Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
A Guide to This Small, Liberal Arts, Ivy League School
If you're looking for an intimate campus with rigorous academics, close contact with professors and incredible foreign-study opportunities, consider Dartmouth College.
Where is Dartmouth College?
Dartmouth is located in Hanover, New Hampshire (population 11,000). Its campus is adjacent to the Connecticut River, which borders Vermont. Hanover is about 2.5 hours' drive northwest from Boston, Massachusetts; 1.5 miles' drive southeast from Burlington, Vermont and 5 hours' drive northeast from New York City. Nestled in the White Mountains, Hanover is a charming town in the "Upper Valley" of the state and surrounded by the White Mountains. For students coming from urban centers, you may be in for a bit of a culture shock! But there is something incredibly comforting about small-town living during the college years (and you can always return to the "big city" after graduation).
What basic information should I know about Dartmouth?
- Founded in 1789
- Enrollment: About 4,100 undergraduate; 1,600 graduate
- Type of school: Private, liberal arts
- Departments: 29 academic departments in the undergraduate college
- Academic calendar: Four terms, year-round
- Undergraduate tuition and fees for 2007/8: $34,965; more than half of all undergrads receive financial aid
- Competition for admission is steep: For the class of 2011, there were 14,176 applications, 2,167 admissions and about 1,100 will enroll
What's life at Dartmouth like?
Dartmouth’s intimate size means full professors teach the large majority of undergraduate classes, not grad students. You can expect access to your instructors via professors’ mandatory “office hours,” when you can drop by to discuss classroom matters.
More than 90 percent of undergraduates live in campus housing, whether that’s a residence hall, Greek house or approved College society. Freshmen must live on campus. First-years either live in a “first-year cluster” with other frosh, or in mixed-class halls with upperclassmen.
The Greek scene is pretty big; it’s been a part of the College for more than 150 years. There are 27 organizations: 15 fraternities, 9 sororities and 3 co-ed groups.
Athletics and outdoor programs are huge. More than 80 percent of the undergraduate student body participates in some sort of athletic or outdoor pursuit, whether it’s in a varsity sport, an intramural sport or club sport. The Dartmouth Outdoor Club is the largest student organization on campus.
Clubs and student organizations run the gamut from drama, dance and drumming groups to yearbook, daily newspaper and student government. There are more than 200 recognized clubs and organizations on campus.
The campus population is diverse: Students come from 50 states and 53 countries. More than 27 percent of student body are of color.
What areas of study is Dartmouth best known for?
Dartmouth undergrads receive a well rounded liberal arts education, and earn a Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation. Pick from more than 50 different majors, from African and African American Studies to Women’s and Gender Studies. Students can also earn a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Thayer School of Engineering.
What's special about Dartmouth?
- The remote location of the campus promotes a sense of community and class spirit. After their sophomore year, students are required to spend the summer on campus, which gives class members the chance to really bond and enjoy a really fun term in Hanover.
- Its festive traditions—from a bonfire at Homecoming to wearing football shirts with class years on them at each autumn game—date back for decades.
- The majority of students spend at least one term abroad, studying, for example, the Spanish language in Mexico, the environment in Africa or philosophy in Scotland.
- The alumni network is incredibly strong—helpful for job networking after graduation.
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