Hey y'all! I'm Caroline York, and I'm a '25 from Georgia! My hope is to share my Dartmouth experience with potential '29s, '30s, '31s and beyond! On campus, I write sports for The Dartmouth, am a Center for Social Impact SIBS mentor, am in Christian life, a Tour Guide, a Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services (EMS) member, and do medical research! Otherwise, you'll find me at the Norwich Farmers' Market, studying in the Tower Room, and running along the Appalachian Trail. Welcome to my world!
When I first got into Dartmouth, I started thinking about who I would be living with for the next year. I was ready to start looking for a roommate on Facebook like my friends going to other schools were doing. However, I soon found out that Dartmouth assigns every incoming freshman a random roommate.
Although I was initially apprehensive about being matched with a virtual stranger, I was relieved to fill out a comprehensive survey to find a roommate with the best fit. The survey asked about sleeping hours, studying habits, food in the room, and general social questions. I filled out the form honestly, hoping to find someone who I would vibe with and feel comfortable with.
A get-to-know-you FaceTime call with Morgan!
When Dartmouth assigned my roommate and dorm to me, I immediately reached out to my future roommate, Morgan, and we started talking on the phone in the weeks before school started. Morgan is on the Dartmouth Crew team and is from Boston. As a non-athlete from the south, it might have appeared that we did not have much in common, but it was quite the opposite. We soon found out that we enjoyed the same music, TV shows, academic areas, and activities. We connected over our mutual excitement for Dartmouth and anticipated weekly Patriot game night. Not long after, she didn't feel so random anymore.
We were placed in a two room double, meaning we each have our own rooms that are connected. Though there is a door dividing our rooms, we tend to keep it open because we love talking as we get ready for school and go to bed. Our dorm also fits us, as it has strict quiet hours that allow us to get in sleep for our early mornings for crew and ROTC.
If I could go back and pick a roommate, I would choose Morgan. Had it not been for the random assignment, our paths would likely not have crossed, but someone in Dartmouth housing knew we would be a great fit for each other. We are genuine friends who often get lunch, go on runs, and study in the library together.
Morgan and me at Matriculation!
Dartmouth does random roommate selection with great intention. My dorm and Morgan are the best fit for me because we filled the survey out similarly. Woohoo for random roommates!
Now that I'm a sophomore, I find myself in the possession of an extraordinary amount of 'Dartmouth lingo.' This is your formal invitation to get the inside scoop!
Now that I'm officially halfway through my Dartmouth career, I'm acutely aware of how fast time seems to fly. It seems like years ago that I first experienced Fallapalooza, a free concert for Dartmouth students hosted by Programming Board.
If you're like I was—staring at your closet wondering what "essentials" actually means—here is what I packed, what I'm grateful I brought, and what I now know you can leave behind.
