter. Student activities see high participation rates, but the school is small enough so that you never get lost in the crowd. And finally, the school has just enough surprises so that even when you’re feeling stressed, there’s always something to appreciate.

Finally, Dartmouth is an intellectual powerhouse that offers incredible on-campus and international opportunities. Besides those tangibles, however, Dartmouth offers something ineffable. As evidenced by the fact that everyone puts their arms around one another as they sing the alma mater, there is something very special about going to school up in the mountains. Perhaps, in fact, this appeal is best summed up by the alma mater’s cryptic last line, which speaks to the permanency of the Dartmouth experience. Dartmouth students, it proclaims, find themselves with “the granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains.” Go to Dartmouth, and by the end, you’ll understand what that phrase means. I know I do.

Dartmouth College Academics

Despite three top-notch professional schools (the Dartmouth Medical School, The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, and the Thayer School of Engineering), as well as twenty-four other graduate programs in the arts and sciences, Dartmouth prides itself on what seems to be an almost singular focus on undergraduates. Dartmouth students, consequently, have a unique advantage. Alone in the Ivy League, all classes are taught by professors with Ph.D.s, and not graduate students. Not surprisingly, Dartmouth consistently gets high rankings for its quality of teaching, as well as for the level of interaction between faculty and students.

The Dartmouth Plan

The Dartmouth plan is a unique year-round calendar that was instituted in 1972 when the school became coed—nearly thirty years ago. Dartmouth’s academic year is divided into four ten-week quarters (called fall term, winter term, etc.), and students typically take three classes in each. This schedule works particularly well because not only is it difficult to get bored after a mere ten weeks, but students enjoy being able to focus on just three subjects at a time.

In order for the logistics of this to work out, students are required to spend at least nine terms on campus, including fall, winter, and spring of their freshman and senior years, as well as the summer between sophomore and junior year. Often a favorite term, summer allows for a less crowded campus, afternoons of studying outside in weather that’s finally warm, and something called Tubestock where students float around the Connecticut River on inner tubes for the afternoon. Students then get to decide what they want to do with the other terms; choices range from staying on campus to doing a transfer term at another university to taking part in one of Dartmouth’s forty-seven off-campus programs in nineteen nations. International destinations include Prague, Costa Rica, and Beijing, and sixty percent of the student body will go abroad at least once during their four years.

I chose Dartmouth in large part because of its Russian department, and spent the spring of my sophomore year on the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program at St. Petersburg University in Russia. We were in Russia at a time when the country was changing every day and it was an unbelievable experience to witness these changes firsthand—and to have the language ability to speak to people about how their lives were affected. After it was all over, I came back to Hanover and shared what I had learned with my classmates.

The year-round D plan is a ubiquitous force in the academic life of the college. Not only does it structure the length and duration of the classes, but in all honesty it makes students hyper-aware of how much their studies relate to the seasons. This translates into such attitudes as, “It’s winter term and it’s really cold and I’m going to study really hard.” It’s always funny to see how students pick and choose classes based on what term they’re offered in. Summer term, generally, is a popular time for some students to take only two courses as opposed to the standard three.

Distribution Requirements

The other important academic policy is Dartmouth’s recent implementation of a structured set of graduation requirements. As a liberal arts college, Dartmouth has a set of distribution requirements so that students are able to think critically in a wide variety of disciplines and make intellectual connections between them. Approximately one third of the thirty-five courses for graduation are spent on distributive courses across all departments. The second third of courses are usually within a major, with the final third used for electives. There is no core curriculum, so the program allows flexibility in choosing a course from a set of departments. The requirements can overlap, but are as follows:

• As always, students need to take a first-year writing seminar and demonstrate proficiency in at least one foreign language.
• Students also need three courses in world culture—one Western, one Non-Western, and one on culture and identity. A class such as Literature and Business (jointly taught by an English professor and one at the Tuck School of Business) satisfies this requirement, as do others dealing with such topics as computerized music or the current health care system.

The final component of the new curriculum also requires ten classes in the following areas—one art, one literature, one from either philosophy, history, or religion, one deemed international or comparative, two on social analysis, one considered quantitative or deductive, two natural sciences, and one technology or applied science. Additionally, one of the natural or applied science classes must have a lab.

Finally, students are now expected to engage in a “culminating experience” within their major, which can take the form of an honors thesis, an independent study project, an exhibition, or a performance. These new requirements, albeit more extensive than those of the past, were set up with an eye to making sure that the curriculum really did reflect the liberal arts focus that Dartmouth so prides itself on.

