“Rookie” parent here–my son was admitted ED Class of '20. We’re all very excited and proud! Lots of questions…do I understand the new house system to not affect incoming freshman–that is to say, the new students won’t live in the house cluster system first year? I follow the YikYak Dartmouth posts, and, while I know that’s a skewed minority, it seems as though many students don’t seem to want the house system. Also, unlike Harvard’s system, there’s no dining/library component to Dartmouth’s…have to see how this plays out.
Other questions: Rent a mattress? Buy one? What “stuff” should he bring up? (Bike? Camping gear?) Any Dartmouth band parents out there care to comment on the pep band? How hard is it to get into jazz band? Any Freshman Trip tips or recommendations? Any advice in general? We’re hoping we can swing budget such that he won’t “have” to work at first–but should he anyhow? What % of kids have jobs up there?
Room comes with a mattress – such as it is. If you are coming to help him settle in, bedding can be purchased at one of the big box stores the next town over. You can even order online for pickup at the store. There’s a sale of used stuff before school starts: mini fridges, fans (critically needed), etc. It may include bicycles or there might be a separate sale of those.
@Mirmark my son is a '19 so he is just finishing finals in his first Winter quarter. Although it was time consuming, when we knew he was coming to Dartmouth what I did was read this thread carefully starting with the first post! I took notes as I went along, because so many of the posts answered all of the questions that I had, and made me think of things that hadn’t occurred to me. So my advice is, even if you have to spread it out over several days, reap the benefit of the entire Dartmouth Parents thread from start to finish! Lots of wisdom and details to be found!
Past Parent chiming in. Congrats @Mirmark, hope you enjoy the ride. Although I am a couple years out of being an active parent, I still get updates from this thread and hope to help other parents. If you feel you do not want to post your question publicly, you can PM me. I’ve made lifelong friends here (apparently!) as I just met up with a fellow CC '14 parent out in my neck of the country, which is pretty far out. We had a great time talking about how fast time flew, the DC experience, and how funny it was that our boys became friends because of us being CC parents. Simply amazing. Go Big Green!
Bring less than you think you need. You can always ship must have's once you know what they are, but less is more because it is difficult to know where your student will be investing their time unless they are a recruited athlete. If they are a recruited athlete, they will get all their clothes from their sport, so you need even less.
If you do not live within driving distance of Hanover bring even less than what little you thought you would need. The Dartmouth Plan is a great asset that sets Dartmouth apart, but, practically, you are moving in and out of housing a lot. You also need to store all your things when you are not on campus. Lot's of info in this thread on storage options, but the less you need to store, the better.
Do not bring anything valuable (computers and phones are ok). Unless your child is training for the Olympics, buy a beater bike at the yard sale or in the Upper Valley for $50. Consider it a disposable asset. Nice clothes are rarely necessary until you are actually looking for a job towards the end of your stay. Stop by Goodwill before you head to Hanover to get a Fracket. Don't bring anything that you would despair its loss.
I suspect that you can rent camping equipment from the Outing Club until your child knows that is where they want to spend their time. If they are camping every other weekend, sending their own gear up makes sense, but it is difficult to know this a priori.
This is more for your student and probably difficult to communicate as a parent. Know that in your four years, you should endeavor to get to know 2 professors really well. Probably not much you can do before you declare a major, but once you do, invest in getting to know those faculty with whom you connect and can appreciate their research. For most Dartmouth types, their post Hanover lives will include recommendations from faculty. If you wait until senior year or later to foster this...
If you can, try to get up to Hanover at least once per year even if you are far away. Take your student's friends out to dinner. A good meal is always welcomed, and it will bring you back to the days when you drove the van with the little kids in the back, and their friends forgot you were there and tell everything that is happening in your child's life.
As you can probably tell from other graduated parents, we are jealous. Hope this helps.
Thanks folks! We are feeling both excited and a bit sad as our son starts this new chapter. We’re naturally very excited for him (and a bit envious!); it’s one of those life turning points. Where has the time gone? Anyhow I do like the idea of bringing less, and we’ll do that. Great advice on camping gear and bike, too–we’ll buy a cheapo one up there and leave his better bike at home. As to “what he’ll be doing,” I imagine he’ll get involved with music–he’s a very active jazz player now, in pep bands, in our symphony, etc etc. I don’t think he’ll make it his profession, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go out for the pep band and try out for jazz.
