My Exchange at Dartmouth College
I found out about 360 international exchange programmes through the website after having thought to exchange, then explored the Instagram account as well.
My feelings/first impressions when I arrived at Dartmouth were disbelief, after months of preparation it felt unreal that the journey had begun.
The accommodation I had in Dartmouth was actually one major factor that made the entire experience worse off for me, the hygiene and facilities in the accommodation was terrible.
Orientation was great, we had a week to prepare and get to know most things about the college. Orientation leaders and students were all friendly and offered to help, but they also soon realised how they left the exchange students out for information sessions as we are different from the first year students thus the system works differently for us.
I thought some of the courses were incredibly amazing in Dartmouth as it was very engaging with different kind of teaching and lecture style.
Dartmouth was located in New Hampshire, not exactly the fanciest or the busiest city ever but it was a peaceful little town with a friendly neighbourhood.
The cost of living was also incredibly expensive compared to Auckland, especially the amount of fee we had to pay for a compulsory meal plan and accommodation (which had bad conditions too). Not to mention the currency differences which made it worse.
I was active in multiple sports clubs, taekwondo, archery, table tennis and badminton. I earned my yellow belt in taekwondo from Dartmouth too!
Life on campus was very concentrated, with all other students living on campus too. Along with the smaller scale college, it is truly a tight knit community where you see familiar faces everyday.
For food, we were enrolled into a compulsory meal plan thus I had most of my meals on campus. It is definitely convenient, however there is a less variety of food as we go to the same dining hall everyday for the entire semester.
The highlights of my exchange were meeting and getting to bond with the other exchange students from around the world, it’s way better when you have a bunch of people that’s on the same stage as you.
Being able to experience how American college is, watching American football games, and being able to feel their school spirit in different ways were all new to me.
The challenge was the difficulty level and the amount of time needed for my courses. I have spent a significant amount of time in the library which says a lot.
Advice I would give to students thinking about the exchange programme is whether you are looking for academic outcomes or just wanna experience a different culture, it matters a lot when it comes to the choice of host university to exchange towards. I have said the same to a lot of my friends who were applying after, as well as from my experience, Dartmouth was a great academic university; however, it wouldn’t be the best town or location to be in if you want to experience an American culture or life.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
Being challenged academically was a hard time for me. However, I would consider it the main highlight of my exchange journey as well. It was an experience that gave me such a valuable opportunity for immense learning and growth.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Maybe reconstruct the current orientations for exchange students or emails sent out to students. Lots of documents and websites were flying around and it was easy to miss out on important documents.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
Choose a major-related subject and leave the rest of the two to an elective and a gen-ed course would be the best combination, choosing a group project-based course could help you bond with the local students as well, get involved actively in a club
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I think it depends on how the students want their exchange experience to be. Apart from the fixed accommodation and meal plan fees which was around $7k, could cover the entire semester’s expenses. The rest depends whether the student wants to go on a trip somewhere else, also where they choose to go to. A day trip to Boston was common for students from Dartmouth and that usually costs around $100-$200, however spending habits may change that.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
My experience abroad taught me that the world is vast, and I shouldn’t restrict myself to a specific corner or be discouraged by any challenges that I encounter in life.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
I did spend some time in Boston as it was the closest city and I also spent a weekend in New York.
Final Comments
Please have a deep thought of what is this exchange for, whether academic or exposure towards culture/experiences. It changes your entire experience based on what objectives you have.