<p>I am still on my mom’s insurance and the Dartmouth one for a similar reason. I think we could save a few bucks by dropping my mom’s insurance but it is really inclusive (even though it somehow doesn’t meet the waiver requirements). The Dartmouth insurance plan is pretty good, but for my family, we had a relatively low cost for having me on as a dependent (I am not sure about the specifics) so we decided to just have me dually insured. It would be nice if we didn’t have to pay for the Dartmouth plan thou…</p>
<p>The Dartmouth insurance pretty much covers everything on campus but my mom’s insurance covers most of the rest such as checkups at home, ER visits, ect. (I think Dartmouth also kicks in to pay some of the remainder but I think there is a certain deductible you have to hit first)</p>
<p>As an interesting note, if you’re willing to battle it out and go through some paperwork, you can get the requirement waived even if your plan doesn’t fully meet the waiver requirements. My family did this, but it took a bit of a fight.</p>
<p>This is interesting because my son’s college easily allowed families to opt out of the school’s health insurance, which I thought would be the norm. Is it only Dartmouth that makes this so difficult, and why?</p>
<p>Son just received the first year package today. WOW, it is so exciting to read everything and imagine the possibilities. Leaning on choosing the Big Green meal package, hate to see him go hungry out there in the woods. We haven’t found any information on whether PCs or Macs are preferred. The college sells both. Now to plan our own outing while he goes on his DOC trip. Any suggestions on nearby destinations would be appreciated (funny, we get this question all the time here in Hawaii, so would be happy to reciprocate)…</p>
<p>re: books, yeah, the faculty has a built-in bias against a national company like Barnes & Noble and they refuse to share the course syllabus/book list with them. They send it to Wheelock instead.</p>
<p>campus is really indifferent. Public computers are about split, and I think the student body has been leaning towards apple the last couple years, but really, whichever you prefer, get that. There won’t be problems either way.</p>
<p>there are few colleges which ‘prefer’ a certain computer. (Wake Forest comes to mind, but then they ‘give’ Frosh a fee ibm.) Most colleges really don’t care. In fact, apple use in colleges is significantly much higher than that in corporate america. Apples have been big in education for a long time, ever since they gave them away to schools. And, they were easier to use in the old days, so Profs learned on them.</p>
<p>Now that Apple can run Windows apps, either works well.</p>
<p>Consolation, we are thinking the 4 days of DOC trip, within a 100 miles or so of Hanover…interesting sites, places. No spas, beaches and resorts…Thanks!</p>
<p>Magnum -
If you do not discount the Atlantic Coast as “beach”, there sure is fun to be had touring the towns, cities from RI to Maine without going too far, eating lobster, picking blueberries, touring historic towns, going out on a whaling schooner. Boston is a great town, full of fun in the summer and easy to tour by foot, loaded with history.</p>
<p>We’ve gone to Kennebunkport a couple of times while visiting Dartmouth. Yes, it’s a beach, but very different from Hawaii. And next week after graduation I’m heading with my '10 to Montreal. Actually that sounds like a great four-day excursion from Hanover to me- a big city, good restaurants, “European” culture. I’ll report back in a couple of weeks!</p>
<p>Boston is worth a day or two
The White Mountains/lots to do and see/lots of fun
Portsmouth and boat trip to Star Island
Sticking around Hanover and visiting Cornish (ST Gaudens estate) Woodstock Vermont, Queechee
Even the “cities” in NH may be worth while. Manchester has lovely art museum and old mills and a minor league baseball team;</p>
<p>If you want a non-nature-oriented interlude, go to Boston. There’s an enormous amount of interesting historical/Revolution related sightseeing, several world-class art museums, great Museum of Science and Children’s Museum, great restaurants, swan boats and Make Way for Ducklings in the Common/Garden, visit Old North Church where the lanterns were hung for Paul Revere and stop in an Italian cafe for espresso and gelato…lots of stuff for all ages and interests, far too much to list. Very attractive city with many extremely charming sections, very walkable, great public transportation (don’t bother to try to drive around in the city).</p>
<p>Thanks to all, I think I will go to those websites and start planning. With a D at Wellesley, we have visited Boston, great city, but those drivers do not have any courtesy at all. Touring the Vermont and NH countryside sounds nice, and yes, did not think about Maine, but sounds interesting. I told my son we will sign him up as a lifetime member of the Dartmouth Outing Club so he will always have an excuse to visit later in life. What a great time in a chld’s life this is…</p>
<p>Do you like hiking? If so, proceed directly to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert in Maine. If you are interested in canoeing on lakes and hiking, check out Moosehead or Rangely Lake. BTW, if you go to Portsmouth NH and have any interest in history, do not miss Strawbery Banke. It’s great. And the seemingly cutesy spelling is actually historically accurate.</p>
<p>On another subject, is anyone else planning to go to sophomore family weekend in July?</p>
<p>There are many, many picturesque towns in Vermont and New Hampshire, and the time of year you will be there is great…between the summer season travelers and the crush of leaf gawkers.
Two New Hampshire tourist experiences from the 19th Century are the Cog Railway trip up Mt. Washington (you won’t forget it, though pricey), and The Flume, a stroll along a stream chasm in a state park. Both in New Hampshire.
Interested in history? There is the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire and the Shelburne Museum, south of Burlington, Vermont. As mentioned, to the east is Maine and the coast. To the west, in upstate New York are the Saratoga battlefield and Fort Ticonderoga.<br>
Distances to these places are short, but the way there is almost always on pokey two-lane roads. I would make sure to enjoy the trip.
Your plan to see your college student after DOC is an excellent one. Just leaving our son off at DOC left my spouse and I needing a stiff drink, which was impossible, given two crying little sisters in the back seat.</p>
<p>^^Yes. During one of our trips to Dartmouth we toured around the area and visited a maple farm nearby in Vermont. They made cheese there too. They gave tours of the place and samples of both syrup and cheese. And of course we bought some to bring back for friends and ourselves.</p>