Classroom Deployment

Classroom Deployment

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notes from around the green

CAMPUS

CLASS OF 2020

“Nothing can prepare you to be part of a unit in Afghanistan where 20 were killed and over 100 wounded,” says U.S. Marine Taylor Mauney ’20 of his time as an infantryman. His 2010 deployment as the leader of two four-man rocket teams gave him management skills and perspective he will draw on as one of 10 veterans admitted to the class of 2020 under a partnership with the Posse Foundation.

Since 1989 the foundation has helped identify and recruit students who may be overlooked by the traditional, standardized test-score driven college selection process. By providing students with the support of a small group—or “posse”—the entity fosters leadership skills and improves college graduation rates. The foundation’s Posse Veterans Program, with an annual goal of matching 500 veterans with partner colleges, builds on its success in helping public school students attend college.

Although veterans’ graduation rates have hovered at approximately 50 percent for decades, Posse graduation rates are about 90 percent, thanks to its strong support network and extra resources that Posse scholars can access: one-on-one monthly sessions with advisors to monitor progress and a month-long pre-collegiate training session in New York City. A mixture of College financial aid, the G.I. Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program will help the veterans fund their Dartmouth educations.

Justin Wince ’20, who served as an Air Force optometry technician in Haiti, anticipates his posse will enable him to overcome any barrier posed by what he calls “the rigor of Dartmouth academics.” Marine Stephen Fraser ’20 echoes the need for a support group: “In the military you are in situations where 24/7 you rely on your unit of brothers and sisters.” A posse will help veterans adjust more smoothly to a college environment by maintaining a similarly intimate and trusting group dynamic, he says.

The Posse students follow in the footsteps of vets already on campus thanks to the leadership of former President James Wright, a Marine who encouraged the admission of veterans. Since 2008, 38 have enrolled, and many benefit from the supportive network provided by the Dartmouth Undergraduate Veterans Association.

Jessica Fedin ’17

VISITING VOICES “You can’t be onthe inside and you can’t belong if you want to be an artist.”

A FIFTY-YEAR COMPARISON

ACADEMIC YEAR APPLICANTS EARLY DECISION ACCEPTED ENROLLED MEN WOMEN LEGACIES FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM PRIVATE SCHOOLS MOST POPULAR MAJOR 2ND MOST POPULAR MAJOR COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER ANNUAL TUITION ENDOWMENT VALUE

ASS OF 1966 CI 3,227 135 1,294 814 814 0 137 596 202 History English John Williams Macy Jr. $1,800 $129 million

CLASS OF 2016 23,109 450 2,251 1,098 552 546 155 599 439 Economics Government Leymah Gbowee $49,998 $4.7 billion

Source: Most information above comes from the Office of Institutional Research; subsets reflect numbers of those enrolled, not accepted; private and public schools do not add to 100 percent because of those who came to Dartmouth from homeand alternative school backgrounds.

COMMENCEMENT 4 Rank of Conan O’Brien’s address at Dartmouth in 2011 among the top graduation speeches of the last 60 years, according to Vox

ADMISSIONS 44 Percentage of the class of 2020 that will receive need-based scholarships. The average annual award is $46,000.