Hi there! I'm May and I'm sooo excited to share my Dartmouth experience with you! I love basically all types of food, binge watching Asian shows, and cozy movie nights! Find me in gym playing badminton, with my friends in the common rooms, getting coffee at Collis (my favorite), or volunteering at local service projects!
Academic Program
Quantitative Social Science
Favorite Thing Right Now
Finally having Stir-fry from Collis after a looong year...
This class was my introduction to quantitative social sciences but it definitely won't be my last QSS class at Dartmouth! We worked with datasets, from global wealth distribution to most popular ramen chains in Japan, and learned how to make graphs/visuals through the programming software R.
Do we really live in the best of all possible worlds? This course explores pessimism and the values of human existence from Greek literature. I've never had much interest in the classics but Prof. Lurie's passion and enthusiasm in his lectures had me up reading Plato at 2am. This is a class which will surely stimulate your intellectual curiosity and push you to ask questions about even the most mundane of things.
As the name suggests, BIO12 explores the nature and function of cells and the class covers a lot of material through lectures and assignments. Through Zoom break-out groups, we discussed and solved practice problems together, an approach I wasn't very familiar with, especially virtually. We also used online databases and findings to compile our own data to analyze for labs, which I found extremely insightful!
My first geography class at Dartmouth and first introduction to GIS technology, something that I've always been intrigued by. Prof. Xun Shi takes the time to go over each conceptl to make sure his students have a solid understanding of the fundamentals. We also had lab sessions where we used ArcGIS to work with spatial data, geographic information, and maps in group projects.
Arguably one of the best classes at Dartmouth! Whether you are a computer science major or not, this class is a "must-take". Beyond coding, I felt as though I gained a whole new outlook on problem solving and creative thinking. Some of the problem sets Professor Vasanta gives the class are really fun and interesting and she herself is a phenomenal teacher. You won't regret taking this class!
On a typical weekday, I have my alarm set at 10 a.m. Myanmar is about 11 hours ahead of Eastern Time, so classes usually end around 3 a.m for me. To accommodate for students in completely different time zones, professors are happy to talk to you and let you take classes asynchronously. However, I enjoy being present at lectures so I try to work around time conflicts as much as I can. This means that students like me need to be extra careful with planning out our day and in particular, our sleep schedules.
Take a look at my "blown-out" calendar! Definitely a must in this remote term!
One strategy I've used to cope with this is to draw out a "blown-up" calendar on a large drawing pad. A planner or a to-do list would work as well, but I love playing around with my markers to color-code or symbolize my classes/activities for the day! As soon as I wake up, I head over to my calendar and try to visualize my schedule for the day. This is also excellent stress relief because it reminds me that no matter how hectic the week looks, I'm taking it one day at a time—slowly but surely.
While having breakfast, I browse through my emails and make note of the ones I have to respond to later. If there're club meetings or social events I'm interested in, Timezone Converter really comes in handy for remote students like me to see what time events would translate to. As a remote learner, it's important to plan around your responsibilities as a student, a leader, or a club member. However, your well-being and health is always your priority. Can't make it to meetings or events because of the ghastly time difference? Email them! Club leaders and faculty are more than happy to keep you in the loop through social media platforms or one-on-one check-ins!
Check out my late night snack of fried egg, strawberries, avocado, and apples! Quick, easy, and delicious~
By around 6 pm, I've made sure to have dinner and a good rest. Settling into my room, I start working on my assignments while the sounds of my family talking downstairs provide a soothing background noise. As classes progress through the night, I like to keep some snacks at bay for a much needed energy boost. If I have a longer break, I'll make myself a healthy snack with some apples, avocado, carrots, fried egg, and bread. Quick and easy—try it out yourself!
Once my last class ends, I'm ready to jump straight to bed and call it a day. My unconventional schedule is definitely not the easiest, but one thing I've been doing a lot more in the remote term is communicating with my professors about my difficulties. If I'm unable to make it to office hours, I make sure to schedule an appointment with my professor at a time that works for both of us. I make it a point to go through recorded lectures and share my questions with my study group. In a way, remote learning has really made me take more responsibility of my own learning. Whether it is trying to balance out a new sleep schedule, asking to meet with a professor separately, or getting support from those around me, I'm constantly growing as a student, even if I am miles away from campus.
Over half of Dartmouth students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate journeys—quite a high percentage, right? Do you want to know how to best prepare for your own abroad experience? Come check what it was like for me.
The "Why Dartmouth" supplement was the hardest for me to write. How would I explain all the reasons I loved Dartmouth in 100 words? I chose Dartmouth because of how the people and campus made me feel. Dartmouth radiates excitement.
