<p>ctmom, we also live a 3-hour drive away from Hanover. S was assigned one of the earliest DOC trips, and came home for about a week between that and move-in day. That is the norm for kids who live relatively close by. We enjoyed the extra opportunity to visit Hanover. </p>
<p>His roommate, who came from the midwest, was assigned one of the trips that ended on move-in day. Iām not completely sure what they did with his stuff in the interim, but it wasnāt a problem. His family had driven out with his stuff earlier, and gone home. </p>
<p>We brought everything with us from home on move-in day, including a futon couch for their tiny living room. If you are bringing anything too bulky to fit in your car, look for deals on 1-day van rentals. We got one from UHaulāvery comfortable, very easy to driveāthat made it cheaper to rent than to drive our own car. </p>
<p>Regarding the futon couch: S was assigned a 3-rm double in the River. Each kid had their own little bedroom, and they shared a little common room, for which the college provides no furniture. Since we already owned the futon, I thought they might like to have it, and picked up a nice frame for it cheaply on Craigslist. If they were in some other kind of room configuration, I definitely wouldnāt have done it. They can also be rented, but it was cheaper to go this route. The downside of bringing something like that is that you may have to bring it home if your kid is off 2 terms in a row. Mine was off summer and sophomore fall, when he went abroad, so we would have had to pay to store his stuff the second term. Therefore, we brought it all home again in the rented van at the end of the year. As it turned out, freshman year was the only year he used the futon couch. Probably not my brightest idea! :)</p>
<p>We live in the Midwest, and D signed up for the first available DOC trip that wasnāt reserved for the east coast kids. D went to Hanover for her trip by herself, then we flew up and met her on the day she got back. She was able to move into her dorm. She loved being one of the first on campus. She already had friends from both Dimensions and DOC trip, and she had time to ease into all of the orientation events before classes started. She got lucky and lived in a 2 room double in McLaughlin, but really, all of her friends ended up very happy no matter which dorm they were placed in. Dartmouth has very nice housing options overall.</p>
<p>I will pass that great advice on to my daughter, ddpr03. Thanks so much for your support. She would love to do research with her professors. I just hope sheāll be bold enough to ask and that sheāll have time when sheās not in season with her sport. She does have some wonderful friendships with several amazing teachers now, so perhaps that will carry over to college. One of the main reasons she chose to apply ED at Dartmouth over some highly acclaimed but predominantly research-oriented institutions is that the professors at Dartmouth seem to focus at least as much on their teaching as their research. It seems that thereās a good reason that U.S. News and World Report named Dartmouth the best college for undergraduate teaching in the country.</p>
<p>infoseeking, make sure your kid makes it to the recycle sale at the beginning of the fall. Sā14 was able to pick up refridge, and other items dirt cheap. As for research opportunities, he currently has 2 research projects going on with 2 profs as part of the Presidential Scholars program at DC. Lots of great opportunities there to learn. All kids are incredibly busy there with the D Plan being shorter than semesters, and with all the on and off-campus moves all students learn how to manuver and store their stuff somewhere. I am amazed how they do it without cars too.</p>
<p>Infoseeking, I agree that the teaching at Dartmouth is stellar. I donāt think any of my professors at Stanford way back when would have been able to pick me out from a lineup! There are so many opportunities for research ā my D easily obtained an internship in the engineering department this term through WISP (Women in Science Project).</p>
<p>I second the suggestion to check out the recycle sale. S and his roommate bought a fridge for $25, and there was lots of other stuff, including printers and TVs. (Although it is my understanding that very few kids have TVs.)</p>
