Hello, it’s been a long time! My son is doing great at Dartmouth–into his sophomore year, made some good friends, still true to himself, etc. All great. He’s doing a term abroad this winter…any general comments about studying abroad and the Dartmouth experience? Also a specific question: do many students group up and travel for a week or 10 days after the term is over? (They need to return to Hanover for the start of Spring Term…) We’re trying to figure out travel plans–his and ours–and are curious to see if there’s a “typical” trip abroad. Thanks! We now enter at a five-term Dartmouth run…lots of tuition bills!
Your son is very lucky - winter study abroad, spring in Hanover, and sophomore summer! What a fantastic stretch.
I met up with two friends who were on a spring study abroad and travelled with them after they were done. I don’t know how common it is, but I know quite a few students that did it. In my case, we travelled all around Italy for about 8 or 9 days - visited Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Elba, and Lake Como. An amazing experience.
I would highly recommend that you do not cut it close to spring term though - make sure you take into account that flights may get cancelled, rail workers go on strike, buses break down, and so on.
My S loved his term in Paris, but he didn’t go travelling at either end. We/he couldn’t afford it. So some do, some don’t.
He did take the train to Zurich one weekend to visit our former exchange student.
We rendezvoused with D at Logan and flew to London for a not-quite-a-week family vacation before the Greek FSP (which started at the British Museum, of course). This was some years back, and one-way international tickets were impossibly expensive at that point, so she was locked into a return with the round trip we had bought. I expect it might be easier to be more flexible now, and I;m sure she would have enjoyed ending the term with a week on one or more of the islands.
Thanks folks! AboutTheSame, I think it will cost our son an additional $300 to change tickets. He might be fine traveling alone–we have family and friends in England, at least…but it’d be a blast to travel with some classmates. And Consolation, we hear you about the cost–it’s never trivial. Our son has been working hard, and saving money, and thankfully we’re able to help too. I’m very happy that Dartmouth makes international travel possible for many students, regardless of finances. It’s one reason the college is such a special place. We’re actually heading to Hanover tomorrow!
Oh, and Shrimpngrtz, yes to lucky…and his “off term” (is that right?) is scheduled for Winter Term 2019! For a kid that loves to ski, he’s getting out of Dodge…
Hey one more thing Shrmpngrtz…our son recognizes he’s lucky, and we do, too. He earned his way into Dartmouth, but we all know it’s a dice roll at the top schools. He’s at his first-choice college, it seems like it’s a perfect fit, he’s working really hard, learning a ton, getting to know professors and other incredibly bright students, and having fun, too. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel great about his decision to go to Hanover.
@Mirmark : That charge for a change in plans seems doable. The sooner he & his FSP mates could decide what they might want to do, the better – obviously. Hope he enjoys his trip as much D did hers. It was one of many high points of those four great years.
I’ve been off this website for about 4 years because my daughters had phenomenal Dartmouth experiences, and I didn’t feel the need to respond to issues involving the “unknown” that seem to be the focus here – my bad! For what it’s worth, they each had 2 study experiences abroad. We joined them at the beginning or end of those. The college leaves it up to you to arrange their transportation, so you can work in your own flights to coordinate with the college’s requirements, which included financial aid credits for the student’s airfare. Contrary to our beliefs, they really didn’t need us to drop them off or pick them up, but we did it anyway (for ourselves more than them). With that said, my daughters traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia on their terms abroad. Contrary to what we think about travel costs within the US, their airfares from one country to the other were generally well under $70. Also, phenomenal trains run between European capitals for a fraction of airfares. Personally, I was jealous because transportation wasn’t so cheap during my studies abroad many years ago. Also, because so many students are studying abroad during their Dartmouth years and for post-graduate studies, my daughters have gathered routinely in European or Asian cities for get-togethers with other Dartmouth students. For them, it becomes as routine as traveling between cities like New York and Boston (but easier and much cheaper!). And changes on the European and Asian domestic airlines and trains are generally much more flexible and consumer-friendly than we have in the US. Just be sure to read the fine print!
You know, I’m not even sure the FSP has met yet. My son mentioned that the first meeting would be in November. It’ll all work out, I’m sure!
Just as an FYI, we were in Hanover for dinner on Saturday, and went to The Canoe Club. We all agreed that the menu was more pedestrian than on previous visits, and that the quality of the food was not as good as in previous years. Apparently it is under new management/ownership?
I suppose it is possible that this was because it was Thanksgiving weekend in a college town, but frankly in the future I’d go elsewhere or at least check the posted menu rather than making reservations. Murphy’s had more interesting, better executed food than we experienced on Saturday the last few times I was there.
