Thousands of high school seniors will have their revenge on the college application process this weekend. As the May 2 postmark acceptance deadline approaches, students can turn the tables, rejecting schools where they choose not to matriculate.
While many accepted students spent their high-school careers hoping to please admissions officers, the roles have reversed since the mailing of decision letters. Completing a full circle, some members of the College spent part of last weekend literally dancing around for the amusement of prospective members of the Class of 2009.
Despite the games, students are discovering that choosing is harder than it might seem.
"Thank God it's all over," said Raymond Rodriguez, future '09. He recently decided to begin his Dartmouth career in the fall, and said he could not be happier to complete the admissions process.
But many high school seniors are still agonizing over their decisions as the deadline quickly approaches. A variety of issues weigh on applicants' minds, ranging from academic opportunities to location and social scene. The location of Dartmouth was particularly polarizing for students considering the College.
"I'm just a city person at heart, and I think I'd get cabin fever from being in Hanover for four years," prospective '09 Siobhan Atkins said. He decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania next year.
Dartmouth's rural setting certainly isn't a negative for everyone. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the campus "what a college should look like," and many of the accepted applicants seem to agree.
"It is a great location," said Kimia Shahi, a prospective '09 who plans to matriculate in the fall.
Many other issues are weighing heavily on the minds of students trying to decide before the deadlines. Making life even more difficult, some of the factors playing a role in the decision making process are not easily quantifiable.
"In the end, I think that it comes down to what feels right and Dartmouth felt like a perfect fit for me," Madhavi Menon prospective '09 said.
While the College crows about top-notch athletic facilities and multi-million-dollar physical plant improvements, Dartmouth received a significant boost in the minds of Menon and a few hundred other applicants earlier this spring at the cost of only 37 cents per student.
"Getting a letter in early March telling me that my acceptance was likely made me all the more eager to come to Dartmouth," Menon said.
Comments like that please admission officers. Looking for a yield rate of about 50 percent, the Admissions Office spent Dimensions weekend trying to accurately and positively portray the Dartmouth experience.
"Students were saying that ours was the best weekend that they'd attended," Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg said. "From my standpoint, the weekend went very well."
Almost 500 people trying to finalize their college plans attended Dimensions this year, a slight increase from last year. Students were also able to spend more time in class, attending classes on Thursday and Friday instead of just on Friday, as in years past.
The Admissions Office will start to get an idea of yield and demographics of the Class of 2009 toward the end of next week.
