Hi everyone,
I recently saw an online post about a student at Harvard who felt like they didn’t have close friends who supported them, but would use them for personal gain given the opportunity. Although I know it is not the case everywhere for everyone, it got me thinking about my dream Ivy. Can anyone speak to the atmosphere at Dartmouth- are the kids super competitive with one another or are they genuinely supportive and happy when their friends succeed?
I tend to describe Dartmouth students (from my own personal experience there) as very competitive, but internally competitive – that is to say they compete with themselves, not amongst themselves. It’s a highly motivated bunch but they are driven to succeed without comparing themselves to everyone else and, most importantly, without trying to beat the person next to them. I consistently had other students help me on homework and explain concepts after class during their own free time to help me do better, and me to them as well. There was never an air of “I’m number 1, you’re number 2 so I can’t help you because class rank is all that matters”
That’s one reason why I loved it. Everyone was always willing to help out and collaborate, not compete.
Thank you so much- that was exactly what I was looking and hoping for. 
Dartmouth doesn’t really have a cutthroat reputation. Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia do.
@MBVLoveless Replace Columbia with Cornell.