As long as we’re talking about food and Hanover restaurants, my son told us the other day that his new favorite restaurant in town is Skinny Pancake. That was a new one on me, hadn’t ever heard of that one before.
@b1ggreenca Skinny Pancake is in the building where Panda House used to be. It’s a crepe place (hence skinny pancake), but I’ve been there for beers and poutine as well. Grateful that it didn’t exist during my time there or else I would have put on the Freshman 50…
@Consolation Last spring, we went to the Canoe Club and had a similar experience as you. It was nearly empty on a Friday night. Meanwhile, Pine and Murphy’s were both packed. Hanover has lots of dining alternatives now, so the new management should do something quickly if they want to stay open.
My youngest daughter was just accepted- looking forward to tips!
@oscar63 Me, too! We visited but didn’t stay in Hanover so I’m looking forward to the next four years.
Congrats and welcome to parents of the 2022’s!! You are in for amazing 4 years. My daughter was a ‘14, and she is as obsessed about a Dartmouth now as she was when she applied many years ago. Hanover is so special. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m not very active on here but signed in to say welcome! My biggest tip is if you stay at Six South hotel, which is right down Main St, they keep track of nights stayed, and give frequent guests access to rooms for graduation. Favorite places to eat were Lou’s, Murphy’s, Molly’s, and Hanover Inn. Make sure your child signs up for trips!
@dumbo11 Thank you so much! Very excited!
@sdteak @oscar63 Congratulations to you and your kids!! Hopefully, you like the color green because you will see it everywhere a lot of it for a long time to come! If you can, I would highly recommend visiting your kids in Hanover during foliage season - expensive though. @dumbo11 is absolutely correct about freshmen trips. I went on the trip that climbed Mt. Moosilauke - something your kids should do at least once before they graduate. I heard the newly renovated lodge is nice as well. At some point in their time at Dartmouth, they should rent a DOC cabin with friends (Hinman with the canoes was my personal favorite). Go to the top of Baker and admire the campus. Look forward to running around the bonfire at Homecoming 22 times…they’re lucky because I had to run 90+ times which was apparently the equivalent of a 10K. Go take a professor out to lunch and talk about something other than class. Go listen to Yo-Yo Ma perform at the Hop. In 2020, pretty much every presidential candidate will be on campus. I could rattle on forever, but I think you got the point!! I wish all of you the very best and want to give you a warm welcome to the Dartmouth community/family.
@Shrmpngrtz Thank you so much!!!
Be prepared. The next four years are going to fly by. Almost all of the local hotels, motels & inns track stays. I recommend picking one and using it on every visit to maximize your chances of being able to stay there for graduation. The Hanover Inn is the one exception, since those rooms all go to College guests. Would that we had known that when we started, but we probably would still have stayed there anyway. Nothing like watching from your room and seeing your DD ambling across the Green to meet you for dinner.
Speaking of which, no trip to Hanover was ever complete without a Murph Burger. Have also had great food at Molly’s and the Canoe Club [sorry to read that the latter may have slipped]. Jessie’s Steakhouse and Market Table [lots of vegan options] were also very good.
My main tips [stop me if you’ve read this before] involve the drive to and from Hanover if you fly into Logan. Now, take these with a grain of salt, since we have not been back since graduation in 2013, but I’ll limit myself to things that I doubt have changed much.
Leaving Boston: Ignore any rental car company advice to get to Interstate 93 North by taking the Ted Williams Tunnel after leaving the lot. (Seriously. I make the mistake of doing that when we drove up for graduation and was trapped in stop & go traffic in an underground labyrinth for at least half an hour.) Instead, go back to the terminal area and take the first airport exit (on the left) to route 1A (South, confusingly) and a left turn into the Summer Tunnel ($3.50) for a straight shot to Interstate 93 North. Smile at the people on your left who are just getting above ground as you zoom by on the other side of the water; you’ll be joining their stop & go parade soon enough.
Returning to Boston: I personally hate those “return the fuel tank empty” deals, because … who can actually do that? Not me. We would refill at Exit 38 about 15 miles outside town and the gas gauge would still show full at the airport. Turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp for the gas station. It’s safe to take the carpool lane (2 people back then) when it starts, but you have to get over to the right pretty quickly when the barrier disappears. The far right hand lane over the bridge is joined by a lane on its right that becomes Exit 24A (Government Center) only, but you can get into it and move one lane to the left for Exit 24B (Logan Airport) as you get off or just stay in the second lane from the right.
Enjoy your next four years. And welcome to the Big Green family. ATS