What distinguishes Dartmouth?
Certainly its profound sense of place amid the dizzyingly tall pines of New Hampshire. Definitely its fusion of a renowned liberal arts college and a robust research university. Absolutely its adventuresome spirit and welcoming community. And don’t forget the famously buzzing little college town in which it sits—Hanover. But what exactly makes Dartmouth…Dartmouth? The people, of course. We affectionately call them the Humans of Hanover, and you’ll meet several of them in the pages that follow. One thing you’ll notice is that there is no Dartmouth “type,” and that’s exactly the way we like it.
“My professors have helped me to understand different perspectives surrounding climate policy.”
A Global Climate Activist Negotiates for a Cleaner Future
Kate Yeo ’25 she/her/hers
Hometown: Singapore
Majors: Environmental Studies & Government
Growing up in Singapore, Kate Yeo ’25 saw how migrant workers and low-income families were disproportionately affected by the country’s sweltering heat. “Climate change definitely cuts across class, and I think it cuts across race in the United States as well,” Kate says. “I began to see those intersections when the zero waste movement started growing in Singapore.”
Kate saw Dartmouth’s idyllic location as the perfect backdrop for her interest in studying climate policy. Now, she credits her professors with helping to transform her worldview. “They’ve helped me to understand different perspectives surrounding climate policy, like the importance of centering Indigenous knowledge in environmental work.”
Using a grant from Dartmouth’s Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, Kate attended the Bonn Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. Negotiators from around the globe came together for the conference to discuss key decisions in advance of the annual United Nations climate summit. “I participated in negotiations on carbon markets, mitigation, and loss and damage,” Kate says, “and watched geopolitics play out in real time.”
In a written reflection on the conference, Kate underscored the importance of finding community within the climate movement. “I don’t know if my being here will change anything, but I do know that most of us are just trying to save our little corner of the Earth in our own ways.”
Dartmouth is home to students from nearly 100 countries speaking over 90 different languages.
“Dartmouth has opened up so many opportunities that have helped me figure out that I want to be an engineer.”
A Cyclist Finds His Cadence in Engineering
Wells Willett ’24 he/him/his
Hometown: New Paltz, New York
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Environmental Science
“In my senior year of high school, my bedroom looked like a makeshift bike shop,” Wells Willett ’24 says, laughing as he recalls how he first began tinkering with bikes and unicycles. “I liked working with my hands, fixing up bikes in my bedroom or basement. And I’d always liked math. I think that was where my interest in mechanical engineering started.”
For Wells, the decision to major in mechanical engineering—a branch of engineering rooted in physical machines, force, and movement—was inextricably tied to his enduring love of biking. “A bicycle is a mechanical engineer’s dream,” he says. “In one way, they’re so simple and useful—but they can also be really complex and very cool to study and build.”
Wells’ engineering coursework later led to his involvement in engineering professor Elizabeth Murnane’s Empower Lab, which aims to develop technology that promotes human well-being and the welfare of the environment. “The research focused not just on what makes a piece of technology easy to sell, but also what makes a product good for humankind,” Wells explains. “It completely reshaped my perspective on what I think is important about engineering.”
Wells also joined Dartmouth Bikes, an initiative of the Sustainability Office whose members refurbish abandoned bikes and rent them out to students. “I’m so grateful that Dartmouth has opened up so many opportunities that have helped me figure out that I want to be an engineer.”
The average scholarship for a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2027 is $67,791—an amount that equals nearly 80% of the cost of attendance.“The lab is collaborative, not competitive. The students interact with an understanding that rising tides lift all boats.”
—Professor Chaudhary
A Mushroom Hunter and Soil Ecologist Study the Synergies of Plants and Fungi
Liam Nokes ’25 he/him/his
Hometown: Arlington, Massachusetts
Majors: Environmental Studies and Mathematics modified with Biology
Liam Nokes ’25 and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Bala Chaudhary are studying mycorrhizae—the symbiotic associations between plants and fungi—and their impact on ecosystems at a global scale.
Professor Chaudhary: My lab is tracking the aerial dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi at 20 different sites across the country. We need a lot of hands to process the samples from these sites, and that’s where undergraduates like Liam come in.
Liam: When I learned about mycorrhizae, I was hooked. I’ve learned to process DNA samples and examine mycorrhizae, soil, and roots. Recently, I’ve been working with Dr. Chaudhary to create a database of mycorrhizal fungal spore traits.
Professor Chaudhary: The lab is collaborative, not competitive. The students interact with an understanding that rising tides lift all boats. In my lab, undergraduates, PhD students, technical professionals, and postdocs all learn from one another.
Liam: We talk a lot about equity in STEM in our lab discussions and often discuss questions like “What are the goals of our research, and how will they make an impact?” The lab has made me even more excited about the intersection of science and social systems.
