Arianna Dunkley

Dartmouth Bound: A Year Later

Dartmouth Bound is a 3-day fly-in program, offered to rising seniors in the United States (regardless of citizenship status), that occurs in July. Though all students are eligible to apply, they encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds to apply (i.e. if you are a first-generation student, from a low-income background, or a student of color). 

My Dartmouth Bound group and I at one of the guest speaker's workshops.

I attended Bound in the summer of 2022 during the first in-person experience of the program since the summer prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This trip was very burden-free to me, as my meals, housing, and travel expenses were completely covered by the college. Enamored by Dartmouth's tightly-knit community, I enjoyed touring the campus and having meals in small cohorts with a 'Bound leader' and 9 other students. Once I arrived on campus, I was given the opportunity to stay in a residence hall with a roommate that was a part of a different Bound group, which helped me imagine the reality of living in a college dorm. The first night on campus was spent listening to a guest speaker that gave everyone the task of writing positive comments about what they were looking forward to doing during their visit. I had the pleasure of meeting many faculty members and students (some who were staying on campus for their Sophomore Summer, an opportunity where rising college juniors study with most of their class). 

My fellow Bound leader, Farr '24, and I are still very close to this day because she gave my group and I amazing tours and introduced us to a myriad of Dartmouth traditions. As she was on campus for her Sophomore Summer as well, seeing her enthusiastic attitude towards staying on campus for a fourth term in a row made me view Dartmouth in a positive light, encouraging me to apply a few months later. The other Dartmouth Bound Leaders were receptive to answering questions and addressed my worries about the possibility of attending a school so far away from home.

My favorite aspect of Dartmouth Bound was the workshop portion of the visit. Considering I am a first-generation student, I had little knowledge of the college admissions process. The admissions directors held an essay workshop and hosted a financial aid informational session. Without their workshops, I would have known nothing about how to craft a personal statement essay or what Dartmouth's "need-blind school" was (a school that does not consider financial status in their admissions decision).

A picture I took during the financial aid informational session.

I highly recommend incoming rising seniors in the high school to apply to Dartmouth Bound. While gaining intel on college life and the admissions process, it was an experience that allowed me to meet a variety of people from different backgrounds (some of which I am still in touch with), and I received guidance with my college applications from the Bound leaders.