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Dartmouth College

Dartmouth is an Ivy in the small town of Hanover on the New Hampshire–Vermont line, wrapped around a broad green with the White Mountains and the Connecticut River at its doorstep. First-years are sorted into one of six house communities — a home base for all four years — and nearly everyone starts with a First-Year Trip into the woods before classes. The Big Green runs on the quarter-based 'D-Plan,' the outdoors is genuinely central, and the winters are long, snowy, and cold.

Move-inEarly September

BedsTwin XL

A/CNone — bring a fan

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The one thing generic lists get wrong

What to wear in Hanover, month by month

This region runs from a humid late summer to a hard winter in about ten weeks. The mistake out-of-region families make is packing the whole year in August.

Move-in (Sept)	50–74°F	Warm, bright early-fall days and cool nights; most first-year halls have no A/C, so a fan helps the first weeks.
Sept–Oct	35–65°F	Postcard New England fall — brilliant foliage over the Green and the river, and a fast slide toward cold.
Nov–Dec	22–42°F	Gray and raw, then real winter — snow flying and the Homecoming bonfire lighting up the Green.
Jan–Feb	8–32°F	Deep, snowy, genuinely cold north-country winter — parka, boots, and heavy layers, no debate. Winter Carnival's season.
Mar–May	28–62°F	A long, muddy thaw into a short, green spring — layers and waterproof shoes until it finally warms.

The flip: pack for two climates. A fan and light bedding for warm September move-in (most first-year halls have no A/C), then a full north-country winter kit — a serious parka, waterproof snow boots, and heavy wool layers you'll live in from November into March. And skip the mini-fridge and microwave: every room now comes with a MicroFridge.

Straight from the housing office

What Dartmouth College lets you bring

✓ Bring it

A fan and a mattress topper — most first-year halls have no A/C, and early September can be warm
A serious parka, waterproof snow boots, and heavy layers — Hanover winters are long and truly cold
Sturdy boots or trail shoes — the Appalachian Trail runs through town and outdoor life is central here
Twin XL bedding (confirm your specific hall)
UL/ETL power strip with a built-in circuit breaker — not a bare extension cord
Damage-free wall hangings like Command strips — no nails or screws
Low-draw LED desk and task lamps
A fan, a reusable water bottle, and UL-listed electronics

✕ Leave it home

Open-coil / open-flame cooking: toasters, toaster ovens, air fryers, hot plates, electric grills, sandwich makers
Candles, incense, wax warmers, and anything with an open flame
Halogen lamps
Extension cords without a breaker; outlet splitters and multi-plug adapters
Space heaters and personal A/C units (unless your school provides/approves them)
Hoverboards, e-scooters, e-bikes, and other e-mobility devices
Weapons of any kind — including decorative — and fireworks
Your own mini-fridge or microwave — rooms come with a MicroFridge (fall 2026 on)
Air conditioners in individual student rooms
Candles, incense, halogen lamps, and space heaters
Toasters, toaster ovens, hot pots, rice cookers, and grills — anything with a heating element

These come from Dartmouth College's official housing pages and cover the essentials plus the genuinely local rules. Double-check the current official guidance before you buy — policies and renovations change every year.

Before you can move in

Getting your room at Dartmouth College

01
After you enroll
House-community placement
You're sorted into one of the six house communities — you don't choose it — and it's your home base for all four years. Housing is guaranteed, and all first-years live on campus.
02
Summer
Housing questionnaire + roommate
Complete the first-year housing questionnaire on lifestyle and preferences; Residential Life matches your building, room, and roommate within your house.
03
Summer
Sign up for a First-Year Trip
Optional but near-universal: register for a DOC First-Year Trip — a few days in the outdoors before orientation. Trippees move in earlier than everyone else.
04
September
Move in + orientation
Students doing a First-Year Trip move in Wednesday, September 2, 2026; everyone else moves in Sunday, September 6. Orientation runs through September 13, and classes start September 14.

