<p>What I think people don’t realize is that intensity of political activity matters as well. For better or for worse, even though a lot of people at Dartmouth may have political opinions, if you’re expecting a sort of activist campus, Dartmouth isn’t it – right or left.</p>
<p>As for the culture, I think that is very hard to explain verbally. It’s absolutely true that you don’t have to be the stereotypical preppy WASP to thrive at Dartmouth – but I think it’s also true that</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s a lot easier to thrive if you are a stereotypical preppy WASP</li>
<li>It’s harder to thrive if you don’t participate in the Greek system (which I think is linked – but not necessarily causally – with why so many people whom you normally wouldn’t expect to rush elsewhere rush at Dartmouth)</li>
<li>Unless you join a minority-affiliated Greek org (incidentally Asians are the only minority I think with a very active and mainstream Greek house, Tri-Kap), as a minority it’s easy to get swallowed up by the white-boy frat culture that will indubitably exist in some way within the house</li>
</ol>
<p>I would recommend visiting but after some years here, I would say it’s still very difficult to understand campus culture here in the span of only a few days. It’s not what it first appears to be.</p>