Foreign Language Program

One particularly innovative academic program is Dartmouth’s unique approach to foreign language instruction. The brainchild of famed professor John Rassias, the program is designed to make students comfortable speaking their new language. Each day, in addition to a regular class period, students have a one-hour “drill,” which meets at 7:45 each morning. (Those who can’t hack the early hours can elect to take a 5:00 P.M. drill instead.) There, they meet with an upper-level teaching assistant who puts them through the rigors of conjugating verbs and practicing dialogue. The session, accented by liberal amounts of pointing and clapping on the part of the instructor, is incredibly fast-paced and lively.

Although taking—and then teaching—drill got me up at 6:30 A.M. for most of my college career, I’m convinced that Dartmouth is an ideal and nurturing environment for anyone hoping to learn another language. Hundreds of students flock to drill each day to witness Professor Rassias’s unique “in your face” approach, which is probably part of the reason I fared so well in my foreign language classes. It gave me such a good foundation, in fact, that now I’m fluent in French, in graduate school for Spanish literature and education, and learning Italian in my spare time.

Intellectualism and Special Programs

Another important part of the Dartmouth “character” is a continuing interest in intellectualism.

In keeping with this effort to increase intellectualism, a number of campus-wide programs have been implemented. In 1990 the Women in Science program began, specifically designed to encourage freshmen women who like biology, chemistry, or physics. (It was started after Dartmouth noticed the discrepancy between how many women arrived at Dartmouth intending to be science majors versus how many actually became science majors.) Thanks to the program, approximately 400 first-year women are paired with a faculty member to conduct “hands-on” scientific research. Another popular option is the Presidential Scholar Program, which was recently endowed with enough money to keep it a permanent fixture on campus. The program allows approximately eighty to ninety juniors to work directly with professors and assist with research. After aiding the professor for two terms, most Presidential Scholars complete a senior thesis on the same, or a related, topic.

As a Presidential Scholar research assistant, I had the opportunity to assist my government professor on an article he was writing about the timing of presidential economic initiatives. He involved me almost every step of the way, providing me with first-hand exposure to the correct methodology for conducting political science research. I am currently using this knowledge to further my own research on media coverage of women gubernatorial candidates. In fact, my thesis proposal on this topic was accepted at the Midwest Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting, and I presented my results at their annual convention in Chicago.

Dartmouth also has a number of Senior Fellowships, usually awarding around twenty. Senior fellows spend their entire senior year doing research, and then complete a large- scale project—a book, film, or full-length production. (The big bonus here is that senior fellows get their own offices in the main library, instead of a lowly carrel where most honors students toil.)

Participating in the Senior Fellowship Program allowed me to study the life and work of a woman named Theodate Pope Riddle, one of the nation’s first women architects. Because I was required to take only a couple of classes during the year, I had the chance to visit Riddle’s buildings and travel to museums to do archival research. I also learned a lot from my advisor, a professor who specialized in architectural history. By the end, I had written a biography that was more than 200 pages long and produced an accompanying video documentary.

Research Funding

It’s not just senior fellows who fare well with research, either. As students will attest, funding at Dartmouth for almost any sort of academic endeavor is readily available. Much money is doled out by the Rockefeller Center, named for Nelson Rockefeller, class of 1966. The center houses the departments of economics and government, and has financially supported everything from internships at the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to research on Dartmouth’s role in the Civil War. The center also draws a number of prominent speakers for panels and discussions. In recent years, it has hosted former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak, chairman of the Pakistan Press International Foundation Owais Aslam Ali, Pulitzer-prize winner Laurie Garrett, and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, ’68.

Libraries

The final thing to know about Dartmouth academics is that students spend a lot of time in one or more of Dartmouth’s nine libraries, which contain over two million printed volumes. Baker is the largest and is an architectural wonder. The wood-trimmed Tower Room is a popular studying spot, as is the reserve corridor, which is framed by the murals of Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco. Painted between 1932 and 1934 when Orozco was the artist-in-residence, the famed murals depict the barbaric nature of the colonization of the New World. Dartmouth also has related libraries for biomedical science, math, business, physical science, engineering, art and music, and English. One thing to check out is the Sanborn English Library in midafternoon; every weekday at 4:00, students break for tea, cookies, and talk.

