Welcome! I'm Olivia Koo '26, hailing from Los Alamos, New Mexico. I am studying biological chemistry on the pre-med track, and I'm excited to be supplementing it with music, as a classical pianist and singer-songwriter! Some of my favorite things to do are watching YouTube videos about video games, singing and playing my guitar, and reading New York Times op-eds. Look through my page for information about Dartmouth's pre-med track, STEM research, acapella/music, and study abroad opportunities!
Unsure whether I would enjoy the biology-heavy pre-health track, I took an intro biology class. I surprisingly found myself so invested each class—I didn’t think I’d ever be excited trying to determine if the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) had DNA or RNA, but here we are! I found it a great introduction to thinking processes at Dartmouth.
I loved coming to this class with its supportive environment! The professor's feedback really helped me improve in my writing. This course guided us through personal narratives and organizational writing while discussing what it really means to be authentic. It also introduced me to the library’s resources for writing and research!
This class was definitely not easy! The accelerated version of general chemistry, it was my first class at Dartmouth that used a textbook, and I had to adapt and learn how to use a textbook for a class properly. But that didn't mean I didn't have a good time! The classes were full of physical demonstrations, and I felt very supported in the lab and beyond.
This was the first group music class I took, and I loved it! Each class we'd move a little forward in time; one day we'd talk about medieval chants, and by the next couple weeks, we talked about Baroque music. We even got to observe original medieval music scores from the Rauner Library, and attend a performance of Baroque music by the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra!
Songwriting 1 was the first time I was able to work on something creative/in the arts at Dartmouth, and I really loved it! I got to learn how to improve my songwriting and get to know a community of fellow songwriters on campus. The class was both supportive and constructive, and I pushed myself to my creative limit with the assignment of writing one new song a week. This class inspired me to continue writing and being expressive, whether in an academic setting or not.
For one of my classes on the London Music FSP, I got to attend a myriad of musical performances in London and discuss them with my class! It was a once-in-a-life-time experience–getting to watch multiple operas, ballets, jazz sets, and a musical, as well as seeing beautiful performances from the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and more, helped me grow my ear so much and my inspirations as a musician.
I took this class to learn a little more about the social landscape around medicine, and this class delivered that by a mile. From environmental exposure to racial inequities in medicine/health to the discussion of medicine itself as a manipulative tool in colonialist social structures, this class helped me rethink medicine and my role within it.
From One Small Town to the Next—Transitioning to Dartmouth from a Rural Place
Having grown up in a town in New Mexico, with a population of 13,000, living in Hanover, New Hampshire—with its population of around 8-11,000 people—wasn't unfamiliar territory. But why did I choose to attend a college in a small town if I grew up in a small town to begin with?
In all honesty, when I was first applying to college, I was not interested in attending schools that were in small towns. Growing up in a small town felt a little overwhelming at times; I felt that there was so much more to life that I could discover if I attended a college that was in a larger city. However, after weighing my options, I found that there were a lot of advantages to attending college in a small town:
1. A small, tight community
When the town is small, and the college is small, the little things that are around the town feel homely and personal. The bookshop down the street (Still North Books) feels like a gathering place and studying space for students, the guitar rental shop (Hanover Strings) is a place to say hello to the musicians on campus who work in the shop, and professors live as close as just down the street from campus! This intimate community allows me to be seen as a person who can have a tangible impact on the campus I am attending.
2. A focus on school
My first priority when applying to college was academic; Dartmouth was one of the best places for me in terms of undergraduate education, but the location itself also serves as a catalyst for a bigger focus on academics (can you tell I'm taking biology this term?). Because the location is small, I find that I am able to focus better on academics during the term without feeling too much pressure to explore the area. There are still parts of Hanover and the Upper Valley that I would love to explore—from White River Junction, VT, to Concord, NH, there's a lot of places I can go! But first and foremost, I am glad I get to focus on my classes.
3. More affordable in the long run
On a similar note, with Dartmouth's location in a smaller town, I feel that its location is better on my wallet given that there are less things nearby to spend money on; as a result, a lot of the social activities on campus and among friends are not as tied to money as they would be in other locations, as students opt instead to play sports, games, and more.
4. Lots of opportunities to live outside of Hanover in Dartmouth
Additionally, Dartmouth offers plenty of opportunities for students to live outside of Hanover with their extensive study abroad programs. I myself got to get a sense of city life by living in London for a term through the London Music Foreign Study Program! Whether students want to attend a different university in the US for a term, or attend a college in another country, or take Dartmouth classes in a completely new location, Dartmouth provides the infrastructure available to do so.
Living in London was a really enlightening and fun experience, my first time living in a city!
And when looking back, Hanover itself is different from the rural community I grew up in. The rural childhood experience is most often tied to cars, driving from one place to another, as things and activities are spread far out and apart. However, in Hanover, the basic essentials are merely a 15-minute walk away, as Main Street provides many services and entertainment in a condensed place.
It's a cute place! I like to get boba at the boba place down the street.
Despite all of this, it is true that a small town is a small town; sometimes the school can feel all-encompassing, and even overwhelming, to my life here. However, I appreciate the importance of finding a space away from campus that is nearby, whether that be the serene and quiet Pine Park, or a small place in town, like Howe Library. Each of us can find small escapes from the busyness of Dartmouth College, and it's something that can be found, even in a small town.
Overall, even though I grew up in a small town, I don't regret attending Dartmouth College, even if it is also in a rural location! The chances that I will live in a more urban area in the future are high given the opportunities for college graduates, so I am glad I get to keep some of the small-town peace in college before eventually letting it go.
I applied through Questbridge's National College Match, but did not match. To others who also did not match, this is not the end of your application process! Here's what I did following match decision day.
Unlimited buffets, flavorful drinks, an assortment of breakfast pastries—Dartmouth has so many great food and drink options to choose from! Join me as I rank my favorite ones.
Walking around the Wellelsey campus, it's clear that it was built with intentional incorporation of the surrounding nature. The architecture of many buildings were also mindfully crafted to support Wellesley's unique principles.
