2011-2012 Dartmouth Application Thread

[etfiedler]

---

Members don't see this ad.

My first complete app! I submitted my secondary and letters of recommendation yesterday (8/23) and got the complete email today. If it has been days since you submitted and you haven't received a complete email yet, I'd give them a call. Their admissions office is super friendly and helpful.

 

[percy]

Invite! Except two of their suggested dates are my interview/travel dates for other schools...

Edit: I wish I had a driver's license. Has anyone found a better way to get up from NYC other than Dartmouth Coach/Amtrak?

 

[R1MD]

Percy:

Vermont Transit/Greyhound runs in addition to Dartmouth Coach. You may want to check out those schedules too into White River Junction, VT (many stop in Hanover). Also, if you're near a Southwest airport, consider flying to Manchester and bussing it from there-- though I think by the time you did that, you'd be just as good taking the bus from NYC. Not sure if any of that helps. Good luck! When is your interview?

 

[deleted352182]

I submitted my secondary in August and was complete 08/18. Has anyone who submitted it in August heard back from the school yet? Just wondering.

 

[percy]

Vermont Transit/Greyhound runs in addition to Dartmouth Coach. You may want to check out those schedules too into White River Junction, VT (many stop in Hanover). Also, if you're near a Southwest airport, consider flying to Manchester and bussing it from there-- though I think by the time you did that, you'd be just as good taking the bus from NYC. Not sure if any of that helps. Good luck! When is your interview?

Thanks, man! I haven't scheduled an interview yet, but they offered me three dates in mid/late September. I will have to call and request other options because:

1) They only offered Tues/Thurs dates (has anyone seen Mon/Fri?).
2) Every transportation option leaves midday, THUS:
3) I will have to take 3 days off from work in order to interview at Dartmouth.
4) Oh yeah, and there's no student housing program, is there?

My job has been nothing but supportive, but I've been doing my best to fly out evenings and return on weekends (or vice versa), thus taking one day off per school. It's usually pretty easy since I'm based in NYC, but Hanover, as I'm sure you're well aware, is not a major transportation hub. 🙂

 

[sibitrum]

My job has been nothing but supportive, but I've been doing my best to fly out evenings and return on weekends (or vice versa), thus taking one day off per school. It's usually pretty easy since I'm based in NYC, but Hanover, as I'm sure you're well aware, is not a major transportation hub. 🙂

If you have a license, have you considered driving there at night after work (maybe leave by 5ish), then driving back the next day after the interview? I takes about 4.5 hrs from NYC with good traffic.

 

[percy]

If you have a license, have you considered driving there at night after work (maybe leave by 5ish), then driving back the next day after the interview? I takes about 4.5 hrs from NYC with good traffic.

See my previous posts: no license, unfortunately. 🙁 That would've been ideal, but alas... part of the reason I moved to NYC in the first place was that I couldn't drive. 🙄

At what point can I start being choosy about my invites? Dartmouth is a great school, but I'm having trouble scheduling things between work and other interviews. I haven't really figured out where Dartmouth stands in relation to my other schools...

 

[Onres]

See my previous posts: no license, unfortunately. 🙁 That would've been ideal, but alas... part of the reason I moved to NYC in the first place was that I couldn't drive. 🙄

At what point can I start being choosy about my invites? Dartmouth is a great school, but I'm having trouble scheduling things between work and other interviews. I haven't really figured out where Dartmouth stands in relation to my other schools...

There is a student hosting program...Not only did someone mention it a couple times on this thread, but you should have gotten info with your interview invite in one of the attachments.

And you can start being 'choosy' whenever you have multiple acceptances with multiple financial aid packages. DMS has a very generous fin. aid program. Considering federal loans will not be subsidized starting 11-12, you should definitely take this into consideration. For your own good, I wouldn't start getting too confident because of multiple interview invitations, they are by no means acceptances.

