Dartmouth College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Computer Science
Minor: Spanish
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial – Black & Hispanic Straight Male

Summary

I’m on the Rugby Football Club.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial – Black & Hispanic
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Private preparatory high school in West Roxbury, Massachusetts with a graduating class of about 48 students. There was a culture of going to college
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Computer Science
Minor: Spanish

Extracurricular Activities: I’m on the Rugby Football Club.
What impact has your sport has on your experience?
I was on the Lightweight Rowing team for my first two years, now I’ve been on the Club Rugby team for almost two years. Being on both teams has given me a good community on campus. It provides a lot of structure for my day and allows me to meet more people.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
You generally take three classes per term. For my Computer Science classes, you’ll usually have a lab to do per week, which is generally a long homework assignment. The projects generally make up the bulk of the grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The Computer Science department has really good professors. I haven’t had a bad professor since I’ve been here. Something they do poorly is not offering some of the classes enough. Some of them are really important for getting employed, but they’ll only offer them once a year and then the course enrollment will be around 50 people so it’s hard to get in.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
They do a good job of making it collaborative. In most classes, you have several group projects, which are going to be the most valuable projects in terms of your final grade. They generally do a good job of fostering a collaborative environment. Most of the Computer Science classes I’ve taken don’t have a forced curve either, so it doesn’t really matter how well your peers do compare to you.
How accessible are your professors?
Every professor I’ve had has at least three office hours a week. I’ve been able to meet with them when I’ve needed to.
How does the term system impact your academic experience?
It’s nice only having to focus on three classes a term. The terms are nice and short, they’re only 10-weeks. Academically I like the term system.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
Originally, I wanted to be an engineer, but the introductory engineering course you take is entirely computer science. I thought it was actually fun, so I switched over to the Computer Science major right away.

Reasons to Attend

1) You should be very aware that the winters here will make you suffer if you don’t like the cold. The year is divided into quarters and you only have to be on for three quarters of the year, so what a lot of people end up doing is for their sophomore and junior year they’ll be on for fall, spring, and summer, so that they miss the winter both years.
2) The food. The cafeteria is really something else.
3) There’s a really inclusive fraternity community.
4) You only take three classes which still ends up being quite difficult, but it allows you to organize your life a little better and makes things less stressful. You can still take four if you want.
5) I do believe there’s a community for pretty much anyone here, even if you’re not into fraternities.

Reasons Not to Attend

None

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: McLaughlin in a single
Sophomore: Fahey McLane in a suite with four roommates
Junior: Fraternity house in a single
Senior: Fraternity house in a single
How happy are you with your living situations?
I’m pretty satisfied and haven’t had any real complaints.
How was transitioning from living outside of Boston to Hanover, New Hampshire in terms of location?
I’m very happy I picked this location because it’s only about a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Boston, so I can visit my family during the term.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt unsafe here.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m living in my fraternity so if I step outside into the hallway I’m in the nightlife. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are generally the nights for going out. On Wednesday nights, all the fraternities have meetings at 10 PM, where we get together, tell stories, sing songs, and hang out. After the meetings at 11 PM, you have what’s called “Posts,” when you invite one or two sororities over [for a party]. Fridays and Saturdays, it’s the same general idea, just without the meetings.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Greek life is the be all end all at Dartmouth. [27% of sophomore men join fraternities, and 31% of sophomore women join sororities.]
How did the nightlife differ before and after you joined Greek life?
Freshmen year Dartmouth forbids you from rushing fraternities. For your first six weeks here, you can’t step foot in a fraternity under any circumstances. You don’t get to rush until sophomore year. Once you’re in a fraternity and after those first six weeks as a freshman, unless the party is packed you can get in. The fraternities are really inclusive here. The fraternities usually open at 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12 AM on Wednesdays. [To rush a Greek organization, students must have completed at least three terms of classes and have sophomore status.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
You could go to a football game, but those aren’t terribly popular at Dartmouth. During the fall, you can go apple picking which is actually really fun, and during the winter you can go skiing.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at Dartmouth? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy with the fraternity scene.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends are my teammates, and I met one of my best friends through my fraternity.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Dartmouth?
It revolves around the fraternities and athletic teams. Other than those, there are ethnic communities. The big ones are African-American, Hispanic, and Korean Student Associations.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There is a GroupMe for all of the Black students on campus. In terms of the interaction between them, fraternities will usually be the outlet for that too. The White students are usually the ones who rush and become brothers, but the Black students will hang out there too. There are a few co-ed fraternities on campus, one is The Tabard. They get a lot of Blacks and Hispanics rushing there, and The Tabard ends up having a really thorough variety of backgrounds. [The undergraduate population is about 50% White, 10% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 15% Asian.]
How would you describe the African-American community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s very tightly-knit. There’s a GroupMe containing all of us, I just don’t mix with the community as much as most members do. The Blacks students will typically sit at their own table at the cafeteria.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Very much so. There are a fair number of people who [don’t like Greek life], but for the most part those not in fraternities spend plenty of time at fraternities at night.
How do you like the size of Dartmouth in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 4,400 undergraduate students at Dartmouth.]
I enjoy the size. It’s a little over [4,400] undergraduate students, but that ends up being really small. Whenever you’re walking between classes you can count on saying hello to 8 or 9 different people. It has a fishbowl type of environment and if you do something stupid everyone knows about it right away.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes, they’ve helped me get internships. They do the most for you if you reach out.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’ve reviewed my resume and my cover letters that I’ve sent. The resume review was incredibly helpful.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
The first language they had me learn was C, which helped me understand all the low-level concepts that go into any programming you do. Then they had me learn Java, and just now I’m having to learn Python for a project I’m doing.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
Yes, I am on financial aid and they’re pretty responsive. They do their best to help.