What is it like going from City High to an Ivy League college?

I think it’s very strange. I think the problem is, with a school like Dartmouth, [that] you get every single end of the spectrum in terms of where people are coming from. I’m really involved in the Native community on campus and we definitely have a different pool than, I think, the rest of the college, but there are people who [went] to [high] schools like Exeter and [paid] three times what I’m paying to go to Dartmouth for their high school. So I think it’s [been] a little bit of a culture shock. I think there is a lot of diversity at City, but it’s all very contained within the dynamics of the University of Iowa, if that makes sense: we have doctors’ kids, but we don’t have, like, oil typhoon’s kids. And so I think it’s very different, but I think that I’ve learned a lot in high school socially that has helped me navigate things. And then, people don’t know what Iowa is. [A lot of] Americans don’t know what Iowa is. I feel like international students know what Iowa is better than someone who lived in Delaware. . . They’re more likely to ask you where it is instead of assuming that it’s Idaho, if that makes sense. Because I think the Midwest is the region with the lowest enrollment at Dartmouth. [There are] not a lot of us. There is one other kid from Iowa, and he went to Robins, and I’ve never spoken to him. 

Do you feel that your education at City prepared you to go to Dartmouth? 

I think, [yes], more so than other people. I think it’s a spectrum. I think the opportunities City had did prepare me [for Dartmouth]. I was able to start taking classes at the University of Iowa when I was a sophomore, and so I feel like the fact that the ICCSD is really open to letting you take charge of your education and try to make the most of it, I think it leads to a lot of stratification in our academics, but it [also] allows you, if you have the time and resources and understanding of the system, to push yourself as far as you can. I think that prepared me for Dartmouth. 

Some people, you’ll talk to them, and they’ll have been taking art history and Latin classes and all that stuff [in high school], so I think [City] prepared me very well in comparison to where I could have been, but I also think we also have a lack of resources as public school in the state of Iowa, especially with our current political climate, and that’s really tragic. I think if we were better funded and our teachers had more money and time, it would’ve prepared me better, but I think that given the circumstances, I was very well prepared.

What is it like academically? Are your classes hard?

Yes, but not that hard. I’m doing all right. I think part of that, again, was taking University of Iowa classes. At Dartmouth I’m [also] taking history classes and Native American and indigenous studies classes, and [so] I already knew how to do that. So I think they’re much harder than high school classes, obviously, but they’re manageable and fun and really interesting, so. Worth it.

Are most of the people at Dartmouth from high schools similar to City High?

I wouldn’t say most of the people at Dartmouth are from similar high schools. I think 55% come from public schools, but they don’t come from public schools like [ours]. There are a lot of people from big cities, much [bigger] than Iowa City, and to me Iowa City is a relatively big-ish city for Iowa–I don’t think we’re from a small, quaint town. But the thing is, these people come from schools where in middle and elementary school, they were taking standardized tests to place into higher-level public schools, so most people don’t come from schools like City, and most people know each other [already] because they’re part of this web of private and elite public schools in New York. So the vibes are very different from [those of] Iowa City. 

Have you chosen your major yet?

Yes. I want to do History and Native American and Indigenous studies. [I] don’t know if I’ll modify or double major, but it’s [going to] be a combination of those two. 

Do you know your professors?

[I know them] very well. [Right now] I’m [only] taking three classes because we’re on the quarter system–[at City] we call it the trimester system, because we take three terms a year, but it’s really the quarter system. So I only have three professors, and I go to their office hours, and I’ve had meals with two of the three. Maybe three out of three if you stretch, the meaning to, like, donuts in class. I think that specifically at Dartmouth, because we don’t have so many grad[uate] students, the professors are really interested in getting to know you, and if you put yourself out there, they really respond well to that. One of my professors is an anthropologist, a Maori–it’s an indigenous group in outside New Zealand–and she’s teaching this wonderful cross-listed class that she’s only going to teach once, because she’s going back to the University of Auckland. And because of how Dartmouth has a program where you can take your professor out to lunch, they give you a 60-dollar voucher to the fancy restaurant in Hanover, I got to have a really wonderful conversation [with her]. Then later in the semester I cooked her dinner because we have [weekly] Native American House dinners, and she was invited to one, and it happened to be mine, and it was really wonderful, and she gave me a book in return. I could go to her office hours and she talked to me about her life and my life, and there were so many opportunities where I got to connect with all of my professors, but I think it’s almost on a different level, if it’s another Native person and they’re your professor and they’re really trying to do a good job representing their community and teaching their community, and you’re trying to do the same with yours, so I think the type of conversations I’m able to have with professors, and the closeness that Dartmouth gives you with your faculty, is really unique. Like, where else do you cook your professor dinner? She got seconds, so I didn’t mess up. 

