What I wish I Knew Before Dartmouth

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>Hey '10's!! Congratulations on getting into college... you guys have an amazing, amazing four years ahead of you at Camp Dartmouth! I just thought I'd compile a list of things that I would've found pretty useful before getting to campus. Of course, a lot of this is anecdotal/personal so take it with a grain of salt but it'll certainly be relevant once you get here. Any Dartmouth students feel free to add on. Hope this helps and have fun at Dimensions!</p>

<p>Here is what I wish I had know before coming...</p>

<p>-Spend a lot of time thinking about your rooming app. Where you live makes a HUGE difference. Ask current Dartmouth students here any concerns or questions. East Wheelock is a controversial choice... know what you're getting yourself into
-As a corollary, as awkward as it may seem, agree on a set of rules with your roommate BEFORE it's finals week and you're both snapping at each other and driving each other crazy
-Base your class choices on professor reviews, not the title or course guide blurb. Excellent profs can make the most boring topic exciting, lame ones can ruin the coolest subjects
-NEVER use mixed drinks as a chaser
-Girls: it's probably not a good idea to hook up with more than two guys in the same frat. Guys talk. Guys: don't expect to get much before sophomore year. If you do, be a gentleman and send an obligatory blitz the next day
-Don't skip class
-Get outside! Hanover is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful and it is a shame if you don't try hiking/rock climbing/kayaking at least ONCE
-Keep a planner- it will save your life
-NEVER leave your friends alone in a frat
-Sign up for every blitz list possible and pick and choose what you want to be a part of
-Don't get trapped into one circle of friends- make lots of them in different groups to avoid drama
-Make friends with an upperclassman who has a car
-Get your AP/college credits transferred quickly: intro classes suck and the advanced seminars are much more interesting and fun
-Don't be scared to drop classes or to go find a tutor
-Watch out for those silver vans that say "S&S"....
-Put the number for EBA's onto your speed dial
-Try a breakfast wrap at the Hop. They're really good
-Learn stuff like "awk rando" "self-call" "rage" "salty dog rag" "Parkhursted" and shmob immediately. Pepper your everyday conversations with them
-If you live in a warm climate, learn to embrace fleece/underarmour/goretex/snow boots
-Be nice to the Food Court people and for that matter, all administrative and office workers. I worked for Off-Campus programs fall terms and it made my life that much easier when I applied to study in Beijing this summer
-Career Services. DOC Office. Your advisor/UGA. The Registrar's. Dick's House. The Tucker Foundation. These places are not there for decoration- visit them all, use the resources, surround yourself with a strong network!
-Schedule time for play
-Call your parents at least once a week
-Find a good study place and make it your own
-Smile at people on pathways
-There is a lot of free food. Take advantage of it
-Just because it says "African-American Student Union/Christian Club/Chinese-American Society" doesn't mean other people can't come too
-Set personal, academic, and extracurricular goals at the beginning of the term and every say, two weeks, look back at your list and evaluate how well you're working towards them
-Don't get sucked into too many commitments- feel free to skim</p>

<p>Whew! That's all for now.</p>

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<p>thanks! that's amazing - offers us newbies insight into D life.. and gives us an idea what to do/not to do...</p>

<p>
[quote]
Learn stuff like "awk rando" "self-call" "rage" "salty dog rag" "Parkhursted" and shmob immediately

[/quote]
</p>

<p>what are they, btw?</p>

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<p>Here's a pretty solid glossary of terms:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouthsf.org/glossary.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouthsf.org/glossary.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>re:</p>

<p>Great list -- I'll pass to my S, a non-cc guy.</p>

<p>There have been several comments about EW on cc recently. What makes it a "controversial" choice? Do you think that same 'controversy' will spill over into the new residential house which will open in the fall?</p>

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<p>Here is what I think, personally. Others may disagree, but my theory is-</p>

