hey DMBUGA--
i have some concerns about the cohesiveness of the class . . . ive heard a lot of students are married, or just do their own thing, and coming from a (relatively) big city, large-class midwest school, this could be a bit of a shocker for me. you see this as an issue?
There is only 1 person married in my class right now (and she's leading a group of us to her home country of Brazil to do some research and help out in a rural clinic) but around 6 more are getting married in the Summer. We know everyone's boyfriends/girlfriends and treat them just like if they were one of us at parties. My class is incredibly close, and we do tons of things together . . . I can't speak for the 07's though. There are also a lot of people from my class that come from the midwest since the weather doesn't scare them (particularly Wisconsin and Minnesota, I'm getting a bit tired of hearing about the gophers) and a decent amount (about 1/4) who went to large schools. Most do seem to come from smaller private schools, but that doesn't seem to matter as far as class cohesiveness. Class cohesiveness has been about the best thing about med school for me. If you come for second look, make sure you look at our class albums.
Overall I have no complaints about my class, I feel comfortable talking to everyone. Also, even though some of us are fairly hard core, I can't point out any gunners. Admissions did a great job with us. No one can really tell what your class will be like (but that's the same for every school), but I can safely say that you'll spend more time bonding with classmates here than say, if you went to a big city school. I'm from a big school myself, and I'm lovin it here
How much money do people get on average for need based scholarship? 10K?
Also, when I interviewed there, Dartmouth seems so rural. So beside the outdoor such as skiing and hiking. What club or activities do people do for fun?
My other concerns was with the facility. Dartmouth facility is old, compared to other institutions (Duke, Wisconsin, Harvard, UCSF, Penn) I visited, it is subpar. So how does this affect you?
Money varies, it depends on your parent's expected contribution and how much money is available by the time they get to your file, so turn all the fin aid papers in as soon as possible
Clubbing is limited. There's a club in West Leb that I haven't been to yet, and it's not the most popular spot. The strip club burnt down, but no one really went there anyways (at least, not that I know of). There are a few places to go out in Hanover, and the Canoe Club is were we go to the most (some of my classmates practically live there). To go clubbin, people usually go to Boston or Montreal on long weekends. We have big post-quiz parties on Mondays and non-quiz weekend parties though (many themed), and that's what we prefer doing (there are also trivia nights, poker nights, Red Sox nights, etc...) The biggest downside is that it's hard to meet single women outside of your class (girls always have Tuck).
The med school facilities are not the greatest, but you only need to spend time in the lecture rooms, which aren't bad. DHMC is the newest academic hospital in the US, and it doubles as a second campus for us (3rd and 4th years do all their things there). Some people in our class prefer to study there (2nd library, great conference rooms at the cancer center, 2nd student lounge), so it's really up to you. Most people do prefer to stick around the main campus after lecture and socialize before doing whatever it is they're doing that day. Also, all of the undergrad facilities are available to us (I prefer to study at their main library).
Geez, I'm becoming neurotic. C'mon, put me out of my misery!!! <end of complaints>