What is it like to be in a small town on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire? Is it very isolated?

I feel [that] some people are like, “I could never live in [a place so isolated].” [But] I don’t have time to go and do things a lot. So it’s fun. I understand how some people would feel like it’s isolating, but because of the way the meal plan works, and the way that everything is kind of contained within the campus, I don’t feel like it’s isolating. I think it’s fun. During the term, there are a lot of opportunities to go out into the middle of the woods, and I did that during the orientation week, but I haven’t done it more than once during the term again because I’m so busy. [But] I really like it. And [the surroundings are] so beautiful. There are actual trees. And the Appalachian mountains are beautiful. It’s very different [than Iowa] in terms of the landscape, but it’s so amazing to be driving somewhere for hours and there is stuff besides corn outside. Most of the driving I’ve ever done in my life [has been] in the Midwest, but this is so different, where it’s actually beautiful when you look at the environment outside.

Dartmouth is the only Ivy League school with a legacy of enrolling indigenous students. What is that like for you?

It’s really, really amazing. Obviously, Iowa City is not a very Native town, proportionally. And obviously, I could go back to my community in Oklahoma and stuff like that, but it’s really wonderful to be able to make all these connections with different indigenous people and learn from them. I’m in a class with that professor who is Maori, and I think 30 out of the 34 students are Native. And so it’s just a completely different environment where you can really open up and share ideas and learn from other people and share your own experiences. And I don’t know how people go to Dartmouth and aren’t Native, because it’s so much better if you have that community. I live in the Native House and study in Native American program spaces or the NAISB–the Native American and Indigenous Studies Building–so I feel very welcomed and at home, and it’s a uniquely Dartmouth thing, because I think other schools have [the same] number of Native students, but we’re just proportionally a lot more. We have, like, 300 Native students and about 100 students that are really active in the community. And at most at [the University of] Iowa, they might have 60 Native students, but five are active. And also the population of the school is a lot bigger. At Dartmouth, we make up over five percent of the school population or something like that, and it’s kind of not like that anywhere that’s a comparable institution to Dartmouth, if that makes sense. 

You were accepted by more than one college. What led you to choose Dartmouth? 

It was a mix of things. I applied [in the] regular decision [round], which is kind of unique. I think at least 50% of our student body is accepted through early decision. [This was] partly because I didn’t know what my financial aid would look like, so I had to go through the tortuous process that I’m sure lots of seniors are [in] now, where you’re submitting your application in early January, and you’re waiting months and months and months, and the end of March rolls around and you’re on the edge of your seat. I had phenomenal results for everything, so I could’ve gone [somewhere else]–I chose Dartmouth because of the Native community, because of the financial aid, and because I felt like there was a good mix of administrative support and academics, if that makes sense. . . In the past we had a lot of issues with kids hurting themselves and taking their own lives before [the current President] came, and so there has been a lot of push to have mental health resources and for the Native community specifically, there is an actual program that is supposed to support students, and the professors [are supportive], so I feel there [is] a good mix of treating you like a person and also really pushing you academically. But it was difficult, because it’s so far away, and I think an elite institution like Dartmouth inherently has ethical implications that I’m not the biggest fan of, but I decided to go and I think I am happier here than I would be anywhere else. I’m very happy with my decision.

Did your first impressions about Dartmouth while visiting turn out to be true?

I was bad about doing college visits. I went to Dartmouth with the indigenous program in October 2023. That was the only time I went to the campus. I also only toured two schools officially, and Dartmouth wasn’t even one of them because they didn’t take us on a tour during the program. I was also incredibly sleep-deprived because the City marching band had a competition and then I flew out. I think it was much better than my impression that I got when I didn’t sleep. I came during October and it wasn’t rainy, but I didn’t remember the trees. And so when my dad who rented a car and flew with me was driving us from Boston to Hanover I was like, ‘Oh my god there [are] trees here.’ So I think it’s a lot better and when you’re actually trying to get in it can be overwhelming. 

Do you miss City High and Iowa City?

