How to Apply

Who can Apply for an Off-Campus Program?

Applications to the Guarini Institute's off-campus programs are open to all Dartmouth undergraduates who:

1. anticipate being in good academic standing,
2. plan to complete the necessary prerequisite course(s) at the time of participation, and 
3. have completed the First-Year Seminar Requirement. 
4. are applying for a program during the next academic year. Applications for off-campus programs are open from October 1 - February 1.

Application Tips

--> No applicants are guaranteed acceptance.

--> Only fully completed and submitted applications are reviewed. 

--> Apply to Multiple Programs! Due to varying enrollment limits and the competitiveness of certain programs, applicants are encouraged to apply for more than one program even if it is during the same term. Applying to multiple programs will not affect your chances of acceptance in other programs since Faculty Directors only review applications for their own program(s). However, if you are accepted to two programs within the same term, you may only commit to one program per term. Keep responses in a Google Doc for reuse in multiple applications!

Find a Program and review Program Details

Use the Guarini Institute's program keyword and filter search feature to find and select a program page. Each program has a web page with general program information, as well as academic and financial information.

Review Important Program Details

• Check your DPlan. Students who anticipate or plan to study away in a given term should select an R (residential) term in their DPlan (Important: DO NOT select an L term if you plan to study away). If you're accepted to a program and commit then the Guarini Institute and Registrar will change your status to O (for faculty-directed programs) or X (for exchanges) for that term. 
• Review Passports and Visas to ensure you will have a valid passport or need a visa.
• Review Dates and Deadlines

Meet with Dartmouth Resources

1. The Guarini Institute. Reach out to the Guarini Institute with your questions. Email us, call us (603-646-1202), set up a meeting with a Guarini Institute staff member, or visit us at 44 North College St. 
2. Peers and/or Student Alumni Mentors.
3. Your Undergraduate Dean. Seek advice to find out how an off-campus program fits into your academic goals. Consider a flexible study plan that takes into account when you can fulfill prerequisites, when you will be required to be on-campus, and when you will be required to take leave terms.
4. The Office of Financial Aid. Talk with OFA about how they can help during an off-campus program.
5. The Office of Visa and Immigration Services. It is critical that students on F-1 visas meet with their OVIS advisor before applying and mention a potential term off-campus. Your advisor will check your visa validity and let you know of any issues before they arise. Review the page on Passports and Visas for more information.
6. The Program's Department Contact. Check the program page for the Faculty Director and department's contact details.

Request Faculty to be Recommenders

If your program requires a letter of recommendation (Keble College only) or requires the names and contact information for academic references (Spanish programs) please know that it is best practice to ask well before the application deadline. Letters of recommendation must be submitted by the application deadline in order for an application to be eligible for review.

For more information on recommendations see Step 3A below.

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How to Apply

When you are ready to apply for a program, click the "APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM" button in the left column of a program's page. You will be redirected to the Guarini Institute's application software which may require you to login with your NetID. Once you are in the application software, select an available term and click 'Apply'.

Application Deadline

The Application Deadline is the final day on which students can submit an application to a program. Once the application deadline has passed, all applications will be locked. Applicants will only be allowed to view the application and will receive a message indicating that the deadline has passed and their application is under review.  

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application homepage overview

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3. In the corresponding Program Application Page, you will find instructions and application materials such as:
 

A) application questionnaires (Here is an example of questions you may find on the application)
B) acknowledgement/signature documents (consent forms)
C) academic transcript (unofficial transcripts are okay)
D) passport upload (important note: you do not need to have a passport to apply. If you do not have a passport, indicate this in the form. Your chances of acceptance will not be affected by not having a passport. Upon your commitment to a program you will be asked to upload passport information again.), and
E) recommendations (if applicable). The Keble College exchange is the only program that requires a recommendation to apply through the Guarini Institute. Please see more information on recommendations in Step 3A below.

Programs that Require Recommendations

Exchange programs that require one recommendation form to be completed as part of their Guarini Institute application:

• Keble College Exchange

Exchange partners who require at least one letter of recommendation as part of their own internal application process include:

• AIT Budapest
• Chulalongkorn University
• The Federation of German-American Clubs
• Hebrew University
• Keio University
• University College of London
• Waseda University

Students who apply to programs that require a recommendation only on the part of the exchange partner do not need to provide that recommendation at the time that they submit their application to the Guarini Institute. However, students should be aware that if they are accepted and commit to these programs via the Guarini Institute they will be asked to provide the recommendation to the exchange partner at a later time. 

