Welcome to Dartmouth, ’18s! I hope you’re ready – college is happening, like, now. Once your fresh-faced, cheerful selves have made it through five days in the woods experiencing the magic of Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips, you’ll actually have to go to Dartmouth. That means attending classes, meeting tons of new people, probably living with a roommate or two and generally navigating a whole new environment along with 1,000 of your peers. It’s totally okay if you don’t feel prepared. This guide is a handy reference to get you through your first week at the College. Take a deep breath and keep moving forward. You got this.
First, some basic do’s and don’ts of Orientation:
DO:
- Get to know your UGA. His or her job is to help you with any problems that might arise throughout the year, and he or she will have some wise advice to pass on as you adjust to your new home.
- Go to anything that offers free food.
- Figure out your class times and where they meet before the first day. Even the most seasoned of Dartmouth students make the mistake of assuming 2s start at 2:00 p.m.
- Go to a dorm party. If that’s not your scene, then stargaze at the golf course or have a movie night.
- Take a photo of Baker-Berry Library, and then take a photo of you standing in front of it. Then take pictures on the Green. It may seem cheesy, but you’ll treasure these pictures later.
DON’T:
- Try to get into a frat. As of last year, freshmen are banned from Greek houses until the Monday after Homecoming. Your time will come; just be patient.
- Drink too much.
- Go out every night. You don’t want to get burned out the first week, something that happens all too often at high-pressure schools. Take some time to yourself to ease into Dartmouth and get some sleep.
And now, college life begins:
Day 1
9 a.m.: It’s the first day of classes, and you’re still getting used to waking up next to your roommate. You’re getting along well, though, and you’re both up and at ’em before your 10s. Oh, wait. Your roommate isn’t moving. Phew, she’s breathing. Hopefully she won’t make going out on Sundays a regular habit.
11:45 a.m.: You’re sitting in your first class like a real college student. Don’t be too overeager. It isn’t necessary to analyze readings a week in advance or raise your hand for every question. Participating in class is great, but don’t feel like you need to prove yourself to anyone on the first day. You’re here to learn, not compete.
12:20 p.m.: Classes went great! You head to Collis to meet some of your trippees. You realize you have no idea how to navigate the lines. Don’t stress about it. You’ll learn not to wear your backpack in Collis soon enough. Fill your friends in on absolutely every detail of your first day.
Day 2
Noon: You contemplate eating at Novack, but your trip leader advises you to try KAF instead. There will be late-night study binges in the library for that grim Novack scene later. Enjoy the finer things for now, and relish the time before you have to think about all-nighters.
4 p.m.: You agree with your roommate that you need to spruce up the room, so you decide to try to take the bus to West Leb. You learn that Advanced Transit may be too advanced for you. Wait until someone’s parents are up for the weekend, or see if your UGA knows someone with a car.
Day 3
11:13 a.m.: You’re hopelessly lost. One of your friends is in your 11, but your repeated texts are going unanswered. When you finally find “Carson L01” the reason becomes clear: no cell service. Don’t be ashamed to have a map of campus on you while you’re still figuring out where everything is. If you’re concerned about people knowing you’re lost, pull up a campus map on your phone and everyone will assume you’re checking blitz.
3 p.m.: The homesickness is starting to creep its way into your daily routine, so you call your mom after class and have a long conversation trying to explain the words “flair” and “facetime,” even though you barely understand them yourself. Call your mom, call your aunt, call your best friend – and make sure you keep up with them over the next term. It’s okay to dive into college life, but remember those people at home you’ll want share your stories with when Thanksgiving rolls around.
Day 4
1:15 p.m.: You set off immediately to try to find Hinman and get your mail, planning to grab lunch at the Courtyard Café after. You fail on both accounts by arriving before your package was processed and accidentally wind up in Sarner Underground. You’re going to accidentally walk into plenty of new places on campus your first week. Just go with it.
4 p.m.: You go to the activities fair and sign up for 20 different organizations. College is one of the few times in your life when it’s perfectly acceptable to take up improv, boxing and social activism on a whim. Just remember that you can’t do it all, so don’t fret when you eventually have to drop a few. Explore new things to see what you enjoy. Drop what you don’t.
6 p.m.: Eat at FoCo. Accidentally ask an upperclassman sitting near you if he’s an ’18, too. Sit with him anyway.
Day 5
5:30 p.m.: Your roommate’s parents are in town for the weekend, so you go to dinner with them at the Norwich Inn. You didn’t get the chance to meet them during Orientation, so you’re a bit nervous. As long as you’re nice and normal, you’ll be just fine. If you’re not nice or normal, just pretend for a few hours so you can take advantage of the free food.
11 p.m. You find yourself in a friend-of-a-friend’s cushy room in McLaughlin. You wonder what upperclassmen have been doing in frats for the past two hours. Probably playing beer pong. Beirut? No, just pong, your friend reminds you.
Day 6
5 p.m.: You’re treating yourself for surviving your first week at College, so you have a trippee reunion at Molly’s. You eat an entire basket of Molly’s bread and feel no shame. Embrace it.
9 p.m.: You’re ready to go out but realize that no one goes out before 11. You plan to do work until then, but you binge watch Orange is the New Black instead.
12:30 a.m.: You run into your UGA on frat row and try to convince him to let you and your friends into his frat. This proves unsuccessful. You assure him that all the pregames have been in other dorms besides yours tonight. He seems relieved.
Day 7
11:30 a.m.: After making some non-coherent sounds, you open your eyes wide enough to start scrolling through your Instagram feed to wake yourself up. You realize your friend posted the one picture you asked them to delete. Well, time to start the work you put off for the last two days.
11:32 a.m.: You create a new Facebook album. What clever words start with “F”? You’ll think of that later; “14F” will do for now.
10:56 p.m.: You find an empty table in the stacks and chastise yourself for not doing any work this weekend. You scroll through Facebook again before opening a textbook, and realize that you don’t regret a single moment from this entire week. You’ve survived your first week at Dartmouth. Here’s to many more.
