<p>We did have the opportunity to attend the convocation, something we did not do last year as we left prior to orientation. It was nice to see the '15s all anxious to begin their college career. The photo shoot took place at Dartmouth Hall during a short break in the rain. The stores on the west side of West Lebanon were closed, apparently due to damage from Hurricane Irene, leaving a busy and depleted Walmart as the only option for dorm supplies. BTW, dinner at the Canoe Club was OK. Lunch at Louâs was awesome. Heard some new complaints about the dining hall being overcrowded, lines everywhere during peak times. Nothings perfect, but it certainly dampens the experience. Aloha. -MPI</p>
<p>My D 14 headed to Hanover early this year as she was a trip leader and is an RA. She said that being able to participate in trips and orientation for a second year made her âfall in love with Dartmouth all over again!â That school really knows how to welcome the newbies! As for rush, sheâs a nervous wreck. Itâs such a stressful process. I heard the guys have it easier. Hopefully all will work out for the best for everyone. I get to head up there tomorrow to bring her some supplies. I love that place, too!</p>
<p>Lucky! My S has not expressed interest in rushing. We will see. Have a great weekend there and I hope you get to go to the football game!</p>
<p>I have really been enjoying watching âThe Sing Offâ! The Dartmouth Aires are wonderful. I hope they continue to be successful on the showâŠ</p>
<p>The sing off was an unexpected surprise. The Dartmouth Aires are doing great! Watching Bloomberg news for the debate. Great weather in Hanover.</p>
<p>Magnum, thanks for posting the channel the debate is on. I couldnât find it anywhere. I wanted to see the introduction when they showed Hanover. Oh well. Totally agree on the Dartmouth Aires. When we saw them perform during first family weekend, I thought they were incredibly talented. I hope they win!</p>
<p>I am so glad rush is over. It was a very stressful week for the girls and very time consuming (not sure if the boys found it to be as stressful). D pledged a sorority, but she said the drop out rate was very high, and some kids did not get bids. I know Dartmouth is considering adding another sorority. I hope they do so soon. Dartmouth is such a warm, friendly, inclusive place, and it would be nice if there were enough places for all the girls.</p>
<p>Hi Dumbo11! Glad to hear your D is doing so well. and she got in. S rushed 1 frat at the last minute, and didnât get a bid. He was OK with it, as a non-drinker non-party type, he said 1 night of guy flirting was enough for himâŠ! He did it for the experience. He is focused on the many other academic pursuits that Dartmouth offers. Whew! I think I also dodged another financial bullet. The Debate is a great showcase of Dartmouth. As I talk to parents of HS seniors, they always overlook Dartmouth, thinking only of HYP, and maybe Columbia and Penn. I tell them their kid may miss out on a special place. I am so glad my S wanted the rural small-college town environment. </p>
<p>Also, what dorm did your D end up in this year? My S is in Wheeler and loves the central location. Aloha, MPI</p>
<p>Iâm supposed to talk to my D tonightâŠcanât wait to hear about how much of a circus Hanover was yesterday with the debate in town. She did end up pledging a sorority and is looking forward to meeting lots of new people. She also mentioned how many girls were left out when bid time came, which she found disheartening. As for the Aires, Iâm heading up to Wolfeboro this weekend to see them performâŠreally looking forward to it! Saw them last year at Family WeekendâŠthey, and all the groups, are so much fun to watch!</p>
<p>Magnum, the impression I get from my S is that most of those who pledge his house have usually forged some level of relationship with the house starting freshman year. But his house is one of the quirkier, more laid back ones, not the kind of place that tends to attract those who are looking for I-banking connections and not associated with a sports team. I have the impression that there is a high degree of self-selection. It is not one of the places that is highly-ranked for social capital amongst the freshmen on <a href=âmailto:B@Bâ>B@B</a>. :)</p>
<p>They seem to get smaller pledge classes fall term than some others, but then typically pick up a number of pledges winter and spring term. So if your S is interested in a house or houses, he might want to hang around a bit and get to know more brothers and see what happens going forward. Or maybe he should look around a bit more. Being open-minded about houses rather than going to the one or two that freshmen hear are the âbestâ often results in kids finding a more congenial home in the long run. </p>
<p>Just like college admissions! :D</p>
