Hello there, friend! My name is Love and I am a '23. Aside from being on the pre-med track, I'm currently interested in studying math and public policy. I have a penchant for old things, learning languages, and the arts. I also love personality tests, irrespective of their actual validity—in case you're curious, I'm an INFJ, Scorpio, dragon, and type 2w1.
BIOL 11.07 (Major Events in the History of Life and the Human Genome) is a very unique class. We learn topics such as oxidative phosphorylation in conjunction with evolution and paleontology. In other words, where and when did ETC come from, and how can we support our hypothesis? Though not an easy class by far, every day the material I learn amazes me with the wonder of life, which is how biology should be!
MES 7.03 (Jerusalem: Vision and Reality) was my First-Year Seminar and such an interesting class to take! We explored Jerusalem through three main viewpoints (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). The class had a bit of religion, literature, anthropology, sociology, and even geography—all things I love to study but don't necessarily have the space for with our three-class quarters. I often found myself going to office hours just to talk with my professor about questions I had outside of the reading!
COSC 10 (Problem Solving with Object-Oriented Programming) is a data structures course and the last pre-requisite for the computer science major. Though I added it as a fourth class on a whim because of COVID-19 and remote learning, it quickly became my favorite class this term because I loved the problem solving that CS has to offer. It is a difficult class but the emotional and academic rewards make it all worth it!
This was one of four classes I took during fall term and it was super interesting! We learned about healthcare systems and innovations from around 4 guest lecturers per week, and were able to do research on our own and propose a new system at the end of the term. Students came from all over campus and the course was very enlightening for me in terms of understanding how care is dispensed in the U.S. and how we can improve it.
Though this was my first "foundation" course in the Biology department and I still found it challenging, I really enjoyed learning the material and found it all super exciting! We learned about DNA replication, mRNA transcription and protein translation, genetics, and had the opportunity to do a literature review at the end of the term.
The dreaded Organic Chemistry sequence of my pre-med track came upon me faster than I thought it would, but it surprised me by being one of my favorite classes to date! I found it intellectually interesting (even though it was time-consuming), probably because I treated it like a STEM-and-logic puzzle instead of pure STEM or pure memorization. Am I great at it? Not necessarily. Do I remember everything I've learned? I'm not too sure! Am I mentally ready for Organic Chemistry 2 next term? Not at all! But I had a lot of fun doing this class and surprised even myself with how I tackled it.
I love dancing, story-telling, and learning about different cultures so I knew going into this course that I would enjoy it. Cross-listed in the theater and AAAS departments, this course let students have the privilege of working with Dance Theatre of Harlem members who were in Hanover for a summer residency. As a group, we analyzed a play ("The Purple Flower" by Marita Bonner) and transformed the text into a physical movement piece. Each student also had complete ownership of a personal final project, and I opted to do a self-choreographed dance. Overall, I loved getting the chance to work creatively in my academics this term and I also was able to broaden my perspective and knowledge of the African-American story in the process!
As a pre-med, I am constantly trying to learn more about the U.S medical system. This course was extremely engaging in all aspects, taking students through all of American history through the lens of healthcare within the span of 10 weeks. I particularly liked having a discussion session that replaced a lecture, since we were able to talk about the issues with the professor and think out loud about our readings. The course was definitely challenging and required a lot of synthesis across different time periods and topics, but I feel like I came out of it with a deeper and more profound understanding of our healthcare system and why it functions the way it does today.
WinterDetroit, MI
For my junior winter, I did an internship in clinical research! With COVID affecting so much of my college experience, this practical, in-person work internship was very important for me to not only hone my employable skills but also see what having a 8am - 5pm job looks like and how it could fit into my future.
Much like my other pre-med courses here at Dartmouth, Biochemistry was quite rigorous and fast-paced. It was certainly challenging, but I found the work extremely rewarding and I enjoyed learning about all the different mechanisms that happen inside of our bodies. Additionally, many of my friends were also in this class as well, rounding out final prerequisites for graduate school, and this fact made it all the more fun.
SummerDresden, Germany
For my junior summer, I had a research internship in Eastern Germany, working at the intersection between math, computer science, and biology! The learning curve was very steep since my project focus changed once I arrived in Europe, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the content and myself. I am extremely thankful for all the support that Dartmouth has given me throughout my time here, without which I wouldn't have been able to do a 12-week European adventure!
As a pre-med student interested in health disparities, SOCY 75 was an amazing class to take! We covered numerous topics concerning how where one lives can impact their health outcomes. At the end of the course, students were also able to complete a final project of their choosing and I loved being able to tie my personal experiences into an academic course.
Throughout college, most of my science courses have been at the introductory level: one term of genetics, one term of cell structure, etc. Rarely have I had the chance to engage with something on a deeper level or connect the pre-med courses to human biology. This course was super interesting because I could finally connect everything I've learned throughout college into one cohesive course that connects to something I want to do post-Dartmouth.
