As I make my way through senior year one question persists: has Dartmouth made us smarter? One could argue that we're at the best undergraduate institution in the country and in our vanity assume that we will leave here smarter than when we came. But I think that answer is too simplistic for most of us. We would all like to believe that the hard work and money that got us to this point in our brand-name educations have not been spent in vain, but that isn't necessarily the case.
I know several people who feel they have gotten dumber since they've been at Dartmouth. Perhaps this is the result of more rigorous coursework in college, but I think there are more compelling explanations. Many of these students myself included are guilty of one of two things: They have either lost faith in their own intelligence or refuse to harness their potential for intellectual growth.
Dartmouth's academic intensity has intimidated many of us. Some students react by grabbing onto every scrap of advice about how to succeed in college in an attempt to protect themselves from academic failure. Having tried this method myself, I believe it teaches you to trust every proclaimed authority out there except the most important one: yourself. Students who follow this path neglect the vital process of introspection that allows them to judge whether a piece of advice actually works for them. Even more troubling, these students may grow convinced that personal deficiencies are the source of their problems, when in fact the problem is adhering to generic, one-size-fits-all advice.
As obvious as it sounds in our era of personality testing and learning style theories, different students learn differently. When students forget this and fall back on cookie cutter study skills, they may undermine their own confidence in their academic abilities. When these students subsequently struggle, the problem likely isn't with their professors, their classes or their lack of intelligence. The problem is that they have simply stopped believing in their own ability to conquer new challenges.
Ironically, low self-confidence is the polar opposite of another major reason students leave Dartmouth academically unsatisfied: arrogance. At least that's how this trait manifests itself. In fact, it is closer to a fear of change or perhaps even a fear of failure. These students seem to have so much self-confidence that they cannot imagine how any professor or advisor's counsel could help them improve. They are happy to take a lower grade rather than following their professor's suggestions and then claim that the professor "just didn't like" their writing or their ideas. If they try a new approach to an academic task they do so half-heartedly, and when they end up with a worse grade than usual they take it as proof that their original methods were best.
Unfortunately, these students never discover the more profound insights and subtle distinctions that result from challenging and reexamining deeply held beliefs. Despite their all-knowing demeanor, the reluctance of these students to take real chances with their work reveals insecurities about their intelligence. They forgo opportunities to become more complex, sophisticated thinkers for fear that it will negatively affect their GPAs.
As far as I can tell, the kids who feel as though they have grown intellectually and academically have acknowledged that they have things to learn while keeping faith in their own abilities. They are willing to whole-heartedly test a tool that could help them, but they understand that they know themselves better than any class, teacher or book that doles out generic advice that does not account for their individuality.
Getting the most out of your Dartmouth academic career requires both self esteem and flexibility. Pursuing your academics here without both traits will leave you questioning whether the Dartmouth experience truly benefitted you intellectually. The real question, however, is not whether Dartmouth has made you dumber, but whether you allowed Dartmouth to make you smarter.
