Catherine Parnell

​​​​​​Do you really like math? Or really like science? You want to take three math or science classes in a single term? I suppose that’s your prerogative, but besides being an obscene amount of work, in order to get the most out of your Dartmouth experience, spread your classes out! We are a liberal arts school with a wide range of interesting and unique departments for you to choose from! We are the only Ivy with a Geography department and are world renowned for our accomplished Native American Studies department, among others. Spread your classes out across departments so that you can experience all that Dartmouth has to offer!

In Dartmouth lingo, you might hear of something called a ‘layup’, or in other words, a relatively easy class where you can get an easy A. Key word: relatively. Here at Dartmouth, even classes you think might be easy may have a lot of reading or writing. Other classes will have a lot of midterms or exams. Some classes might be flipped classrooms, where you teach yourself outside of class and do exercises and workshops in class. You are not going to want three flipped classes in one term, nor are you going to want three reading and writing heavy classes or exam heavy classes. If you vary your workload by types of work that each class requires, you’ll be happier because you’ll be less bogged down by your course load.

Be adventurous! Try things that interest you! If you’re sitting here saying nothing interests me except ________, you’re wrong. There’s something else out there that you just haven’t found yet. Spontaneously take a class that you think you might remotely enjoy doing, and you’ll discover new interests! Furthermore, say you don’t think you are a ‘science' person, or vice versa, say you don’t think you are a ‘reading’ person, try to step out of your comfort zone! Don’t be afraid to try new things. Take advantage of all that Dartmouth has to offer in order to better yourself and your academic ability. At first, I thought I was definitely not a ‘coding’ person, but now I want to major in computer science! You never know where you’ll find a new passion.

At Dartmouth, we take our classes seriously, but we know when to relax and have some fun. I’ve made sure to make my schedule unique and interesting, allowing myself room to take ‘fun’ courses on topics like Gandhi or Game of Thrones. One of my friends here is taking a course in the music department analyzing the business of cover songs. My friends at other schools are beyond jealous, as they are all stuck in basic introductory classes. That’s just not the case here at Dartmouth. There are so many fun and amazing classes to choose from. Perks of a liberal arts curriculum!