Tucker Foundation

A host of other popular programs falls under the auspices of the Tucker Foundation, which organizes all the volunteer activities on campus. About one-third of the students devote time to programs like Big Brother/Big Sister, Adopt-A-Grandparent, Students Fighting Hunger, and Habitat for Humanity. To facilitate volunteering, the Tucker Foundation has cars that students can use to travel to their activities.

I see the Tucker Foundation as one of the moral and spiritual centers of Dartmouth. I volunteered as a book buddy, reading to and with a young boy, and then in the Adopt-A-Grandparent program, visiting a woman in a local nursing home. Both of these experiences taught me a great deal about the world beyond campus and also inspired me to spend a leave term volunteering full time. Funded by a Tucker grant, I worked at a legal services organization in Los Angeles. There I helped Holocaust survivors apply for reparations and counseled low-income people in need of free legal advice.

In addition to organizing—and often funding— volunteer activities, Tucker is also the umbrella under which all the campus religious organizations fall. Most recently, Dartmouth dedicated the new Roth Center for Jewish Life, which will provide space for Jewish religious services, an annual Holocaust commemoration, and social events.

Racial / Ethnic Groups

Dartmouth students also spend a lot of time participating in groups organized by particular racial or ethnic affiliations. Groups such as the Afro-American Society, The Dartmouth Asian Organization, The Korean-American Student Association, Africaso, Al-Nur, La Alianza Latina, and Native Americans at Dartmouth all have large memberships. The Dartmouth Rainbow Alliance, Dartmouth’s gay and lesbian organization, also tends to be a vocal force on campus.

Publications

Working on student publications is also popular. The Dartmouth, said to be the oldest college newspaper in the country, resides in the same building as Dartmouth’s AM and FM radio stations, which are completely student-run. The newspaper is supplemented by a number of specialty publications, including the Stonefence Reviewand Snapshots of Color(both literary magazines), Sports Weekly, Easterly Winds (the Dartmouth Asian Organization’s publication), and Black Praxis(the Afro-American Society’s publication). One recent interesting trend is the introduction of electronic magazines. Currently, there are two: Sense of Place, an environmental magazine, and SANDpaper, which is about the arts. The Dartmouth Review—the reason that so many outsiders mistakenly think of Dartmouth as a conservative bastion—is the mouthpiece of a small, but vocal few, but interest in it has been declining in recent years.

Campus Committees and Groups

Students also serve on campus committees, in the student government, and in organizations that try to educate the campus about problems that affect the Dartmouth campus, such as alcoholism, sexual assault, and eating disorders.

I was a member of SAFE, Students Against the Abuse of Food and Exercise. College-age women are so vulnerable about feeling that their bodies aren’t good enough, and they fall victim to eating disorders. We wanted to get the word out that the campus has excellent resources, which include nutrition experts and body image counselors.

Many also sing in one of the eight a cappellagroups on campus. For those who don’t sing, attending their shows is a favored pastime. (About now, you’re probably beginning to understand why that daily planner comes in handy.)

Hopkins Art Center

The Hopkins Center, or the “Hop,” designed by the architect who was responsible for both Lincoln Center and the U.N., is the hub of the arts on campus. Interestingly, it’s also the home of the campus mailboxes. They were put there, goes the rationale, so that students would be forced to take notice of all of the Hop’s artistic offerings. Besides housing three departments (art, music, and drama) and a jewelry studio, the Hop has incredible films, plays, and concerts. In a recent term, for example, the Hop played host to:

• Ang Lee (on campus for the U.S. debut of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)
• Wynton Marsalis
• Itzhak Perlman
• Oliver Stone

The hop also features movies; for a $20 pass, you could conceivably see about thirty-plus films per term.

Hood Museum

Dartmouth’s other cultural center is the Hood Museum, which houses over 60,000 college-owned artifacts. The collection, which draws over 40,000 visitors annually, is particularly strong in African and Native American Art, nineteenth- and twentieth-century painting, and contemporary art.

Parties, Carnivals, and Fun

OK, so Dartmouth students are busy, you say. But do they have any fun? The resounding answer to that question is yes. Dorm parties are a big deal first year, as are Homecoming (fall), Winter Carnival (winter), and Green Key Weekend (spring). Each fall, it’s the responsibility of the first-year class to build a big wooden structure in the center of the green—and make sure that it’s still standing on Friday night for the big bonfire. On that night, there’s also an alumni parade, many speeches no one hears, and lots of parties. Winter Carnival, perhaps Dartmouth’s most famous social tradition, is complemented by a huge snow sculpture on the green, and for the very brave, a dip in the local pond.

