Paulina Cuadra

Richardson and the Fayerweathers (North Fayerweather, Mid Fayerweather, and South Fayerweather) are all-first-year dorms that are extremely centrally located. Richardson has beautiful views to Baker Berry Library and the Fays are right behind Dartmouth Hall and an extremely short walk to the Green which serves as the center for campus. These are both pretty old buildings but rooms are generally a bit spacious. The majority of rooms in the Fays are composed of two-room triples with a half bathroom inside the room and showers in the hall. The Fays are all connected with each other through the basement. The room configurations in Richardson are a lot more variable ranging from singles, doubles, triples, to quads. The floors in both buildings are divided by gender, and because these dorms are composed of all first-year they are a pretty popular spot amongst first-years and tend to have pretty close friendships among floors. Having lived in the Fays my first year, I am an undying Fays fan!!

Dorms in East Wheelock are located near the Alumni Gym. These dorms are not the most centrally located but are very nice and more modern than most other buildings. The majority of first-years living here are either placed in singles or two-room doubles. Students living in East Wheelock also tend to study and hang out in the common rooms. Upperclassmen also live in these buildings but in non-first-year floors. An added East-Wheelock perk is the Brace snack-bar that has late-night (8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) snack options available for purchase. 

Wheeler is one of the most centrally located dorms on campus as it is right in front of Baker Berry Library. Dorms are composed of singles, doubles, and triples. There are four buildings designated as the “Choates” which are Brown, Little, Cohen, and Bissel. Only Brown and Little are in School House and these two are connected with each other. Most rooms in the Choates are one-room doubles with some singles. You can be at Novack and some academic buildings after a really short walk and are placed right behind frat row. While the Choates are generally considered to be pretty old, these are one of my favorite dorms since they host amazing communities. People living in the Choates tend to form pretty strong bonds with each other, and given their proximity to frat row they are a pretty popular destination amongst first-years. 

I love getting an early start to the day, especially in the spring as I can enjoy the beautiful morning glow that has overtaken all of Hanover. Today, I was at FoCo (Dartmouth speak for Food Court) by 8:00 a.m. to grab a meal with a friend. At 8:45 we were done and I headed over to the Steel building to have office hours with my professor. Given the beautiful spring day, the office hours were outside! During this time, we spoke about an upcoming class project and overarching goals and expectations for the class. 

After my office hours, I headed out to my 10:10 class, Introduction to International Development. During class we discussed the pros and cons of microcredit directed towards women as a development initiative. 

After class I went to Still North, which is a bookstore in Hanover started by a Dartmouth alum from the Class of 2011. I bought a book my friend recommended to me and read it for a little while at the store before my lunch plans.

Dartmouth is one of the oldest colleges in the United States, and as such, it has a profound history with many traditions. By coming to Dartmouth, you will be getting an experience you can literally get no place else. Here, we walk into the woods holding candles, get challenged to plunge into ice water, walk around a giant bonfire, learn lingo, throw tennis balls into the ice rink, and so much more. Religion Professor Susan Ackerman, who was part of the class of 1980, said that, ​"Religion is about community and how societies organize and structure themselves." Dartmouth definitely structures and organizes itself in distinctive ways, and because of this, it is no wonder that there are classes here titled “Is Dartmouth a Religion?" Dartmouth is an incredibly vibrant place that has a distinct culture. It's a tight knit community that participates in these traditions so that the experience you get here will be unlike any other. These activities make us stand apart from other academic institutions while also creating strong bonds with previous alumni who also experienced this same culture. 

Money! It really does make the world go around. At Dartmouth, financial aid is really good and meant to help you! This was one of the most important factors I was considering when applying to Dartmouth, and thankfully, the financial aid I received did not disappoint. Dartmouth financial aid makes it so that not only one can attend the college, but can also participate in other programs and opportunities. Financial aid travels with you if you go abroad, and there are also thousands of other forms of funding available for you to participate in other projects and internships. 

I know what you're thinking, this sounds like something that should draw people away from Dartmouth. I was certainly hesitant about Dartmouth’s rural setting before coming here. Would it feel alienating? Would there be nothing to do? I have found that Dartmouth’s location neither makes it feel alienating nor boring; instead, the fact that Hanover is pretty far away from major cities is one of the reasons I love this place so much. By being located in a rural setting, students have to look inwards when searching for forms of entertainment. Without the added factor of having hundreds establishments vying for your money and attention, people will participate in events that are made available to them by the College. There is a really high turnout for school events. It feels amazing to have the entire school come out and experience the same things. This might be the middle of nowhere, but at the end of the day, we are definitely in the middle of nowhere together. In Hanover, I do not feel the alienation of big cities where I am one amongst many, an invisible person to others. I like being able to walk down Main Street and encounter friendly faces. Here, you will never run out of friendly “Hey’s!” and Hi’s!” while walking anywhere. A place that envelopes everyone within the same opportunities and experiences creates a pretty strong community and campus culture and I’ve found that that makes Dartmouth extremely special. It definitely feels like a summer camp where one is surrounded with thousands of other students who are all incredibly driven, smart, and different. And the best thing is, you get to experience all of this and immerse yourself in the college experience while also just being a couple of hours away from New York City or Boston by Dartmouth Coach.