The smallest of the Ivy League with just 4300 undergrads, Dartmouth is quite difficult to get in and has an extremely high retention rate and satisfied grads who give back to the school generously. Located in the small town of Hanover, NH it's just over the Vermont border and about 3.5 hours from VVille. While I was there, I happened to run in to Steven Wang (VHS '07) and had coffee with Billy Corbett (VHS '06). Amazingly, in 2008 we had 5 former students attending Dartmouth at the same time!
A unique feature about this college is "the Dartmouth Plan"- basically a quarterly calender that allows students flexibility to take just 3 classes at a time for 10 weeks. Typically, a student will attend 3 of the 4 quarters each year, including at least one summer quarter (New Hampshire is beautiful in the summer). Most students will spend at least 1 and up to 3 quarters abroad. The schedule also allows for internships during times when most college students are not available to intern, making the competition for spots almost nonexistent.
The Tuck School of Business and the Thayer School of Engineering offer popular majors. Current hot paths of study include International Studies as well as Global Health. Small classes but lots of opportunities for undergraduate research were points stressed during both the tour and info session.
Social life tends to be dominated by the Greeks. 60% of eligible students (sophs and older)are members of a frat or sorority. The school's student run newspapers might have one believe that debauchery was the rule on weekends, but academics are challenging and students must work hard to be successful. The are many artistic, athletic and altruistic options to follow for those who don't believe the school paper.