Besides the dorms, fraternities, sororities, and coed houses there are central party areas. First-years are banned from houses during their first term, but after that, anyone can go to almost any party (there are few “closed” events on campus). No one joins a fraternity, sorority, or coed house until sophomore year, however, but those who do generally form close relationships with the people in them. The merits of the primarily single-sex Greek system are heavily debated on campus, although for the time being it seems to be here to stay.

For those who aren’t into the Greek scene, there is a host of other social opportunities. The college often sponsors comedy clubs, hypnotists, concerts, and something called “casino night,” which tends to be incredibly popular with the high rollers on campus. And, contrary to popular belief, people do date at Dartmouth. However, the on-again, off-again nature of the D-plan—you’re there for nine months, and then gone for six—has been known to put a crimp in many a budding romance. Sorority and fraternity formals are popular date functions. Finally, right outside campus is the quaint town of Hanover, which has one good movie theater, a few bars, and a ton of reasonably affordable restaurants.

People always asked me what I found to do in Hanover, but the truth was, I was busy all the time. I loved the fact that my friends and I couldn’t go anywhere particularly exotic: it made us all so much closer to one another. Had there been the distraction of a big city, I’m not sure I would have formed the fabulous friendships that I did.

Dartmouth College Admissions

Dartmouth’s admissions process is selective. Dartmouth saw the highest surge of applications in the Ivy League in a recent year, and of the 13,938 students who applied for admission, only 2,186 (more than fifteen percent) were accepted. The middle fifty percent of the class had scores between 1350 and 1550.

Admissions, however, is not based on book smarts or academic standing alone. What distinguished the exceptional applicants admitted from the thousands of other qualified candidates is intellectual curiosity, and academic or extracurricular passion, and an eagerness to be a positive member of a diverse and international community. In essence, Dartmouth is looking for students who will add to the community, inside or outside of the classroom.

Dartmouth has eliminated the college application and now uses the Common Application for admissions. There is one particularly unique supplement to the Common Application that Dartmouth requires, however. In addition to two teacher recommendations, you’ll also need to solicit one of your more eloquent friends to write a peer evaluation. Dartmouth realizes that the best way to understand how you might interact in our community is to see how your peers in your own environment evaluate your contributions.

Alumni Interview

Conducted by one or more alums in the applicant’s home district, this personal conversation allows the student to convey their interests in the admissions process in ways that a written application might not easily facilitate. Dartmouth does not require an interview, nor does it favor students who have one with alumni.

I am still convinced that part of the reason I got into Dartmouth was because I wore a green shirt to my alumni interview. This was completely unplanned, but because the interviewers thought I was totally gung-ho, our session got off to a great start. We talked about everything from Clinton’s presidency to my SAT scores. I even told them I felt that I could chat with them for hours! Afterwards, one of the interviewers called me to congratulate me on doing so well. Dartmouth scored very big points with me that evening.

Early Decision

Finally, here’s one more bit of advice. If you’re completely psyched to go to Dartmouth, apply Early Decision by November 1. If admitted, you’ll be finished with the entire college application process in time for the holidays. Keep in mind that the Early Decision admissions process is binding, meaning that you have to go if you are admitted. Although the percentage of applicants accepted for Early Decision is typically slightly higher than that of the normal applicant pool, the selection process is comparably competitive.

When I realized that I needed to fulfill an art distributive, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I’m not exactly artistically inclined, but I found the perfect class. I enrolled in Greek Tragedy, which provided a unique alternative. Instead of creating or studying art in the forms of paintings or sculptures, we studied the art of performance in Ancient Greece. It suited me perfectly.

Dartmouth College Financial Aid

First, the bad news. Dartmouth is really expensive, as in, you could take a few trips to Europe and buy a new car for the price of going to school there for one year. Thankfully, though, there is some good news. Not only will Dartmouth meet 100 percent of your demonstrated financial need, but they have a need-blind admissions policy. That means your application is kept separate from your financial aid forms, so that admissions decisions are in no way based on how much you can or cannot pay. Basically, if Dartmouth wants you there, they’ll make sure you’re able to afford it.

In fact, approximately fifty percent of each entering class receives money from the college or other sources. These funds come in the form of grants, loans, and/or work-study. Just to give you an idea of what kind of figures we are talking about, the average scholarship grant for a recent class was over $28,000. Another interesting note: Dartmouth does not award academic, merit, or athletic scholarships. All aid is based solely on need.