<p>All students at Dartmouth are covertly nerdy, to some degree. We all like working hard, doing well, and taking initiative in academics and extracurriculars. But everyone also is fiercely proud of the fact that we're the chill Ivy League with social skills, the kids who were smart but also cool in high school. East Wheelock has a reputation for attracting the students who don't go out much, who are more quiet and less into the party scene than the majority of Dartmouth students. And that makes the rest of us uncomfortable. It smacks of pure geekiness without the fun-loving partying that usually comes along with it. Additionally, while the dorms in EW ARE palatial, it is a far walk from the center of campus, separating East Wheelock residents from the "heart" of student life geographically as well as psychologically. Plus the walls are ridiculously thin.</p>

<p>That being said, I've met many very cool, very ragey kids who live in East Wheelock. Sometimes people will also "block" a floor with a group of their friends and turn it into a party floor. It varies from year to year.</p>

<p>Some people are die-hard East Wheelock fans and live there for four years. But just know that if you choose East Wheelock (and are accepted), you'll always get that "ohhhh" and knowing nod when you tell people where you live.</p>

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<p>one of the three biggest mistakes i've made in my 4 years at dartmouth is living in East Wheelock. suck it up and live with the fact that you don't get a private bath. dorm life isn't meant to be comfortable and stuff. EW sucks</p>

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<p>Why was it such a big mistake, sologiglos?</p>

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<p>we begin my dartmouth journey on a tuesday night of orientations, when at 10:40 PM, 40 minutes after a party begins in my room, S&S rolls by with a noise complaint. now, it's orientations and 10PM. if it's 4 AM, that's one thing, and if it's during classes that's another. and if he was a normal kid, he'd come by and be like, yo, chill out. or join the party, because it was open invitation. but of course, it wasn't. and i had the honor of being the first 05 to have a record with S&S >.<..... officer willey (with whom i'd build a grand relationship) even told me that he knew about the party. since, of course, we did a retarded job of publicizing it and everyone on campous ended up knowing about it.</p>

<p>but it did not end there.</p>

<p>the 15 minute walk back from frat row.... dorms so quiet that you could hear from first floor the pong table that was in our living room... doesn't help that i'm not the most socially ept kid, so it would have been really nice if i was in a freshmen dorm and gotten to know more people.</p>

<p>i would say that EW <em>is</em> a right fit for some people. it was just about as bad as it could get for me.</p>

<p>at the same time, your freshmen year in college..... cmon, live it up. even if you don't parrty, the point of being a freshmen is to get ticked off at the drunken loud people peeing on your door at 5 am, you know? it's part of the experience. EW, i think, kills that.</p>

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<p>although one great thing is that EW is so sheisty that it wants to keep all transgressions hush hush. so despite my numerous S&S write ups (don't think i was a bad, bad boy, i just got caught a lot) and even an HPo arrest, i didn't have a single disciplinary action taken against me.
personally, a good thing. but i think that's just mad shady.</p>

10

<p>on the topic of the OP's list--overall pretty great. few things i wanted to add (maybe it's on there, but wana emphasize, if it is)</p>

<p>Take advantage of Hanover and NH. Dartmouth owns 1/6 of NH. Play with it. Sign up for the season pass at the skiway. Learn to ski/snowboard, if you don't know.</p>

<p>Take advantage of PE and learn to do stuff you can't learn in the real world. You'll be yoga-ing the rest of your cosmopolitan life. Learn to ballroom dance, take a rock climbing course. </p>

<p>Golf course is beautiful, especially at night/break of dawn. The whole campus is beautiful at the break of dawn. Learn to love the sunrise when you've pulled an all nighter and walk on the grass barefoot. Wakes you right up. The campus is gorgeous, and there's so many hidden spots. Use them. For whatever purpose.....</p>

<p>Speaking of hidden spots..... Visit Nathan's Garden before it gets too cold. And visit again in May. Ask an upperclassman to take you to the Ledges before it gets too cold, too, although this might be better saved for the spring. I didn't discover either until end of my senior year, and once i did, I realized how much I've wasted the last four years.</p>

<p>If you're having a room party, and someone knocks on the door, don't just open it. Ask who it is. and trust me, you DON"T have to open the door for S&S. And even if you do, you can keep it closed until you've hidden everything. And if they ask if anyone's over 21, make sure everyone raises their hands. You're not under oath!!!</p>

