First Basketball Game!!

Since I am the manager of the women's basketball team, I am looking forward to seeing our women play in their first game. For those of you who might not know this, Dartmouth's women's basketball team has won the Ivy League Title for the past two years in a row AND we made it to the NCAA tournament last season! So, you can see why I am really looking forward to seeing them play this season. Our first game isn't until November 14th so I will have to find something else to occupy my time with :-). However, if you are interested in coming and supporting the women's team, the game on November 14th is at home and we are playing Bryant University.

If you want to follow the team, feel free by clicking on this link: Dartmouth Women's Basketball Team .

First Snow!

Usually before the end of Fall term it will snow at least once in Hanover. The first snowfall of the year is always an exciting event because the whole school partakes in a huge snowball fight. On the evening of the first snowfall, a student will blitz (e-mail) out to the entire student population and announce that there will be a snowball fight on the green at midnight. Regardless of whether people were studying in the library, getting food at food court or just hanging out in their dorms, at midnight, a bunch of people will make their way to the green for at least half an hour of fun. While chasing friends across the green and getting hit with snow from behind, the snowball fight always ends up being a great way to let loose, meet new people and just relax for a bit.

Homecoming!!

The one thing that I am looking forward to this term is Homecoming! It's so exciting to see all the freshmen get their first taste of Dartmouth traditions. It all begins with the freshman sweep, which involves going around to each freshmen cluster (residential dorms) and picking up the freshman to join the crowd. After all the clusters are visited, the freshman march to the green (huge lawn area, which is the center point of campus) where the bonfire is. As tradition goes, the 20-30 foot bonfire (which the freshman class help build) is lit on fire and the freshmen are supposed to run around it as many times as their class year. For example, my class (2010) had to run around 110 times, the class of 2011 had to run 111 times, the class of 2012 had to run 112 times, and so on. A lot of alumni and community members come out to support the freshmen class in their efforts to complete this task. Not that many people complete the entire journey, including me, but it is definitely a fun experience that cannot be missed.

A member of Dartmouth's newest class, the '13s, tells about his first week at Dartmouth.

The posts below answer last week's topic.

Orientation Nearing an End

So Orientation has drawn to a close and classes have begun. Over the past couple days, I picked my classes and bought my books. I'm able to take classes that I never thought I would have. I'm taking History of Medieval Europe, Introduction to Anthropology, and Calculus of One and Several variables. Now that classes have started, I continue to meet new people and hang out with the ones I met through groups like Club Ultimate Frisbee. I couldn’t really have asked for a greater orientation. I now feel home.

So, to all the prospective students looking at my posts, come to Dartmouth! It may just be the best decision you ever make.

So Many Orientation Activities!

So Orientation has continued for a few days now and it is still very awesome. Not only am I making so many new friends, but also a ton of activities are being thrown in our direction. Just yesterday, I went to an ultimate Frisbee tournament, an a cappella showcase, and even a hypnotist (very funny!). Our floor even threw a mini dance party to do the dances that we learned on our DOC trips. While there may only be three days left of Orientation, I’m looking forward to every minute of that and the rest of the school year.

First Year Summer Reading Lecture

As Orientation continues there are so many things to attend it is nearly unbelievable. And last night, we enjoyed a very special treat. Our summer reading this year was Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, a book describing the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl and our new president, Jim Yong Kim. Last night, they met exclusively with our class to discuss the book and the work they do. It was remarkable to hear them speak. We were able to ask them questions and hear them discuss their experiences. It was as if we were all engaging in a conversation with over 1,000 people. At the end, we gave each of them one of our class shirts; they seemed to have enjoyed it.

I’m very much looking forward to the rest of this week’s activities!

(Photo by Joseph Mehling '69)

Orientation!

Hey prospies! My name is Steve Tebbe and I’m a ’13. I thought that it would be helpful to hear the thoughts of somebody who just went through the process that you’re about to go through.

Well, this is only my third day on campus, but so much has happened. After I got back from my DOC trip (which I must add was pretty awesome), I’m all moved in and now meeting the rest of my floor. Today, my class and I matriculated and officially became members of the Dartmouth community.

