Dartmouth College Top Questions

I've gotten to come into my own as an adult on the other side of the country surrounded by people that I can both relate to and learn an incredible amount from. I've learned new skills like ice skating and rowing and have improved on others like general knowledge and Japanese. I've learned people are people no matter where they're from, and that we're all just trying to live our life.

Dartmouth College has provided me with the opportunity to interact with individuals from different economic, socially and politically backgrounds who I would not have interacted with if I stayed in New York City. I have learned how to be creative in that I am able to create social experiences for myself that are not the mainstream scene of going out to fraternities and sororities and getting drunk. It means more to me than anything that I am forced to take responsible for my own actions and not be able to rely on an adult fighting for me. It is a valuable experience for me to attend Dartmouth College, because I am allowed to be in a place that encourages me to explore every possible aspect of life without the stresses that exists back in New York City. Being in the middle of no where gives me leverage over how I want to run my life and provides me with the proper tools to create myself.

Confidence. Coming back to school as an adult was scary. I thought it would be difficult to keep up with the kids, and that I would struggle with classes. However, I had great instructors, and they were always very encouraging and willing to help their students. I graduated at the end of 2010 with high honors, and now I feel confident that I will do well at the university.

Attending Dartmouth has been an incredible experience, and words cannot express how much great things I have gotten out of this instituition. With that said, I most value Dartmouth allowing me to grow as an indivisual through travel. With Dartmouth's help, I have been able to travel to ten different countries, promoting youth educational programs in the global south. Through this experience, I have learned so much about myself, and what I want to accomplish with my life. Becuase of Dartmouth, I have learned the importance of become a global citizin, and that impacting lives in a smaller scale can be just as meaningful as impacting lives in a larger, more coporate scale. Dartmouth has really allowed me be proud of the projects and experiences I am participating in, and has also allowed me to, in all honesty, love myself for the first time in my life Without Dartmouth, I dont think Id be alive today. Dartmouth is an insitiution that has, in more than one way, saved my life.

Besides receiving a well-rounded education at Dartmouth College, I have garnered many experiences that have facilitated my personal growth and happiness. Because of Dartmouth’s unique student body and liberal course policies, I am now much more knowledgeable about various worldviews and sciences, proficient in Spanish, and adept in the piano, the acoustic guitar, and the drums. If I achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a legislator, the diverse and intellectual environment of Dartmouth will aid my understanding of complex social issues and my decision-making, especially in terms of balancing the interests of my constituents. Moreover, learning how to speak Spanish by Dartmouth's “in-class and drill method” will assist me in communicating with the public in my home state of Texas, where Hispanics (or Latinos) are the largest minority and continuously increase in numbers. As Dartmouth is an Ivy League and NCAA Division 1 institution, I have competed academically and athletically against the crème of the crop at a college approximately 1,800 miles away from my hometown, which has made me stronger intellectually and psychologically. Lastly, attending Dartmouth has encouraged me to take up musical instruments that will provide me with life-long fulfillment.

Dartmouth has continually taught me the importance of stepping outside of my comfort zone and challenge what I can do. I came to Hanover over a year ago unsure of who I am as a person. I was nervous and worried as any typical college freshman would be. Luckily, Dartmouth helped me see that I had nothing to be nervous or worried about. Through countless interactions with professors, administration, staff, and, most importantly, peers, I've learned to be confident in the person that I am, regardless of what others may think of me. It has allowed to me stand on my own two feet. This is the most valuabe lesson I have gotten out of Dartmouth: that no matter what I do in life, no matter what I decide to do, as long as I do it with passion and enthusiasm, as long as I am always true to myself, I can't go wrong. Dartmouth has also given me an amazing sense of community. Whether it's running around a 5-story bonfire during Homecome or simply walking across campus in the early morning fog, I feel that I am a part of something larger than myself.

I have been able to explore academic fields that I did not even know were possible, but more importantly, I have been challenged both academically and by the world around me. The opportunities that I experienced through college--especially my study abroad terms, have been instrumental in my development as a person and has shaped my worldview. I am healthier, happier, more sensitive, more tolerant, and more confident than when I first started.

Swimming was a life skill that I lacked before entering colleege. While skiing, rock climbing, and kayaking may not have been life skills that are necessary to survive, they were activities that I had never experienced during the first 18 years of my lifetime. These activities have become some of my favorite passtimes as a student at Dartmouth. Although the college experience necessarily identifies with the fulfillment of academic curiousity, my college experience moreso identifies with a lifestyle that I had never dreamed of living and couldn't even imagine before college. It's a lifestyle that focuses on both mental and physical health and fitness. While I find that these activities are the source of my joy and stability, my GPA is oftentimes the source of my stress. Outside of these activities, I would probably be over stressed; but my experience at Dartmouth has had a dampening effect on such stress, much of this began with Dartmouth's swim test that is required in order to graduate; if it weren't for the swim test, I wouldn't have been forced to explore this life skill and leave my comfort zone, which would have been primarily academic.

As a black female attending an Ivy League college, at first, I must say I felt out of place, uncomfortable, and discriminated against. I never associated with people outside of my race, I didn't feel welcomed in the eyes of others, academically I struggled something fierce for my first 2 years here. Gradually, I became more active and more open, I became less narrow minded, I learned to appreciate the campus, the different people, the different views, and values that made up the diversity of Dartmouth I had failed to see when I first matriculated. As an individual I grew, personally, spiritually, and ofcourse, physically. Academics were crucial and as the years went by, I improved upon my study techniques. I would have to say that it was valuable for me to attend College, specifically Dartmouth because it taught me how to adapt and operate in normal society; that is it taught me how to be welcoming and sensitive to other cultures, races and ethnicities at the same time, learning how to embrace and share my own culture in an intellectual, giving and sharing atmosphere. It taught me how to be a strong, independent, intellectual , worldy, Black, Haitian Woman.

I have gotten many valuable things out of my college experience. All the classes I have taken so far have made me a very well rounded individual. I am taking classes to fulfill my Associates of Science in Nursing Degree and many classes I have taken have helped me understand the medical field much better. Going to college has enforced my motivation to become a Registered Nurse greatly. The instructors were wonderful and they always helped me when I had questions. College is challenging, however it will be well worth it in the end. College has taught me how to properly study for tests and how to successfully manage my time.