Teddy Romeyn '17 from Darien, Connecticut said that he had heard about the College from his parents both Dartmouth graduates and was drawn to the College's emphasis on traditions and commitment to undergraduate education. Seven students from his high school, Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, were also accepted to the Class of 2017 in the early decision process, according to Romeyn.
Romeyn said that his parents and college counselor cautioned him about the College's drinking culture and the hazing allegations made against Greek organizations on campus throughout his application process. Romeyn said he seriously considered applying to Middlebury instead, but reached out to current Dartmouth students and recent alumni for more information.
"The people I spoke to about fraternity culture and student life spoke relatively positively about their social lives on campus," Romeyn said. "The advice I got was as long as you go into your Dartmouth career with a good head on your shoulders and knowing some of the challenges you might face, you'll be prepared to handle them."
Overall, Romeyn said that for him, the positives at the College clearly outweighed the negatives.
"There's no ideal, utopian college out there," Romeyn said. "What I took away was that Dartmouth was a place where people could have really great careers and a lot of fun."
Jillian Katz '17 from Stamford, Connecticut said that she was drawn to Dartmouth by the strength of its academics and the quality of undergraduate teaching on campus. She said that she was looking forward to spending time outdoors in New Hampshire, specifically to ski. Katz said that while she had heard about Dartmouth's reputation for being a "party school" from a number of family and friends, she is not worried about the culture on campus.
Isabella Coleman '17 from Chicago, Illinois said that she "fell in love" with Dartmouth during her summer visit to campus. She said her parents were more worried about the drinking culture than she was when she was considering applying.
Rachel DeChiara '17 from South Orange, New Jersey said that she visited Dartmouth in the fall and was impressed by how engaged and interested the students were in their classes. She also liked the diversity of students' interests on campus, she said.
DeChiara said that she was initially concerned about the partying culture, but was made more comfortable after speaking to current Dartmouth students about the issue.
"Friends of mine would reference the Rolling Stone article and say, Are you sure you want to go there?,'" DeChiara said. "But after talking to kids familiar with the school it didn't seem like as big of an issue as the article made it seem like." Emma Ractliffe '17 who is from France but attends the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut said that she was attracted to Dartmouth because of what she perceived as an atmosphere of academic excellence in a more laid back setting. She said, however, that she had a few friends who did not apply to Dartmouth because of its partying culture.
"I have a few friends whose parents wouldn't let them apply to Dartmouth because they thought it was too much of a party school, which I don't know how true that is compared to other schools," Ractliffe said.
Elizabeth Smith '17 from Hanover High School said that she had already taken an anthropology and government class at the College, which made her interested in applying. Seven students from Hanover High were admitted through early decision.
"I made some really good friends in the classes that I took and everybody was incredibly nice," Smith said. "While I definitely think that there are prevalent issues on campus, you don't need to be involved in that type of thing if you don't want to be."
Blake Niehaus '17 from Greenwich, Connecticut said that he heard about Dartmouth from his three siblings who attended the College. He said he was impressed on his visits with how down-to-earth students on campus seemed to be. Niehaus has plans to join the varsity tennis team, although he was not a recruited athlete.
Niehaus said that he had heard about Andrew Lohse's allegations against Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity on campus and has attended some of the fraternities while visiting his siblings, but was not very bothered by the drinking culture on campus.
"I have a general idea of the drinking culture, but that's something that's available to be a part of any college experience if you want it to be," he said. "It's also something that you don't have to be a part of if you don't want it, especially as an athlete."
He said his siblings enjoyed having Greek life be a part of their college experiences, and that they were able to balance the social aspect of Dartmouth with their academics. "They said it's a fun, fun part of Dartmouth as long as you know what you're doing and don't let it get out of control," Niehaus said.
Jett Oristaglio '17 from Boston, Massachusetts said that he was excited to live in a more rural setting for college after living in a city for his entire life. He said he applied to the College because it gave him the ability to play soccer at a school that was also very academically rigorous. Oristaglio was recruited for the varsity soccer team.
Oristaglio said that he was aware of the drinking culture and hazing allegations at the College, but that it did not impact his application decision. "I've always been an athlete in season during high school," Oristaglio said. "I knew there was a big drinking culture at Dartmouth, but I heard from people I talked to who attended Dartmouth that it also wasn't a necessity."
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris said that students accepted in the early decision process make up about 40 percent of the Class of 2017. She said she would not speculate as to the reasons for this year's decline in early decision applications until after the regular decision admittance cycle. Regular decision applications were due Jan. 1.
Ester Cross '15 contributed reporting to this article.