<p>For guys: Be assertive in social interactions, but make sure you don't get that arrogant douchebag label on you. If you go to a frat where you don't know anyone, don't just stand in the corner, but don't think you own the place. Be respectful. And ask how deep the table is. And on that note: Beirut is not a game. I don't care how cool you were in HS and how good at Beirut you were. And frankly, neither do 3000 upperclassmen at Dartmouth.</p>

<p>Don't walk across the green when it's frozen. Especially at night and especially when you've had a few drinks.</p>

<p>Streak the green at LEAST once. Best done with random people you didn't meet until, oh, about 30 minutes ago. </p>

<p>Do some community service. Be part of the 60% of Dartmouth students that do service. Use tucker. You don't have to be stuck doing the same boring thing. There's always something cool. Or opportunities to create something cool.</p>

<p>Take advantage of the fact that (1) the school's LOADED and (2) unlike research institutes, this money is ALL FOR YOU!.... i was paid $10/hour reading to little kids.... a friend was given $3500/month to spend her off term writing instead of getting an internship.... another friend went to serve at some Russian orphanage with all expenses paid for by the school. great stuff.</p>

<p>i'm sure there's a ton more. My friend (an 06 who graduated a year early due to unmitigable circumstances) and I are figuring out a way of smuggling ourselves into a third world country, forging a passport and a high school transcript, and going to Dartmouth all over again. Because we loved it so much. And yet there were so much that we hadn't done. </p>

<p>it's a great place, relish every millisecond of it.</p>

<p>oh yeah. don't watch TV. that's a waste of time. Spend your time studying or playing pong. Even if it's waterpong in your dorm basement on the tabletennis tables.</p>

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<p>i think reading your posts sologigolos, has done more than anything else to convice me to go to dartmouth. I'm not one of the people who's afraid of partying in college, so do you have any other stories? I'm at the fork right now, and hearing first hand how fun dartmouth can be could be what tips me over, especially since i've heard SO many people say its boring and in the middle of nowhere.</p>

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<p>Lol, great stories, I'll be sure to take <em>some</em> of those under consideration if I end up at Dartmouth (I think I'll leave the streaking to someone else...)</p>

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<p>especially since i've heard SO many people say its boring and in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>haha have they ever visited? dartmouth was a riot when I went</p>

<p>I mean come on, animal house was based on it</p>

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<p>do you know of any summer programs for high school students offered at dartmouth? i would really love either a creative writing or law course, so if anyone happens to know of any at dartmouth or just any in general, the information would be GREATLY appreciated! thank you so much!</p>

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<p>Here you go...</p>

<p>I hope this helps</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/apply/admissions/summer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/apply/admissions/summer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>is dartmouth really a sporty-type school? if i'm not into sports or pong or much like that, can i still have a good time and are there people like me there?</p>

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<p>Well djn, I think you and I can become good friends if we end up at Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>I think about 20% of Dartmouth kids are student athletes. On the other hand, I'm one of the people who has been to the gym maybe 7 times max and has managed to play pong only twice. woohoo go me. Frats are fun for meeting people and drinking if that's your thing, but if not, there is PLENTY of other stuff to do. </p>

<p>I check out movies at the hop like once a week, go to all the improv shows possible, love meeting anyone even remotely associated with a political office, and just chilling in my dorm room with friends. I also like a cappella groups, seeing lectures, and going out to restaurants. I know that I will also enjoy doing stuff outside of Dartmouth once my friend brings her car up here. I'm sure you will find a ton of non-sporty stuff to entertain ya.</p>

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<p>Trust me, there isn't that much to do here. If guys are looking to date-forget that, the girls here are for the most part very arrogant and not that good looking. Just be ready to meet some weird chicks-nothing like Stanford girls. Profs here are great, but if you are planning on taking any bio courses-RUN. The Bio Dept. is TERRIBLE, but chem is good.</p>

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<p>can anyone else confirm that the bio department is that bad...? haha cause im thinking pre-med and that isnt too encouraging ;)</p>