<p>Consolation, I figured there was more to the rush than showing up. He told me that many frats are geared to sports teams and career interests. I am sure it will play out for the best. Right now he is settling in on his major and looking for an internship in the spring.</p>
<p>Looks like our next chapter is coming up as our D graduates from Wellesley in the spring and is mulling over career issuesâŠ</p>
<p>Hi Magnum! I am sorry rush did not work out for your son, but it sounds like he is not letting it bother him, which is good. I think Consolation is right. From what I gather, if a boy is not connected to a sport, he usually has to hang around and get to know the brothers to get a bid. The good news is there are other opportunities to rush if he should decide he wants to try again, and since some of his '14 friends will now be in a house, it should make the process easier. At least in theory. Garnets, glad things worked out for your daughter. It would be funny if they are in the same house. My D ended up in a house she did not know much about, and she is really enjoying it and couldnât see herself anywhere else. She is meeting lots of new people, which is always nice.</p>
<p>Magnum, D ended up living in the River apartments. She got lucky and had a great housing number, and there were still some available before room draw. The location isnât great, but the set up is perfect. Each apt has 4 bedrooms, then they have a very large furnished living space, full kitchen and nice bath. She has a bike, so she doesnât mind the location, and she thinks it was worth it to live with 3 good friends (all from her first year floor). Right now she is debating what to do winter term. She would love to find an internship, but she really doesnât want to leave Hanover and miss all the fun. Although the D plan is great in many ways, I think itâs hard on the kids to be off when their friends are on. Good luck to your son finding an internship. I am heading to Hanover for homecoming, and I am so excited you would think I was an alumnae.</p>
<p>Dumbo, my D also ended up in a sorority that was not the one she thought sheâd be interested in going in to the processâŠshe said that it was true for some of her friends as well. I had advised her from the beginning to keep an open mindâŠmaybe this was the one time in her life she actually took my advice! 
She also feels the same way as your daughter does about taking a term off this yearâŠshe doesnât want to miss anything! She has to take off the spring term as sheâs on ski patrol and obviously has to be around in the winter. Sheâs thinking about possibly staying in Hanover and doing research, but Iâm sure sheâll change her mind 50 times before then. She did, however, firm up her housing for Sophomore Summer off campusâŠsheâs way better than me in planning ahead!</p>
<p>You guys are great! I wish we were closer so that we could visit more often. I will be sending S a huge box of ti leaves for the Homecoming football game against Columbia. Have your kids look for them in the student section!</p>
<p>you can see the ti leaves in the ârecent photosâ link above from last yearâs homecoming game.</p>
<p>Magnum, that is so cool. I didnât even know CC had a photo option. I will look for him at the game. And thanks for the kind wordsâŠit would be great if we could get together more often. I was just happy to see the thread updates recently. Garnets, glad your D took your advice. Things have a way of working out for the best, even if we donât think so at the time. It was so smart of her to already find off campus housing for sophomore summer. I know my D canât wait for summer term (aka Camp Dartmouth). </p>
<p>Magnum, good luck to your D in her job hunt. I hope she finds exactly what she wants.</p>
<p>My daughter has listed Dartmouth as one of her possible schools. We have not been able to visit, and all we hear about is HYP etc. I was wondering if you could give me some feedback as to if your children are happy there. Also, I know my daughter wants a very social school with Greek life and sports. Do they have a good amount of this at Dartmouth. Any help would be great!!!</p>
<p>Naggingmama: I canât rave enough about Dartmouth. My D is a second year student at DM, and she absolutely loves it! Honestly, she doesnât feel there could be a better place on earth for her college experience. Whatâs special about Dartmouth? To start with, itâs ranked #1 for undergraduate education. What that means in real life is the professors are great; they really care about their students and take time outside of class to ensure each student understands the material and thrives in the classroom. Classes are small, the students are engaging. Academically, DM is tops. Socially, DM is again tops. Greek life is abundant on campus, and parties are open. What that means is everyone can attend. You do not need to be a member of the house. There is always something going on, from frat parties to