Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015 - (Page 42)

students review The Students Review series is intended to aid prospective college students in their search by offering insiders' views of selected colleges and universities, as expressed by current undergraduates or recent graduates who have high academic ability. Note that the number of reviewers is small. Consider their personal perspectives as only one factor as you gather information and impressions from many sources. Our reviewers include 35 individuals, who major(ed) in Asian studies (2), biology (4), biophysical chemistry (1), Chinese (1), cognitive science (2), computer science (2), economics (4), education (1), engineering (1), English (1), German studies (1), government (2), Hispanic studies (2), history (2), Italian studies (1), math (5), neuroscience (2), psychology (2), religion (2), romance language (1), and sociology (1). (The number of majors exceeds 35 because some reviewers had double majors.) Reviewers' comments appear within quotation marks. Quality of Academic Instruction for Undergraduates Reviewers praised the quality of education at Dartmouth, especially the faculty accessibility and the small classes. Dartmouth has an unusual academic calendar, the "D-Plan": a year-round quarter system in which students have considerable flexibility in choosing which quarters to spend on campus. Students take only three courses per quarter, which fosters an in-depth learning experience. "The quality of instruction at Dartmouth is exceptional. Most professors subscribe to Newton's Third Law of Teaching; they believe that the harder they push students, the harder students will push back. This is especially possible given the D-Plan, in which students take only three courses per term, which makes for intense courses. The opportunity to focus on only three subjects per term is a definite plus." 42 imagine Dartmouth College "At no other school is it so easy to spend a term exploring the world. Almost every department has an off-campus program that runs regularly-you can study geology in the western U.S., or anthropology among native tribes in New Zealand, or theater in London-and the quarter system makes off-campus study much more feasible than at most schools." Social Life Dartmouth offers a distinctive experience. Our reviewers highlight both its pros and cons. "Dartmouth has a long history of making undergraduate education a priority. Courses are almost exclusively taught by professors themselves; there are very few TAs. The accessibility of professors on a personal and academic level is amazing. It is not uncommon for professors to have 'open-door' office hours nearly every day. Class size depends a little on the department, but classes of over 50 students are pretty scarce, and even as a freshman you're guaranteed a few classes with 15 students or less." "It's a very student-friendly college. My freshman year, I took a large, intro class which included a major group project. On more than one occasion, professors came in on weekends to help my group in various stages of our project. One even offered to drive us to Home Depot to buy supplies. This is just one example, but it speaks volumes about Dartmouth professors and their commitment to undergraduate teaching." "There are few graduate students, so undergraduates have incredible access to professors and opportunities to work with them. The college makes it easy to match up with a research advisor, and even first-year students can pursue independent research projects. To me, the access to research was one of the best things about Dartmouth." "Dartmouth's location in the New Hampshire countryside is either its best asset or worst liability. There are no cool nightclubs, no Metropolitan Museum or Broadway; but there are also no traffic jams, no smog, no crowds, and very little crime. It's not a cultural wasteland; there are guest lecturers and performers, a small fine arts museum, music and drama groups, delightful cafes and restaurants, and a fantastic film society. However, Dartmouth's unique asset is the outdoor environment close at hand: the White Mountains nearby, the wonderful skiing, canoeing, hiking, camping, and so on. Many Dartmouth students combine environmentalism and a love of sports with a desire for serious academic pursuits." "Dartmouth is one of the most beautiful campuses in America. Within minutes you can walk off campus into the woods or paddle out onto the Connecticut River. Many students share a deep appreciation for the outdoors, so there is no lack of friends to do things with outdoors." "Dartmouth is located in a small town hours from a major city, so social life is centered on campus. For most students, this means fraternities or sororities. Fortunately, Greek life here is pretty heterogeneous; there are a couple of coed fraternities that are fun, civilized, intellectual places to be. People refer to Dartmouth as a year-round summer camp-'Camp Dartmouth'-and that's an accurate description of what the Sept/Oct 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015

Circuit Training Electrical Engineering at CTY
Turning Brainwaves into Action Meet ARTIE, the robot activated by thoughts
Robotics in the Real World How robots are helping us explore space, overcome disability, and so much more
My First FIRST The climbing robot that taught me to aim high
Adventures in Botball
So Much Fun, It’s Inhuman Destroying the competition in combat robotics
Born to Build The making of an engineer
The Engineering Summer Academy at Penn Three weeks that launched my future
Music in the Woods Six weeks at Tanglewood
Big Picture
In My Own Words Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse and Robogenesis
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of Obert Sky’s Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with NASA robotics engineer Jaakko Karras
One Step Ahead Be fearless
Planning Ahead for College Express lessons in financial aid
Students Review Dartmouth College
Creative Minds Imagine Poetry contest winners
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015