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.
About two Wednesdays ago, the Baker-Berry Library, as usual, was filled with the tip-taps of laptop keyboards—but something was different. Most students appeared to be working on the same thing.
What was it?
The application for study abroad programs throughout the next annual year was due on February 1st at 11:59 PM—and everyone was on it. Regardless of whether people started the application months ago or on the day a couple hours before, the campus felt united in the pre- deadline crunch. My location of choice was in the Sudikoff building (the new home of the Music department); a common room called Studio Sudikoff offered study spaces, and I was sitting in one, hoping to also send mine in before the deadline.
The room also has a Wii!
I never expected to chase the opportunity to study abroad. When applying to college, I watched as some of my peers, desperate to explore the world during their time at college, researched deeply into study abroad opportunities in different universities. But I didn't feel the allure: wasn't studying abroad too much of a hassle? A money-sucking vacuum?
However, arriving at Dartmouth, I noted the high numbers of upperclassmen who had gone abroad for a term; it struck me how casually they came up in conversation alongside internships and major choices, as if studying abroad was a must-do at Dartmouth. With a surprisingly affordable cost, relatively simple application, and an advertised focus on exploration and immersion in the location, I asked myself: why not take the chance?
There are several different types of study abroad programs at Dartmouth, all run by the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education.
1. Foreign Study Programs (FSP)
Foreign Study Programs, or FSPs, are run by a specific department, and allows students to go abroad and take three courses in that department. For example, one could take classics courses in Rome and Greece; African and African American Studies in Accra, Ghana; biology in Central America. The courses offered, of course, can be counted towards minors or majors.
2. Domestic Study Programs (DSP)
Similarly structured to the FSP, the Domestic Study Program allows students to study in different locations within the United States. From studying film in Los Angeles, California, to Native American and Indigenous Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, one doesn't have to leave the country for a supplemented education.
3. Language Study Abroad (+) (LSA/+)
The Language Study Abroad programs are unique. They are designed to immerse students in the culture, history, and language of the country; instead of the location supplementing one's education, the location is a driving factor for the education. Therefore, these programs are run by language departments: for example, the Spanish department offers the opportunity to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Barcelona, Spain, or Santander, Spain.
4. Exchange Programs (EXCH)
Dartmouth even offers the opportunity to go on an exchange program with select universities across the country and the world, where a student will take classes at that institution instead of Dartmouth for a term or so, which can add to the diversity of the educational experience.
5. Guarini Study Abroad (GSA)
One more! The Guarini Study Abroad is a special type of study-abroad program that occurs during the six-week interim between fall and winter term, which teaches one course intensively for three weeks. These are a little rarer, but very intriguing opportunities. For example, last interim, there was a program that brought students to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for Vietnamese studies.
When going to the information fairs about these programs in the fall term, I was a little overwhelmed—so many opportunities, and yet, which one allured me the most?
Well, I applied to the Music department's FSP to London, which takes place in the spring term of 2024. The opportunity to delve into music for one term and watch performances live feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Most students have to go back to college after Thanksgiving to take their finals, but not at Dartmouth! We have a six-week winter break, known as "winterim!" Let me tell you how I spent my winterim!
Applying early to a university can be overwhelming and confusing. As someone who did not apply to Dartmouth through early decision, here are a couple tips that I could have used when thinking about applying early to a school!
