Seniors in high school were not the only people nervously awaiting admission decision letters this spring; more Dartmouth seniors than in any recent year have applied to go directly into graduate school after graduation this June. Most of their nervousness, however, is unnecessary: grad schools say Dartmouth has shed its "Animal House" image and has emerged as a premier undergraduate academic institution.
With the economy way below the levels it was when the Class of 2003 began their freshman year at Dartmouth, more and more students are turning to graduate school instead of employment.
According to statistics provided by Director John Pryor of the Undergraduate Evaluation and Research department, 20 percent of Dartmouth students from the Class of 2002 went straight from Dartmouth to some form of graduate school and 65 percent said they planned to enroll in graduate school within the next five years.
Assistant Director of Career Services Marilyn Grundy, the department's graduate school adviser, said that while the official numbers were not in yet, she felt that there was probably an increase in the Class of 2003 over applicants to graduate schools from last year.
In particular, the number of Dartmouth students applying to law schools has been skyrocketing over the past few years, a trend typical of a down economy, according to Grundy.
These statistics are consistent with a national trend in the increase of law school applications. Northwestern University Law School reports that in the past four years the number of interviews granted annually for prospective candidates has nearly quadrupled.
Despite Dartmouth's traditional reputation as a party school, admissions officers generally viewed Dartmouth as comparable to its peer schools. Dennis Shields, associate dean of admissions and financial aid at Duke University, said he thought Dartmouth was "one of the finest undergraduate institutions in the country."
Though students may grumble about it, Shields said that he found Dartmouth's reporting of median grades for each class with more than 10 students and then denoting on transcripts how many classes the students was above, below or at the median during his or her career was very enlightening in the admissions process.
"I look at that on every Dartmouth transcript, and I find it very useful," Shields said of the median grade reporting. "I would be disappointed if Dartmouth ceased to do that."
Perry said she also found the median grade reporting to be helpful in gauging the rigor of a student's career at Dartmouth.
"There are some notorious places for grade inflation -- Dartmouth is not one of those places," Shields said.
"I wouldn't characterize Dartmouth's grade inflation as being any more than what its peer institutions have. Five or 10 years ago it could have trailed the other schools, but not anymore."
Also according to Evaluation and Research, the most popular post-graduate degrees for a Dartmouth graduate from the Class of 2002 to pursue were MA or MS degrees followed by, respectively, a law degree, a medical degree, a doctorate, "other degrees" and then lastly degrees in business, social work or engineering.
The lack of popularity of business school amongst the recently-graduated Class of 2002 is likely due to the fact that most business schools require candidates to gain a few years of work experience after completing their undergraduate degree.
Grundy cautioned students to keep an open mind in the search for the perfect graduate school match, especially with professional schools. She said she felt that too often, Dartmouth students were driven by U.S. News and World Report rankings as opposed to what would be the best fit for them.
The most frequent mistake Dartmouth students make in the graduate school process, according to Grundy, is "self-accessing them out of the process before they even to the research. Students too quickly say, 'That's not for me.'"
She also encouraged Dartmouth students to take advantages of all of the resources the College provides in our to make them the most marketable in graduate school admissions.
"The biggest resource Dartmouth students overlook is our faculty and alumni," Grundy said. Grundy also said students tend to look over financial resources such as national and international scholarships that they are eligible to apply for.
Both Career Services and professional school admissions officers agreed that high achievement in a major was more important than the major itself. Majors that differ from the traditional majors, such as government for law school or biology for medical school, do not preclude students from pursuing a particular professional degree.
"This is a liberal arts institution. You can major in anything," said Grundy.
"We have all majors coming to law school here at the University of Chicago. I don't think there is one major that is the perfect pre-law major. We have everything from music majors to hard science majors to English to policy," said Anne Perry, assistant dean for admissions at that university's School of Law.
Grundy said she thought that in general most Dartmouth students were satisfied with their final graduate school placement. "We don't see a lot of people talking to us about transferring," she said.
