Sophomore summer — an iconic tradition in which students stay on campus and take classes during the summer following their sophomore year — is a unique part of the Dartmouth experience. While spending the summer away from schoolwork may seem normal to students at other institutions, when a Dartmouth student announces that they are opting out of sophomore summer by taking it “off,” they are typically met with a follow-up question: Why?
Buried in the chaos of coursework, extracurriculars, hikes and trips to the river, it is easy to forget that some rising juniors either choose to or are required to take their sophomore summer off for reasons ranging from research opportunities to student visa regulations.
Last year, Priyanshu Alluri ’26 took his sophomore summer off to do research in a cancer immunology lab in Memphis, Tenn. The opportunity was very competitive, so he chose to take it rather than re-apply a year later — a decision influenced in part by the timing of graduate school applications.
“Right now, I’m applying to grad[uate] school, [so] if I had taken the opportunity now, I wouldn’t get to put it on my applications,” Alluri said. “But this way, I have it on my application[s].”
Other students have less of a choice in the matter. Angela Shang ’27, an international student from Shanghai, took the summer off and is working at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, N.H., as an emergency room technician. The job is “tiring, but very fulfilling,” she said.
According to Shang, it is very difficult for international students to customize their D-Plans in a way that allows for them to be “on” for sophomore summer because they must take classes for three consecutive terms before taking a term off. Dartmouth advises international students to follow this plan to avoid having to reapply for student status in the United States.
“Once you disrupt the ‘on [for] three terms, off [for] one term’ pattern, it’s inevitable that you will have an unearned leave term,” Shang said.
Prisha Aggarwal ’27, also an international student, is “off” from classes this summer as well. However, she is still experiencing the social aspects of sophomore summer because she is living on campus to do research, she said.
“I chose to spend my off-term here because I wanted to experience sophomore summer,” Aggarwal said. “All of my friends are here, [and] all of the people who are here now are going to be off in the fall, and I’ve heard so many good things about sophomore summer.”
Most students take an off-term during their sophomore or junior years to make up for the additional sophomore summer term. Since both Shang and Aggarwal will now be required to be “on” for the entirety of their junior years, they are grappling with the reality that they will not see some of their friends for many months.
“Sometimes, I feel really sad because some of my closest friends are going to be ‘off’... and I’m going to be here,” Shang said.
Aggarwal said she was initially saddened by the idea of not seeing her friends for various parts of the year, but now feels more optimistic.
“[At first,] I was so anxious about it,” Aggarwal said. “But as time has gone by, I [have] met so many people and made more friends … and a lot of them are going to be ‘on’ at different times, so I think it’s going to be fine.”
Alluri, on the other hand, is experiencing being “on” during another class’s sophomore summer — and, despite being one of the few ’26s who are “on” this summer, said he doesn’t feel like an outsider looking in. His girlfriend is a ’27, and he has enjoyed being on campus with her and his other friends in the class this summer, he said.
“I still get the same sort of experience [now],” Alluri said.
He added that he is also enjoying directing Street Solstice, a non-auditioned dance group on campus that is a summer term spin-off of the full-year group Street Soul.
“[Street Solstice has] been pretty fun just because the ’27s are a pretty big class,” Alluri said. I’ve known them since they joined in their freshman year, so it still feels like I have the same community that I would’ve had if I was [‘on’ last summer].”
Aggarwal said she has taken this term as an opportunity to get the real “Dartmouth experience” by participating in most sophomore summer traditions.
“I’ve been able to do a lot of … outdoor activities,” she said. “I’m usually not a very outdoorsy person, so this has been a pretty good term for me.”
Even though she works four 12-hour shifts at Valley Regional Hospital every week, Shang also tries to engage in classic sophomore summer activities. She said that it is often hard to get her schedule to line up with others’ during the week, but she has a bit more flexibility on the weekends.
“I never have shifts on Sundays, so I can [participate in] Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra, and I can meet up with other people,” Shang said. “I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on everything per se, and I’m [having] a good experience right now.”
Aggarwal added that she has enjoyed not having to worry about exams or coursework. She called it her “best term yet.”
