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Dartmouth has three supplemental essays, and I want to address how I answered one of them: 

"Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2029, what aspects of the college's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you?"

Sophomore Summer, Ancient History major, yes, but creating connections at Dartmouth excites me most. Talking with students and staff in the Center for Social Impact, I could sense their genuine enthusiasm. Despite COVID's looming threat, they remained externally focused, upbeat. I'll forge bonds through SIBS and connect with Upper Valley residents and the New England countryside through Outdoor Learning Experience. The D-Plan will propel me, learning and serving, around the world. I'll write for The Dartmouth and hike the Appalachian Trail with the Dartmouth Outing Club. Dartmouth students help others. Alongside these change-makers, I want to be a '25.

Reading this five years later, I realized that a lot of what I wrote about ended up being true of my Dartmouth experience! I loved my sophomore summer (a tradition of students taking summer courses after sophomore year), I was involved with the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact (DCSI) through SIBS, a mentoring program, as well as through the Social Impact Internship program, and I did in fact hike the Appalachian Trail on multiple occasions with the Dartmouth Outing Club, both casually and during First-Year Trips (Dartmouth's one-week program during orientation in which students are split into small groups to explore the New England outdoors). 

The D-Plan—Dartmouth's unique quarter system—did, in fact, propel me around the world, as I had the chance to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland, and Athens, Greece, as well as do an off-term internship in Hanoi, Vietnam. Writing for The Dartmouth was certainly a highlight of my Dartmouth experience, and I wrote about seventy articles, covering everything from Roger Federer as the 2024 commencement speaker to a Q&A with former Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson '68. I also connected with Upper Valley residents–many of whom are Dartmouth alumni–and was able to really explore the broader New England area with trips to Burlington, Stowe, Acadia National Park, and Woodstock, among others.

Despite many of my wishes about joining the Dartmouth community coming true, I also tried new opportunities. Instead of being an Ancient History major, I was a Classical Studies major. Though both are housed in the Classics department, they have different focuses. While I loved Classical history in high school, my interests changed during my time at Dartmouth as I was exposed to more classes, and the Classical Studies major felt like a better fit for me. I also did new activities that I never dreamed of doing when I wrote my "Why Dartmouth" essay. I had the chance to intern at the Hood Museum of Art and came away with a new appreciation for the art world. With the Admissions Office, I gave tours and wrote for this blog, which helped me develop into both a better speaker and writer as I welcomed prospective students to Dartmouth.

two girls stand on a bridge
My sister and I in Hanover when I first visited campus five years ago!

Overall, there is no singular "Why Dartmouth" essay, and that's its beauty. Everyone comes to Dartmouth with unique experiences and interests, and the Admissions Office wants to know why Dartmouth is the right fit for your academic, professional, and personal path. If you've had the chance to visit Dartmouth, you can write about what stood out to you, whether that be a class you sat in on or something that your tour guide told you about. If you have extra time outside of your tour to explore campus, you can email professors to sit in on classes or visit centers (like the Dickey Center, Tucker Center, and DCSI) to speak with involved staff and students. When I was writing my college applications and came across a "why [this school]" essay that was difficult to write, I didn't apply because I took it as a sign that the school wasn't the right fit for me. When approaching your essay, write about what genuinely excites you, and the writing process will be much easier. Thankfully, what I wrote about five years ago still excites me to this day!

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