With my last freshman term at Dartmouth now halfway over, I've been thinking about my academic path and what it is going to look like going forward. For you guys, I know many questions abound: What did Love end up taking her freshman year at Dartmouth? What is she majoring in? How do I decide what I want to major in? How do I choose classes myself?
Hopefully, my musings about my freshman year will give some insight!
In high school, I was a classics/humanities nerd™ and read philosophy, studied lots of Latin, and grimaced whenever I saw a chemistry problem. It wasn't necessarily that I *sucked* at STEM, but I found the arts and literature to be more natural for me to digest (not to mention more interesting). As a homeschooled student, I also just had no access to things that would make subjects like science easier for me, such as fully-equipped labs, in-person teaching, or a teacher at all. I applied to college undeclared and hopefully on the pre-med track, but I wasn't 100% set on anything and was still open to changing my mind.
How did I end up choosing classes this year? Lots of reading, talking things over with my mom, and schedule matching! I had some built-in guidance since I knew I wanted to take a statistics class and start on my other pre-med requirements early.
Here are the courses I took my freshman year, with three in the fall/winter and four my spring term:
Biology 11 (biology, genetics, and evolution) w/ Prof Peterson
MES 7.03 (first-year seminar on Jerusalem) w/ Prof Glinert
PBPL 5 (public policy) w/ Prof Wheelan
CHEM 6 (general chemistry 2) w/ Prof Glueck
COSC 10 (data structures) w/ Prof Li
MATH 24 (proof-based linear algebra) w/ Prof Lin
FREN 2 (2/3 language requirement) w/ Prof Lerme
4 classes fell into the "non-STEM" category and the remaining six were more STEM in nature, but in different departments: statistics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, and biology.
It may be surprising that I ended up taking so many STEM courses given my previous aversion to said subjects. This happened because I decided pretty early on that I wanted to use Dartmouth's resources in this area, strengthen my weaknesses, and focus more on science and math during college (especially since I knew that I would still read classics and study philosophy on my own time). Each term, I decided to do one humanities, one STEM, and one odd-ball, which worked out pretty well. I ended up taking 3 STEM courses in the spring, but it is a little easier to handle since everything is P/F.
And now, I'm a prospective math major and public policy/chemistry minor! Chemistry is still up in the air, since I added it because I only need one more course outside of my pre-med requirements to get the minor. I may end up modifying math with computer science or philosophy in the future, but right now this is what I'm going towards! I grew to love math by my senior year of high school and generally find it beautiful, fascinating, and super fun to think about (especially paired with deductive logic). Public policy is a perfect mix for me of the more theoretical stuff that I did in high school, like logic, philosophy, etc. but with a practical backing that I hope to use in the future to lobby and advocate for healthcare access, poverty alleviation policies, and policies concerning children (such as the foster care system, education, and instances of abuse and neglect).
As you can probably tell, this decision was made after lots of thinking, planning, and scrapping everything and starting over. While deciding my major, I thought about what was realistic for me (I got rid of engineering pretty quickly once I realized I would have to double up on labs my freshman year), what I wanted to spend my time doing (not super interested in only learning about the past), what could give me a stable, interesting, and relatively lucrative job if I didn't get into med school, and what would be the best use of my time ("best" being things that I couldn't learn on my own, things I wouldn't have the chance to learn post-college, and things that gave more tangible results).
I had about 20 possible majors when I arrived on campus and narrowed it down little-by-little. I spent too many hours over winter break, too many hours in the summer before getting to Dartmouth, and even more time while choosing classes thinking about my major and its implications. It was especially difficult for me because I had been such a "jack-of-all-trades" in high school and felt like I was closing a door/possible future each time I ticked potential majors off. I always knew that I was pre-med, which gave a little leeway into my decision making-process since I knew that I wouldn't necessarily have to lean on my degree the way others might. Also, I took comfort in the fact that majors don't define your life and you can still study the things you love on your own!
Though it can be frustrating when you don't know what you want to study as an incoming freshman, my piece of advice would be to not think about it too much in advance! I spent hours agonizing over course plans, possible major combinations, and possible pros/cons of each, but found that you will fall into your majors and courses pretty naturally once you have a better feel of Dartmouth and your place in it. Majors are a unique combination of what you love/enjoy studying, what is practical, and what can give you a good future. You will find this balance the more time you spend at school and in the world as an "adult" post-high school. There's lots of help on-campus, and you can start with your advisor, your dean, or even faculty members and upperclassmen.
And what started off as musing about my freshman year has turned into an advice session for prospies! A lot of things I do actually turn out like that, funnily enough. My academic journey is nowhere set in stone and I am constantly thinking about abandoning everything and just doing a classics major and learning Greek, or taking up acting and studying theater. I'm taking life day-by-day and learning to take things as they come, without constant over-worrying. If something changes tomorrow and another major catches my eye, I'm still early enough in the process to choose that one instead!
Except for econ and investment banking, obviously. I'm no snake.
(That was sarcasm!! I have lots of friends who are econ majors and whom I love!)
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
