Getting a deferral decision is a bummer no matter where you applied, but it’s especially frustrating when it comes from a dream school. Dartmouth is a highly-competitive Ivy League university that receives around 30,000 applications each year, boasting an overall acceptance rate for the class of 2028 of only 5.3%.

Dartmouth is an Ivy League liberal arts-oriented university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Recognized as one of the best schools in the world, Dartmouth is also known as ‘the outdoorsy Ivy.’ It’s a place outstanding students go when they are serious about their academic future but also want to go skiing on a Tuesday or hiking on a Thursday. They received a record-breaking 31,657 applications for the Class of 2028, resulting in a 5.3% acceptance rate.

Dartmouth is the athletic (and outdoorsy) Ivy, known as the Big Green. Located in Hanover, New Hampshire, a town of 8,000 in central New Hampshire, it’s also the small-town Ivy. Dartmouth offers an exceptional education, and Hanover has a bustling main street full of international food options, small mom-and-pop stores, and basically anything you could need at last minute notice.

Dartmouth is the outdoor Ivy. The campus is in the mountains of New Hampshire, and offers an exceptional educational experience in a rugged setting ideal for lovers of hiking, skiing, climbing, and exploring. You don’t need to love the woods to love Dartmouth, though. Most of all, you need to treasure community.