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!

The Small Moments

I know it has been a momentous week for all the Regular Decision applicants to the Class of 2014. I am sure that my colleagues and I will post some more reflections on the selection process in the coming days and weeks.

For now, though, it is a beautiful Friday afternoon in Hanover with students all over the Green enjoying the 75 degree weather - a welcome sign that spring is at hand. I wanted to share a cool Dartmouth moment I observed yesterday. As I walked out McNutt Hall at lunchtime, I saw a group of students tossing a football around the Green. Someone was ambling down the path and stopped to ask if he could throw a quick pass. It was none other than President Kim, in full jacket and tie, obviously on his way to a lunch meeting. He took the football, sent one of the students on a route, and uncorked a perfect spiral. He hit the student in stride at forty yards out and then continued on his way (to some applause from those who witnessed the throw). Now, it is true that President Kim was high school quarterback, so maybe the throw was not a big surprise. But, you have to admit it is still pretty cool.

A beautiful Dartmouth moment, and one those students will definitely talk about at a reunion in 50 years.

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.

MLK Celebrations: Dartmouth students rock my world

From January 16 - 29th, the whole Dartmouth community is engaged in our annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Events have included a lively concert with African-American Appalachian string-band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Keynote Address by law professor Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, and countless films, dinners, presentations, and discussions. The two events that most impressed me were completely student organized: the Student Conference on Global Learning, and the student performance showcase "Lifted."

The Student Conference on Global Learning featured Dartmouth students who recently pursued international internships and projects, thanks to Dartmouth's unique calendar -- the D-Plan. From researching AIDS in Vietnam, to volunteering in Cameroon, to interning with the World Health Organization in Geneva, to interviewing Iraqi refugees in Syria... (and so much more!), Dartmouth students have stretched themselves during their terms away from Hanover, and this week reflected upon their experiences. Read their presentation abstracts here. I am amazed and inspired just by browsing the summaries!

LIFTED: A Celebration of Unity and Song, the culmination of our MLK celebration, is a dinner, fundraiser, dance show, and community party all rolled into one. Students have teamed up to bring together high-energy performances from hip-hop dancers in Sheba, slam poets in Soul Scribes, rock band Occam's Razor, and more -- plus food from local favorite restaurants Gusanoz, The Orient, and Jewel of India.

One of the best parts of my job in Admissions is staying connected with students and seeing the amazing work they are doing -- across the globe and here in Hanover. This week has been a beautiful example of that, combined with a wonderful celebration of MLK's legacy.

Update: Dartmouth's Relief Efforts in Haiti

President Kim sent out a late afternoon e-mail regarding the status of our ongoing efforts to support the relief efforts in Haiti:



January 19, 2010

To the Dartmouth community:

Since last week's earthquake in Haiti, I have been astounded by our community's rapid response to this tragedy. Dartmouth people have come together, and they have reached out to their own networks. The result has been an outpouring of support from students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends.

A team of nine doctors and nurses from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) is already on the ground providing direct care to earthquake victims at a Partners in Health (PIH) hospital in Hinche, Haiti. Another plane carrying 3,000 pounds of supplies landed in Port au Prince yesterday, and a second team of DHMC medical personnel departed from Lebanon, N.H., at 1 p.m. today. I am deeply grateful to these volunteers and the Dartmouth alumni and parents who provided the air transportation.

Dartmouth students have quickly mobilized, demonstrating that the world's troubles are their troubles. Through their organization, Students at Dartmouth for Haiti Relief (SDHR), they have raised more than $46,000 to date and are developing a long-term educational effort. Their vision is now serving as a national model, as students at other colleges and universities organize their own responses. I am so proud to see what our students are achieving through compassion, intellect, and hard work.

I have often commented on the unique spirit of collaboration at Dartmouth. Now, we are seeing how much we can accomplish by working together. While many other organizations are still trying to set relief efforts in motion, the alliance between Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Medical School, DHMC, and PIH has enabled us to quickly get help to where it is most needed. Regular updates on Dartmouth's response will be posted at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/features/haiti/index.html

Many of you have given to relief agencies, including PIH http://act.pih.org/page/outreach/view/haitiearthquake/DHR . I thank you for demonstrating such generosity even as we address financial challenges here in Hanover.

