2014-2015 Dartmouth University Application Thread

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Sorry to hear about the rejections guys 🙁

FriendlyFH said:
Hi, thanks for spending time to help people here. I wonder what is it like to have a class with an average age of 29 (or 27...I can't remember which one was it). I mean, does it make the atmosphere more mature? How do the 30+ students feel about it? I probably will be one of the oldest in any given school. I'd love to have people more around my age in the class.

Btw everyone, I was talking to the admission just the other day and they said that they were totally swamped so don't loose hope for II even if you were completed really early in the cycle. You can still be on the queue to be reviewed.
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Sorry for such a long wait on this! Finals have just ended and I feel like an actual human being again. I asked a few of the older people in our class regarding this topic in the past week, so I will integrate their response with my views as well.

So Giesel tends to favor slightly older students, and the range of ages typically go from 21 to 35, with a median of about 25-26. There are typically between 5 - 10 students per year that is over 30 and/or with families. I definitely believe that it makes the general atmosphere more mature. The maturity often reflects during class discussions, when they are able to bring their past either research or life experience into them. We have some very accomplished older folks in our class, and talking to them makes me put all the tests and exams into perspective. They tend to be quite close to each other but they are by no means exclusive. At first, I thought we might all be somewhat segregated by age, but that has not happened. When classes begin, we all bond from our shared experiences, so age does not really become a factor.

In terms of living conditions, I think (and it has been confirmed) Hanover is a great place for slightly older students who prefer a quieter place. Many live with their families or significant other off campus (anywhere from 10-30 minutes away) in very comfortable and spacious housing. The cost of living here is a lot lower than what most city people are used to, which is great. In fact, many of the physicians that work in nearby hospitals live in Hanover, and they like it very much. However, keep in mind that it is also a slightly rural location, so everything is not as convenient as it is in LA or NYC.

From my personal perspective, I really like the fact that average age of students at Geisel is slightly older than some medical schools. People tend to be more a little more on the toned down side, which is something I really appreciate.

I hope that helped! Feel free to ask anything else or PM me with questions 🙂
 
@snarkie Thanks for the above discussion. Hope your exams went well. I'm glad you mention them as i've been thinking about those lately. I've realized not all schools allow you to see your exam afterwards. Meaning you take them and only receive a score back. Or you take them and receive content suggestions back. I feel this doesn't help a person learn where their weaknesses are. Can you comment on Dartmouth's protocol for exams. Thank you!
 
snarkie said:
Sorry to hear about the rejections guys 🙁



Sorry for such a long wait on this! Finals have just ended and I feel like an actual human being again. I asked a few of the older people in our class regarding this topic in the past week, so I will integrate their response with my views as well.

So Giesel tends to favor slightly older students, and the range of ages typically go from 21 to 35, with a median of about 25-26. There are typically between 5 - 10 students per year that is over 30 and/or with families. I definitely believe that it makes the general atmosphere more mature. The maturity often reflects during class discussions, when they are able to bring their past either research or life experience into them. We have some very accomplished older folks in our class, and talking to them makes me put all the tests and exams into perspective. They tend to be quite close to each other but they are by no means exclusive. At first, I thought we might all be somewhat segregated by age, but that has not happened. When classes begin, we all bond from our shared experiences, so age does not really become a factor.

In terms of living conditions, I think (and it has been confirmed) Hanover is a great place for slightly older students who prefer a quieter place. Many live with their families or significant other off campus (anywhere from 10-30 minutes away) in very comfortable and spacious housing. The cost of living here is a lot lower than what most city people are used to, which is great. In fact, many of the physicians that work in nearby hospitals live in Hanover, and they like it very much. However, keep in mind that it is also a slightly rural location, so everything is not as convenient as it is in LA or NYC.

From my personal perspective, I really like the fact that average age of students at Geisel is slightly older than some medical schools. People tend to be more a little more on the toned down side, which is something I really appreciate.

I hope that helped! Feel free to ask anything else or PM me with questions 🙂
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Please don't worry about it. Peeps here can easily understand the demanding life of med school. I'm sure you've done a great job

I really appreciate and admire that you actually did field resaerch to answer my question. One would expect that older students would bring some interesting perspectives, but it was really nice to read that reality aligns with expectations. I did a second bachelor degree and studied with kids 10 years of my junior. While I benefit from their youthful energy, they loved to talk to me about relationship and life in general since I'm amazingly accomplished in terms of knowing how to fail in all kinds of ways and all the what-not-to-dos. 😛

It'd be great if I can afford to have a full adult life in a spacious apartment (preferably in a house with backyard so I can have a dog or a cat). After NYC for 10 years, this has become rather important.

