My name is Eva, and I'm a '25 Mechanical Engineering BE student from Upstate New York. My time at Dartmouth has been marked by the combination of the arts and engineering on campus and you can often find me working on a new project in either the Dartmouth Engineering Machine Shop or Visual Arts Center. In my free time, I love to work on lego sets and watch the craziest reality tv I can find!
I remember how obsessed I was with rooming and dorms when I first got into Dartmouth. I'd constantly peruse the housing website, looking at picture after picture of floor plans, room setups, and placement on campus. Seeing as it was where I was going to live next year, I was hoping for something that would perfectly accommodate life as a first-year student.
The common room my roommate and I share
Then I finally got the email of where I would be rooming: French Hall, 3-room double.
After that, I did 2 things:
Looked up what a 3-room double could possibly mean
Where French Hall was on campus (Google Maps never disappoints)
Both good and semi-disappointing news followed.
I learned that a 3-room double basically consists of, well, 3 rooms for you and your roommate. A common space with a fridge, microwave, and two desks, as well as two single bedrooms on either side of the larger space. To me, that sounded absolutely perfect. I may or may not have gone on a bit of a bragging spree and made all my friends jealous. Being able to have a roommate? And my own space? Nothing sounded better. Now that I'm finally here, I can say that I truly am in love with my rooming situation. As someone who never had their own room growing up, the idea of personal space was foreign to me. Now with my own little bedroom, I can retreat after a long day of socializing and work (given that being a first-year involves a LOT of socializing), but also talk and consult with my roommate whenever we're both up to it.
First time I've made my bed since arriving on campus!
However, all good things have downsides. French Hall is pretty much the furthest thing from everything on campus. The French and Judge dorms are what we Dartmouth students call "The River" because we're some of the closest buildings on campus to the Connecticut River. Time-wise, we're a 12-minute walk from the dining hall, 15 from the library, 20 from the gym, and 20 from the life science center. To adapt, most people who live in the river pack everything they need for the day (including gym clothes) and don't return to their dorms until it's time for bed. Personally, I find this to be a great way to go about my day since there are so many awesome study spaces and napping nooks on campus. It's also a great way to get your steps in! Most people in my dorm have a bike as well to make the trek a bit easier.
I love waking up to this in the morning. The sunrises are gorgeous
Another thing to mention about the river is that we tend to have a stronger bond than the other first-year dorms on campus. I know just about every person in my entire dorm, while my friends in other housing systems don't even know everyone on their floor. Since we're far from the activities on campus during weeknights, we tend to hang out in the common room or just spend time with each other. Things we've done so far include swimming, dorm concerts, poker nights, and WWE stream parties (I'm not the biggest fan, but it draws quite a crowd!)
Though we're far from the bigger things on campus, the river is a home I wouldn't trade for any other dorm (though maybe I'll change my mind in the winter). We have the perfect room arrangements, gorgeous views, and a community worth 9,000 steps a day.
Dartmouth is known for its outstanding graduate schools of business, engineering, and medicine, but how can undergraduates take part in that enriching environment? Read more to find out!
Dartmouth is no stranger to a variety of student-run full-year performance groups in dance, a cappella, improv, and comedy. Sophomore summer is particularly special, as most of these groups allow sophomores to audition and join just for the summer.
In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how I joined a sorority earlier this fall by going through the recruitment process. I've come a long way since then. In fact, I am living in my sorority house for my sophomore summer!
Dartmouth is not just a college. With world-renowned graduate schools, why would we choose to call ourselves a college instead of a university? The story behind that decision dates back to a significant Supreme Court ruling.
On a quiet spring Saturday in Hanover, I traded the usual campus buzz for Monet in the morning and archery in the afternoon—a reminder that Dartmouth weekends can be just as meaningful when they're slow, reflective, and a little unexpected.
During my sophomore spring quarter, I took on the challenge of four STEM courses, and while it has been intense, the unexpected connections across subjects and the joy of learning have made it one of my most rewarding academic experiences yet.
