It's an odd concept to be thrown together into the woods of New Hampshire with 1,000 strangers from all over the world to read books, write papers and conduct research in laboratories.
But there's a lot more to college than work -- especially during freshman year at a college like Dartmouth.
First, there is EBAs. There's no other place within two hours of this bustling metropolis of Hanover which delivers reasonable quality pizza to wherever you want until 2 a.m. It's only a 10-second phone call away.
"Whether perceived as good or bad, EBA's pizza is a staple to every Dartmouth student," proclaimed Brad Jefferson '98. "You'll learn to love it."
But there is, of course, more to Dartmouth -- and your year as a 'shmen -- than a cheese pizza.
It has to do with the feeling of walking across the Green for the first time. "Wow, I can't believe I'm at Dartmouth," will no doubt cross your mind.
For some this feeling wears off fast once they start their second week of chemistry or economics. But for most others, well after graduation, the Big Green fervor remains.
Computer Culture
It all starts with a PowerMac and a telephone cord. Dartmouth has a foreign form of communication which makes communication with people a lot easier, albeit more impersonal.
A kind of etiquette or culture has developed around BlitzMail. There are certain do's and don't's, but 'shmen can get away with random blitzes once in a while to random people they may know here through some remote coincidence with a friend back home.
Freshmen are known to exude a certain loquaciousness. This means they like to introduce themselves and talk to random people on campus all the time.
This will, hopefully, wear off after Winter term, when it is so cold that you will not be able to recognize anybody outside because they are bundled up in 10layers of clothing.
Once you've figured out BlitzMail, take some time to bond with your roommates. Perhaps order some pizza at two a.m. with the rest of the UGA group.
Love your neighbor
The UGA group is where a lot of the best friendships on campus develop. The UGA is always there for you if you need anything -- but don't expect him or her to buy you any alcohol.
Anil Doshi '98 said the UGA group offers one of the best potential for making friends during the four years here.
"A few of my best friends, including my UGA, were from my group," Doshi said.
The UGAs usually organize study breaks during the week where book-weary students can snack and chat over the most popular televisions shows of the time. For the Class of 1998, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER were the hits.
Khalid Osbourne-Roberts '98, said he has fond memories of his UGA group experience. He'll never forget "hall soccer" and two-man Ben and Jerry's Vermonster eating contests.
"I also remember one of my friends in my UGA group getting arrested for rushing the field during the Homecoming football game," he said.
The moral: don't do it -- Hanover Police will catch you.
Campus Po', Parties, Greek Life
Speaking of security forces, hopefully you will meet Dartmouth's crack Safety and Security squad on a good note. Some 'shmen who party a bit too heartily end up having to be taken to Dick's House, the campus infirmary, by Safety and Security officers.
And if a student has to stay overnight, there is a pretty hefty fine involved and the always uncomfortable meeting with a dean that follows.
The police and campus security often seem overly concerned with the leisure activities of underage students, mainly because of the unfortunate reason that there is no off-campus with which Dartmouth law enforcement has to deal. Other schools' security forces focus on keeping outsiders out. Dartmouth's has no other recourse but to deal with the insiders.
Okay, since we're on the topic, let's talk about parties.
While other things are out there in which students may participate during their free time, a hefty chunk of "social options" revolve around the Greek system, which is the collective term for the College's fraternities, sororities and coed fraternities.
Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders, advisor to the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, said over 50 percent of all eligible men and women at Dartmouth belong to a Greek house.
The catch is, the College bars freshmen from fraternity and sorority parties at which alcohol is served during the Fall term. And students are forbidden from affiliating with a Greek house until their sophomore year.
The parties, which number from two to four each Friday and Saturday evening, are much the same no matter which house you visit: dancing upstairs, drinking downstairs.
As well, there are two "undergraduate societies," which are social houses similiar to Greek houses, but which are coed and do not have "rush," meaning any eligible student can join at any time, which is generally not the case with fraternities and sororities.
Oh, and classes
There are a myriad of other things that go on during weekends -- and weekdays. During the weekdays, of course, there are classes.
Take advantage of the liberal arts Dartmouth has to offer, the relatively small classes and the accomodating professors. Deans and professors are generally a few steps above those curmudgeon gray suiters portrayed in the film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Each term lasts a short 10 weeks so the teaching is fast paced and a lot of information is squeezed into the term. Director of the Academic Skills Center Carl Thum said a major concern for freshmen will be making friends and getting comfortable with the College, which only adds to the hectic nature of a term.
This in turn affects academics, especially for a first-year student in the Fall term. Thum cited time management and the establishment of personal goals as important issues during the first year.
While you're home now, Thum suggests going to the library or bookstore and taking out any sort of book which describes what it means to be in college. He suggested such books as Walter Pauk's "How to Study in College."
Thum said incoming students should expect to do much more reading than they have done in high school.
But whatever the academic issue, the Academic Skills Center provides useful help. Thum said each term the center holds mini-workshops on skills such as time mangement, reading and note-taking.
A word of unsolicited advice: if you need to study, stay away from the Reserve Corridor. Often referred to as the "observe corridor," this underground study hall is where some students go to scope or socialize. Some hardcore students manage to study, but only with the help of amazing powers of concentration.
If you get lucky (or unlucky) a naked student will streak through the reserve corridor as part of his fraternity's pledge period. ('Shmen have also been known to streak across the Green or run around the 60-foot high Homecoming bonfire minus their clothes.)
Speaking of Homecoming, as part of 'shmen tradition, your class will be required to build a bonfire in the middle of the Green. On Homecoming night, the wood is lit on fire and it becomes a towering blaze. As tradition dictates, the 'shmen must run around the bonfire as many times as their class number.
The '99s ran around the fire 99 times, and your class can either run around 100 times, or just stand still. Your choice.
Diversions
Outside of the study halls there is a myriad of extrcurricular activities to keep you busy.
Food is always a good distraction. Dartmouth's food does rate among the best of all colleges and universities in the country, although you might disagree.
At noon and 6 p.m. the dining halls come alive. Throngs of students file into Thayer Dining Hall at this time. This is the place to just hang out with a bunch of friends and see others.
"The best thing about being a freshman at Dartmouth is that the campus is small enough that you can usually see everyone you know at least once a day," Anne Kanyusik '98 said.
This fosters the formation of solid friendships, although the D-plans of your friends may not coincide with your own during Sopohomre and Junior year.
During these college years, many students take terms off to go on foreign study programs or work in internships. Some students have even taken an entire year off to perform independent study in Asia or to take classes at the London School of Economics.
And when you're bored of work, there are literally hundreds of sources of entertainment. The Dartmouth Film Society shows numerous movies each term, acting groups are always performing on one stage or another, and a cappella groups abound.
The Programming Board, which dedicates itself to organizing entertaining spectacles and activities for students, is always busy inviting comedians and rock bands to town, sponsoring dances, and conducting "casino night" parties.
Students also enjoy an endless list choices of extra-curricular activies in which to become active. Getting involved in something will probably teach you something new, introduce you to some new people, fatten your resume, and, of course, fulfill your minimum daily fun requirement.
You can write for The Dartmouth, sing for the Glee Club or an a capella group, make jewelry and furniture at the Hopkins Center workshops, take scuba diving lessons, join the Freshman Council, attend mass at Aquinas House, volunteer at local elementary schools, and tutor fellow students.
This is only a slice of the enormous list of things to do at Dartmouth. As freshman your opportunities, and your excitement, are almost endless.