Also, you will be surprised about how your perception of a school changes once you actually see it in person. In other words, you won't know where any school stands relative to other schools unless you go to interviews...

If you have more specific questions, I would call the admissions office, they are by far the most welcoming office you will contact.

 

[percy]

There is a student hosting program...Not only did someone mention it a couple times on this thread, but you should have gotten info with your interview invite in one of the attachments.

Ouch! Don't tase me, bro!

Pretty tough to keep track of thirty school messageboards, but I did happen to catch someone on the last page mentioning that "you have to set it up yourself." Also, a total lack of mention of a student hosting program in their invite email. But good to know they have one. Thanks.

Do they offer Monday/Friday interviews? Doubt their office will be open on Monday, but will give them a call.

 

[percy]

Considering federal loans will not be subsidized starting 11-12, you should definitely take this into consideration.

Also, not that I can't search the web, but since I'm on a train for the next couple of hours: Where did you see this? Is that fo'real?

 

[Onres]

Also, not that I can't search the web, but since I'm on a train for the next couple of hours: Where did you see this? Is that fo'real?

Unfortunately it is for real. I'm not sure when they are doing interviews. It's part of the debt ceiling deal it was on cnn.com , and our financial aid office let us know. They are supposed to adapt to this change accordingly. Btw I wasn't being rude, just trying to give you some general advice. Its easy to let this process make your head big, but I think it's beneficial to be very humble during the process and throughout your career. Take advantage of every interview.

 

[percy]

Unfortunately it is for real. I'm not sure when they are doing interviews. It's part of the debt ceiling deal it was on cnn.com , and our financial aid office let us know. They are supposed to adapt to this change accordingly. Btw I wasn't being rude, just trying to give you some general advice. Its easy to let this process make your head big, but I think it's beneficial to be very humble during the process and throughout your career. Take advantage of every interview.

Holy crap. That sucks. Big time.

 

[Quicksilver005]

Unfortunately it is for real. I'm not sure when they are doing interviews. It's part of the debt ceiling deal it was on cnn.com , and our financial aid office let us know. They are supposed to adapt to this change accordingly. Btw I wasn't being rude, just trying to give you some general advice. Its easy to let this process make your head big, but I think it's beneficial to be very humble during the process and throughout your career. Take advantage of every interview.

Very good advice. 👍

 

[percy]

Very good advice. 👍

I mean, I wouldn't disagree.

 

[physicsnerd42]

Do they offer Monday/Friday interviews? Doubt their office will be open on Monday, but will give them a call.

T/Th have been the MD interview days and W is when the MD/PhD committee and grad programs interview candidates (so that they can go to either the T/Th MD interview).

There is a student hosting program which you probably weren't told about because they just started recruiting this year's students in past couple of weeks (since school just started). Just email the admissions committee for the hosting program's website which has student contact info. If you're interviewing MD/PhD, just let the MD/PhD admissions person know that you'd like a host and we find one of the current MD/PhD program students to host you.

I know it's a hassle to get here because I was going to school in California when I interviewed and then had to come here for a two day interview. Still, I think it's worth it.


About the loans: My brother is a first year med student at USC and he told me that the subsidized federal loans are going away for graduate students. That being said, subsidized loans are only available on the first ~$8,500 per year. I believe that the old total max of sub+unsub of ~$38,000 will still exist, it will just be all unsub.


Soapbox time:
Med school is expensive and many students underestimate the burden of having a lot of loans. I shouldn't really have a voice on this issue since I'm MD/PhD, but I told my brother that he should go to the cheapest U.S. allopathic school he got into; he ignored my advice. I am very happy, however, that my (now) wife followed that advice when she chose a med school. She went to a med school that she didn't particularly like but now she can afford to do general pediatrics and can even hope to make a dent in her loans as a resident. As much as I love Dartmouth, I honestly don't think any one U.S. allopathic school is worth $100k+ more in loans than any other.

 

[percy]

Thanks!!

