Hey everyone! I'm Cooper from Wayne, Pennsylvania, which is right outside of Philadelphia. I am a '28 here at Dartmouth, and plan on studying Quantitative Social Science and Cognitive Science. In my free time, I love getting food with friends, playing pickleball, watching sitcoms (personal favorite is Modern Family), and going on walks. I am super excited to be here and cannot wait to take you along my journey at Dartmouth!
With Dartmouth having a 6-week winter break (known as "winterim"), most students go home to relax and enjoy the holidays with their families. Once you are done with your finals, then you go home and do not return until the winter term starts in January! This break is truly one-of-a-kind, as nearly every other college student goes back after Thanksgiving break to take finals. Although some may have worries that Dartmouth finals are more stressful than regular finals because they come quicker in a ten-week term, I have found that not to be the case! You are given an ample amount of time and resources to feel prepared for all of your finals.
Now, when it comes to traveling, many people think that because Dartmouth is rural, it is hard to travel home. But I am here to say that it is as simple as it can get! The most common way to travel home is by taking theDartmouth Coach Bus to the Boston-Logan International Airport and flying from there. However, there are so many more ways to get home. You could take the Coach Bus to New York City and take the train to wherever you live. You can also take the train from White River Junction, a town about 10 minutes from Dartmouth. You can even take a flight from the Lebanon Airport! There are so many options to choose from, which makes it easy to travel home from Dartmouth.
As for my experience, I live about 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia, so traveling home was quick and easy! After taking my last final exam in the morning, I hopped on theDartmouth Coach Busand took a 2-hour bus ride to the Boston Airport. I only had to wait about an hour at the airport, and then I was on the plane, ready to take off! I flew from Boston to Philadelphia, and after I landed, I drove back to my house. I am certainly aware that my traveling experience is much shorter than others, but from what I have heard from everyone else, traveling to any part of the world from Dartmouth is quite easy!
Having so much time off is truly incredible. It allows me to take a much-needed break and spend time with friends and family from home without having to stress out about going back to campus to take finals. I have been able to fully enjoy Thanksgiving and all of the activities surrounding it, and I can only thank Dartmouth's academic system for that! I especially love that international students have the ability to go home without having stress about coming back right after Thanksgiving break.
Thanksgiving with friends!
Overall, traveling to and from Dartmouth is so much easier than what people may think. There are so many available options to travel, and once you are home, you can enjoy a super long break—Dartmouth is truly the best for that!
While many people might associate cold, long, snowy winters with hardship, I've found that winter at Dartmouth is full of potential to be just as fun as other seasons.
In just a month, I went from a complete beginner to a proficient skier, smoothly making my way down the green and blue runs at Dartmouth Skiway. Read about my journey and how I made such rapid progress!
I've never felt the saying, "Time flies" more strongly than now. How am I already halfway through my Dartmouth career? This winter marks the end of my 6th out of my total 12 terms, the halfway point of my Dartmouth journey.