Through next week, Dartmouth is celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963, King wrote that, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Our response to Haiti is focused on disaster relief, but we're also working to build social justice for a country that has been allowed to suffer without it for too long.

Sincerely,

President Jim Yong Kim

Pre-Med Video Chat with Dean Laskaris and Frances Vernon '10

Additional references and resources:

• More about the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
  
• Dickey Center for International Understanding
• Research grants at Dartmouth
• Credit/placement you can get from AP/IB/A-Level/SAT Subject Tests
• We offer many placement exams during First Year orientation to help make sure you're taking the classes that are best for you
• Either SAT or ACT are considered equally. Take whichever is best for you. In addition, you will need to take 2 SAT Subject Tests
• Dartmouth-run Study Abroad programs
• For those less familiar with Dartmouth and its surrounds, the Upper Valley is the region surrounding Dartmouth (the Connecticut River Valley)
• Students can get funding from a number of offices and departments across Dartmouth
• A tribute to President Jim Kim

Also, don't miss Colleen's post about Pre-Health at Dartmouth. She provides numerous specific examples of how Dartmouth's Pre-health Program stands out.

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.

What is the Greek system really like at Dartmouth?

This question was on my mind when I first visited Dartmouth as a prospective student. I had not applied to any other schools with a Greek system, and based on what I had seen in the movies, I figured it was wise to avoid universities with a fraternities and sororities. Dartmouth's Greek system was its one negative on my color-coded spreadsheet of colleges' pros/cons (yes, I'm a little type A).

And yet, Dartmouth made my college list. I loved the mid-range size, the D-Plan, the tight-knit community, the enthusiastic students I had met. In the end, the positives out weighted my hesitations about the Greek system; I took the risk, chose Dartmouth, and packed my bags (somewhat nervously) for Hanover.

Once I arrived on campus, I realized the Greek system at Dartmouth was very different than what I expected based on media images and stories from my home state university. Here's why:

* Dartmouth students cannot pledge a fraternity or sorority until sophomore year. This removes the pressure to join a Greek house in order to find friends. At Dartmouth, everyone makes friends freshman year through the dorms (all first-year students live together in residential clusters), classes, teams, etc. Come sophomore year, students can choose to join the Greek system if they want to meet new people, but they usually have a solid group of friends already so there is no pressure. A little over half of the sophomores choose to join a fraternity or sorority, and about half decide not to.

* There are no dining facilities and very limited residential space in the in the frats/sororities, so even if students join a Greek house, they still eat in the dining halls with everyone else and usually live in the dorms too. The average Greek house at Dartmouth can sleep only 15 - 20 of the 100 or so members. This means the Greek system does not dominate most students lives on campus -- rather than an all-consuming place, it is just an added social option.

* Events and parties at Greek houses are open to everyone. True to the feeling of the Dartmouth's community in general, the Greek system is welcoming and non-exclusive. The Greek houses put on tons of events that enhance the social options for everyone, including dinners with professors, slam poetry competitions, fundraiser for charities, and parties like Disco Inferno (my favorite! Don funky neon clothes and donate a can of food to rock out to 70s music).

When my sophomore year rolled around, I decided that I wanted to join a sorority, much to the surprise of my parents & friends from home. After all my uncertainty about the Greek system, they could not believe that I was becoming a "sorority girl." I explained that one of the best parts of Dartmouth was meeting the amazing people here, and I figured a sorority would be a great way to make friends with girls that had totally different interests than mine.

It worked beautifully. I met awesome girls in Sigma Delta, but also kept my best friends from freshman year. I never lived in the sorority, preferring the dorms instead. I still spent most of my time with friends from the crew team, outing club, mock trial team, etc. But the Greek system did give me a chance to have my own social space, host parties and events I wanted to see on campus, and get to know a really diverse group of people. In the end, the aspect of Dartmouth that I had been most nervous about turned out to be one of the best components of my Dartmouth experience.

