For the ninth consecutive year, The Dartmouth surveyed the opinions and experiences of Dartmouth’s graduating class. Since arriving at Dartmouth in 2020, the Class of 2024 has experienced substantial change — witnessing two College presidencies, disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of multiple classmates. The Dartmouth aims to capture our unique graduating class’s final thoughts in this article. The Dartmouth’s survey canvased the following four topics: campus issues, student life, national and local politics and post-graduation plans.
Campus Issues
According to The Dartmouth’s survey, 90.6% of students in the Class of 2024 report being satisfied with their Dartmouth education, with 45.21% of students extremely satisfied and the other 45.39% somewhat satisfied. Just more than two percent, 2.28%, of respondents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 5.12% were somewhat dissatisfied and the remaining 2.01% were extremely dissatisfied with their Dartmouth education.
In addition to their education at large, The Dartmouth also polled students on their views on specific campus issues, organizations, people and services — pictured in the above graph. The housing system, established in 2016, received the most unfavorable rating (65.38% opposed), closely followed by The Dartmouth Review (63.75% opposed) — Dartmouth’s conservative newspaper — and the Dartmouth administration (60.38% opposed). The next most unfavorable were housing communities (58.46% opposed) and Safety and Security (54.58% opposed).
Faculty, meanwhile, received favorable responses from 93.06% of respondents, placing them above The Dartmouth (68.87% in favor). These were followed by Greek Life (58.98% in favor), Dean of the College Scott Brown (57.99% in favor) and Dartmouth Student Government (53.2% in favor).
Seniors were then asked how often they used College resources. The Student Wellness Center was used “often” by 6.30% of respondents, more than any other resource. Departmental advisors were next most commonly used, with 4.37% of students indicating that they refer to their advisors “often.” The vast majority of seniors, 80.80%, indicated that they knew about the Writing Center — formerly called RWIT — but did not find it useful. Similarly, 76.15% of respondents knew about the Academic Skills Center but did not find it useful. On the other hand, 16.04% and 12.91% of respondents were unaware of departmental advisors and information, technology and consulting services, respectively.
The Dartmouth then surveyed the Class of 2024 about resources on campus for sexual violence prevention and mental health. For sexual violence prevention, 24.87% reported being extremely satisfied with resource allocation, and 35.92% were somewhat satisfied. Another 19.70% were neutral, while 14.09% and 5.42% were somewhat dissatisfied and extremely dissatisfied, respectively. With respect to mental health resource allocation, 12.80% were extremely satisfied, 31.69% were somewhat satisfied, 9.79% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 38.74% and 6.98% were somewhat or extremely dissatisfied, respectively.
The next topic was the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half, 51.85%, of seniors were “extremely dissatisfied” with Dartmouth’s response to the pandemic — characterized by online classes, a makeshift Twilight Ceremony – one of Dartmouth’s main orientation ceremonies — and social distancing protocols in College dining halls. Another 35.77% were somewhat dissatisfied, 3.44% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 7.76% were somewhat satisfied and 1.18% were extremely satisfied.
The Dartmouth also asked about future financial contributions — 23.32% of the Class of 2024 responded that it is extremely unlikely that they will donate to Dartmouth in the future, and 25.34% believe it is somewhat unlikely. Furthermore, 12.99% indicated that they are neither likely nor unlikely to donate, while 22.70% and 15.63% indicated it is somewhat likely or extremely likely, respectively.
Student Life
The Dartmouth’s survey then pivoted to life on campus. The first question provided seniors with three behaviors — alcohol consumption, drugs and substance use and sexual activity — and asked students whether they participated in them for the first time while at Dartmouth, had done them before coming to Dartmouth or have yet to engage in them. Of the Class of 2024, 35.72% consumed alcohol for the first time at Dartmouth, 59.68% had consumed alcohol previously and 4.59% have not consumed any alcohol. Additionally, 50.87% reported using drugs for the first time in college, 15.39% had already used drugs and 33.74% have not used any. Meanwhile, 49.87% of seniors reported their first time being sexually active was at Dartmouth, 38.06% said they had been sexually active prior to starting college and 12.07% had not engaged in sexual activity.
The Class of 2024 was then asked about how often they used substances such as alcohol and marijuana. Marijuana, nicotine and tobacco had the highest response rates of being used “often,” with 28.95%, 11.13% and 7.20% of surveyed students, respectively. The substances with the highest percentages of “never” used responses were ketamine, cocaine and non-prescription “study-drugs” such as Adderall or Ritalin with 91.08%, 85.70% and 85.05%, respectively.
