Letter of Interest to Dartmouth--Help!

[PookieGirl]

Hey all,

I want to write a letter to Dartmouth to express my continued interest in their school. I've already written why I like the school in thank you letters to my interviewers plus the dean. Then I wrote a letter to express further interest and to let them know that they'd soon be receiving a transcript with the grades from my 2 night classes. I REALLY want an acceptance here because, aside from 1 other school, my gut feeling says this would be a great place for me. Beautiful place close to family (including dad whose mental health is questionable, and 80+ y.o. grandmother, and 2 brothers, one of whom just started a family), potentially close to boyfriend if he goes to school in Boston, close to where I live now so the transition would be easier (and hence allow me to more fully dive into med school). Also for what I want to do (international infectious disease work), I think this school is as good as my other top choice.

My questions are this:

First, can I write a 2nd letter of interest expressing personal reasons (non-academic) for wanting desperately to get in or do they want to hear academic reasons? Could one reason I haven't gotten in be that I want to do infectious disease work and their patient population isn't what I'll encounter as an ID doc?

Secondly, all but one person has said I'll need a car there. I know technically you're not supposed to use federal loan money towards car payments. Do people do it anyway? Could I get a small car loan from a bank instead to pay for a used car?

Lastly, does anyone know if Dartmouth's acceptances are need-blind?

Thanks!

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[domukin]

1) Not entirely sure what you mean by "personal reasons", if its something like: I was impressed with the hospital and believe it will greatly help my desire to help people on a clinical level - or something along those lines, it fine, and I think preferred.

However if its, well i have a mortage on a house near the school, so it would really help out if I go there,,, then I would just keep that to myself, since it has relatively little to do with the school. Maybe if you post what these reasons are???

2) Yea, you NEED a car. From my financial aid experience, they don't care how you spend your money- and financing a car is taken into the cost of attendance, so it should be fine.

3)Acceptance is need blind.

Just out of curiosity, have you interviewed yet? Cuz they went over this stuff when I was there (Except for the LOI part).

 

[PookieGirl]

1) Not entirely sure what you mean by "personal reasons", if its something like: I was impressed with the hospital and believe it will greatly help my desire to help people on a clinical level - or something along those lines, it fine, and I think preferred.

However if its, well i have a mortage on a house near the school, so it would really help out if I go there,,, then I would just keep that to myself, since it has relatively little to do with the school. Maybe if you post what these reasons are???

2) Yea, you NEED a car. From my financial aid experience, they don't care how you spend your money- and financing a car is taken into the cost of attendance, so it should be fine.

3)Acceptance is need blind.

Just out of curiosity, have you interviewed yet? Cuz they went over this stuff when I was there (Except for the LOI part).

I mentioned some of the personal reasons in the first post of this thread. #1, I'd like to stay close to family. My dad has no healthcare, is unemployed, and his mental capacity is declining. As I gain clinical knowledge and skills, I'd like to be able to help him in whatever way that I can, as well as support my oldest brother who supports him. #2, my boyfriend is considering a Boston school and DMS is the best school for me that's close to Boston. #3, having spent summers in the White Mountains, living in a small town environment would let me focus on what I really need to focus on without distractions and lets me participate in a number of outdoor sports. #4, Moving to an area that I know I will be comfortable in will make for an easier transition to med school and so will allow me to put more energy into school, versus getting acclimated to a completely new environment like a big city. I've been out of school for some time now and I want this transition to be as smooth as it can be. So those are my personal reasons.

I see several great things about the school. I'm not interested in research, except international public health type stuff, and I know they have many programs all over the world in which I could participate for this reason. The small class size lets you interact closely with the professors, who know what you've covered in previous classes, and the students themselves seemed very thoughtful and considerate of each other. The school has a good reputation with residency directors. The school offers lots of financial aid to need-based applicants. You get clinical experience your first year.

Of course I was impressed with the hospital. Who wouldn't be though?

Yes I already interviewed-- back in November. Like I said, most people said you needed a car. And yes, the financial aid lady said that under the budget for loans there is a miscellaneous category from which car payments could be made. But other people have told me that that is technically illegal so I wanted to ask people what their thoughts were. I do not recall any mention of the acceptance being "need blind" but I know for undergrad that some institutions are actually not need blind, so again I wanted to inquire about that.

So my reasons for wanting to go there are both because I like a lot of things about the school and the location fits certain situations in my life. The school wants to know that I want to go to their school because I like the school itself. I do. But if the admissions team takes into account personal reasons, I'd like to discuss those as well. Is it appropriate in a 2nd letter of interest to write both reasons?

 

[DMBUGA34]

Some Answers...

1) Write the letter (I wrote them twice too), it won't hurt. It'll probably help because you're giving strong personal reasons for why you'd love to be here, and not what every one else writes about.

2) The infectious disease thing has nothing to do with it. There's a couple of people here that are already strongly trying to recruit us into infectious disease. DMS also has tons of programs that will let you work outside the US. One in particular, Dartmouth International Health Group (DIHG) gives grant money to help fund any projects you might want to do overseas. You can start your own or work on other ongoing DIHG projects. There are also active projects in Kosova, Honduras, Guatemala, and Tanzania that are all very easy to get involved with.

3) Unless you live on campus, within walking distance, within biking distance, or on the bus routes (which are free and also stop at the hospital), you'll need a car. Campus housing is fairly cheap, but Hanover housing is expensive. I had 2 roommates w/out cars, 1 recently bought one.

4) I do believe that it's illegal for the school to budget car payments, but it's ok for them to budget "miscellaneous," which can be used toward car payments. You can also tell them you'll be using more a month than you're really going to (their budget is usually more than you really need), and use that extra money for car payments.

5) Dartmouth acceptances are need-blind