<p>Hi Parents! My son will be class of '15 (admitted ED in Dec). Can anyone give me input on the Dimensions weekend? He wasn’t planning to go, as they don’t really market it to ED admits, but we think it might be a fun intro to Dartmouth for him. We are driving distance (4 1/2 hrs) to Hanover so it would be relatively easy to get there. Where do kids stay? Where do parents stay? Having already visited campus last summer, is it worth going again for this weekend?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Kids seem to love Dimensions. The college assigns them to stay with students who volunteer. I think they make some effort to match academic or other interests.</p>
<p>Since you can drive, I’d do it. (I’m about 3 hrs drive from D.) When S went, H drove him and stayed in White River Junction at the Coolidge. We were on a very tight budget, and the Coolidge is a funky old hotel/hostel that is very cheap. There are various motels in the area where you can stay. H enjoyed hanging out on the campus by himself, since he had never been there.</p>
<p>RedondoDave, S is also returning from DC, but on Monday. H is driving down to get him. He wants to get back to campus at the end of the week, too. Has to move into a room, for one thing!</p>
<p>If the cost and transportation are not an issue, I would definitely recommend going to Dimensions for a couple reasons.
- It is a good way to meet friends with other 15’s, and you’ll probably even meet a fair number of ED students.
2.I’m not going to give any spoilers, but the Dartmouth students putting on the program do a really good job of making it memorable. - The entire campus will be focused on 15’s that “weekend”. There are a lot of activities geared toward 15’s (check out last year’s schedule <a href=“Home | Dartmouth Admissions”>Home | Dartmouth Admissions), and the students on campus know you are there and are extra friendly toward you. You also just get the chance to interact with real students more through your host. </p>
<p>Dimensions was a great experience for me and was what convinced me to go to Dartmouth. I think everyone should get to experience the unique welcome to Dartmouth that is offered at Dimensions.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Admissions doesn’t make housing arrangements for ED students. (At least they didn’t last year, so I’m assuming it will be the same this year). I know last year there was a “discussion” on the 2014 class Facebook page where ED students found hosts, so if your son doesn’t already have a friend he would want to stay with, the “Dartmouth College Class of 2015” Facebook group might be a good place to start. As for parents, I guess they just stay in local hotels. I don’t know what’s available and can’t give any recommendations about that.</p>
<p>here is another thread about Dimensions if you are interested: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/469870-dimensions-dartmouth.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/469870-dimensions-dartmouth.html</a></p>
<p>If your son is going, contact Admissions. While they may not be able to house him, he will still be able to participate in all of the other activities.</p>
<p>[Early</a> Decision Students](<a href=“Home | Dartmouth Admissions”>Home | Dartmouth Admissions)</p>
<p>Make sure your son goes to Dimensions!!! My D, a '14 ED, went last year and found her host through the facebook page as well. As it turned out, there were so many ED’s that came that even though she did have a host, a whole bunch of them ended up sleeping in one of the lounges in McLaughlin (bring a sleeping bag!) Other than not having an “official” admissions-provided host, she did register for the event and participated in everything. Without providing any spoilers as well, all I can say is that when she came home, she said that she couldn’t see how anyone could NOT choose Dartmouth after a weekend like that! They go all out for the “prospies”. D came home the other night for spring break and said that already everyone’s talking about the prospies and the new '15s and “can’t wait for them to get there!” They can’t wait to share their school…what other college is like that??? Last year the school live-streamed some of the events so I was able to watch things as my daughter was experiencing them (unbeknownst to her, of course!) so look out for that on the Dimensions page of the website. They do that so that students that can’t attend that weekend can at least see some of the things that are going on, but it’s good for nosy parents, too! We didn’t go up…our daughter drove herself, but we live less than 2 hours away. If I remember correctly, there wasn’t too much planned for parents, but enough. There’s lots to do outside of campus anyway. Hope you all have a great time!</p>
<p>Wow! Thank you all for the prompt replies. We will try to plan it!</p>
<p>We heard that Dartmouth students have a high degree of love for their school. Now we know why. For our son ('14) it started with the DOC trip. But if you can start at Dimensions, go for it. It is a special place. As we say goodby to winter quarter, here is a nice video on it. I particularly like the scene where students leaving the dining hall engage in a spontaneous snowball fight. Oh to be in college again! [YouTube</a> - Scenes From a Late February Snowfall at Dartmouth](<a href=“Scenes From a Late February Snowfall at Dartmouth - YouTube”>Scenes From a Late February Snowfall at Dartmouth - YouTube)</p>
