With less than two terms remaining until graduation, many Dartmouth seniors are beginning their quest for employment beyond the hills of Hanover. Other seniors who chose to apply to graduate schools in the past few months are now anxiously awaiting the decision letters from the schools to which they applied.
Although the application deadlines for many graduate schools have not yet passed, the rolling admissions basis on which many graduate programs operate enables students to learn of decisions in a more timely fashion.
"The process was actually surprisingly quick for me, because I managed to get my applications out fast," Julia Hildreth '05 said concerning her law school applications. Hildreth sent her applications out in mid-October and was receiving acceptance letters by mid-November.
Although she is still waiting to hear from several schools, Hildreth has already received favorable replies from Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, New York University, Boston College and the University of Pennsylvania.
Hildreth credits her Dartmouth experience for her success in law school acceptances.
"I've always felt excited about my chances [for being accepted at a prestigious law school] just coming from Dartmouth," Hildreth said. She also noted that she spoke to several admissions officers from other schools that praised the success of previous Dartmouth applicants.
While at Dartmouth, Hildreth's involvement in sports and activities has included the presidencies of both the Student Assembly and the Green Key Society. She also participated in the Ivy Council, the Dartmouth Ski Team and acted as an undergraduate advisor.
Participation in myriad activities at Dartmouth has also earned Nicole Valco '05 law school admittance. During her time here, she has been active with a girls' mentoring program, the United Way campaign, Order of Omega, Green Key Society, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and as a Dean's Office student consultant.
Valco submitted her applications in late September and early October, and had received her first favorable reply by November. To date, she has been accepted at Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, New York University and the University of Virginia.
While some graduate school candidates choose to apply to their respective schools during their senior years of college, others choose to work for a few years before submitting applications.
"Many [members of the Class of 2005] plan to take a year or two to gain experience before applying to [graduate] programs," Ursula Olender, associate director of Career Services, said.
Kiran Talluri '05 is one of the seniors who is planning to attend law school but has not yet applied.
"I'm waiting a year so my senior year grades will shuffle in to account for some mediocre terms during my youth. Also, I am tired of school, and there is no real reason to rush going into law school," Talluri said.
Although data cannot yet be compiled for the Class of 2005, a survey taken by the Office of Evaluation and Research for the Class of 2004 determined that 63.6 percent of the 932 respondents were planning on attending a graduate school within one to five years after graduation. By graduation, 24.4 percent of the respondents had already been accepted to a graduate program, and 3.7 percent of the students who had applied to graduate programs had not yet been accepted.