<p>Well, I decided to head up to Winter Carnival even with the approaching storm. I have to be in Providence for business today, so hopefully I can make it there tonight or in the am. I just hope my daughter makes it back. She has to be in NYC for an interview tomorrow. My luck Iāll get there and she wonāt. It should be an experience.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, all of you! This process is becoming less anxious and more fun by reading these tips and suggestions. My son is looking forward to the DOC (actually wishes he could just start D now, lol) and i think weāll just plan on move-in day with him. I saw a Dartmouth Coach on I- 95 in Fairfield around Christmas time so maybe they were doing the D to NYC run? It was actually quite cool! Does anyone know if it stops at all in Ct? Thanks again and we are learning so much on this site!</p>
<p>Good for her, Magnum! My daughter had to sit by and just watch, she recently blew out her knee on the Dartmouth ski slope and will be having surgery soon but is looking forward to taking the plunge next year.</p>
<p>CTMom: There is a long island mom that organizes a charter bus that stops in Fairfield and Darien then continues on to LI. We live in Westchester but my S15 takes this as it is quicker and more convenient for us than the Dartmouth Coach. I will try to find her email for you. She has two daughters at D, a '15 and a '13. She contacts the students directly (and copies parents on email too) to get their exam schedules and the bus leaves after last exam for those booked.</p>
<p>Just got back from Winter Carnival. What a fun weekend! The weather was not too bad for February (in fact, some activities were cancelled/postponed due to lack of snow). Iām not sure how much snow Hanover received, but definitely they missed the brunt of the storm. I heard Yale got 34" of snow. Very fun atmosphere on the green, with different activities, music, etc. And I have to give a thumbs up to Upper Valley Ride to the airport. My D had to be at an interview in NYC on Friday am, and the Dartmouth Coach cancelled both afternoon buses from NYC to Hanover. She really wanted to get back for the big weekend. She was able to catch the last train that ran from NYC to Boston, then I arranged for Upper Valley Ride to pick her up at South Station in Boston and drive her back to Hanover (yes, in the middle of the big storm). The driver went slow and was very careful. Iāve used them many times for rides to Manchester airport (as fares are usually much cheaper than Boston for where we live). This was our only option to get her back, or she would have been stuck in either NYC or Boston until today. So it worked out great! For those that asked about parents being there, there were quite a few parents. When the parties started, I went back to the hotel. No issues, and it was fun hanging with some of the parents of Dās friends. In fact, Iām hoping I can go back next year :).</p>
<p>Yay Dumbo! Repping the parents of '14s since 2010! By the way, what are those ice sculptures on the green anyway? I cannot tell from the webcam or Flickr website.</p>
<p>Ha ha Magnum! The sculptures on the green were supposed to be little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. Even in person it was hard to tell what they were supposed to be. I love reppin CC class of 14! Very sad there is no family weekend for the junior class. I was kind of surprised. Itās one of my favorite weekends each year.</p>
<p>A big aloha to GA2012Mom for your daughter and her poor knee! She probably lucked out missing the polar bear swim, but I hope the knee gets better. I know the Geisel Med Students do an annual fundraiser plunge. But she must have had fun on the slopes up to the time of the knee blowout. My D is learning how to snowboard and I think she was up at the skiway today. #jealousdad</p>
<p>Thank you all again-and to āKnowsā the Chartered coach sounds great! My husband works in Darien so it would be very convenient. Again, thanks for all of your tips. We do appreciate it!</p>
<p>just thought Iād drop in for old times sake.</p>
<p>Parents of 17sā¦be warned it goes by like lightning!</p>
<p>DS13 is wrapping up at Dartmouth. I shall miss those cherished visits to Hanoverā¦Spring Football Game, Sophomore Summer, Homecoming, Home Football Gamesā¦Senior Dayā¦and nowā¦in a few months Graduation!</p>
<p>wow did it go by fast.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is a special placeā¦its true, it does gets in your blood. I shall miss it.</p>
<p>Hey jdjaguar, weāre going to graduation too for Dās graduation from TDI. An unexpected surprise to prime us for our Sā14 graduation next year. I hope there is a good speaker. I remember when Courer started this thread in early 2010 we had just learned that S was accepted and decided to attend. We were so curious about what it was going to be like. Questions about trips, dorms, greek life, etc. Now weāre starting to think about life after Dartmouth. A blink of an eye.</p>
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