The quarter system at Dartmouth is another factor that differentiates the two schools. Middlebury adheres to a more traditional semester schedule although it offers a one block January term in between fall and spring semesters. Many Dartmouth students like the flexibility of being on campus during the summer and off during other parts of the year. Middlebury students love their Jan plan and seem to build strong community throughout the academic year. When my D visited Dartmouth she saw a lot of diversity but she didn’t see much interaction among the various groups. Perhaps what she observed was an anomaly but it stuck with her. She felt far more campus wide community at Middlebury.