Again, thank you for such a thorough answer. Look forward to the II and the visit thereafter!
 
Overanxious said:
@snarkie Thanks for the above discussion. Hope your exams went well. I'm glad you mention them as i've been thinking about those lately. I've realized not all schools allow you to see your exam afterwards. Meaning you take them and only receive a score back. Or you take them and receive content suggestions back. I feel this doesn't help a person learn where their weaknesses are. Can you comment on Dartmouth's protocol for exams. Thank you!
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Certainly, I believe we do have the opportunity to review our exams after they are graded if you make the request. They are also more than happy to go over the exam with you afterwards and answer questions. However, I think you may be supervised while reviewing them in case you would like to request for a regrade (just to make sure that you have not changed any of your answers) and to prevent you from taking pictures of exam questions.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but the faculty here takes students' feedback very seriously. If there are issues with wording/content difficulty on exams, they will take these things into consideration. One interesting thing we get to do on exams is "challenge up to 3 questions per test" in case anything they wrote was unclear, ambiguous, etc. I have challenged questions before, and have gotten credit on my answers, provided that I have a reasonable explanation.

You're very welcome FriendlyFH, I think most houses have backyards! There is a lot of space to go around here! Good luck!
 
snarkie said:
Sorry to hear about the rejections guys 🙁



Sorry for such a long wait on this! Finals have just ended and I feel like an actual human being again. I asked a few of the older people in our class regarding this topic in the past week, so I will integrate their response with my views as well.

So Giesel tends to favor slightly older students, and the range of ages typically go from 21 to 35, with a median of about 25-26. There are typically between 5 - 10 students per year that is over 30 and/or with families. I definitely believe that it makes the general atmosphere more mature. The maturity often reflects during class discussions, when they are able to bring their past either research or life experience into them. We have some very accomplished older folks in our class, and talking to them makes me put all the tests and exams into perspective. They tend to be quite close to each other but they are by no means exclusive. At first, I thought we might all be somewhat segregated by age, but that has not happened. When classes begin, we all bond from our shared experiences, so age does not really become a factor.

In terms of living conditions, I think (and it has been confirmed) Hanover is a great place for slightly older students who prefer a quieter place. Many live with their families or significant other off campus (anywhere from 10-30 minutes away) in very comfortable and spacious housing. The cost of living here is a lot lower than what most city people are used to, which is great. In fact, many of the physicians that work in nearby hospitals live in Hanover, and they like it very much. However, keep in mind that it is also a slightly rural location, so everything is not as convenient as it is in LA or NYC.

From my personal perspective, I really like the fact that average age of students at Geisel is slightly older than some medical schools. People tend to be more a little more on the toned down side, which is something I really appreciate.

I hope that helped! Feel free to ask anything else or PM me with questions 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to give us your insight! On the other end of the spectrum, how are the opportunities for those of us who are younger/without families who are looking to socialize and whatnot?
 

Congratulations to all who have been accepted!
 
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Can any current students comment on the social life in Hanover for those that aren't married / don't have families?
 
Any 11/13-ers hear back yet? Our files would have been reviewed 11/27 but I'm not sure when they actually met since that was thanksgiving!
 
Pedsmdplease said:
Any 11/13-ers hear back yet? Our files would have been reviewed 11/27 but I'm not sure when they actually met since that was thanksgiving!
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I thought they met on Fridays every two weeks. From my understanding the last committee meet was the 21st of Nov. 😉 I may be wrong and I may be right.
 
Pedsmdplease said:
Any 11/13-ers hear back yet? Our files would have been reviewed 11/27 but I'm not sure when they actually met since that was thanksgiving!
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GoodStuff said:
I thought they met on Fridays every two weeks. From my understanding the last committee meet was the 21st of Nov. 😉 I may be wrong and I may be right.
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I interviewed 11/13 also. If I remember correctly, we were told the committee meets every 2 Thursdays, making the meeting 11/20 (or 11/21 if GoodStuff is correct). That would make the next committee meeting this week (either 12/4 or 12/5).

Hopefully we hear back soon then. 😀
 
TheLionheart said:
I interviewed 11/13 also. If I remember correctly, we were told the committee meets every 2 Thursdays, making the meeting 11/20 (or 11/21 if GoodStuff is correct). That would make the next committee meeting this week (either 12/4 or 12/5).

