ED at Dartmouth?

ayzdad
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:59:10 +0000

I don’t think your freshman year will hold you back, so your chances are as good as most other applicants. Understand that your chances of getting in being are good as most applicants means that you have about an 11% chance, or maybe less, of getting admitted-- because that’s Dartmouth’s admit rate (as of last year) and most of the applications look very much like yours. I say maybe less because you have to figure that 11% includes minorities, legacies, jocks, etc. and if you’re none of those your chances are less.

Also, consider that a school like Dartmouth will have some intangibles in their evaluation criteria, because they are looking for a certain type of student. When my daughter and I visited Dartmouth (she’s at Pomona now) they made it clear that they are looking for students that excel at and have a passion for something in particular-- I heard this from admissions officers at other Ivy League schools (other top schools, like Pomona, will look for strengths and interests that are multidisciplinary). You seem to have a focus on writing in certain areas and have something to show for it in way of publications, so make the most of that. Consider starting a political/history publication at your school, make yourself and your friends that are not applying to Dartmouth co-editors in chief, and that may get special notice by the admissions officer. You’d have to get moving on that pretty quickly, however.

Finally, you’d better do an overnite stay at Dartmouth before you apply ED, to make sure the social life is to your liking. Dartmouth plays down the ‘Animal House’ legacy, but frat parties are still the center of the social life at Dartmouth, and it’s not for everyone.