Despite the overhauls to the financial aid program announced in January, Dartmouth was ranked 18th out of 368 colleges for "Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid" in the 2009 edition of The Princeton Review's Best 368 Colleges. The new edition, released Tuesday, also rated Dartmouth 17th on the "Colleges with a Conscience" list, and gave the College high academic and admissions ratings.
"We were surprised to see that The Princeton Review listed financial aid as an 'area for improvement' at Dartmouth, especially since we have implemented so many enhancements to financial aid over the past few years," Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
In January, College President James Wright announced sweeping changes to the financial aid program, including free tuition to families earning under $75,000 a year. He also expanded need-blind admission to international applicants. These improvements, however, will not go into effect until the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.
The Princeton Review compiled its rankings by gathering information from student surveys taken before April 2008, 95 percent of which were completed online, according to Rebecca Ressem, senior editor of Best 368 Colleges. Dartmouth students taking these surveys would not yet have been affected by the new financial aid expansion.
48 percent of entering freshmen will receive need-based scholarship this year, at an average of $32,855, according to Laskaris.
Information solely from student surveys provided the basis for the high ranking in financial aid dissatisfaction. Data from the College was also considered when The Princeton Review rated the College's financial aid program, giving Dartmouth a score of 92 on a scale from 60 to 99. This score is the lowest of the Ivy League schools, but is relatively high in comparison to all 368 colleges surveyed.
"Dartmouth has always been one of the most economically diverse institutions of its peers," Laskaris said in the e-mail. "These initiatives are specifically designed to address our commitment to ensuring that Dartmouth remains accessible to all students regardless of their families' financial circumstances."
Approximately 120,000 students across the nation took the survey this year, with an average of 325 students per school, Ressem said.
"We get enough surveys that we believe the bogus ones cancel each other out," Ressem said. "There might be one overwhelming happy student and one really miserable one, but we can tell from the quotes students provide that they are being honest and giving us really good information."
Responses to the 80-question survey are used to compile a top twenty list for each of 68 different categories. Lists include "best campus food," "best quality of life" and "Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging, clove-smoking vegetarians."
In addition to financial aid discontent, Dartmouth's student life rating fell from 93 in the 2008 edition to 91 this year. Admissions fell from 99 to 98 and financial aid from 93 to 92. The College's academic rating stayed consistent at 96. Schools are scored from 60 to 99 in each category.
Although Dartmouth's ratings dropped on average from last year, they remain very high overall, Ressmen said.
"Dartmouth rated very highly on the quality of life rating," she said. "91 out of 99, which is great."
According to student surveys collected by The Princeton Review, Dartmouth is a safe campus with "great computer facilities" and a "great library." There is "lots of beer drinking" and "frats and sororities dominate the social scene."
"Dartmouth's greatest strength, students tell us, 'is its incredible sense of community and tradition,' traditions that include 'dancing the Salty Dog Rag and running 100-plus laps around a 40-foot bonfire,'" the book's description of Dartmouth life reads.