Next, the Class of 2024 was asked about one of the most storied Dartmouth traditions: the Dartmouth Seven — a set of seven locations where students are challenged to engage in sexual activity. Of the surveyed students, 29.95% reported that they completed at least one of the Seven. Of students that completed the Seven, the Baker-Berry Stacks was the most popular location, with 36.47% of responses. BEMA came in second with 20.72% of responses, while Dartmouth Hall trailed in third with 10.03%. The 50-yard line of the football field yielded the next most responses (9.13%), followed by a tie between the Green and the Top of the Hopkins Center (8.16% each) and the President’s lawn (7.33%).
The Dartmouth also asked graduating students how many people they had dated at Dartmouth. The plurality (46.47%) reported dating one person, followed by 29.40% never dating anyone and 18.85% dating two people. A small portion (5.26%) dated at least three people.
Seniors were then asked about the most important aspects of their life at Dartmouth, to which the most common answers were social life (43.55%), academics and research (39.21%) and extracurricular activities (36.36%). When asked about what they did not consider important, 71.32% reported varsity sports, 65.53% reported housing communities, 63.19% reported political groups and 58.75% reported affinity and religious groups.
To gauge how Dartmouth’s seniors chose their majors, The Dartmouth asked participants how heavily they considered the following topics: academic interest, post-graduation career, parental and familial pressure and class rigor. The factors ranked by the percentage of “not at all important” responses are: parental and familial pressure (56.75%), rigor of classes (27.53%), post-graduation career (7.39%) and academic interest (1.76%). In a similar fashion, the factors ranked by percentage of “extremely important” responses are: academic interest (64.01%), post-graduation career (32.62%), rigor of classes (9.52%) and parental and familial pressure (3.52%).
The Class of 2024 was then asked about their views on a variety of Dartmouth traditions. When ranked by the percentage of “least important” responses, results are: First-Year Trips (83.65%), Winter Carnival (34.47%), Homecoming (16.38%), Sophomore Summer (14.75%) and Green Key (11.23%). Events ranked by the percentage of “most important” responses are: Sophomore Summer (32.32%), Green Key (25.24%), Homecoming (10.39%), Winter Carnival (3.52%) and First-Year Trips (1.99%).
One of the most unique parts of Dartmouth is the D-Plan, which allows students more flexibility for when they take their off terms. As such, students were surveyed about what they did during their off terms. The most popular responses were paid internships — with 27.66% of respondents — and paid employment, with 14.19% of respondents. Another 13.39% of respondents indicated that they traveled during their off term at least once.
The COVID-19 pandemic was also a prominent part of the seniors’ time at Dartmouth — with their first year marked by strict COVID-19 policies on campus and the rampant spread of the illness. Only 22.41% never contracted COVID-19, while 31.56% contracted it once, 31.95% twice and 14.08% three or more times.
The Dartmouth next wanted to know how long students spend consuming social media content per day. Nearly 8% reported spending more than three hours on social media per day, 22.59% reported 90 minutes to three hours, 53.51% reported 30 to 90 minutes, 14.60% reported less than 30 minutes and 1.32% students reported spending no time on social media.
The Dartmouth also gauged how long students spent on school work outside of class time. Of respondents, 36.83% spent two to four hours studying, 35.65% spent four to six hours studying and 18.64% spent six to eight hours per day. Another 5.40% students spent less than two hours studying per day, while 3.47% spent more than eight hours studying.
Lastly, The Dartmouth asked seniors how many hours of sleep they typically get each night. 18.25% slept eight to 10 hours, 71.98% six to eight hours, 8.95% four to six hours and 0.83% less than four hours. No senior was able to sleep, on average, more than 10 hours each night.
Politics
The survey asked a series of questions to gauge the political views of the Class of 2024. The Dartmouth first asked about the future of the country: 61.13% percent believe the country is generally headed in the wrong direction, 28.45% are not sure and 10.42% believe the country is generally headed in the right direction.
Next, the survey asked about views on a variety of political figures and institutions. For unfavorable views, former president Donald Trump had the highest percentage of respondents (87.18%) by a large margin. Trump was followed by the Republican Party (75.06%), the Supreme Court (62.01%), vice president Kamala Harris (58.70%) and Wall Street (56.41%). These views closely match the sentiments of the Class of 2023, where 89% had unfavorable views of Trump, 83% for the Republican Party, 63% for the Supreme Court and 54% for Wall Street.
For favorable views, President Joe Biden had the highest percentage of respondents (34.33%), followed by the Democratic Party (26.52%), the Town of Hanover (25.35%), vice president Kamala Harris (23.19%), the Supreme Court (20.14%) and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (16.00%). This year’s seniors generally have less favorable sentiments when compared with the Class of 2023, where 61% held positive views for Biden, 48% for the Democratic Party, 17% for the Town of Hanover, 53% for Harris, 11% for Supreme Court and 16% for Sununu.
The survey also asked about general political opinion: 43.05% reported being liberal, 24.88% moderate, 18.68% very liberal, 10.10% conservative and 3.30% very conservative.