It was pretty interesting the way some things were run. For instance, due to the recent outbreak of H1N1 across the country, spreading germs was a concern with all thousand plus members of the 2013 class. So rather than doing the traditional handshake when receiving our class pin, we did a fist bump. It was actually rather fun doing a fist bump with a member of the Class of 1963, the class that supports the '13s.

I will be posting more as the start of my freshman year unfolds. Just let me know if you have any questions.

(Photo by Joseph Mehling '69)

In the meantime...

While our awesome upper-class students are on vacation, orientation for the Class of 2013 is well underway. In the coming few days you'll hear from a freshly minted '13, Steve Tebbe, about his first days on campus.

Vacation

We are enjoying the break between summer term & fall term, so our blog posts will be minimal until classes resume on Sept. 23rd. In the meantime, join "Discover Dartmouth" on Facebook to stay connected!

When you were applying to college, what was the one thing you were nervous about? i.e. essays, interviews, making new friends, etc..

The posts below answer last week's blog question.

The essay really isn't that bad...really

I was deathly afraid of the college essay. I thought the essay had to be a topic that was really really profound and so obscure that no one ever would think about writing about it. It took me forever to come up with something because I was limiting myself so much. I wrote my essay for Dartmouth about my favorite quote. And truthfully I just happened on the topic. One day I picked up a notebook from junior year and it fell open to a page with this Winston Churchill quote that my prof had used to start the class: "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it..."

ADVICE: Pick something that you can write passionately about...it will be your best writing. Also some "overly" popular topics tend to be: The Great Gatsby, grandparent(s) (Write about whatever you want even your grandparents or Gatsby if that's what your passionate about....but make sure it's unique and says something about you that the rest of your app doesn't.)

SAT/ACT Scores!!

When I was applying to colleges, I was so nervous that my SAT scores were not high enough to be admitted to top notch schools. My grades were good, I was involved in a ton of different things, but my SATs did not show my hard work and dedication to academics. Fortunately, Dartmouth takes a holistic approach to the application process and SAT scores are not the end of the admissions decision. When an Admissions Officer reads an application they look at the whole package: your extracurricular activities, the class you take, how you contributed to your community, and if you've challenged yourself throughout high school.

So, if you don't have perfect SAT/ACT scores (or anywhere near what you think is a "good" score) don't worry. Make sure to present yourself the best you can throughout the rest of your application; in your essay, your recommendations, your resume, etc. Do the best you can, and everything will work out in the end!

Making New Friends

The one thing I was most nervous about was making new friends. I was so used to the friends I had made for four years in high school that I was really nervous about finding my group of close knit friends again. Also, it doesn't help that I am a fairly shy person.

However, as soon as I arrived on campus, I was able to make friends easily because the people here were so friendly and nice. It was really silly of me to even think that making friends was going to be an obstacle for me with how many great people attend Dartmouth. The people here are so nice, genuine and down-to-earth which is the reason why I was able to make friends so quickly. Since a lot of people are very active on campus, by just joining one organization, I was able to meet a lot of great people that I wouldn't have met in my classes.

I have found that the people at Dartmouth are consistently nice and friendly people and they are the reason why I am still enjoying my time here at Dartmouth.

Too many opportunities?

I think my biggest fear coming to Dartmouth was knowing how to navigate and choose between all of the different opportunities, both curricular and extracurricular, that exist on campus. I was anxious about continuing some of the activities I participated in while in high school but also branching out and trying new things. Luckily, I think Dartmouth does a good job in marketing all the different opportunities to students, especially when you are a first-year. Your UGA, or Undergraduate Adviser, who lives on your floor, is a great resource for this kind of information. Unlike RA's at other schools, the UGA has no disciplinary responsibilities. They are really there to give you advice and keep you up to date on different opportunities on campus and deadlines etc. Every UGA also has a small budget from the College to spend on programming for the floor like pizza parties and small get-togethers to discuss picking a major or really anything you want to talk about. Through my UGA and first year adviser, I learned how to apply to study abroad, what extracurriculars I might want to join and a lot about living on campus and taking advantage of all the great things going on at Dartmouth.

Long story short: don't worry about navigating Dartmouth! There are a ton of resources available to help you.