"I was kind of on the fence about whether to come to Dartmouth before this weekend," Eres said. "But now I'm pretty sure I'm going to come."
The annual Dimensions program, which began on Thursday, allows admitted students to "get a feel for the Dartmouth community," according to associate director of admissions Ellen Parish, who coordinated the programming. This year, 464 students came to Dartmouth for the event, which Parish said was unaffected by the economic crisis.
In general, 65 to 70 percent of admitted students who attend Dimensions subsequently enroll at Dartmouth, Parish said, adding that approximately 50 percent of students who do not attend Dimensions usually matriculate.
Michelle Evans from Miami, Fla., said several experiences during the weekend, ranging from eating at Food Court at 12:30 a.m., to watching fencing on the Green, to going to an ice cream float social, helped her decide to attend Dartmouth.
Cory Chang, an admitted student from Livermore, Calif., cited the Class of 2013 welcome event as the biggest surprise of the weekend. Dean of the College Tom Crady began to give a speech to the accepted students when current students from the Class of 2012, who were pretending to be prospective students throughout the day, jumped on stage and began dancing and singing, a tradition that occurs every year.
"The welcome show was pretty amazing," Chang said. "I met a girl, then she got up dancing. I was like, 'What the heck?'"
Julian Sarkar, who is from San Francisco, Calif., said he was initially concerned about Dartmouth's rural location.
"I'm from the city and from the bus ride out here it seemed kind of desolate and rural," Sarkar said. "But the campus itself is nice. It seems like everyone knows one another, and coming from a city with millions of people in it, that's kind of nice."
This year's Dimensions events, which largely mirrored those held last year, included a Baker-Berry library tour, academic department open houses and s'mores with Dartmouth Outing Club members.
Sigma Nu fraternity, the Tabard coed fraternity, Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority hosted non-alcoholic dance parties open to admitted students. Students who were visiting for the weekend were not allowed to attend parties where alcohol was present, according to Parish. Students could have had their offers of admissions revoked if they were caught drinking underage, she said.
Eres said this restriction seemed reasonable.
"They're telling you it's a dry party," Eres said. "They tell you it's maybe not the norm, but it's a good introduction to the concept."
Dartmouth's Dimensions program is longer and more comprehensive than similar programs at some other schools, Chang said. While Dimensions is a three-day, two-night program, Duke University's Blue Devil Days lasted for two days, Chang said.
"I think I'm enjoying Dartmouth much more," Chang said. "At Duke, I spent most of the time in the dorms. I'm doing a lot of stuff here."
Like Dimensions, Bulldog Days, Yale University's two-day program for admitted students, features campus tours and improvisational comedy group shows. Harvard University's April Visiting Days for its accepted students features similar programs and also lasts two days.
Admitted students can also attend Discover Dartmouth, a 24-hour program offered twice for students who cannot attend Dimensions.
