Hi everyone! My name's Daniel, and I'm a 25! I'm from Orange County, California and Seoul, South Korea. I'm hoping to major in Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology Modified with Global Health. If I'm not under my sheets watching a new Netflix series, you'll find me spending time at Still North Café or at the engineering building. I hope you learn something new about Dartmouth today!
Academic Program
Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology Modified with Global Health
This class had an emphasis on really learning the material, rather than mindless regurgitation. Every class lecture truly excited and interested me, and readings were thought-provoking, The final was also a project instead of an exam, which was very fun to complete. I could tell Prof. DeSilva was also very passionate about the class materials as well!
As a "seminar" course, we focused on enjoyable discussion-based lectures. Each and every one of Prof. Kangas' lecture topics were engaging and intriguing, constantly pushing me to think. While we had reading assignments, they weren't necessarily linked to graded discussions/quizzes, which allowed me to feel more relaxed and stress-free (I didn't need to go crazy and write notes in-class). All in all, I loved learning about Pompeii!
A classic pre-med requirement course. This class has a basic structure of problem sets, two midterms, labs, and a final. I thought the points were well-distributed and the exams were fair. I personally enjoy problem-solving, which allowed this class to be more exciting personally. I'd suggest you pick the right professor for you as each professor has a different way of teaching!
This class is taught by Prof. Shipley, a professor who teaches mainly during summer terms. It was very different from the previous anthropology courses I've taken –– we had a filmmaking component as well as a collaborative project. I enjoyed this class because the assignments had a very broad, overarching outline and allowed you to explore your interests very freely. For example, for my final project, I created a podcast that delved into the educational inequity in South Korea.
My first sociology course at Dartmouth. It goes very in-depth about the macro immigration policies in-place in America and how it relates to different immigrants' experiences. I found it intriguing because I'm an immigrant myself, and I also was able to analyze and develop a different outlook on my family's experiences as well. We had interesting projects such as immigrant interview assignment, immigration policy brief, and in-class discussions.
Another first - my first Asian Societies, Culture, and Language (ASCL) course here at Dartmouth. Essentially, through a 3-hour class block each week, you watch a Korean film that provide insights into the different aspects of South Korean culture –– from Korean independence of Japan to modern economic disparities. Very interesting discussions and minimal work: the course focuses a lot more on student learning than testing!
I know what you're thinking: no way this guy liked MATH 13 the best out of his classes. I was thinking the same going into the class, but I enjoyed the problem-solving aspects. Math was one of my favorite subjects in high school, but I didn't get a chance to take any courses here at Dartmouth until I changed to an engineering major which made MATH 13 a prerequisite. All you do is solve problems, practice, grasp concepts, and take exams. But, after a bit, you get the hang of it.
One of my favorite, favorite courses throughout my whole time at Dartmouth. If you thought you know medicine and health, think again –– evolutionary perspectives open up a completely new spectrum of thinking. Have you thought about institutionalized racism in BMI indexes? How about adolescent growth differences between women who give birth in birth centers versus hospitals? Conversations you've never thought of within the medical realm happens in this class. Highly recommend it!
ANTH 76 - Evolution of Upright Walking is a biological anthropology senior seminar. The class itself is very discussion-based, reading books/articles/literature to grasp different aspects of bipedalism. Prof. DeSilva allows you to explore areas YOU are interested in with the midterm paper and final project, and there is little emphasis on grading so you can focus on learning!
A very collaborative course –– daily discussions, guest speakers, and group data analysis assignments. I also really enjoyed the term-long ethnography project where you can choose a community to analyze. Essentially there are different frameworks and theories that can be applied to the way we talk within linguistic anthropology, and it was super interesting seeing how everything is connected to our conversations on a daily basis!
Although I am not entirely sure if I'll continue going on the pre-health path, I'm currently on it, and I have taken a handful of classes to assess the difficulty of each. I hope these reviews will help current pre-healths and future (incoming '27s+!!!) students when figuring out their course load.
CHEM 5: General Chemistry I (Difficulty: 6/10)
General chemistry is inevitably difficult. It involves quite a bit of calculations (math) as well as rote memorization of concepts. But, on the bright side, this class will generally be a repeat of high school chemistry. If you have taken AP Chemistry/IB Chemistry, you'll be well-prepared to jump into CHEM 5. In my opinion, I think it is a good class for first year students to begin their pre-health journey with—also very good for people who want to perhaps try STEM classes out!
CHEM 6: General Chemistry II (Difficulty: 7/10)
This is the second iteration to CHEM 5, and it involves a lot more conceptual thinking. Unlike CHEM 5, which focuses more on calculations, this class is more thinking-heavy. The concepts introduced in-class are a lot harder to comprehend, and there is less and less repetition of what is learned in a general high school curriculum. But, regardless, I believe it is a class where if you put in an ample amount of time, it will pay off!
BIOL 12: Cell Structure and Function (Difficulty: 9/10)
BIOL 12 is easily one of the hardest classes I've taken at Dartmouth. Biology courses are much more difficult than chemistry ones in my opinion, but it also depends on which subject you're more suited for! BIOL 12 has a lot of discrepancies in class structure between professors as well. Some have cheat sheets, reverse classroom, etc. so be sure to research the professors in advance to see if it fits your learning style.
BIOL 13: Gene Expression and Inheritance (Difficulty: 10/10)
Personally, I struggled with BIOL 13 because of the immense workload. BIOL 13 consists of three midterms and a final, including a group midterm in between midterm 2 and 3. With this structure, you are constantly forced to study, review, and test-take, which gets quite tiring. If you're taking BIOL 13, I recommend taking two layups alongside.
MATH 10: Introductory Statistics (Difficulty: 2/10)
Surprisingly, MATH 10 was very easy going for me, as it mainly consists of weekly problem sets and a final. You can take this class with any other lab course and you'll be completely fine.
PHYS 3: General Physics I (Difficulty: 2/10)
PHYS 3 has revised its course structure recently where there are no midterms/finals, and there are just weekly problem sets that are leniently graded. I recommend taking this class in conjunction with general chemistry just to get over taking physics (ignore if you're a physics-lover).
CHEM 51: Organic Chemistry I (Difficulty: 7/10)
I know the fuzz about organic chemistry: the most difficult class ever, a GPA-killer, mental health-killer, et cetera. But, honestly, I believe these preconceived notions have their truths and lies (#goprofessorsandford). I pretty much think this class had a similar workload as CHEM 6, because it has a lot of conceptual thinking as well.
One of the staple characteristics of the D-Plan is the off-term, a term in which you are not taking classes! Most students at Dartmouth will take at least one off-term, and this winter happens to be my turn! What will I be doing?
It's hard to believe that it has been a year since I wrote my first end-of-fall-term reflection. It felt like only yesterday that I stepped into my dorm room this September, eager to reunite with my friends.
