Dartmouth College
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Dartmouth College - Greek Life - College ProwlerCollege Prowler5.00

Greek Life

Quick Stats

Undergrad Men in Fraternities 43%
Undergrad Women in Sororities 40%
Number of Fraternities 16
Number of Sororities 10

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Because of Dartmouth’s extreme isolation and veritable lack of alternative social outlets, the College’s Greek system has remained a powerful and enduring campus institution for decades. Fraternities—and to some extent sororities and other coed social clubs—at Dartmouth have historically stepped in to fill the after-hours void in most students’ schedules—a fact which shows little sign of changing as time goes on. While fostering friendships and facilitating relaxation are certainly positive contributions in a high-pressure environment like Dartmouth, the Greek system is ultimately a negative force on campus, simply because it is so unsupervised. At least this is the administration’s take on the matter, much to the chagrin of many alumni who support Greek life and its many appertaining excesses. If you were to ask most thoughtful Dartmouth students how they honestly feel about the Greek system, many would probably express ambivalence and perhaps a little bewilderment.

Most Dartmouth frat houses are in appalling physical condition. They are positively unsanitary and probably a little unsafe—certainly not the kinds of places parents would want their little Ivy Leaguer spending too much time, much less living in. Dartmouth is unique among its peers in many respects, and its approach to partying is certainly no exception to the rule. The extent to which Dartmouth’s obsession with frat life and alcohol detracts from its status as a serious, academic institution is probably the most disturbing thing about the Dartmouth Greek system. While the old Animal House days can only be relived on celluloid, Greek houses still have a commanding presence over the Dartmouth social scene. Frats remain a trenchant and entrenched part of Dartmouth culture, despite administration's efforts to diminish their influence through a somewhat weak-willed Student Life Initiative. Upperclass students, especially girls, find themselves a little jaded with the frat scene, but, for the most part, underclass students consider it a blessing.

 

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Dartmouth Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Greek Life at Dartmouth College

Texasgirl15

'15

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

4.6
A

Inclusive

Anyone can go to any of the frats and hang out, play a game of pong, or dance. It's so different from the exclusive Greek life at southern state schools. I love it!

Feb 05, 2012

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Greek Life at Dartmouth College

skierbiker91

'14

Mathematics

4.6
A

Very Prevalent

Definitely a big part of campus, but it's possible to get away.

Mar 11, 2011

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Greek Life at Dartmouth College

mgmccue

'11

Neuroscience

4.6
A

Greeks Totally Dominate the Scene

Dartmouth is a very Greek centric community. If you aren't in to that kind of thing you will be fine though. There are plenty of students who don't join a house - but over 60% do end up joining.

Oct 12, 2010

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

What is Greek life’s role in the campus social scene?

What is the general attitude of non-Greeks toward Greeks?

What kind of housing is available for Greek students?

How difficult is it to get into a fraternity or sorority?

Facts

Fraternities
  • Alpha Chi Alpha
  • Alpha Delta
  • Alpha Phi Alpha
  • Beta Theta Pi
  • Bones Gate
  • Chi Gamma Epsilon
  • Chi Heorot
  • Gamma Delta Chi
  • Kappa Kappa Kappa
  • Lambda Upsilon Lambda
  • Phi Delta Alpha
  • Psi Upsilon
  • Sigma Alpha Epsilon
  • Sigma Nu
  • Sigma Phi Epsilon
  • Theta Delta Chi
Sororities
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha
  • Alpha Phi
  • Alpha Pi Omega
  • Alpha Xi Delta
  • Delta Delta Delta
  • Epsilon Kappa Theta
  • Kappa Delta Epsilon
  • Kappa Kappa Gamma
  • Sigma Delta
  • Sigma Lambda Upsilon
Multicultural Colonies
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha
  • Alpha Phi Alpha
  • Alpha Pi Omega
  • Lambda Upsilon Lambda
  • Sigma Lambda Upsilon
Other Greek Organizations
  • Alpha Theta
  • Coed Council
  • Greek Leaders Council Interfraternity Council
  • Panhellenic Council
  • Phi Tau
  • The Tabard
Did You Know?

Animal House writer Chris Miller based the famous Delta chapter after Dartmouth’s own Alpha Delta.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Dartmouth

Name: Kirk Greenwood

Hometown: Warrington, PA

Major: Comparative Literature

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