Hopefully we hear back soon then. 😀
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From what we were told on 11/18: Meetings are every second Thursday. They had enough of a backlog that any 11/18 interviwees were unlikely to be reviewed on the early Dec meeting, and with the next one being close to the holidays, we probably won't be hearing until next year. Things might be slightly quicker for the 11/13 group.
 
milski said:
From what we were told on 11/18: Meetings are every second Thursday. They had enough of a backlog that any 11/18 interviwees were unlikely to be reviewed on the early Dec meeting, and with the next one being close to the holidays, we probably won't be hearing until next year. Things might be slightly quicker for the 11/13 group.
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Yes, that fits in with what we were told, except we were likely told that us 11/13 interviewees probably won't be looked at the 11/20 meeting, but it's possible we would be at the next one (12/4).
 
BioEngMD said:
Can any current students comment on the social life in Hanover for those that aren't married / don't have families?
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I've been asked this a few times, so here is what I hope to be a thorough response. For the most part, I think the social life on campus is great. There are tons of different clubs on campus and multiple social gatherings for med students (with great turnout) after quizzes/exams and most Friday/weekends. I don't think it is really any different from other schools per say.

Outside the campus is a little different. For one, Hanover gets a lot of snow in the winter time, so a lot of people ski/snow board/skate/etc. In my opinion, it's a great idea to learn at least one snow-related sport while you're here! A few people have also asked about clubbing and parties. I am really not an expert in this area but I have been told that there isn't nearly as much a variety here as big cities. There are still pubs and restaurants around, but again there aren't as many as city folks are used to, I'm sure. Keep in mind that Hanover is a college town, so there aren't any skyscrapers or flashing billboards or anything like that. I will say that having a car comes in handy here, especially during the winter when there is snow.

Speaking of cars, one thing that a lot of people, including myself, have been doing is going on weekend road trips. Popular locations are Boston, Montreal, NYC, etc. It's a great way to get out of Hanover for a bit and bond with friends!

A lot of city folks have been concerned about semi-rural life and asked about the transitioning process to Hanover. I am also from a big city, and I can say that in the beginning, I was not used to it. However, after a week or two, I really began to appreciate what a close knit community Hanover has. The road trips and occasional break have really helped me get accustomed to a quieter lifestyle. I think it is also largely expectation base - if you come expecting to go on a huge shopping spree and party on a weekly basis, you might be disappointed. Having said that, do know that there isn't only one type of person that is fit to live here. There are people from all over the country with a variety of personalities and preferences in the class, and you can definitely make it a worthwhile experience.
 
I have a question. I see people who were complete in July getting interview invites. Since I was complete October 22nd, does that mean they've gone through all of the applications and passed me up and are now giving these interview spots to people who they had passed up earlier?

Also, do they give pre-interview rejections? Sorry if this has already been mentioned earlier in this thread.
 
jpwsurf21 said:
IIRC, you're application is initially looked at closely by a group of 2 members of the committee. If they each really think you should get an interview, you do and it's sent out quickly. If one thinks you should and the other doesn't necessarily wanna give one out immediately, then it goes to the committee to be reviewed and then they decide but that's after they've gone through all the apps that have come in, I believe. Don't quote me on this though, that is just what I recall hearing last year.

Some preinterview rejections have gone out at this point. I know people, though, who were complete in July and didn't get an interview Til February (although she got interviews at numerous top 20 schools so she knew she had a good app) so as long as you aren't rejected, you're still in the running.
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So kind of you to fill us in. . . off the record. It is reassuring to hear from someone who has been through the process and triumphed!
 
jpwsurf21 said:
IIRC, you're application is initially looked at closely by a group of 2 members of the committee. If they each really think you should get an interview, you do and it's sent out quickly. If one thinks you should and the other doesn't necessarily wanna give one out immediately, then it goes to the committee to be reviewed and then they decide but that's after they've gone through all the apps that have come in, I believe. Don't quote me on this though, that is just what I recall hearing last year.

Some preinterview rejections have gone out at this point. I know people, though, who were complete in July and didn't get an interview Til February (although she got interviews at numerous top 20 schools so she knew she had a good app) so as long as you aren't rejected, you're still in the running.
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Thank you so much for your response.
 
Hi guys! Has anyone who interviewed on 11/4 heard back? Just wondering! Crossing my fingers that we'll hear something back soon!
 
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