Hello there! My name is Shuyi and I'm a '23, which means it's my senior year here at Dartmouth! Follow me for my last year at Dartmouth as I reflect upon my college experience. At Dartmouth, I enjoy playing squash, eating at late night, and of course, blogging. You can ask me about studying social sciences, coming to Dartmouth as an international student, and anything else really. I hope you enjoy the blog!
I actually wasn't planning on taking this class but it eventually became my favorite class. The professor was very funny and created a relaxed classroom environment where I enjoyed looking at diversity in different contexts, such as college admissions and group dynamics.
This class was a perfect mix of philosophy, classical studies, and writing. We were able to reflect on societal views, our own ideas of optimism and pessimism, and how we can lead more fulfilling and compassionate lives.
My first experience with computer science was my Freshman winter, and I quickly became interested in the subject. I followed up CS1 with CS10 in the Spring, which I found just as cool. I love how you can solve problems by applying logic and math with computer science, and I look forward to diving deeper into the major!
Econ 21 is required for all Econ majors, and I loved my experience with Professor Gustman. He made the material super easy to digest and allowed me to take exams in my timezone, which I thought was really nice.
It was really interesting to study public speaking in an asynchronous environment, and I came away with a deeper understanding of not only public speaking but speech writing. I wrote a separate blog post about the class, so check it out!
Since English was one of my favorite classes in high school, I wanted to take another writing course at Dartmouth. This was a great choice, as it was a perfect mix of lecture and discussion. I loved reading and learning about several American dramas, and even discussing modern topics such as Trump's rhetoric!
SummerShanghai
I took my Sophomore Summer off, which many international students do, and got involved with the Tuck School of Business through the Bridge and Paganucci programs! You can read more about my summer experiences in my blogs!
This was my first class from the QSS department, which was long overdue considering that I'm a QSS major! I really enjoyed picking up some coding skills and tackling problems like transitional justice with quantitative approaches.
I took Econ 25 in the Fall, and Econ 35 was the next course in the game theory sequence! It was really fun to apply game theory to cool concepts like sports, Covid-19, and auctions.
This was my first time taking a music class even though I have been involved with music my entire life, whether that was playing the piano or learning how to make beats. I loved this class because I not only learned more about music, but more about Native culture as well!
SummerNew York
I took my junior summer off to pursue a management consulting internship in New York. I had a wonderful experience!
I absolutely loved this class! Theatre was one of my favorite classes in middle school, and so it was great to reconnect with theatre again in college. The professor was amazingly kind and passionate, and the final project was a really fun group performance!
This was a small class of around 15 people, which allowed us to have intimate discussions of readings and theatre. I loved hearing from my classmates, as we used our personal experiences to guide us in our understanding of materials. My final project was a protest on campus, which also really fun and refreshing take on performance!
In a world where COVID-19 never happened and the pandemic only occurred in an alternate universe, Dartmouth would be welcoming hundreds of prospective students to campus for its Dimensions program. Unfortunately, the reality is that Dimensions hasn't taken place since I was a prospective student, and that Admissions programming has been virtual ever since. This month, I got to be a part of Pine Pods, which is this year's virtual program for prospective students to learn more about Dartmouth. I really enjoyed meeting '25s and helping to answer their questions about Dartmouth. In fact, I was surprised to find out how similar their questions were to the ones I had when I was visiting. Therefore, I decided to put some of the most popular questions together and provide some answers for future prospective students who also have these questions on their mind!
Q: What do I do from now until the fall?
A: Now that the hard part is over, a lot of students are wondering what happens next. The most important thing is figuring out where you want to go for the next four years. After you talk with current students and decide which college is best for you, all you have to do is sit back and relax. Enjoy your senior spring, and don't worry too much about college just yet. Something I emphasized to my group was that even though social media is a great place to meet your future classmates, don't stress about being involved in the group chats if that's not your thing. Also, you don't have to worry about missing out on any important communications, just make sure you're checking your email regularly so that you fill out any forms sent your way! For Dartmouth, most of the communications will happen in the summer, so there really isn't anything to stress about.
Q: Do you enjoy the social life at Dartmouth?
A: This is a very popular question, and I think there's a lot of things students are thinking about when it comes to social life at Dartmouth. Let's start with Greek Life, which is probably Dartmouth's biggest social space. The things I like to emphasize about Greek Life is that it's a very inclusive and diverse space. What I love about the scene is that during on-nights, the houses are open to everyone. Therefore, you don't have to worry about being invited or knowing the right people. Furthermore, each house has its own identity and vibe, which means you'll most likely be able to find a house you like. Moving on from Greek Life, I also like to tell students that there are other social spaces where you can meet new people and have fun. The Dartmouth Outing Club, Collis Late Night, campus clubs and your housing community are all great alternatives or supplements to Greek Life!
Join the DOC and take a kayak to the river!
Q: What is the modified major?
A: I was surprised to get this question a lot during my Pine Pods, but I remember being interested in the modified major when I was a prospective student as well. The modified major is an opportunity for you to take two areas of interest and study them together. Almost any combination of fields can become a modified major, with examples ranging from economics modified with psychology to math modified with art. It's very easy to modify your major and gives students a lot of autonomy on deciding what classes they want to take in college. Since a lot of students have questions about their major, I think it's important to remind Dartmouth students that you don't have to declare a major until the middle of your sophomore year. Therefore, you have a lot of time to figure out what you like, and your plans going into college will probably be different from what you eventually decide to study!
I hope these answers to some of the most popular questions have been helpful to any prospective students thinking about coming to Dartmouth. As always, if you have any follow-up or clarifying questions, feel free to reach out to a current student or email me at shuyi.jin.23@dartmouth.edu!
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.