To gauge how political views may have shifted during the Class of 2024’s time at Dartmouth, the survey also asked them what their political views were before coming to the College. Of respondents, 46.43% were liberal, 20.41% very liberal, 19.34% moderate, 8.73% conservative and 5.08% very conservative. Overall, the composition of students’ political ideologies in the Class of 2024 stayed relatively constant.
The Dartmouth also asked graduating seniors with which political party they are registered to vote. The Democratic Party received a plurality, with 45.31% of respondents. Independents followed with 28.73%, the Republican Party with 12.86%, unregistered or unable to register with 9.89%, other parties with 1.74% and the Libertarian Party with 1.49%.
The survey also asked graduating students how many of their closest friends share similar political beliefs. Of respondents, 57.15% said most do, while 20.62% said some do. Another 8.04% of respondents reported that a few do, while 6.49% indicated that all of their friends do. Finally, 6.22% of seniors were not sure how many of their friends share similar beliefs and 1.49% reported that none of their friends have similar beliefs as them.
The survey then asked students how comfortable they were sharing their political beliefs on campus. In response, 40.60% reported being somewhat comfortable, 25.93% somewhat uncomfortable, 13.32% extremely comfortable, 12.12% neither comfortable nor uncomfortable and 8.03%extremely uncomfortable.
Finally, The Dartmouth asked the seniors how familiar they were with current domestic and world news while at Dartmouth. The plurality, 34.82%, believed they were moderately familiar, while 28.30% believed they were very familiar, 23.05% extremely familiar and 9.95% slightly familiar with current events while at Dartmouth. The remaining 3.88% believed they were not familiar at all with news.
Post-Graduation Plans
The final section of the survey investigated post-graduation plans for the Class of 2024. The majority of respondents, 59.91%, indicated that they will join the workforce. Several students reported plans to attend graduate school: 15.45% indicated that they were joining a non-medical, law or business graduate program, while 13.68% indicated that they were attending a medical, law or business school. The remaining students will serve in the military (2.67%), travel (1.76%) or are unsure of their plans (6.53%).
For those who are joining the workforce, technology and engineering, consulting and finance had the highest percentage of responses, with 39.23%, 15.42% and 12.02%, respectively. Ten years after graduation, students expect these numbers to drop to 17.75%, 0.00% and 7.28%. In addition to these fields, 16.38% are expected to have a career in government and politics and 14.79% in academia and research. Not only are people considering changing careers after graduation, but 62.31% also indicated their desired occupation changed during their time at Dartmouth.
With respect to compensation, 33.30% anticipate a starting salary of $50,000 to $75,000, while 32.42% expect a starting salary of $75,000 to $100,000. Another 20.87% believe they will enter the workforce with a salary of $100,000 to $200,000, while 10.02% predict a salary of less than $50,000. Finally, 3.41% believe they will have a starting salary of at least $200,000.
A significant majority of Dartmouth seniors, 90.66%, indicated that they plan to stay in the United States After graduation. Another 7.06% believe they will live in Europe after their undergraduate years. For those staying in the U.S., New York, Massachusetts, California and the District of Columbia were the most likely destinations, garnering 25.28%, 19.25%, 11.45% and 10.54% of respondents, respectively. The overwhelming majority, 87.49%, do not plan on staying in the Upper Valley.
Despite Dartmouth’s tuition increasing by more than 14% since the Class of 2024 entered the College, the majority of students, 64.69%, do not anticipate graduating with any student loan debt. 14.96% plan on having less than $10,000 in debt, and 10.63% foresee $20,000 to $49,999 in loans. The remaining 9.72% of respondents are split evenly between less than $10,000 in debt, and more than $50,000 in student loan debt. Whether or not a student graduates with debt is likely influenced by Dartmouth's financial aid program. For the 2023-2024 academic year, no parent contributions were expected from any family with an income of less than $65,000 a year. For the upcoming year, Dartmouth’s threshold will nearly double to $125,000 after having received a $150 million donation from Barbara and Glenn Britt ’71, Tu’72. This donation was the largest dedicated to scholarships in the College’s history and will allow more students to attend Dartmouth without taking on debt.
Finally, 62.19% of graduating students indicated that they will not receive financial assistance from their parents for rent or other living expenses after graduation.
Methodology Notes:
From May 21 to May 30, The Dartmouth executed an online survey of Dartmouth senior students on their opinions and experiences at the school. Through college email addresses associated with the Class of 2024, the survey was sent to 1,079 undergraduate student recipients, of which 123 responded, yielding a response rate of 11.4%. Using administrative data from the College’s Office of Institutional Research, responses were weighted by gender and race/ethnicity. Weighting was done through iterative post-stratification (raking). The answer choices were inverted for multiple questions in the survey, which may have led to incorrect answer selections. Survey results have a margin of error +/-8 percentage points.
