Dartmouth College, USA

Ranked #1 for undergraduate teaching for five consecutive years by US News & World Report, DC offers a unique academic calendar of four ten-week terms per year  Summiya yasmeen

A member of the prestigious group of eight Ivy League American universities including Harvard and Yale, Dartmouth College (DC, estb.1769) is a top-ranked private varsity offering a rigorous four-year liberal arts undergrad degree programme and research-intensive postgraduate and doctoral education. The US News and World Report ranks Dartmouth #11 nationwide in its rankings of America’s Best Colleges 2015, and Times Higher Education ranks DC among the world’s Top 200 universities in its World University Rankings 2015. Dartmouth’s undergraduate college with more than 40 departments and the graduate schools of arts and sciences, medicine, engineering, and business offer study programmes to 6,298 students instructed by 3,136 faculty.

Ranked #1 for undergrad teaching for five consecutive years (2009-13) by US News and World Report, the college’s widely acclaimed four-year liberal arts undergrad programme encourages students to combine one of more than 50 majors with minors, fine-tune a major with another discipline, or design a special major. Moreover, its unique academic calendar of four ten-week terms provides undergrads the opportunity to engage in research, intern, or study abroad.

Founded in 1769 by the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, DC — one of the nine colonial colleges founded before the American Revolution — became co-educational in 1972, and was identified by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton as one of the world’s “most enduring institutions” in 2004. Sited on a 269-acre campus in Hanover, two and a half hours by road from Boston, Dartmouth follows a needs-blind admissions policy. In 2014, it awarded scholarships valued at $78 million (Rs.495.6 crore). DC boasts an endowment corpus of $4.47 billion (Rs.28,402 crore).

Hanover. Sited in west New Hampshire in the scenic Upper Valley on the banks of the winding Connecticut River, Hanover (pop.11,260) was adjudged America’s sixth ‘best place to live in’ by CNN and Money in 2011. The picturesque town offers a plethora of entertainment, dining, shopping, and outdoor sports experiences. Attractions include the Montshire Museum of Science, Hood Museum of Art, and Marsh-Billings Rockefeller Park. From Dartmouth College books and apparel to sporting goods shops and art galleries, the Upper Valley offers an array of independently-owned boutiques, bookstores, and department stores. Over 500 ski slopes on the scenic Appalachian Mountains are a short drive away as are the cities of Boston and Connecticut.

The climate of Hanover is typically temperate with weather fluctuations characteristic of the New England area. Temperatures vary between 25oC in summer to -12oC in winter when snowfall is common.

Campus facilities. The epicentre of DC’s 269-acre campus is its five-acre ‘Green’, a former field of pine trees cleared by the college in 1771, where students, faculty, and staff cross paths several times a day. Campus buildings vary in age from the Wentworth and Thornton Halls of the 1820s to new dormitories and math labs completed in 2006. Most of Dartmouth’s 130 buildings are of Georgian American colonial architecture, but offer thoroughly contemporary academic infrastructure.

Landmarks include the Hopkins Center for the Arts (theatres, auditorium), Baker Memorial Library, and Sherman Fairchild Physical Science Center. Sited on the northern side of the Green, Baker’s Tower which rises to 200 ft, is the iconic symbol of DC.

Dartmouth’s nine libraries house an aggregate 2.48 million printed volumes and 6 million resources, including videos, maps, sound recordings, and photographs. The main Baker-Berry library is supplemented by specialised libraries including biomedical libraries, Evans map room, Feldberg Business & Engineering Library, Jones Media Center, Kresge Physical Sciences, Paddock Music, Rauner Special Collections, and Sherman Art libraries.

DC’s lavish athletic and recreational facilities include a skating rink, squash and racquetball courts, two indoor swimming pools, a sailing club, the Zimmerman Fitness Centre, Alexis Boss Tennis Center (six courts), a golf course and numerous multi-purpose spaces. Moreover, there are over 160 student groups and organisations which conduct a plethora of social and cultural events through the year.

Admission. In 2015, Dartmouth received 19,296 undergraduate applications, of which 1,152 were accepted. The eligibility requirements for admission into its undergrad programmes are successful completion of class XII and English language proficiency — TOEFL or IELTS scores are required. In addition, students are required to submit SAT Reasoning or ACT (with writing) and two SAT Subject test scores; two essays (Common Application Essay and Dartmouth Writing Supplement); secondary school report with transcript and school profile; counselor recommendation and two teacher evaluations.  The completed common application form (www.commonapp.org) together with a fee of $80 must be submitted before January 1 for admission into term beginning September. Dartmouth follows a needs-blind admissions policy with the college committed to meet 100 percent of demonstrated needs of students.

For further information, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, 6016, McNutt Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755; Ph: +1 603 646-2875: Fax: +1 603 646-1216; email: admissions.application@dartmouth.edu; website: www.dartmouth.edu.

Accommodation. Nearly 90 percent of Dartmouth undergrads live on-campus in halls of residence — co-ed, fraternity, sorority, or undergraduate society houses, and ‘affinity’ houses which host students with shared academic or personal interests. Amenities include a common kitchen, study and lounge spaces, and laundry facility.

Degree programmes. Dartmouth’s undergraduate arts and sciences and engineering departments, and four graduate schools offer a range of study programmes (see box).