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!
I initially took this class because I wanted to know more about Dartmouth’s history with Native Americans. It ended up being my favorite class because Professor Duthu was so enthusiastic about Native American affairs. He related the lectures to his own experiences growing up on a reservation, which made the class come to life.
As a potential Classics major on the pre-health track, this class was perfect for me! We learned about different medical practices from Rome and Greece and how medicine had changed in the past 2,000 years. We had a class in the Geisel School of Medicine and got to hold human organs!
I took this class because I wanted to learn more about the economy. Econ 2 focuses on the current economic climate in the US, so we would follow the DOW Jones on a daily basis to establish trends. In an economy impacted by a pandemic, inflation, and a war, this class was so helpful in my understanding of the financial climate of the country.
Physics with Professor Blencowe was delightful. His enthusiasm for the subject matter created excitement for students. The labs were hands-on and interactive to learn about the mechanics of the world.
This class fulfilled the Interdisciplinary Approach to my Global Health minor, and I enjoyed every minute of it. With Professor McCabe, we discussed gender and how its structure impacts our daily lives. My final research project studied gender within "Grey's Anatomy," which was created by Shonda Rhimes '91.
I used my "off-term" to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam for a Dartmouth Dickey Center Global Health Internship. I worked for the Institute of Population, Health, and Development, and studied health disparities in Vietnam.
This class was taught by a visiting professor, and she did an excellent job of engaging the class and making the material exciting. We learned about the historical Jesus figure in a Jewish context, and we connected the class content to modern day movies about Jesus.
I did a transfer term at Trinity College, Dublin, which means I took three courses at Trinity. My favorite was "Roman Archaeology" because I had never taken an archaeology course yet for my Classical Studies major.
Math 3 with Professor Erp was such a delight! He made math so understandable and accessible. I can honestly say I enjoy doing integrals after this class!
This class was fantastic! Professor Kramer is very knowledgeable about this field. Although I don't have an engineering background, this class was a great introduction. I learned how everything from medical tools to the Colosseum were made and built.
SummerAtlanta, GA
This was my first off-term (meaning I wasn't taking any Dartmouth classes) since my sophomore spring! I did a wonderful internship that was completely funded by Dartmouth; I'll write blog posts to share more!
FallAtlanta, GA
This was another great off-term internship that was funded by Dartmouth!
WinterAtlanta, GA
For winter term, I decided to do an internship with an Atlanta-based ophthalmologist that was completely funded by the Center for Professional Development (CPD). I worked for Dr. Jordan Stanley, who specializes in glaucoma and cataract surgeries, and I had the opportunity to shadow him and gain hands-on clinical experience that is invaluable to a future career in medicine. Thank you, CPD and Dr. Stanley for this incredible term!
If you are considering a pre-health, specifically the pre-medical track, you probably know about the MCAT, which is short for the Medical College Admission Test. The test is broken into four sections with 230 questions in the span of 7 hours and 30 minutes:
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
When students hear about the test, they often are apprehensive, given the test's breadth of content as well as the sheer amount of time for the actual test and hours studied. I know that in high school, the test certainly scared me! However, I feel like I was extremely prepared for the test with my time at Dartmouth.
All the science courses I took at Dartmouth went above and beyond what was expected on the test, so I felt studying the material for the test was much easier to understand. In particular, Professor Katherine Mirica's CHEM11: General Chemistry course did a fantastic job of laying the foundation for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, all of which were critical concepts on the test.
As the MCAT includes many mathematical calculations but does not allow calculators, MATH003: Calculus with Professor Erik van Erp was fundamental to my preparations, as I was able to do quick calculations, even derivatives and integrals, without a calculator.
Most people are surprised to learn that psychology is actually the most tested subject on the test, and Dartmouth's PSYC001: Introductory Psychology course does an excellent job of preparing students for this section! For the Social Foundations of Behavior section, I found that my Sociology and even Geography courses prepared me well, includingSOCY56: The Sociology of Gender as well asGEOG 40.03: Race, Space, and Nature. They pushed students to go beyond sociological definitions and concepts and to instead do case studies and research on topics that interested us; this allowed me to read the MCAT sections with care and understand them with a sociological perspective.
For the reading section (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills), my humanities background proved extremely helpful. Many people ask why I am a Classical Studies major as a pre-health student. I explain that Classics, and the field of humanities more broadly, allows me to be a critical thinker and approach medicine in a different way than perhaps a STEM major. In particular,CLST10.03: Mind, Heart, Body proved incredibly helpful as the class focused on reading Classical literature from authors like Plato, whose works commonly appear on the MCAT. By doing many close readings in class, I was prepared on test days to quickly approach unfamiliar texts and interpret them.
The pace of Dartmouth's quarter system also made me ready for the MCAT's fast timing. Dartmouth's quarters fit classes that normally are semester-long courses into 10-week terms. Because you take three classes at a time rather than a typical five or six-class semester, the workload is more manageable, just at a faster pace. This definitely came in handy for the MCAT, which is notoriously a time-pressure exam.
Dartmouth's quarter system is also great for taking a term to study for the MCAT. I was able to take my senior winter quarter off to do an internship as well as study for the MCAT for about 16 weeks (including 6 weeks ofWinterim, our winter break) part-time, which is the typical recommended time to study for the test. Being able to take terms "off" during the traditional school year allows Dartmouth students to take the MCAT (and other tests like the LSAT) whenever fits their schedule best.
Overall, my MCAT experience was just another example of how Dartmouth is preparing me for life after college!
One of the most rewarding parts of my time at Dartmouth so far has been participating in research. Read on to learn more about how Dartmouth makes research accessible for all students!
In my freshman year, I wrote a blog revisiting my decision of attending Dartmouth College. Now that more than a year has passed, I would love to revisit my decision again, with a more realistic lens.
