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Q:

What does your D-Plan look like?

A: Chase Harvey

If you have not heard already, Dartmouth's academic calendar runs on a quarter system called the D-Plan where you take 10 week terms. There are four terms in a year, where you must be enrolled in classes for three of the four terms. This means you have twelve terms total you will take at Dartmouth. Dartmouth only requires you to have a residence term (terms where you are enrolled in classes) for your first year fall, winter and spring, two out of three terms of your senior year, and one summer overall.

Now, I will be taking this time to explain my D-Plan and my reasoning behind some of these decisions. First, I took my first year terms which were required so that means I took three out of my twelve terms I needed to take. Next, I decided to do a less common route than most students, and I studied abroad during my first year summer. Since I was enrolled in classes during the summer while I was in Rome, that counted as my fourth term I need for graduation.

For my sophomore year, I am taking the fall off so I can take an academic break. Following this term, I will be at Dartmouth during the winter term but after I will be studying abroad again in Vienna. I decided to do two different study abroads because I wanted to take advantage of the financial aid Dartmouth offers for study abroads. Plus, I will be doing a trip for my intended major which is music and one merely for a fun, academic interest. To finish my sophomore year, I will take my summer term on at Dartmouth to spend time with friends and have a fun end to the year. This means I will have taken 7 terms which is one more than what most people do.

I will most likely only take my winter and spring terms during my junior year. This is because I will have already taken an extra term in my prior two years by taking classes during my freshman summer. Finally, I will most likely take my fall, winter, and spring terms at Dartmouth during my senior year. However, I take four credit terms because I am a music major who takes extra classes for music lessons and ensembles. Therefore, I may take one of these terms off and be in Hanover to work on my senior thesis the entire term!

This shows that the Dartmouth D-Plan is truly what you make out of it. My schedule is one of the crazier schedules that I know of at Dartmouth than most. Everyone's D-Plan will look different because it is built that way to allow for everyone to have their own flexibility!

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