Sounds like you have a lot of doctors in your family. How does your brother feel about his decision? Not sure I'm unconditionally on board with the "cheapest option" tactic, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't take fin aid into major account.

On the other hand, I'm totally on board with the "interview everywhere you can" tactic, but that's easier said than done. Really trying hard, though!

Out if curiosity, did you and your wife attend med school far away from each other? Considering the transportation options, I wonder how my partner and I would fare with the short/long distance in Hanover...

 

[physicsnerd42]

Thanks!!

Sounds like you have a lot of doctors in your family. How does your brother feel about his decision? Not sure I'm unconditionally on board with the "cheapest option" tactic, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't take fin aid into major account.

On the other hand, I'm totally on board with the "interview everywhere you can" tactic, but that's easier said than done. Really trying hard, though!

Out if curiosity, did you and your wife attend med school far away from each other? Considering the transportation options, I wonder how my partner and I would fare with the short/long distance in Hanover...

Yeah, this current generation has a lot of doctors (my cousin also just graduated from med school). My brother just started school a couple of weeks ago but between Hurricane Irene and that minor earthquake we had last week, he's feeling pretty good about his decision. 😉

My wife went to SUNY Upstate so it was about a five hour drive. That was definitely do-able. Many of the student here have SOs in Boston and a few in New York. My wife is doing her residency about two hours from here and we basically see each other three or four weekends per month. The med students who tend to make long distance work are the ones whose partners are as busy as they are and can understand why they have to study on nights and weekends.

 

[lunt]

Anyone from Quebec/Canada interviewing on Sep 8th?

 

[MilkIsGood]

take dartmouth coach after interview to boston and fly out late that night. is that doable?

 

[physicsnerd42]

take dartmouth coach after interview to boston and fly out late that night. is that doable?

That depends on how late of a flight you're willing to take (it takes about 3 hours to get to Logan). You may be able to request back-to-back interviews and skip the Hanover campus tour (you'll still get a hospital tour) so that you can catch the 3 pm Coach and get to Logan by about 6. Your other option is to finish the interview at the normal time and then grab the 5 pm Coach and get to the airport at around 8.

 

[Pennilane]

take dartmouth coach after interview to boston and fly out late that night. is that doable?

if you can get a late flight.. i have to stay for an extra night cuz the last flight out to my area was before 5.
Anybody have suggestions for things to do in Hanover?

 

[Cinclus]

Is anyone flying into Manchester and driving to Hanover?

 

[Dartmouth2005]

take dartmouth coach after interview to boston and fly out late that night. is that doable?

Check the schedule. Doable. It is a reliable service though more expensive than Greyhound which also services Dartmouth.

 

[devolution]

That depends on how late of a flight you're willing to take (it takes about 3 hours to get to Logan). You may be able to request back-to-back interviews and skip the Hanover campus tour (you'll still get a hospital tour) so that you can catch the 3 pm Coach and get to Logan by about 6. Your other option is to finish the interview at the normal time and then grab the 5 pm Coach and get to the airport at around 8.

That's what I'm doing (taking the 3pm bus to fly out of Boston at night). I emailed the admissions office to request that they schedule my interview by 2:30pm. Whitney replied the next day to say that she could do it. I'm disappointed to miss the campus tour, but I'll be arriving earlier the day before the interview and hopefully will be able to see the campus then.

 

[allinblue]

Hi guys, for the first question of the Dartmouth secondary, it says "Please indicate your plans for the 2011-12 academic year. If in school, please list your courses." Since i'm in school i've only listed my courses as a response to this question. Was the question asking for us to describe planned/continuing extracurricular activities and internships too?

 

[Cinclus]

Hi guys, for the first question of the Dartmouth secondary, it says "Please indicate your plans for the 2011-12 academic year. If in school, please list your courses." Since i'm in school i've only listed my courses as a response to this question. Was the question asking for us to describe planned/continuing extracurricular activities and internships too?

