Cecily Carson '95 dislikes winter in Hanover. In fact, she dislikes Hanover winters so much that she decided after her freshman year to take every Winter term off and graduate after this fall.
She was off campus in the winter and spring terms of her sophomore year for medical reasons and also took off the winters of her junior and senior years.
"There winters here are too cold and too depressing, so I chose not to come to school then," Carson said. Instead, she said she spent her winters at home in New York or skiing in Vail, Colo.
Carson is just one of a significant number of students that stay at Dartmouth more than the traditional four years to get their degrees. According to the Registrar's Office, 48 students of graduating classes earlier than the Class of 1996 are still enrolled at the College.
"The reasons are as various as the individuals themselves," said Dean of Upperclass Students Dan Nelson, who is the administrative liaison to these students that have remained on campus.
Most of the students who have not yet graduated need to finish their degree requirements because they took extra leave terms during their first four years at the College.
Audra Rudys '95 is finishing up her last term at Dartmouth this fall because of a late change in her major. Because she made this switch in the fall of her senior year, she was two credits short of satisfying her major requirements after Spring term.
Medical problems have also forced some students to take time off before graduating. Christopher Kennedy '94 took two years off in the middle of his Dartmouth career to rehabilitate from a stroke.
Kennedy said he is excited to be back to his studies.
"I am determined to complete my education at Dartmouth," he said. "I love being here and am willing to stay however long it takes" to finish his education.
Nelson, himself a member of the Class of 1975 can relate well to students who choose to linger on campus a bit longer than the traditional four years. Nelson graduated from Dartmouth under the "five-year plan."
Nelson said he took a year off before his senior year, returned with a new approach and said he felt he got much more out of his Dartmouth experience as a senior.
He said he sees a similar change in students who return from time away from Dartmouth.
"These students come back very motivated, with a new perspective on their education," Nelson said. "And indeed, this helps to enrich the atmosphere at Dartmouth."
For Eric Bivona '87, it was a job offer at the Kiewit Computation Center that kept him on campus. Bivona took a year off after his sophomore year in order to work in Baker Library and graduated with the Class of 1988.
With the development at that time of the Dartmouth College Information Service program, which is a collection of databases that students can access from their computers, Bivona was asked to join the information service department at Kiewit.
