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The First-Year Office
The First-Year Office is responsible for helping first-year students adjust to Dartmouth. The first step in the process is Orientation, which helps students bridge their home experiences with the new social, academic, and residential life of college. The First-Year Office familiarizes students with the principles, standards, and expectations of the Dartmouth community and organizes and administers First-Year Advising, First-Year Seminars, the East Wheelock Living-Learning Program, the Integrated Academic Support Program, the First-Year Summer Research Project, and summer mailings.
The First-Year Office is accessible and responsive. A dean is assigned to each first-year residential cluster. Deans spend the majority of their time advising individual students about academic, personal, and social issues. The deans also provide information about important College resources and make referrals as needed. Students who are experiencing academic difficulty are encouraged to meet with a dean to discuss how to improve their performance.
The first year of college is an exciting and daunting time. We encourage parents to communicate consistently with their students. Affirm your student's worth and potential; ask specific questions about friends, campus activities, and what your student is learning; and trust your student's academic decisions. Your student may experience some disappointments and failure, but these experiences are important components of the learning process. Your student is never alone. The resources at Dartmouth in the First-Year Office and around campus are there to help. Encourage your son or daughter to take advantage of all the resources available.
Meet the First-Year Deans
Gail Zimmerman, Dean of First Year Students; River Cluster
John Pfister, East Wheelock Cluster
Colleen Larimore, Choates Cluster
Angela D'Amour, Russell Sage Cluster
Emily Holt Foerst, McLaughlin Cluster
For more information, please visit www.dartmouth.edu/~frstyear
E-mail first-year_office@dartmouth.edu
Phone: 603-646-2681