I told them about my planned extracurriculars.

 

[AnoeaSarei]

I submitted my dartmouth secondary two weeks ago. today, I was looking through the pdf version of my secondary and they converted my apostrophes to ?Ao. 🙁 I only had two apostrophes but it doesn't look pretty. I didn't see a "print preview/see pdf" button before I submitted so I just submitted (should have printed it out to proofread, huh?). Is this something I should be worried about? Is it necessary for me to do anything about it?

thanks!

 

[loho77]

I submitted my dartmouth secondary two weeks ago. today, I was looking through the pdf version of my secondary and they converted my apostrophes to ?Ao. 🙁 I only had two apostrophes but it doesn't look pretty. I didn't see a "print preview/see pdf" button before I submitted so I just submitted (should have printed it out to proofread, huh?). Is this something I should be worried about? Is it necessary for me to do anything about it?

thanks!

I just looked at mine, and I had the same issue. I would guess that this happened to many applicants, so maybe they know about it already and will infer that apostrophes were meant to be there?

 

[etfiedler]

Any new interview invites lately?

 

[Scuba721]

Is anyone flying into Manchester and driving to Hanover?

I live in Manchester and have an interview on September 8th, so i will be driving to hanover that morning and returning afterwards. If anyone has this same interview date I may be able to give you a lift.

 

[Cinclus]

I wish I had the same interview date as you, but I'm going on the 15th. Is it an OK drive?

 

[Scuba721]

I wish I had the same interview date as you, but I'm going on the 15th. Is it an OK drive?

It is a beautiful drive. It will probably take an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half and you go through one $1 toll. But it is a very easy drive through rural NH and the highway has very light traffic.

 

[Cinclus]

Man, that toll charge is gonna break me! lol Thanks for the info.

 

[MilkIsGood]

couldnt find any evening flights out of boston. looks like ill just take the darrmouth coach to logan, then spend the night there and take an early morning flight out. going to miss 3 days for this interview. good thing i moved this interview from exam week to after exam week!

 

[R1MD]

Milk, did you try Manchester?

 

[Onres]

T/Th have been the MD interview days and W is when the MD/PhD committee and grad programs interview candidates (so that they can go to either the T/Th MD interview).

There is a student hosting program which you probably weren't told about because they just started recruiting this year's students in past couple of weeks (since school just started). Just email the admissions committee for the hosting program's website which has student contact info. If you're interviewing MD/PhD, just let the MD/PhD admissions person know that you'd like a host and we find one of the current MD/PhD program students to host you.

I know it's a hassle to get here because I was going to school in California when I interviewed and then had to come here for a two day interview. Still, I think it's worth it.


About the loans: My brother is a first year med student at USC and he told me that the subsidized federal loans are going away for graduate students. That being said, subsidized loans are only available on the first ~$8,500 per year. I believe that the old total max of sub+unsub of ~$38,000 will still exist, it will just be all unsub.


Soapbox time:
Med school is expensive and many students underestimate the burden of having a lot of loans. I shouldn't really have a voice on this issue since I'm MD/PhD, but I told my brother that he should go to the cheapest U.S. allopathic school he got into; he ignored my advice. I am very happy, however, that my (now) wife followed that advice when she chose a med school. She went to a med school that she didn't particularly like but now she can afford to do general pediatrics and can even hope to make a dent in her loans as a resident. As much as I love Dartmouth, I honestly don't think any one U.S. allopathic school is worth $100k+ more in loans than any other.

I agree completely. But you should consider that a lot of people disregard private medical schools because they automatically assume they will be more expensive. My instate school with instate residency turned to be more expensive for me than DMS w/ need-based scholarships. My instate school is by no means an expensive school either. So while, yes, you should go to the cheapest school, but just don't make that decision until you have all financial aid packages from the different schools.

 

[Onres]

Thanks!!

