

Lee Coffin

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"Nothing Can Be Changed Until It Is Faced"
The ugly stain of racism is America's original sin. It haunts us.

Dartmouth Adopts a Test Optional Policy for Class of 2025
As I noted in an earlier blog post, we promised to adapt our admissions requirements as the situation evolved and as warranted. The situation has evolved, and a policy pause is now warranted.

Take an Existential Selfie
Here's a counterintuitive thing about a college search as it takes shape: it's not about a college. A college search is your search. So start with you. Hello, you.

Podding Together
"The Search," the podcast that made me a podcaster, launched this week. I'm calling it an act of admissions citizenship, a conversation about college admissions for stuck-at-home high school juniors.

Mind the Gap
The college admissions landscape buzzes with vexing questions about gap years.

Community Endures
From my own living room, I send my heartfelt thanks to the Big Green family for proving that community transcends the physical boundary. And to the '24s who claimed their place in this Big Green community last Friday, welcome home.

I Know What You're Thinking
Hello, dear accepted-but-still-undecided seniors. It's time. Time to answer the big question that has chased you for a while now. [Insert drum roll here.] Where will you enroll on May 1?

Our New Normal = New Guidelines
The first steps in next year's admissions cycle have certainly been anything but normal for all of us. But the task at hand remains the same: you're looking for the right college, and we're hoping to engage you in a conversation about Dartmouth.





Dartmouth '24s: Enter Our Selfie Challenge!
Welcome to Dartmouth, '24s! To celebrate your acceptance, we invite you to join our Selfie Challenge. Be sure to tag your photo(s) with #Dartmouth24s!
Last Minute Advice from Our Dean: Things You Don't Need to Stress About
You're almost there! If you find yourself worrying about every little thing, take a deep breath, exhale, and then read on for a few last minute pointers about things you really don't need to stress about.
- No. 1
The looming deadline is for you, not the people who will recommend you.
In other words, you must press “submit” on the Common Application by 11:59PM on January 2. That action creates your admissions “record” on Dartmouth’s system: it lets us know you’re there and that we should start collecting all the required elements about you.
Your teacher, guidance counselor, and optional peer recommendations, as well as mid-year grades, can arrive after January 2nd. This also applies to an alumni interview report (your application triggers the referral to your local interviewing committee) and any late-breaking standardized testing.
If something is missing, we’ll let you know.
- No. 2
Speaking of the moments immediately after you submit your application: you are not sending a text.
Your application is a (very) large document that gets processed through a high-volume server before it gets uploaded to us. That technical transfer is not instantaneous, especially when literally thousands of you usually hit “send” at the same moment on or about January 2. (Tip 2A: Avoid the rush, submit early if you can. Procrastination causes technical gridlock.)
This point is important: do not panic when/if you check your status and your application hasn’t been processed. Give the surge a few days to work its way through the server…or submit your application before January 1. (I seem to be repeating myself. I’ve become your parent…)
- No. 3
A peer recommendation and an alumni interview are recommended rather than required elements of Dartmouth’s application.
If, in your judgment, either enhances the personal narrative you hope to share with us through your application and supplement, each is a vehicle to do so. But neither is required. (I see a pattern.)