60% of Dartmouth students engage in research—often funded by a deep well of campus resources.
“A pillar of my basketball career has been leaving this place better than I found it.”
A Captain and Commander Follows in Her Father’s Footsteps
Karina Mitchell ’23 she/her/hers
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Minors: Sociology and Psychology
When asked about the roots of her military and academic pursuits, Karina Mitchell ’23 immediately thinks of her father, a civil engineer currently serving in the U.S. Army. “I have a core memory of my Dad’s deployment, taking him up to the airport and seeing him leave—and then the joy of him coming home safe,” she says.
Karina followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, a Navy veteran, as Company Commander of Dartmouth’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), a program that prepares college students to become officers in the U.S. military. Karina underwent intensive training and took military science classes along with her Dartmouth classes. “The Army tries really hard to build an inclusive culture, and so does Dartmouth,” Karina says.
Karina was also the co-captain of the women’s varsity basketball team, where she focused on creating a community and a culture. “A pillar of my basketball career has been leaving this place better than I found it. That starts by helping people become accustomed to living a championship lifestyle.” When not on the court or in the classroom, Karina studied wound care in Assistant Professor of Engineering Katie Hixon’s Tissue Engineering Lab. Karina marked a milestone when she was commissioned into the Army just one day prior to her graduation from Dartmouth last spring. She plans to complete graduate work in biomedical engineering before pursuing a career as an orthopedic trauma surgeon in the military.
Dartmouth will not include loans as part of the financial aid award created to meet a student’s demonstrated need.
“The flexible liberal arts system helped me discover subjects I’d never considered before.”
An International Student Discovers the Power of the Liberal Arts
Luke Grayson ’25 he/him/his
Hometown: Seaham, England
Major: Economics
“I grew up in a small seaside town whose industry centered around coal mining through the ’90s,” Luke Grayson ’25 says. “Education was never a big focus in the area. I always wanted to go somewhere where I could find more room to grow.”
The concept of a liberal arts college was unfamiliar to Luke until he discovered Dartmouth. In describing the value of a liberal arts education, Luke underscores its emphasis on ensuring that students learn how to think by encouraging them to take coursework that spans a wide variety of disciplines. “Imagine sitting at a dinner table with history’s greatest scholars,” he says. “The product of a liberal arts education is a person who could sit at the head of such a table and quite comfortably take on any and all of the attending party in enthusiastic conversation, no matter the topic. I arrived at Dartmouth intending to major in engineering, but the flexible liberal arts system helped me discover subjects I’d never considered before.”
Luke now plans to pursue an economics major and has taken classes in computer science, Italian, history, linguistics, and more. He says the sense of community he’s found in Hanover has made Dartmouth feel like a second home. “There’s such an intense togetherness on campus,” Luke says. “As an international student, I’ve found a strong community of friends to help me through. Dartmouth has allowed me the option of redefining myself.”
Dartmouth is need-blind and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all students, regardless of citizenship.
“I ended up publishing my first two papers based on my senior honors thesis—work that was funded by grants I accessed as an undergraduate.”
— Professor Thayer
A Biological Anthropologist Studies How Environments Shape Our Health
Zaneta Thayer ’08 she/her/hersAssociate Professor of Anthropology
In 2004, Professor Zaneta “Zane” Thayer ’08—then a high school student from Cottage Grove, Oregon—was in the thick of her college search. “When I flew out for Dartmouth’s admitted student program, I met kids from all over the country and the world. I loved that I’d be surrounded by so many different perspectives and experiences.”
Professor Thayer was quickly drawn to a double major in biology and anthropology, a field centered around the scientific study of humanity. Today, she is a biological anthropologist who studies how and why early life environments shape human biology and health outcomes. Recently, she has been analyzing how maternal depression impacts the production of the stress hormone cortisol in both mothers and their babies.
Her Dartmouth experience, she says, was transformational for her future research on psychosocial stress and the effects of racism, poverty, and historical trauma on health.“I ended up publishing my first two papers based on my senior honors thesis— work that was funded by grants I accessed as an undergraduate. That was foundational to my subsequent career as a researcher, and I try to pay that forward with my students.”
Students receiving need-based financial aid pay the same net price for a term on a Dartmouth off-campus study program as they would for a term in Hanover.
Dartmouth College
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
6016 McNutt Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Looking for credible guidance on the college search process? On the Admissions Beat podcast, veteran Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Lee Coffin and his guests provide “news you can use” at each step on the pathway to college. Listen at dartgo.org/podcast.
Connect with us today.
Instagram: @ dartmouthadmissions
Facebook: @ dartmouthadmissions
Student Blog: dartgo.org/blog
YouTube: dartgo.org/admissionsYT