<p>For parents of '11s – A word to the wise: Restaurants are filling up for graduation weekend. I just made a reservation for that Saturday night and had the choice of only 6:00 PM or 8:00 PM.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve had the same experience. It’s especially difficult for large groups- I needed a reservation for 10 people on Saturday night and even a month ago Simon Pierce had nothing at all. We wound up at Firestones which I hope will be okay.</p>
<p>I had mentioned before that hotels, etc. are pretty full. As someone else said, they do start opening up again this month when people cancel reservations but the prices are pretty steep, e.g. $300/night for a Residence Inn. We’re renting a house in Quechee for an entire week and we just rented a condo, also in Quechee, for the Fri-Sat-Sun night of graduation weekend for extra guests who now want to attend. There are a number of condos available with no minimum number of nights, and they are a nice alternative to the hotels.</p>
<p>Very Happy, has your son gotten commencement tickets yet? Mine told me that he was waiting to hear an announcement about them but I am worried that there is something he should be doing about this that he is not.</p>
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<p>There are no “tickets” for graduation. It is held on the Green, rain or shine and there is open seating. Be prepared for anything (in 08 graduation was held outside in the middle of a heatwave). You or your son can have some one go out and "reserve’ yourself a block of seats. Ask your son what the going rate is.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/520188-congrats-08s-parents.html?highlight=graduation#post6102360[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/520188-congrats-08s-parents.html?highlight=graduation#post6102360</a></p>
<p>I am so excited for you and your kids. They’ve had an amazing ride and the 4 years went by oh so fast.</p>
<p>Thanks, Sybbie! We’re really looking forward to this day!</p>
<p>Thanks Sybbie, 'cause I only just got back to this thread!</p>
<p>Dartmouth Idol is directed by the same fellow who leads the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir, Walt Cunningham. If you have a chance to see them perform, don’t miss it–and get there early for seats–those concerts sell out!</p>
<p>The final '14 Freshman quarter is ready to start. Can’t believe this year is gone by so quickly. Best wishes to all for the final quarter.</p>
<p>It’s been a very challenging year for our '14 daughter - some real issues with adapting to the winter and culture at Dartmouth. Overall, I think it has been positive, but there have certainly been some social issues as well as very tough classes, particularly in the premed coursework.</p>
<p>Our '13 daughter just yesterday landed in Europe for her term abroad. She is very excited and has been looking forward to this ever since she first set foot of campus. When she finishes that she comes straight back to campus for her Sophomore Summer term. Good times.</p>
<p>Just took S2 back to campus for last term of senior year. (He’ll also be attending Fall '11 term, to get a second Bachelors degree.) But he and his friends are sad, sad, sad that it’s coming to an end.</p>
<p>Coureur,
Congrats on your D. In her study abroad, did she stay with a family? Curious. My 14 was accepted and wondered what city, how she liked it, etc. If easier to PM me,that would be great. Does Dartmouth do some review of these families or does an overseas sponsor review them? Just curious.</p>
<p>Very Happy
Congrats to your student. Do many do that (return after to finish up a 2nd degree)? Just curious since my D mentioned it. </p>
<p>Have a great day All.</p>
<p>The programs have varied housing options, listed on the Off-Campus program website. My child is on a program that does not include a home stay,but we hear from friends that the Dartmouth faculty sponsors do a very good job of finding host families where that is the plan. They also sometimes have the students live in a hotel the first week for acclimating to the new place. Some students occupy shared flats near where they will be studying. There are a few programs that are more itinerant, where neither of the above applies. One other variation that I think applies to the students at the new India program is to stay in a student residence. I am pretty sure, though, that each program has a plan that is stated in advance of the application and appears on the listing along with the other relevant information. Good luck to your D. We have heard overwhelmingly positive reports about many different programs. Aside from being “away” they vary widely in every possible way, so there is great choice. Be forewarned that reading the descriptions may provoke an unanticipated desire to travel yourself! best of luck to all concerned.</p>
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<p>Too true! :)</p>
<p>My S spent Fall term of sophomore year on the Paris FSP. He was housed with a very cool family, with whom he apparently got along very well. I gather that this famly hosts foreign students quite frequently, and enjoys the experience. He did say that one of his fellow students wasn’t very happy with her placement. I’m sure there are mismatches from time to time. I certainly have seen that locally, in the high school exchange scene. We have hosted foreign students twice. One was great–in fact, S visited him in Switzerland when on his FSP. The other was a very difficult situation, since the student and family lied about his being a smoker, he smoked in our house although clearly told that it was unacceptable, he was very homesick and not ready to leave the nest, he was beleaguered by phone calls from his native country late at night, the expectations of the family were unrealistic, their agency apparently misled them AND the local agency AND our HS, and so forth.</p>