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.
Ever wonder what STEM labs are like at Dartmouth? As a pre-med who's done almost all of them both in-person and throughout the pandemic, I believe I am equipped to answer this question.
A good number of intro or core classes at Dartmouth involve labs, notably biology, chemistry, and physics. Introductory computer science courses have something called "recitation," where students are expected to do some problem-solving with a TA once a week, but these are typically only one hour long at their longest and I don't count them as labs.
Instead, Dartmouth labs are listed as four hour time blocks once a week. Typical sections include 8AM - 12PM, 2PM - 6PM, or 6PM - 10PM. I've actually done all these lab sections by now and they are definitely all manageable! My least favorite was probably the 6PM - 10PM one because you don't really have time to enjoy dinner and by the time you get out of lab, it's too late to get a proper meal on-campus other than eat food from Late Night, which is usually fried food.
Certain courses may take up the whole time whereas other courses such as General Physics might only take one or two hours. Additionally, how long you actually spend in lab will depend on you and your lab partner's efficiency—some people are always the first to leave whereas others might take a little longer. Note that while lab courses at other schools might give you more "credits" than a non-lab class, Dartmouth operates on "courses" (as in you need 35 courses to graduate, not x amount of credits). This is important for course planning, because you won't earn more credit towards graduation from your lab courses even though you are doing more work.
Each academic department has a slightly different approach to lab. Biology, for example, is very instructive and each section in BIOL 12 or 13 begins with a lab lecture as well as demonstrations and trial runs. Chemistry, on the other hand, has shorter lab lectures and often just throws you into the deep end with no further instruction other than what was given on the lab manual. If you have questions, you can always ask the graduate TA who supervises your section. I've only ever done physics labs online, but the General Physics courses have relatively simple experiments compared to biology and chemistry (such as rolling objects down an incline or putting together circuits to test Kirchhoff's law).
My very first lab at Dartmouth was in CHEM 5 my freshman winter! This was actually my first real chemistry lab ever so it was both very exciting and a little intimidating. Thankfully, I had a wonderful graduate TA and lab partner (who also coincidentally lived on my floor). We did a lot of the foundational chemistry labs, such as titrations and purification; my partner and I usually got out in around 2.5-3 hours vs. the listed four hours.
Before your weekly lab section, you are usually required to fill out your lab notebook and complete any pre-lab assignments. After the lab section, you usually have a post-lab assignment that involves data analysis and answering other questions about your work. The amount of work you have will depend on what class you are taking. In Organic Chemistry, for example, you are expected to spend anywhere from six to eight hours on lab each week in addition to your regular course load.
Lastly, many of the students in these classes are pre-health, but some are also dedicated science majors! There can be quite a lot of camaraderie during your lab sections, especially if you find a good lab partner or group. STEM labs are also really interesting and help support whatever you're learning in class. I've always enjoyed applying concepts to tangible problem-solving, so I personally find lab satisfying although I must concede that it is a lot of work.
This term, I am taking Biochemistry through the Chemistry department. This is my last mandatory lab class and most likely (probably?) my last lab class at Dartmouth in general since I will be busy with extracurricular computational research my senior year. I've really enjoyed it so far—my section is a smaller one and we are able to move slowly through everything and ask Dr. Carpenter (our lab professor) lots of questions. This has been one of the most relaxed and friendly lab sections I've ever been a part of, which is a great way to round off my Dartmouth lab experience!
If you're able to fit it into your schedule, I think almost everyone could benefit from a lab-based class during their time at Dartmouth, even if it is just to try something new! After all, who wouldn't like to say that they've cloned DNA before or purified copper from coins?
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