Between my 10-hour-a-week work-study job in the cafeteria, student loans, and my family contribution, we were able to survive the first year at Dartmouth. The deal I worked out with my parents was that they’d cover the cost of the college bills not covered by loans, but books and spending money were my responsibility. I think it was a fair trade; they never sent me money, but I kept all that I earned.

Thanks to the fact that every incoming freshman is required to purchase a computer (or prove they have one compatible with Dartmouth’s system), expect your freshman year bill to be particularly high but well worth the expense. Not only does Dartmouth have a good deal worked out with the computer company to get you really good prices, but it’s virtually impossible to survive on campus without one.

Another thing that can complicate your financial future is the D-plan. Some students end up going to school for over a year without a summer break, and/or go abroad without having had sufficient time to earn extra money for the trip. Don’t worry. A financial aid officer can work with you to increase your loans or scholarship for that time period, or figure out some other way for you to meet costs. Extra money is often allotted for students on financial aid to study abroad.

When I found out that my summer internship in publishing was virtually unpaid ($25 a week doesn’t go far in New York), I had a meeting with my financial aid officer. Together, we worked out a schedule so that my loans would be a little higher for the coming term. I also spent two weeks in the spring working with Dartmouth’s commencement and reunions. This gave me a lot of overtime, which was exactly what I needed.

Dartmouth College Students

With everybody going to and fro so often, it might seem that Dartmouth would have a hard time fostering a sense of community on campus. Ironically, the opposite is true. Bonding begins early, in fact, before stu- dents even officially matriculate at Dartmouth. Over ninety percent of the incoming class elects to participate in a first-year trip sponsored by the Dartmouth Outing Club. Each group of eight to fifteen “first-years,” led by an upperclassman, faculty member, or school administrator, take to the woods for three days of hiking, canoeing, biking, and rock climbing. There are few rules, but one remains firm: no showers. After the three days are over, students convene at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge on Dartmouth’s Mt. Mousilauke (still no showers) to practice singing the alma mater, learn the Salty Dog Rag, and pay tribute the Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, class of 1925. (This is also where the green eggs and ham come into play.)

Dorm Life

Besides first-year trips, Dartmouth has an impressive network set up to unite incoming students. Organized by residence, each dorm floor has a U.G.A. (undergraduate advisor) who organizes movies and ice cream sessions, plus dorm formals and barbecues. Dorm life tends to be incredibly social during first year, although it undoubtedly lessens as the years go on. Surprisingly, however, even after first year, eighty-seven percent of students remain in the dorms. Many Dartmouth students are surprised to find that the dorms, for the most part, are far more spacious than other living quarters. More than one person typically would share more than one room, and private bathrooms (although not showers) are not uncommon. Plus, many have fireplaces, which is an especially appealing feature as you’re living through a long Hanover winter. As if freshman trips, hall-bonding, and a host of common interests weren’t enough, there’s one more thing that tends to unify a diverse group of undergraduates: a fondness for their school. Student satisfaction ratings are among the highest in the country, and tend to breed an odd phenomena: the “I-love-everything-that’s-green-and-related-to-Dartmouth” mentality. At first, anyway, it seems exceedingly hard to find anything you don’t like. Of course, Dartmouth students do not love it blindly. In the past years, issues of race and sexuality have sparked debates, as has the age-old issue of whether or not the Greek system should be abolished. And despite impressive numbers of students of color (they compose more than twenty-seven percent of the student body) and international students (they compose more than six percent of the student body), Dartmouth continually strives toward a communal balance of supporting affinities and interests with the institutional need of integrating students to enrich the intellectual discourse. As a perfect example, Dartmouth supports affinity housing (such as Cutter-Shabazz for students interested in learning more about African-American issues), but has the housing available to all students with genuine interest. Though Dartmouth issues reflect the issues in society, the sense of community yields a dialogue that is open and respectful. It is safe to say that Dartmouth students have a very real affinity for their school—not only during the years they attend, but in the years to follow.

“Blitz Me”

Before freshman week is over, Dartmouth students are baptized into one of the school’s most unique traditions—blitzmail. The Dartmouth version of e-mail, the on-line system is so incredibly popular—in part because everyone on campus is required to bring a computer or purchase one prior to matriculation. As a result, phone calls between Dartmouth students are virtually obsolete. Instead of phoning your friend to see if she’s free for dinner, you blitz her a message. (The fact that the word blitz is used as both noun and verb could cause linguistic confusion, yet oddly it never seems to. Dartmouth students think it perfectly natural to get a blitz, and then blitz that person back.)