performances, etc. Since you havenât visited yet, I will try to describe Hanover. First, think safe. That was one of my main concerns as a parent. Kids can walk everywhere and feel safe. Hanover is a beautiful, quaint New England town with a small town feel. The campus is gorgeous. In terms of sports, Dartmouth offers all Division 1 sports (except football has a different division, I believe). Itâs not big 10, but for a small school, they have wonderful support and enthusiasm. DM kids are very proud of their school and they show it. Dartmouth is a very special place. Try and visit if you can. I donât know how they do it, but the students that choose to attend are nice, friendly and not pretentious at all. I canât say enough about this school.</p>
<p>I am the father of a 2013 high school grad who is looking seriously at Dartmouth. We visited the school this past summer and met with one of the assistant coaches in the sport for which she is hoping to be recruited (yes, Iâm being deliberately vague). We loved the coach and appreciated the beauty of the surroundings (though we were unimpressed by what passes for a âburritoâ in NH â thatâs a state that needs some more Mexicans!). My concerns are (1) the distance â how have other parents of CA kids dealt with having their daughters (especially) so far away? (2) I have heard from other Ivy grads that Dartmouth is more male-dominated than other campuses, with a hard-drinking, hard-partying core culture that young women have to join, at least to some extent, in order to fit in; and (3) although this is related to (2), my sense is that given Dartmouthâs relative isolation, and the long New England winters, hard drinking might be âthe only game in townâ for students for much of the school year. </p>
<p>My daughter is attractive, smart (sheâd be in the running, even without her sport, but weâre of course hoping the sport will help get her in), athletic, and reasonably social, but she is by no means an extrovert. She hasnât tried alcohol or drugs â that I know of, anyway â and seems to me to be disinclined to embrace the âdrink til you hurl, then drink some moreâ school of partying. She has lived in CA her entire life; weâve traveled some, but her first NE winter would be daunting. </p>
<p>My bottom line: I donât want to pay a fortune (Iâm a prosecutor, and tuition at Dartmouth would be a stretch) to send my daughter across the country to a place where she ends up having to choose between hurl-and-grope parties or studying alone in her room. </p>
<p>Any thoughts/perspectives from similarly-situated parents? Thanks.</p>
<p>Really extreme characterization of the social scene. Most girls drink quite moderately, if at all, and there is no pressure at all to drink to join a sorority (rush is dry).</p>
<p>Relax - Dartmouth, despite its reputation, is still an Ivy League school composed largely of (former) nerds. Itâs really not that extreme, though we do put most of the other Ivies to shame. Their social scenes are just pathetic in comparison.</p>
<p>CatherinesDad, my D is a 14 (sophomore) who absolutely adores Dartmouth. She went through hs âreasonablyâ social as wellâŠlots of friends who were not partiers. Iâm 99.99% sure that before college she did not drink or do drugs. I have to say that she learned to like beer once in Hanover but is open about it with us and as far as I know sheâs pretty responsible (other than illegally drinking, I guess!) The frat scene is pretty big at D but in no way the only game in town. D says that she never feels pressured to drink and that many people donât and play pong with water. That being said, itâs college and there will be drinking on all campuses, frats or no frats. My D definitely enjoys the Greek scene, but I get the feeling from talking with her that she spends plenty of weekend nights (and seemingly prefers) just hanging out with her friends in dorms and houses, both guys and girls. The key is to get involved in a variety of things, be they sports or clubs, and meet a variety of people. If your daughter is smart and level-headed, sheâll find plenty of like-minded people. That would be true on any campus. The Dartmouth sterotype in my opinion is just thatâŠan oft-quoted stereotype. I have never visited a campus that is more welcoming, friendly, fun, and open. Its location and size play a large part in that. Kids have to embrace its isolation (and cold, and snow!) and some of Dartmouthâs other oddities (like a quarter system, Sophomore Summer, etc.) and because of them they form, from what I understand, an incredible community. The outdoors plays a big role up thereâŠthe Outing Club is very active and my D does lots of biking, hiking, and skiing. Hopefully your daughter would be able to spend a weekend there if she seriously considers applying and get a feel for things herself, tho Iâm sure it would be tough coming from CA! Good luck with the process!</p>