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Dartmouth's plan of year-round operation challenges students to define
personal educational goals and provides considerable opportunity to shape a
formal educational program which best suits these goals. Students typically
enroll in three courses per ten week term, earning the required total of 35
credits over twelve terms of enrollment over four years. Incoming transfer
students should be aware that not all previously earned college credit will
automatically be applied towards their Dartmouth degree. Only those courses in
liberal arts departments corresponding to those available at Dartmouth will be
considered for possible transfer credit. Evaluation of transfer student
transcripts and individual syllabi for each college course previously taken is
critical to determining how many credits a transfer student will be required to
earn at Dartmouth to graduate. That evaluation, in turn, determines the minimum
number of terms of enrollment that will be necessary to complete Dartmouth
degree requirements.
Incoming transfer students should contact the Registrar immediately once an
offer of admission is accepted in order to begin the transfer credit evaluation
process. You will be required to submit detailed syllabi for each college
course taken at your previous institution(s), official score reports for
transferable AP, SAT and/or IB exams. Once this detailed information is
received, the Registrar will review it with the appropriate Dartmouth
department chairs to determine whether credit can be awarded. Students
transferring to Dartmouth after their first or second years at other
institutions may receive anywhere between 9 and a maximum of 17 credits, and
should be aware that depending on the number of credits approved for transfer,
they may need to be in residence longer than they might have expected to
complete their Dartmouth requirements. You should also know that Dartmouth
students are defined by their class year. Depending on the number of
credits that transfer, the Registrar will designate you as an '11 (member of
the Class of 2011), or a '10 (member of the Class of 2010).
The D-Plan
The Registrar and the Class Deans will assist you in developing your D-plan
once the transfer credit evaluation is complete. Transfer students must be in
residence a minimum of six R-terms (typically 18 credits), but may need as many
as eight or nine (24-27 credits). Those students entering as sophomores
(typically with 9 credits), will be expected to be in residence the summer
after their sophomore year. All transfer students are also required to be in
residence the fall, winter and spring terms of their senior year.
Individualized D-plans are also determined by other factors. Courses offered
at Dartmouth aren't necessarily offered every term, so course selection and
major department requirements may determine which terms a student needs to be
in residence. (The Registrar and the deans will show you how to use the
Prospectus of Courses and the college catalogue, the "ORC", to determine when
courses are offered.) Some athletes have special training requirements that may
affect their D-plans, some students may hope to participate in Dartmouth
sponsored Language Study Abroad or Foreign Study Programs, and some may plan to
pursue non-credit internship opportunities only available at certain times of
the year. New transfer students will typically enter Dartmouth for the
fall term. The D-plan will consist of a combination of terms in residence
(R-terms), leave-terms (L's) in which they are not taking courses, O-terms for
those terms spent on Dartmouth-sponsored off-campus programs, or X-terms for
study on one of the U.S. campuses with which Dartmouth has exchange
programs.
Sample Sophomore Transfer Enrollment Pattern:
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Summer
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Fall
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Winter
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Spring
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'07-'08
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R
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R
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R
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'08-'09
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R
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L
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O
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R
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'09-'10
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L
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R
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R
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R
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