Sounds like you have a lot of doctors in your family. How does your brother feel about his decision? Not sure I'm unconditionally on board with the "cheapest option" tactic, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't take fin aid into major account.

On the other hand, I'm totally on board with the "interview everywhere you can" tactic, but that's easier said than done. Really trying hard, though!

Out if curiosity, did you and your wife attend med school far away from each other? Considering the transportation options, I wonder how my partner and I would fare with the short/long distance in Hanover...

That's very understandable. But yeah, you should try to make everyone of them, because you really can't predict how things turn out.

 

[physicsnerd42]

I agree completely. But you should consider that a lot of people disregard private medical schools because they automatically assume they will be more expensive. My instate school with instate residency turned to be more expensive for me than DMS w/ need-based scholarships. My instate school is by no means an expensive school either. So while, yes, you should go to the cheapest school, but just don't make that decision until you have all financial aid packages from the different schools.

I definitely agree. Sorry, I should have made that clearer.

 

[R1MD]

Super quiet here...any new invites out there lately?

 

[etfiedler]

I've been wondering that myself. I know that the first interviews were yesterday, so perhaps the admissions folks have been focused on getting ready for those.

For those who had interviews yesterday, how did they go?

 

[Nymphicus]

I've been wondering that myself. I know that the first interviews were yesterday, so perhaps the admissions folks have been focused on getting ready for those.

For those who had interviews yesterday, how did they go?

relaxed, short (only 30 minutes per)
very nice admissions desk lady

 

[Cinclus]

Hey guys. I was wondering if anyone knew how the research opportunities for MD-only students are at Dartmouth. I'm having a hard time figuring this out by looking at their website.

 

[physicsnerd42]

Hey guys. I was wondering if anyone knew how the research opportunities for MD-only students are at Dartmouth. I'm having a hard time figuring this out by looking at their website.

Good. As of right now any MD student who wants to do research at DMS over the summer between years 1 and 2 gets funded (I think $2k for 7 weeks). There's also a MD research scholars program that's getting off the group where interested year 1 MD students are paired with older MD/PhD students to help guide them to picking good labs. There are also resources through the program to help you apply for research fellowships (like HHMI, Sarnoff, etc.)

But, yeah, there's plenty of research for MD-only people to do, from basic science to clinical and outcomes.

 

[newby000]

Hi Guys,
I was wondering if anyone heard of any rejections yet? I wonder if they are the silent rejection type?

 

[etfiedler]

Hi Guys,
I was wondering if anyone heard of any rejections yet? I wonder if they are the silent rejection type?

The first rejections anybody talked about on last year's thread were mid-October.

 

[BunnyInTheBox]

Submitted secondary in July, still haven't heard anything from them... Have they forgot about me~?🙁 Does the interview invite come via e-mail?

 

[pirung1]

Submitted secondary in July, still haven't heard anything from them... Have they forgot about me~?🙁 Does the interview invite come via e-mail?

i got an interview this week tho i was complete in july.

 

[Cinclus]

Good. As of right now any MD student who wants to do research at DMS over the summer between years 1 and 2 gets funded (I think $2k for 7 weeks). There's also a MD research scholars program that's getting off the group where interested year 1 MD students are paired with older MD/PhD students to help guide them to picking good labs. There are also resources through the program to help you apply for research fellowships (like HHMI, Sarnoff, etc.)

But, yeah, there's plenty of research for MD-only people to do, from basic science to clinical and outcomes.

Thanks for the info. 🙂

 

[BunnyInTheBox]

i got an interview this week tho i was complete in july.

Thanks for the info and congrats on the interview. Besides the "green lights" on the application status page, do they send anything else to confirm that your application is complete? I don't have any....

 

[pirung1]

Thanks for the info and congrats on the interview. Besides the "green lights" on the application status page, do they send anything else to confirm that your application is complete? I don't have any....

yes, you should have gotten a complete email. the green lights do not necessarily signal that you are complete.