What outdoor gear do students usually bring if they are outdoorsy? Is there a place to store gear (skis) over summer or do students take all that home? What about tents, sleeping bag etc? Do they bring their own or tend to rent? I guess I’m mostly wondering about skis and all DS’s ski gear and mountain bike. We are coming from the West coast so will be flying.
My daughter brought ski gear to school at the beginning of winter term her first year and has never brought it home. She has an extra set of skis at home for skiing over winterim. She has stored her ski gear it in a friend’s basement, but they will take skis and bikes in controlled storage. https://www.dartmouth.edu/res-ops/storage.options/controlledstorage.html
Also, watch your mail and email for a half-price Skiway pass for first year students. I think you have to buy it before the end of September.
For her first year trip and the following year when she was a trip leader, she brought a sleeping bag, pad, and backpacking pack. She brought the camping gear home at the end of the year. I don’t think she has rented anything from the DOC, but they do have a variety of rentals available: https://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/services/rentals.html
And as for a bike, DS went off to Dartmouth this fall not positive he’d want his bike there. We ended up bringing it up to him the very next weekend. In the fall, when he was using it on a regular basis, he just had it locked up outside his dorm. Now that it’s actually winter, he’s discovered that his bike fits under his bed – he’s got his bed all the way up as high as it goes on the risers, so it’s high enough that he can fit his bike under there without even needing to take a wheel off.
Hi everybody; I am a proud Dartmouth dad of a D’23. We live in Athens, Greece and my D cant wait to join her
Classmates this coming September. I have to admitt that I read almost the entire Dartmouth parent thread and it has been such a great help. You guys are really great and caring parents and you have answered 99% of my questions.
A question that I have though , in order to organize her flight and other logistics , is how many days is the New Student Orientation? Does it last till the day before classes begin or there is a weekend break?
@harrya : I’d go straight to the source at this point – new.student.orientation@dartmouth.edu – since the calendar is not out yet. They might be able to at least give you an idea of how things will be structured. I seem to recall that every day was full until classes started but that was 10 years ago. Welcome to CC and Dartmouth!
@harrya My D is a '22. If your D is planning to do Trips, then you really can’t plan anything until you find out which trip time she is assigned. My D didn’t get her first or second preferred trip time, but she did get her preferred trip type. Anyhow, I think she learned of her trip assignment in June.
We were there when she returned from her trip and had a couple of days with her (well, sort of, she was busy with her tripees) before new student orientation began. We left on the day orientation began. Classes begin right after orientation and the new students really don’t want the parents hanging around.
@AboutTheSame Thank you for your prompt response. I emailed them and I am waiting.
@sdteak actually my D knows for sure that as an international student will definitely be assigned to either E or F. So that will be the fifth or sixth day of the Trips. The only problem is that we do not know as yet the starting date.
The only reason I am trying to plan this as early as possible is the plane cost. Today the cost is about 600$ and in June can be as high as 1600$ !! On the other hand, reading through this Thread, I realized that parents are not really welcomed by their kids during the orientation program. We are OK with that although my wife would love to spend four to five days in Hanover to help our D and explore the town and the College.
We flew in at the after kiddo was back from trips [also at the end of the series since we’re from California] just to help with shopping & schlepping of large-ish items, so we were welcomed to that extent and made ourselves scarce except when called upon. It was pretty easy to find a good balance between being helpful and staying out of their way.
@harrya I shared your concerns back in the day and left when orientation began. However, in hindsight, we should have stayed in the area and attended the convocation. You can search YouTube for previous editions. We attended a later edition when our S was a sophomore or junior. To our surprise, there were many parents that stuck around and attended. I just checked and perhaps the convocation to the new class has been eliminated and replaced by a community picnic. In any event, if your child wants space, give him or her space, but it was always fun to explore the area since you are coming from afar. And attend the picnic, just sit off to the side and watch your child grow and make new lifelong friends as you enjoy your lunch.
It will take you less than a day to explore Hanover, but many more days to explore the area.
Oh, come on, @CottonTales, it takes at least three days to explore the restaurants – not to mention all the gelato flavors alone!
@“Magnum PI”, I wish I could visit US and attend the convocation. Unfortunately I cannot travel that early. I hope I can visit her in late October. My wife though may travel for 4 or 5 days before classes begin in order to help her make all necessary purchases such as linen, winter clothing etc. An alternative would be to let her move in alone and then we visit her together in October. I heard that October is very nice in the Upper valley and we may have a chance to explore the area. Everything depends on our other twin D who will be attending a Uni either in France or in Netherlands. Both start early September and since housing in these countries is very different than in US ( no guaranteed dorm housing) my wife must definitely accompany our other D in order to find a room, sign the lease, furnish it etc. For sure It will be a very interesting and hectic period.
