Check out our Web Chats!

During the month of April, the Dartmouth Office of Admissions coordinated a series of Live Video Chats hosted by Dartmouth students. Whether you are a newly minted Dartmouth '14 looking for a quick Dartmouth fix or a prospective student in search of different perspectives on the College, you should definitely check out the archive of these chats!

Ranging from "Service, Activism, and Politics at Dartmouth" to "Senior Reflections," these chats cover a lot of topics about academic life and student activities at Dartmouth. Most importantly, give an unfiltered student perspective on a variety of aspects of the Dartmouth experience. Our office definitely hopes to offer more live video chats this summer or fall, so if there is a topic or area of the College you would like to see covered, please let us know.

Enjoy the videos!

Check Out the LGBTQA Life Video Chat

Check out what two current students, Rigel '10 and Anna '13, have to say about LGBTQA life at Dartmouth. This is our first Dartmouth Life student chat - stay tuned for more topics! If you missed the chat when it was live or have questions about LGBTQA life for current students, you can send an email to gsx@dartmouth.edu (our student organization, Gender Sexuality XYZ).

LGBTQA Life Discussion With Students

Two of our current students will be hosting a "Dartmouth Life" discussion about LGBTQA community, resources, and academics on Tuesday, February 16 at 6:30 EST. Join the conversation online.

Online Discussion With President Kim: Mobilizing School Communities

I wanted to share this invitation to join in conversation with President Kim today at 5:30 EST. You can also learn more about last-minute financial aid advice in a chat today hosted by Admissions & Financial Aid at 6:15 EST.

Dear students across the nation,

Dr. Jim Yong Kim will be leading an online discussion on *Tuesday, January 26 at 5:30pm EST* on the national student response to the recent earthquake in Haiti.

To access the online discussion at 5:30pm EST, visit:
http://act.pih.org/jyk-students

As President of Dartmouth College and a co-founder of Partners In Health, Dr. Kim will speak about the earthquake, PIH's response, why national student solidarity is critical to the response, and how students from across the country can help.

The call is open to all students (graduate, undergraduate, high school, middle school, etc) who are interested in learning more about the situation and how to mobilize their school communities to respond to the earthquake in Haiti.

Dr. Kim will be speaking via an online video stream and taking live questions through the video player's chat feature. We will also be accepting questions by email up until the talk begins. To send your question in early, email sdhr@dartmouth.edu with the subject line "JYK TALK: Your name, your school"

For Jim Yong Kim's bio: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~president/bio/

In solidarity,

Frances Vernon
Dartmouth College, Student Body President

Peter Luckow
Northwestern University and GlobeMed National Office

David Gobaud
Stanford University, Student Body President
http://assu.stanford.edu/

Busy Night at the Hopkins Center

The Hopkins Center for the Arts was the place to be on Saturday night, as both the Spaulding Auditorium and Moore Theater were host to significant student performances. The Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra performed gave its fall concert in a sold-out Spaulding Auditorium, while the Dartmouth Theater Department gave the penultimate performance of its fall musical production, Rocky Horror Show, in the 480-seat Moore Theater.

I attended the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra performance. I really enjoy the symphony and have fond memories of being a ticket subscriber for a major metropolitan orchestra before moving to the Upper Valley. This would be my first DSO concert, and, having listened only to professional ensembles in recent memory, I was not sure what to expect in terms of musical quality or audience support.

There was a great energy to the room as I settled into my seat in the sold-out 900-seat concert hall. An impressive number of Dartmouth students had purchased discounted $5 tickets to listen to their peers perform, but the turnout from the community was amazing. This was truly a "night out at the Symphony" for the Upper Valley community and, while smaller in scale, it had every bit the buzz of a major metropolitan orchestra concert.

The orchestra gave a splendid, pleasing performance featuring works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich before a rousing performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (I confess that it was Beethoven's 5th that prompted me to attend the show). The Orchestra was joined by Bonnie Thron, principal cellist of the North Carolina Symphony (and NH native) for Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. Overall, the quality of the musicianship was magnificent.

During the intermission, I ran into an admissions colleague who was seeing Rocky Horror Show just down the hall from the Symphony concert. We agreed it was a great night for the Arts at Dartmouth. There are myriad ways that Dartmouth students seriously persue their artistic interests at the College, and, importantly, appreciative audiences to take it all in.

Greet the World, from the Hills, With a Hail!

It comes as no great surprise that one of most often discussed features of Dartmouth is its location. Just as the identity of some schools is inextricably linked to their urban location (especially if that location happens to be an iconic city such as Boston, New York, or D.C.), Dartmouth's identity has been forged by its location in a part of the country know for its, well, less urban qualities. This is poetically captured in the lyrics to Dartmouth's Alma Mater, which says of Dartmouth students and graduates:


They have the still North in their hearts,

The hill-winds in their veins,

And the granite of New Hampshire

In their muscles and their brains.


We live in an increasingly urban and suburban country and, to be sure, most Dartmouth students come from urban and suburban areas. So where do these students first encounter the still North, the hill-winds, and the granite of New Hampshire? One of the most cherished of all Dartmouth places is Mount Moosilauke, a small mountain (4,802 feet) where the Dartmouth Outing Club owns and operates the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. Over 90% of entering Dartmouth students participate in the First-Year Trips program, all of which conclude with a night spent at Moosilauke learning Dartmouth traditions and playing in the beautiful setting.


The Moosilauke Ravine Lodge is open May-October, and many hikers, Dartmouth students, tourists, and local folks visit to either stay the night before hiking up the mountain, or just stop in for the famous family-style dinners prepared by Dartmouth students and recent graduates who work at the Lodge for the summer. Last night a group of admissions interns and officers traveled up to Moosilauke (1 hour drive from Hanover) for dinner. After a stressful day of work in the admissions office, the experience reminded me of the restorative powers of nature. After spending a few enjoyable hours in the mountains, I felt refreshed and ready for a new day. I know that for many Dartmouth students a brief trip to Moosilauke is a great escape valve from the stresses of academic life. Plus, the food was wonderful. Here is a picture of the mountain taken just before dinner:



How do you feel about Dartmouth's rural setting? You should also visit our student blog to get more insight on life at Dartmouth.