Big Sports Weekend at Dartmouth

Dartmouth's campus was a hive of athletic activity over the weekend, as Dartmouth teams hosted many matches and games across numerous different sports. Here's a condensed listing:

• Women's Volleyball - wins overBrown and Yale




• Women's Hockey - win over St. Lawrence




• Men's Soccer - win over Cornell




• Women's Soccer - win over Cornell




• Women's Tennis - won the Big Green Invitational




• Football - win over Cornell
  

It seems worthwhile to linger over the football team's victory for a couple of reasons. First, the team came back from 10-0 deficit at the start of the 4th quarter to defeat Cornell 20-17 in double overtime. The game included freshman quarterback Greg Patton breaking the Dartmouth single game rushing record in his very first varsity contest. The Big Green blocked a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, and got a game winning kick from Foley Schmidt in overtime.

Equally as entertaining as the game was watching Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim roam the sidelines, congratulating players as they came off the field and encouraging the crowd to stand up and cheer at key moments. President Kim, who was a high school quarterback while growing up in Iowa, has been a prominent figure on the Dartmouth sideline this season, even braving a driving rain to cheer on the Big Green during their Homecoming win over Columbia. He's pictured below with Dartmouth's athletic director Bob Ceplikas and U.S. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire:

While cheering on the football team may seem like a small thing, Dr. Kim's energy and enthusiasm for supporting students in many different settings has already become notable in this early part of his tenure as Dartmouth's President. I am not going to say that he does this more than other College Presidents, but I bet he can throw a better spiral than any of them. Chalk it up as another plus for Dartmouth!

So you want to be pre-med?

When talking to prospective students and parents, we field a lot of questions about how Dartmouth prepares students for medical school. Our Admissions staff met with Dartmouth’s pre-health advisors earlier this fall, and below are some key points from our discussion.

Many Dartmouth students are interested in medical careers. Typically, about 1100 students – a quarter of the student body – follow the Nathan Smith Premedical Society email list. About 180 to 200 students per year apply to Medical, Dental, or Vet programs. Learn more about the Nathan Smith Society.

Dartmouth has fantastic resources for pre-med students. Chief among them:

• Dartmouth Medical School (DMS). The medical school is on campus and many professors have dual tenure with DMS and Dartmouth College. Undergrads can collaborate on research projects with med school faculty and students.
• Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). One of New England’s best hospitals is located just one mile from campus, providing incredible research and internship opportunities for undergrads.

At Dartmouth, students do not “major” in pre-med, but they CAN take all the courses they need to be ready for medical school. Their major can be in a related area, like Biology, or in a completely different subject like Anthropology, International Relations, you name it. In fact, less than half of our medical school applicants are science majors – and this can be a real asset in the medical school admissions process.

Support for students interested in health professions abounds! Our Health Professions Program assists students applying to Medical, Dental, and Vet schools. Open office hours are available 4 days per week to assist students with course planning, internships, and applications.

Unique advantages to Dartmouth’s pre-med program:

• The advising system lasts 4+ years – we continue to work with students through graduation and beyond.
• Because of Dartmouth’s small size, the advising and letter-writing processes are very personal. Most universities have a pre-health committee that writes letters of recommendation. At Dartmouth, students select who writes the summary letter on their behalf (a faculty member, dean, etc.) This creates a much more personal letter than what typically comes from a committee.
• Dartmouth has very strong extracurricular programs that allow students to test their interests before they make a commitment to pursue this as a career.
• We have about 300 Dartmouth alumni in medical school, who have specifically agreed to assist students interested in pursuing medical school. (For example, they often host Dartmouth students visiting for interviews.) Students can also draw on the overall strength of our alumni network.
• We offer excellent support in the medical school admissions process, and the Dartmouth Medical School Admissions Office also offers guidance.

What is your medical school acceptance rate? This question comes up time and again. Here is the short answer: If a student comes to Dartmouth, works hard, utilizes pre-health resources, and has an average GPA and MCAT score, they are VERY likely to be accepted to medical school.

