Natalie Keim

I hope this image gives you a good sense of what to expect from a Dartmouth dorm! There are a few things in particular I want to point out here. Every room comes with a bedframe, a desk and chair (not pictured), and a set of drawers (on the far right.) I've added underbed storage, curtains, and my minifridge.

In general, I would say most students add extra storage and a fridge to their dorm room. Some Dartmouth dorms provide fridges, and some do not! When you are assigned housing, the school will inform you if there is a fridge in your room. In terms of extra storage, I find that lofting my bed (see how it's raised off the ground?) and adding more drawers underneath help me manage all my different things. The curtains are purely for decorative purposes—there's already a blackout shade in every room!

I've added all sorts of my own decorations. One of my favorite things about living in the dorms is getting to see how people express their personality through their decorations. 

RWIT was an insane concept to me. You show up with a paper, a prompt, or a question, and you work 1:1 with a writing tutor (for free!) to revise your paper or brainstorm and talk through ideas. You can bring literally any writing or research questions to the Center, and they will give you an hour of their undivided attention. RWIT helped me build confidence in my writing and adapt to a college-level standard of research, citations, and ideation.

SAS works with students, faculty, staff, and the campus administration to ensure that Dartmouth is accessible to students with disabilities. For me, this looked like getting academic accommodations after I was diagnosed with ADHD in the spring of my freshman year. Now, with more of an ability to understand my brain, and by partnering with SAS, I can request extended time on assessments, and a quiet, distraction-free testing room. SAS was also my first step when I began to suspect I had ADHD. They pointed me to a psychologist who helped diagnose me.

The Academic Skills Center's mission is to "assist students in achieving their academic goals.” They offer sessions on everything from time management to good notetaking to study tips. For me, the coolest part of the ASC was the 1:1 academic coaching. I met with a coach to go over how I could structure my study sessions in a way that was productive to the ADHD brain — my grades certainly thanked me.