Hispanic Magazine named Dartmouth tenth on its list of the top 25 colleges for Latinos in its March 2006 issue. The College was selected for its variety of Latino student programs and overall commitment to diversity. The magazine's criteria included both overall academic excellence and selectivity and how well institutions cater to Latino students.
"We are very pleased about Hispanic Magazine's choice to rank Dartmouth in the top ten," Alexander Hernandez-Siegel, associate dean of student life and advisor for Latino students said. "I feel that it will put the College's name and reputation in more Latino communities around the country."
The piece of the article that focused on Dartmouth acknowledged "student programs such as the Diversity Peers Program and Latino Student Advisor" as indicative of a commitment to diversity.
"We looked at dozens and dozens of schools and then we created a comparison on scales looking at everything from selectivity and admissions to the criteria of the last admitted class," Marissa Rodriguez, the article's author, said.
The magazine crosslisted its own picks with those of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education's list and the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
In addition to considering selectivity, graduation rate and yield, Rodriguez cited resources, programs and organizations for Hispanic students as important in their holistic evaluation of institutions.
The magazine also looked at how active Hispanic students are on campus.
"We considered cultural organizations that Hispanic students took it upon themselves to create," Rodriguez said. "What had Hispanic students done there to make themselves feel more a part of campus?"
"Even compared to the schools ranked higher than us, we do far more," Hernandez-Siegel said. "The personal outreach we do -- we try to reach the student on an individual level. There's a personalized education here, with the size of Amherst or Williams, but the resources of Princeton."
Dartmouth has both student-led and administrative-run programs on campus geared toward Latinos. Among Dartmouth's offerings that cater to Hispanic students are five Latino student organizations, a Latino studies program, a Latino alumni organization, two affinity houses and an Advisor for Latino Students.
One organization, La Alianza Latina, strives to promote a support network for Latino students and promote Latino issues and cultural awareness on campus.
According to Soralee Ayvar '07, president of La Alianza Latina and intern of the Office of the Advisor to Latino Students, La Alianza Latina has weekly meetings, mentoring programs and dinner discussions targeted towards the Latino community.
The Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies house is also an important resource, some students say.
Dartmouth's Association of Latino Alumni, officially recognized this year, also helps enrich Latino students' experiences. The organization mentors current students, helps provide professional opportunities, and often sends speakers to give talks on campus. "They are an arm of support for students when they leave here," Hernandez-Siegel said.
The LALACS program provides an academic component of Hispanic students' experiences, offering cross-disciplinary courses. Additionally, the department tries to integrate itself with the Latino community at Dartmouth.
"When the LALACS house sponsors an event, we try to contribute financially or participate in the event," Israel Reyes, chair of LALACS said.
Lectures, discussions and conferences focusing on Latino issues are often held on campus. The fourth annual New England Latino Student Leadership Conference will be held here this year.
Although the magazine looked at schools with at least a five percent Hispanic enrollment, they had no other criteria which would limit institutions eligible for consideration.
"It was just to make sure there was some sort of percentile significance to the student population. Nothing else was an absolute requirement, such as to have an elaborate Spanish department or Chicano studies department," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also cited that the College provides strong support to students that enables them to succeed in a competitive atmosphere.
While Hernandez-Siegel felt that the college provides the best experience it can for Latino students, Reyes said that "as far as bringing in faculty here on campus, that's an area where the College could do more."
Harvard, Princeton, Amherst, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Pomona, MIT and Columbia were all ranked ahead of Dartmouth. All other ivy-league schools but Cornell were included on the list.