• Nationally, the medical school acceptance is about 45%, and Dartmouth’s is far higher (approaching twice) that average.
• 11 of 85 students in this year’s Dartmouth Medical School incoming class are Dartmouth College graduates.

More resources for our pre-med students:

• 80 Medical School Faculty members offer shadowing opportunities in a wide range of medical specialties. We also have community vet and dental shadowing programs.
• The Health Professions Program maintains a research opportunities directory, and students engage in a wide variety of medical research projects.
• Women In Science Project (WISP) connects students in their first or second year with paid part-time research internships with science faculty members (or researchers in nearby industrial or government laboratories).

In short, if you decide the medical field is for you, Dartmouth will provide the support and opportunities to make you successful!

Go Green: Environmental Sustainability at Dartmouth

Dartmouth has a long history of being "green" and in recent years the College community has done some impressive work related to clean energy and sustainability.

Dartmouth's Office of Sustainability works on a number of programs to help make Dartmouth more environmentally friendly. Environmental projects at Dartmouth include:

• The Big Green Bus, a Dartmouth student led effort to convert a bus to waste-vegetable fuel and drive cross country teaching communities about alternative energy.
• The Sustainable Living Center, a residential community where students commit to reducing their carbon footprint through a number of efforts.
• Sustainable Move-Out and Move-In, a program that recycles dorm furniture, clothes, and other student supplies.
• The Dartmouth Organic Farm, a working farm where students can work, take classes, or learn on their own about sustainable agriculture.
  
• Farm-to-Dartmouth, helping give student access to locally produced foods in Dartmouth's dining halls.
• Dartmouth has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Some other really important and interesting ways the College demonstrates its commitment and creativity when it comes to sustainability are:

• Energy-efficient design and construction of new facilities, with four of our newest facilities receiving silver or gold LEED certifications.
• Many beds and desks in residence halls are made from trees on Dartmouth's Second College Grant.
• GreenLite at Dartmouth program, which helps students see their energy use on proximity-activated screens in buildings or over the web represented by the well-being of a polar bear.
  

Beyond simply programs to improve sustainability on campus, Dartmouth researchers (both professors and students) are developing new technologies to help improve energy use. Projects include research on cellulosic ethanol technology at the Thayer School of Engineering, the GreenLite project that is now being formed into a business to market this effective conservation tool, and other research projects in Environmental Studies and departments across campus.

How do you think Dartmouth is doing with sustainability? The College can continue to do more, but I'm impressed by all the programs students, staff, and faculty are undertaking to help the environment.

I heart affinity housing.

Tonight I am joining a group of students and faculty at the Sustainable Living Center (SLC) for dinner (all local & organic - yum!) and then movie showing of Food Inc. followed by discussion. The SLC -- the newest of Dartmouth's many affinity housing options -- is a student initiative designed for students looking for an eco-conscious housing alternative. Members of the SLC learn how to reduce their environmental impact by minimizing energy inputs and waste outputs. They have a food co-op (buying many products from Dartmouth's Organic Farm and local farmer's markets) and at least once a week they host a communal dinner, discussion, or workshop.

If green living isn't your passion, there are oh so many other affinity houses to choose from! Hillel Apartments, Inter-faith Living Center, Chinese Language House, International Residence, Native American House... and many more. Even I was surprised at the length of the full list of options on the Residential Life website. Check it out.

Economic Diversity @ Dartmouth

US News recently released its economic diversity rankings based upon the percentage of Pell Grant recipients at colleges and universities. Among top-ranked national universities, Dartmouth ranks 6th - you can see the full list here.



In other news, the '13s are on campus (today is their move-in day!), and they are awesome. I ran into a group of them on my way home from work on Friday, and when I pointed out President Kim leaving Parkhurst one of them literally screamed in excitement. It will be fun to see the Mountains Beyond Mountains panel discussion tomorrow evening (they are broadcasting it for non-'13s), and I can't think of a better introduction to Dartmouth. Welcome home, '13s - we like your enthusiasm :)

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.