<p>Ok, so i remember reading here somewhere that someone can take their "summer" break during the winter. i also had a friend of mine tell me that she did not apply to dartmouth because the semesters are kind of different for everyone and that she wanted all her friends there at all times.</p>
<p>i've tried finding something about this on the website for like two days now, but couldn't find anything. i was wondering if any of you know the link to where i can find out more about this, or could you do me the huge favor of explaining yourself.</p>
<p>I was at Dartmouth a long time ago but basically Dartmouth is not on a traditional fall and spring semester system. Dartmouth has something called the "Dartmouth Plan" which offers fall, winter, spring and summer terms which are really trimesters. A full academic year consists of three trimesters. A total of twelve trimesters would usually be needed to graduate. Most freshman would start out taking a fall, winter and spring trimester on campus in their first year. The Dartmouth Plan requires that students take at least one summer trimester on campus. I think it is required that they take it the summer after their sophomore year. However, students could choose to take more summer trimesters on campus if they wanted to. In any year they take a summer trimester, they then have an option to take one of the other trimesters off. They could travel, do an internship, study abroad or do nothing. This is where students might start finding themselves on different schedules than their friends. The other thing is that the terms start and end at different times of the year compared to semester programs. I recall not needing to be in Hanover until some time in September, being done with fall trimester by early December, etc. Winter term started right after New Year's. Spring term ended in June, etc. </p>
<p>Find a description of the Dartmouth Plan and read up on it. I took a summer term on campus and then took a winter term off and lived at home and worked . I was a scholarship kid and there were no glamorous trips for me, back in the day. Had to earn money! But I had friends who did really interesting things with their terms off campus.</p>