The actual buildings

Where you'll live at Dartmouth College

The six house communities

Every Dartmouth student belongs to one of six house communities — Allen, East Wheelock, North Park, School, South, and West House — and you're sorted into yours as a first-year and keep it all four years, for continuity, programming, and intramurals. First-years live in buildings tied to their house; two clusters are Dartmouth legend — the Choates, a social freshman-only cluster by fraternity row, and the River, the halls closest to the Connecticut River and farthest from the Green. It's not a lottery — you're placed. Most first-year halls have no air conditioning.

Allen HouseIncludes the Choates

Bissell, Cohen, and Gile — Allen's first-year buildings take in part of the Choates cluster northwest of the Green by Occom Pond, older and famously social.

East Wheelock HouseClose-knit · east of the Green

Andres, Morton, and Zimmerman — the East Wheelock cluster on the east side, known for tight programming, a formal-dinner tradition, and some of the nicer first-year rooms.

North Park HouseNorth end · newer

Berry, Bildner, and Rauner — first-year buildings at the north edge of campus, a bit newer and quieter.

School HouseChoates + Mass Row

Brown, Little, and Mid-Massachusetts — spanning part of the social Choates cluster and the Massachusetts Row halls near the center of campus.

South HouseNear the Green · historic

New Hampshire Hall, the Fayerweathers, and Topliff — classic brick halls just south of the Green, central and walkable to everything.

West HouseThe River cluster

French, Judge, and Russell Sage — West's first-years include the River cluster down toward the Connecticut River, farthest from the Green but closest to the water.

The stuff nobody puts in one place

Hanover logistics, sorted

How to send mail to a Dartmouth student

[Student Full Name]
Dartmouth College
[####] Hinman
Hanover, NH 03755

Every Dartmouth student gets a Hinman Box (HB) number — the famous campus mailbox. Address mail and packages to the four-digit Hinman number, not the residence hall; students collect them at the Hinman Mail Center with their ID.

Six houses and the D-Plan

Your student's home base is their house community for all four years, but Dartmouth runs on the quarter-based 'D-Plan,' so terms are short and students rotate on and off campus (including a signature sophomore summer). Fall term starts in mid-September and finals land right before the winter holidays.

Trips, the bonfire, and the outdoors

Nearly every first-year starts with a DOC First-Year Trip into the New Hampshire woods before orientation — the Dartmouth Outing Club is the largest collegiate outing club in the country. Homecoming brings a giant bonfire on the Green that the first-year class circles, Winter Carnival builds a snow sculpture there each February, and the Appalachian Trail runs straight through Hanover.

Beyond the campus gates

Hanover & around

Right at the edge

The Green & Main Street

Hanover's compact downtown wraps the Green — the Hanover Inn, the Hopkins Center, bookstores, and coffee shops all a block from the dorms.

Down the hill

The Connecticut River

The river on the west edge of campus — rowing, kayaking, and the Ledyard canoe club, plus riverside trails into Vermont.

Through town

The Appalachian Trail & the woods

The AT crosses Main Street; Dartmouth's own trails, the Skiway ski area, and the White Mountains are a short drive for hiking and skiing.

Culture

Hopkins Center & the Hood Museum

The 'Hop' performing-arts center and the free Hood Museum of Art anchor campus culture at the corner of the Green.

For move-in, family weekend & graduation

Where to stay near Dartmouth College

On the Green

Hanover Inn Dartmouth

Downtown · walkable

Dartmouth's own historic inn, directly on the Green and across from campus — the definitive move-in, Homecoming, and family-weekend address.

Boutique · downtown

Six South Street Hotel

Downtown · walkable

A modern boutique hotel a block off the Green in downtown Hanover — the walkable alternative to the Inn.

Across the river

Norwich Inn

Norwich, VT · ~5-min drive

A cozy historic inn and brewpub just over the river in Norwich, Vermont — a charming option when Hanover books up.

Hanover has only a handful of hotels, and Homecoming, family weekends, and Commencement fill them months out — book the day you have dates. Lebanon (LEB) is the nearest airport, a few minutes away with limited flights; most families fly into Manchester (MHT, ~1h15) or Boston Logan (BOS, ~2h15) and drive up.

Gear up