Good thing we were allowed a head start in high school…

With move-in day fast approaching, though not as quickly as yours, I’m finding myself swamped with information to read, forms to fill out, and classes to research. This would all be fine if it weren’t for one small detail: the online system’s interface, or should I say, interfaces. As of today, I already have three different online accounts, one for standard information, one for academic info, and another for payment. I have no doubt in my mind that Dartmouth will be kind enough to aument this list for me. Complaints aside, I’m sure having separate systems will make it easier for me once I get the hang of it.

My tangential intro leads into what is causing the most confusion of all: placement tests. Most of this panic is being caused by the science courses. Luckily (ironically), students in the years to come will not face this problem nearly as much since Dartmouth will stop accepting AP credit starting next year (bummer...).

First and foremost, havoc is being wreaked by biology. Do we take Bio 11, the normal intro course or skip right to Bio 12, which consists of specialized, Foundation courses? Usually confusion ensues when there is too little information, but not at Dartmouth. There’s a good list of suggested prerequisites to help you decide your bio placement: 5 on bio AP test, 5 on chem AP test, an optional placement test, and about four other benchmarks. I think our indecision boils down to whether we want to be safe and relearn a lot of material, or push ourselves, possibly beyond our bounds. Chemistry and math classes are posing similar problems. We can use our AP credit to test out of them, but do we want to?Here’s a list of what we get for which scores.

Luckily, with the quarter system moving so rapidly, great classes, easy classes, and awful classes alike will all be over within 10 weeks, gone as quickly as they came. Furthermore, we have an add/drop period of a week right after orientation where we can do just that–add and drop classes with wild abandon. Several schools that implement this system call this a shopping period. At Dartmouth, I think only first years are allowed to do this their first term so it’s really a one time deal. Some of us will inevitably have to rely heavily on our advisers suggestions, which in some cases should be taken with a grain of salt (I hear).

Nevertheless, I am excited and enthusiastic about getting to choose my first few college courses in a few weeks. And now I realize I’m on a pre-med track… this should be fun!

More about Dimensions.

Neha,

So here’s the run down of my Dimensions weekend experience. My parents and I got to Hanover, NH about 24 hours before Dimensions was scheduled to start, which gave us time to explore the area, the campus, and the local eateries. On Thursday, the day Dimensions started, we had breakfast and looked around some more until the afternoon when we had to go sign in for the start of Dimensions.

The upperclassmen greeted us prospies with a huge packet of information, which for some reason included a sparse list of 7 very specific places we could fill up our water bottles (strange but funny), and other freebies. It took a little time getting into the swing of things but soon I found myself conversing with a group of strangers while my parents were off to go itinerize their weekend (all or most of the programs for the weekend were open to students and parents). I eventually met up with my host, whose room I was going to be sleeping in for the next two nights, and we made our way to his dorm so I could unload my baggage. I ended up staying in East Wheelock, which is a little bit farther from the Big Green than the other dorm clusters, which is the courtyard with the X roads that you see basically on every photo of Dartmouth.

The rest of the day proceeded with welcome shows, performances by the many a Capella, dance, and instrumental groups, and speeches from staff and upperclassmen. Every nook and cranny of our remaining time was filled with programs, symposiums, and activities, all anchored with the aim of getting us enamored with the college. During Friday and Saturday I found myself going to a pre-med symposium, sitting in on a class about music addiction, and enjoying barbeque on the Green. Other notable events included an Engineering exhibit (where you got a TON of free stuff, including a top that looks like Dom’s totem in Inception), Real Talk (an uncensored Q&A with upperclassmen; you should have heard some of the questions [the upperclassmens’ reaction]), and Creativity in Motion (a show). At nights, we were led on tours into the forests nearby and into frat dance parties, all of which were dry, of course. Saturday night was the big show (which I talked about in my last post), which really sealed the deal for many of us.

Friday and Saturday nights I probably got fewer than 6 hours of sleep; I found myself wandering back from a really late group tour and staying up talking with my newly-befriended in the commons area until 4 in the morning. Needless to say, it was an amazing time and the two missed weeks of school and subsequent C on the Monday bio test was made up for. It’s been almost four months since I was last on campus and I’m itching to go back and see everyone I met the first time again.

Christopher

Summer Reading: Getting back in shape, kinda

IU doesn’t have nearly as intense summer work as many other schools.  Our only summer reading per se was a two page pamphlet about Herman B. Wells, a former president of IU who is credited by Wikipedia with the “development of Indiana University into a world class institution of higher learning.”  We were told the reading would be discussed during our summer orientation program. It turned out that more than half of the kids in my group hadn’t done the reading, so the ensuing discussion was hardly thought provoking.

I actually think required readings such as yours, although tedious, are a good idea.  Students going to places like Dartmouth are coming from all corners of the globe and have varying academic backgrounds.  The summer reading gives everyone something in common to complain talk about.

Other than the reading, IU has had me take a few online courses and tests. About three hours of time went into each a financial literacy course and a drugs/alcohol/sexual health course.  I actually found the financial literacy modules really interesting and informative.  In contrast, the wellness course was quite boring in that it was just a slightly more provocative version of high school health class. I also had to take both a math and a world language placement test (I took Spanish) online before Orientation.  I found the math test quite challenging but persevered through.  I was disappointed that the score I received actually counted for nothing as we took our real (much, much easier) placement test during Orientation.  It makes sense that the real test was in-person as it eliminates the chance of cheating and equalizes conditions for everyone.  I don’t understand why we took the online version, though. I guess it helped me get back in shape mentally.