It would be great if one of you could be there for move in but do not fret if it is not logical. Here would be our approach if we were in a similar situation:
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Have D communicate with roommate(s) to determine their move in timing. If timing works, ask if she could tag along with them for trips to local stores to finalize needs for the room.
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There is likely some resource for international students. Contact them to determine best resources to help with move in shopping when arriving solo. If they say take a taxi/uber, instead of telling them to pound sand, ask them to put you in touch with D’s dorm RA, then ask the same question.
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D is not attending Dartmouth without at least 1 if not multiple extra curriculars. Have her reach out to leadership in the EC’s to ask if they have ideas for assisting with move in since parents will be international.
Although it is always nice if you can be there, the move in vibe is like Christmas Eve (if you celebrate). There is excitement about what could happen next with a bit of anxiety about the same. Everyone is on their best behavior and willing to help. Somehow/someway D will run into someone that will happily help in your absence and develop relationships that might not otherwise have blossomed. Imagine if you were there and ran into someone like your D.
As an aside, I have offered in other threads that there is some advantage to parents in being counter cyclical. If you show up on weekends when no other parents are around and are willing to take students out to breakfast/lunch/dinner, you will get a great window on D’s experience similar to driving the van to the soccer game when everyone forgets you are there (sorry - another US centric reference).
Depending on her travel acumen, I would much prefer flying to Boston with more flight connections and taking the Dartmouth Coach from Logan Airport vs. flying to New York where the Dartmouth Coach is several transit steps away from JFK in NYC.
Πηγαίνετε Dartmouth!
Also you may want to have her lookout for the recycle sale where she can pick up lamps and refrigerators at substantial savings.
And a fan. Hanover can be hot in the fall, and many [most? I forget] dorms lack air conditioning. There also is [or used to be] a bike sale each year of used bikes that the Bicycle Coalition refurbished.
There is a free shuttle bus service that could get your daughter to the big box stores, but I would not call it convenient for large purchases. Suggestion #1 from @ddpr03 above is a good one. We would have been happy to do that for a roomie.
@ddpr03 , Thanks a lot for your great tips. We really have not thought about 1 and 3. In any event I am afraid our D will have to do the move in on her own. She has been in the US since she was fifteen three times by herself. In that respect I am sure she will find her way to the campus. Ather that, I am sure Dartmouth wil take good care of her! My wife must definitely accompany the other D. The problem with unis in Europe is that they may be excellent academically but this is it. After all, they are public unis with almost no tuition at all. No dorms, no mealplans no assistance as compared to that in USA . My Dartmouth D as an international has a five day orientation just before the regular orientation. Therefore, she will have twelve days to figure out an efficient way. The good thing is that the weather is still good till Mid October so that when my wife or both visit her we shall assist her to shop the important staff especially the winter gear.
Also the recycle sale sounds great. I Hope she is lacky enough to find a fridge, lamps, van an maybe a bike. I understand that except for winter bike is a must.
Is the shuttle bus service running throughout the terms or just during the move in period?
Also do you know which dorms have A/C? Can she ask for a specific House ? Looking at the Campus Map and
and which academic buildings will visit more often she believes that the South House is the most desirable.
Yes definitely she is flying to Boston. Thank god from all major european cities we have direct flights to Logan. By the way does the Dartmouth Express stop in all terminals or there is a specific Boarding Spot?
Thank you so much again for your helpful comments.
@harrya I’ll chime in about the bus service and air conditioning. Advance Transit is the free year round bus service. They run several routes Monday through Friday roughly 6am-6:30pm. They also run a shuttle service around campus that runs until 8:30 or so in the evening. Check out their website www.advancetransit.com to see their routes.
As for air conditioning it doesn’t matter whether the building has it or not they never in the 4 years my daughter has attended has it been turned on. No matter how hot it was, never ever was it turned on. Bring a fan, a window fan even better.
Students are not able to request House placement or dorm building unless there are extenuating circumstances such as a medical necessity. She can request substance free housing.
Welcome Home, it’s going to be a great adventure!
@saffysmum Good evening and thank you for your advise. This is great news. The shuttle service around campus makes stops I assume in every academic building? Dorms? How does it work?
@harrya The shuttle service does not make stops at all the buildings. The shuttle is ran by Advance Transit and you’ll be able to find the shuttle schedule on their website.