I do. I am really happy where I am, and I’m really happy about my decision and all of that, but I made a lot of wonderful friends at City, and there are a few of us in the Boston area, but I’m not really in the Boston area; it’s not super accessible. Then I have friends on the West Coast, and friends still in Iowa. So it’s very strange to have my friends be so scattered about. It’s kind of sad. And I also miss my teachers at City. I think it’s just I got to know these people for four years, and I really grew so much, obviously, in high school and learned so much about myself and [learned so much] academically, and it’s very sad to be so far away from them, and I feel like, again, because Dartmouth is a very different space than City, it’s very strange to not really have people [who] really [understand] that experience. 

Finding little pieces of home when you’re far away is really important. I do text people and call people a lot and that helps. I call my parents–not every day–but a couple times a week, and I think that helps. [Algthough] there is a time difference, and it’s only one hour, but that makes things awkward.

Do you feel like you’ve changed or grown as a person? 

I hope so. I think so. I’ve only been there for a relatively short amount of time, like twelve to thirteen weeks. But I think I’ve learned so much in that time, and I feel like I’ve made a lot of really close friends that I’ve learned a lot from too. So I hope that I’ve grown. But I think I have a lot more growing to do, if that makes sense. I hope that I have a lot of growing to do because that’ll make the next four years more interesting and fun but I think it’s an opportunity where you can learn a lot about yourself and the world and other people. 

Do you eat in the cafeteria? How is the food? 

I eat in the cafeteria. I think the food is bad. I’m on a specific meal plan that makes it more convenient to eat in the cafeteria. But I think, generally, our cafeteria is better than [at] a lot of schools. . . We have a buffet-style system, and the food is kind of bad, and there is a lot of cross-contamination, but it could be worse, and there are vegetables if you can find them.

Vegetables. . . if you can find them?

Like, you have to seek them out. Also, dining halls don’t know how to roast vegetables. I think they’re trying to pump out food quickly, but they don’t cook their vegetables quickly enough. You’ll get broccoli and it’s more lightly toasted than roasted broccoli, so you might as well just eat raw broccoli. Because I live in the Native American House, we [each] get an assigned week to cook house dinners. So I get one home-cooked meal a week. I used to cook a lot for myself at home, so it’s very different to be at the mercy of Dartmouth dining services.

Do you have any advice for current seniors who are going through the college admissions process?

It’s just awful. Juniors–if you have a school you love, [apply in the] early decision [round]. [Seniors,] I would say, at this point, if you’re not working on your supplemental essays, you need to start working on those. I would also say, don’t put too much of yourself into the application. I think, to an extent, [that] you’re going to end up in a place where you can be and you can survive and make the most out of wherever you are. If you believe that you need to go to a specific institution or place or type of institution, I think you’re setting yourself up for tears if that doesn’t happen. I think you need to perceive yourself [as having] a variety of options. I do understand that it’s really terrifying to not know where you’re going to be living in like eight months, twelve months. But it’s also really beautiful, and the main thing is, you have to enjoy your senior year. Your senior year isn’t just the year before college, it’s your last year at City High and in Iowa City, if you’re going out of state, or even if you’re not going to the University of Iowa. And it’s probably your last year being as close with your teachers and your friends and teammates and community members, so I think you really need to make the most of it and take care of yourself, too. Sometimes if you just need to, like, sit in your room and not work on college applications or not think about college, let yourself do that, because it’s really scary to not know where you’re going to be a year from now. And it’s okay to feel overwhelmed by that, I would say. Reach out to your resources. 

Do you have any advice for younger students who are just starting to think about applying to college?

My advice is [to] be a person. I think that in the age of social media, [it can be easy] compare yourself to other people. At times there has been pressure to be a certain type of person and to think about things [uniquely] as resume builders, and I think that’s really harmful for you as an individual, and as an entity in this world, and as a community member. If you want to go to a fancy school, or if you’re interested in a place that happens to be a fancy school, or you feel like you have this pressure, you need to be excited about the things you’re excited about and if you see something that’s interesting to you, go for it. Do it. Put yourself out there, and be a good friend. I think that’s really important. And high school is really tricky [place in which] to do that, I think. 

Is there anything you wish I had asked about?

The only thing people [who aren’t from Iowa] might know about Iowa is the Writers’ Workshop. If I say I’m from Iowa City, and I’ll be like ‘My mom’s a professor,’ they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, is she with the Writers’ Workshop?’ and I’m like, ‘No.’ If they’re not writers, they won’t know about it immediately. Yeah: we get cool authors here all the time.