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.
Last September, a friend and I crafted a ten-item bucket list for our final year as undergraduates. It's the end of our senior spring now. These are some of the boxes I've checked.
Starting college is an exciting transition, but it can also come with its share of challenges. Luckily, students have access to a wide range of free mental health resources at Dartmouth, one of which is the Counseling Center.
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Greta Richardson '26, an engineering major, showed me around her room in her off-campus apartment, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
