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!
Dartmouth might be a smaller school than other large universities, but I think any Dartmouth student will tell you that you can always learn something new about campus. My Freshman winter, I remember one of my friends asking if me if I wanted to come to the climbing gym. Although I had been at Dartmouth for over half a year at that point, I replied with confusion: "What climbing gym?" It's moment like these that stand out to me when I think about all the undiscovered places I haven't been to yet. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to explore campus recently, but I still think about some of my most visited spots at Dartmouth regularly. I think every student at Dartmouth has different spots they call their own, but I'm here to share some of my personal favorites with you!
A peaceful day at LSC under the blue sky
If you're a college student, you need a have a go-to study spot. Dartmouth offers a variety of options, whether that's first floor of Baker Library (FFB), the Jones Media Center, or the Baker-Berry Stacks. Although I've put in countless hours of work in all these places, my favorite spot to study is actually the Life Sciences Center (LSC), which is a ten-minute walk from the heart of campus. LSC is where a lot of the STEM courses take place, and I was actually introduced to the building by taking my CS1 class there. What I love about the LSC is that the building boasts these giant windows with views into beautiful gardens that bring a sense of calmness and tranquility. Since studying at Dartmouth can definitely become stressful, it's nice to be able to study at a place that gives you a sense of peacefulness.
Missing this view of Occom Pond...
Another spot that I really miss at Dartmouth is Occom Pond, which is a pond about five minutes away from the Choates. Everyone talks about how great it is living in nature, and Occom Pond is a representation of that to me. During warmer seasons, I like to go by the pond to take a morning run, and I've also enjoyed hanging out by the pond with some friends at night. It's a really cool vibe at Occom Pond, as you get to feel slightly disconnected for a few second from all the craziness that is probably going on in your life. In the winter, you can ice skate on Occom Pond which is always a good time. If you organize some friends together, you can even put together a little outdoor hockey game!
The Life Sciences Center and Occom Pond are just two places at Dartmouth that give me a lot of calmness and happiness. Although college life will always be chaotic, I loved counting on spots like these to give me some perspective and sense of peace. I think that given Dartmouth's setting in nature, there's a lot of spots that are similar to the ones I mentioned. If you ever come to Dartmouth, check out the LSC and Occom Pond! At the same time, try to find the spots that you might call your own!
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.
