An inch of snow coats the Green today as dozens of prospective students stroll along its muddy walkways for the first session of Dimensions of Dartmouth, an annual program that offers a slate of events for prospective students. The College will welcome approximately 350 guests this weekend, including 150 potential members of the Class of 2019, dean of admissions and financial aid Maria Laskaris said.
Today’s event, which officially began last night when approximately 100 prospective students stayed with undergraduate hosts, is the first of three Dimensions events that will occur throughout the month of April.
This is the second consecutive year that the College has hosted Dimensions in multiple sessions as opposed to the singular multi-day event of past years, Laskaris said. She added that the change allows students to choose the program that best fits with their schedules and contributed to a greater attendance last year, which she said she views as a success.
The increased attendance is noteworthy, she said, because students who attend Dimensions programming have historically matriculated at a much higher rate than those who did not attend. She also said that she believes increased attendance contributed to the last year’s yield rate.
“We had a very, very strong yield, and I think that our expanded Dimensions is clearly one factor that led to increased yield last year,” she said.
The yield rate for the Class of 2018 last year was 54.5 percent, compared to 48.6 percent for the Class of 2017.
Today’s events include a welcome address hosted by Laskaris, a guest lecture given by earth sciences professor Eric Osterberg, a student community luncheon and various other showcases featuring elements of student life, including undergraduate research and the D-Plan.
Laskaris said the program is designed to highlight as many aspects of Dartmouth as possible.
“Our goal is to provide students and their families with an introduction to Dartmouth and the many different dimensions of Dartmouth,” she said.
Laskaris added that she is looking forward to today’s programs and the subsequent sessions. She said to actually see the students who have been invited to join the college community is incredibly exciting.
Six prospective students of the Class of 2019 interviewed said they have found the Dartmouth community to be welcoming and relayed anecdotes about their experiences at accepted students weekends at other schools.
Susan Kim said that everyone she has met so far has been friendly, and that she has enjoyed the community atmosphere. She added that Dartmouth’s accepted students program is smaller compared to others that she has been to, particularly Cornell University’s.
“I felt like I didn’t get to meet people like I am now,” she said. “There was no kind of mingling.”
Kelly Gao, another prospective student, said this visit to Dartmouth marks the first time she has been able to gauge the attitude among undergraduate students, especially compared to her visit to the College over the summer. She said being able to watch students interact with one another has been exciting and has left her with a positive image of the College.
Prospective student Sabrina Kim said that her host, Sarah Han ’17, has been instrumental in shaping her perception of the College.
“She’s been amazing in selling the school,” she said. “I ran into a bunch of her current friends and they all talked to me. I personally really love the school.”
Prospective student host Dominique Dadekian ’18 said that her view of theCollege has shifted significantly since she was a senior in high school, in a positive way, and that she wants to share that with her guest.
“I just want to let them know that and show them my experience and how they should choose Dartmouth,” she said. “Just make them feel more comfortable about it because I get that it's overwhelming and scary.”
Laskaris said she laments the snow on the ground but thinks students will enjoy their visit regardless.
“The spirit of warmth and welcome I think will melt all the snow,” she said.
The subsequent Dimensions events are planned for next Wednesday April 15, and for Thursday through Friday on April 23-24.
Michael Qian contributed reporting.