Dartmouth Makeover

Thanks to a $27 million donation from John W. Berry ’44, the Baker Library (the largest on campus) has recently been expandedby about 125,000 square feet. The Baker-Berry Library now has expanded rooms for books, maps, and manuscripts; a multimedia reserve room; new carrels and computer workstations; high-tech classrooms; and even a cafe. Five hundred new beds have been added in two new residential clusters.

Dartmouth College Athletics

More than seventy-five percent of the campus participate in either intercollegiate, club, or intramural sports programs. The athletic center’s modern facilities include two pools, basketball courts, squash and racquetball courts, an indoor track, a weight-training room, a ballet studio, and a gymnastics area. Outside, there are tennis courts, an outdoor track, and the football stadium. Dartmouth also has its own skiway about twenty minutes from campus, and buses run to and from it six days a week during the winter. If you decide you want to ski, you can get a season pass to the skiway, a seasonal bus pass, and rent skis, all for about $200.

My skiing lessons were Tuesday mornings, and as I was headed up the lift, I always used to think how crazy it was that I was here skiing, when almost everyone else I knew was either in class or at work. Was I spoiled!

Dartmouth College Alumni

A few years ago, a rumor floated around campus that the average Dartmouth graduate makes $80,000 a year. While the figure was never completely confirmed, it’s probably not far off base. On average, Dartmouth churns out large numbers headed for lucrative jobs in investment banking and consulting; recently, more than 200 companies looked to Dartmouth to recruit prospective employees.

Of course, not everyone from Dartmouth heads off to the world of big business. Medical school and law school are both popular options for many recent grads, as are M.A.- or Ph.D.-tracked graduate programs. In a recent year, about twenty-five percent of the senior class was headed right back into school. Additionally, by the time they’ve been out of school for five years, about seventy-three percent will have gone back to some school.

The working crowd, meanwhile, tends to be attracted to jobs in education, social services, advertising, and publishing. Others teach English in foreign countries or head off to parts unknown with the Peace Corps.

Even with so many varied directions , the one thing you can be almost sure of with most Dartmouth graduates is that they’ll come back to Hanover at some point. Dartmouth has an incredibly strong alumni network, and Homecoming and reunions are always well- attended. The alumni magazine is one of the strongest in the country. Each class produces a newsletter several times a year.

Dartmouth graduates don’t just stay in touch with each other, either. They also stay in touch with the college. Over two-thirds of alumni contribute to Dartmouth’s alumni fund, making Dartmouth’s endowment one of the largest in the country. Alums also keep up with recent graduates. Dartmouth’s Career Services keep extensive files on alumni who are willing to be contacted about their jobs, and the networking connections are consistently strong. Dartmouth graduates tend to like their school, and like others who went to their school.

Prominent Grads

• Salmon P. Chase, Former Secretary of State
• Louise Erdrich, Author
• Robert Frost, Poet
• Buck Henry, Film Director
• Laura Ingraham, TV Commentator
• C. Everett Koop, Former Surgeon General
• Norman Maclean, Author
• Robert Reich, Former Secretary of State
• Nelson Rockefeller, former U.S. Vice President
• Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel), Author
• Andrew Shue, Actor
• Paul Tsongas, Former Senator
• Daniel Webster, Orator and Statesman

Since I’ve been out of college for over a year, I’m surprised in a way by how involved I still am with Dartmouth. I recently attended the twenty-fifth Anniversary of Coeducation and was heartened simply by the sight of so many bright, articulate women who shared my alma mater. Dartmouth has exposed me to so many wonderful ideas and people that I’m realizing it’s something I never want to give up.

Dartmouth College Faculty

Dartmouth has an incredibly strong faculty and student-faculty relationships are excellent. Classes for the most part are small. In fact, more than 75.5 percent of the 1,350 courses offered in a recent year had enrollments of fewer than thirty. Also, the most popular departments at Dartmouth tend to be the strongest, so you can expect to find a lot of history, English, government, chemistry, and language majors.

Carnegie Foundation Classification

Research Universities (very high research activity)

General Characteristics

Highest offering	Doctoral degree
Calendar System	Quarter
Years of college work required	N/A
Variable Tuition

Special Learning Opportunities

Distance Learning
ROTC — Army / Navy / Airforce	— / /
Study Abroad
Weekend College
Teacher Certification