I do wonder about the Dartmouth culture. Well, really most college cultures, I suppose. Our son has stayed away from alcohol etc. for high school–it will be interesting to see what happens when it’s much more available to him. I’ll keep posting away as I think of things.
Don’t worry about the alcohol, etc. @Mirmark at Dartmouth IMHO. I am a parent of '19 son that does not drink or partake in other party “stimulants” - he is totally into running and fitness (i.e. Dartmouth Outing Club, etc.). There’s no pressure - and plenty of groups and clubs where you can find your own sense of inclusiveness and personal “home”. For this reason, he is excited about the prospects of the new residential house program where EVERYONE has a “home”. Yes - no dining/library component similar to Yale, etc. - but we feel it’s a good start in enhancing (and not replacing) other off-campus residential living options. It’s a great time to build a new tradition at Dartmouth! Congrats - and welcome to the Dartmouth family. Or - as they often told us as we embarked on this journey last fall - WELCOME HOME!
@Mirmark, a mattress is provided, but I’m sure he would appreciate it if you bought a twin-sized memory foam topper to go over it, even a comparatively skinny one. Then get a twin bed pad that goes over both to hold everything in place. The mattress is skinny enough that you probably don’t need xtralong. If he is like most guys, he will probably never wash it, and rarely wash his sheets, but at least he will be more comfortable.
S was in substance free Little in the Choates. @AboutTheSame, yes the heaters do work! As a helicopter parent I bought him an external thermometer at Walmart so he could check the outside temperature instantly. It’s probably still there stuck to the window sill. He made lifelong friends there and while some joined Greek houses, many did not. Too busy with academics. I am in favor of the new House system and hope it works out. Best advice, take less to school the first year and let the kids figure out their own new style. Also, get a cheap bike for campus, and get student insurance which is about $100 per year, enough to cover the computer, phones, bikes, etc. Get the dorm stuff at the recycling sale after trips, and attend convocation if you can.
I would make some joke about having a thin-blooded California kid, but yours probably had even more sun & heat growing up. D was on the top floor of Cohen, and it was not that warm in winter.
My son, currently Cohen second floor, says his room was warm enough over the winter but knows of some people whose rooms were not very well heated! Probably those on the third floor, as you suggest!
We’ll see how things shake out for my son. As I said, he’s definitely not a partier–but then, his lifelong friends aren’t, either, and I suppose it’s not particularly available to them. That will likely NOT be the case next year! Still, I think he recognizes both the opportunity for him and the financial commitment we’ll be making on his behalf, and I hope he gets excited about his classes. As we get closer to that, I’m sure I’ll post with questions regarding the course selection process. Thanks a bunch for the mattress info. Our son is pretty easy to please----and also a New Englander who doesn’t complain about the cold.
This has to be a tense time for many families as we get closer to the regular decision admit date. We are grateful to be on the other side of that. Best of luck to all the parents who hope their kids will attend Dartmouth. We already know it’s an amazing, unique place…but there are tons of great schools out there!
I’ll reply the way I usually do when people ask me about the party reputation - I was definitely not a partier in high school, never drank. Freshmen year, I’d drink a little, but only with friends (one friend inevitably has a fullly stocked bar in his/her dorm room). I ended up joining a fraternity my sophomore year after confirming multiple times I wouldn’t be hazed, I didn’t want to get black out drunk, I wanted to stay in control of my own actions etc. Even as an upperclassman, I was definitely a lighter drinker by choice. I never felt required to drink when I was there by a friend, fraternity member, random person at a party, anyone. Not only did I not feel required to drink, I didn’t even feel pressure to drink to fit in. The only time you need to drink is if you’re participating in an official pong tournament where not drinking would be a huge advantage throughout the playoff bracket.
I think people might actually want to hang out with you, and the drinking doesn’t matter as much. Or because frats and sororities don’t sell the alcohol due to liquor license laws, they’d rather you not waste a cup of beer they have to pay for if you’re just going to sneakily pour it down the sink when no one’s looking.