Recommendation Request Process for the Guarini Institute (Keble College Exchange only)

1. Prior to requesting an online recommendation, students must contact each potential recommender directly to ask if they are willing to serve as recommenders. Recommendations cannot come from anyone with a "student" status and should not be the faculty director of the program.

2. After receiving approval from the faculty member(s), students will need to identify their recommenders in the application system.

3. Each recommender will then receive an e-mail message requesting that a recommendation form be completed on the student's behalf along with information about how to complete the form online. Recommenders must submit their form by the application deadline (February 1st) in order for the student's application to be considered complete and eligible for review.

Tips on Selecting Recommenders

Who knows you well in the academic setting, regardless of their title? 

The most important recommender you can ask is someone who knows you well and can speak to your character, attributes, and abilities as a student and person in a positive light. Think about the audience of the letter - the faculty director and institution. What are their values in applicants for the program? What do they want to see most in their group cohort? It may help to speak with the faculty director to find out.

The professional title and accolades the recommender has don't matter as much as hearing from someone who knows you. Teachers' assistants are fabulous recommenders as well since they spend the most time with you. And it's even better if the recommender has several years of experience as well; their statements can carry more weight.

Do remember that the recommendation should still be academically focused. If you're unsure of where you stand with a recommender, ask and tell them you appreciate their honesty. It's hard to hear but it's better to weed out any recommenders that won't write a glowing recommendation for you.

Who will be most reliable and actually take the time to write a recommendation?

If you're trying to pick between your high school Spanish teacher whom you worked with for many years or the Senator you worked under for a summer internship, both may be valuable but think about what you're applying for when selecting the right person. That said, you also want to choose someone who not only is a good writer but will take the time to write you a good recommendation. That Senator may be a better fit for your program, but they may not have the time to write one for you, whereas the Spanish teacher might. One letter is better than no letter at all.

Other Considerations

Some additional considerations are to find someone who can write a recommendation to complement your application and provide a variety of information that shows how well-rounded you are and how much experience you have in the area you're applying to. 

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When all of the application elements are checked, your application is considered complete and will be listed as "Pending" until the decision date.

If an applicant has not completed all requirements, the application will be tagged incomplete and will not be considered.

Interviews

In some cases, an application reviewer may request an interview with a student in order to make a determination. Interviews are either conducted on campus or via web conference. All interviews are scheduled and completed prior to the decision date.

Decision Date (AKA Acceptance Notifications Deadline)

The decision date is when applicants will be permitted to learn if they have been accepted, waitlisted, or not accepted. On the decision date, all applicants will be notified via email that their application status changed and to access the application site for decision results. Decision dates are normally about a month after the application deadline.

Accepted: Congratulations! Accepted applicants will receive an email and log in to the Guarini Institute Application System to confirm their acceptance status. After confirming their accepted status, applicants must choose whether or not to commit to the program by the commitment deadline stated in the email. Once accepted students confirm their status, they move to the committed stage or withdraw their application from consideration.

Not Accepted: A status of 'Not Accepted' means that the application was not accepted. The applicant is notified of the decision once the decision date is reached.

Pending: Most new applications automatically begin in the 'Pending' status. Applications remain in the pending status until an admin changes the status and the decision date is reached.

Waitlisted: Applicants will receive an email if they are waitlisted for a program. Since waitlisted students are preliminarily accepted, it is expected that all waitlisted applicants be ready to participate in the program in the event that a space becomes available; students on the waitlist who have completed all the participation requirements will be accepted into the program. Keep in mind that this happens in some cases on very short notice and that it is impossible for the Guarini Institute to predict whether a waitlisted applicant will be accepted into a program as waitlist rankings are not available. 

Beyond completing the materials, no action is necessary to remain on a program's waitlist. There is no financial commitment, and applicants may remain on the waitlist for as long as they wish or withdraw from the waitlist at any time without penalty

1. After applicants confirm acceptance, the program application panel will populate with a Commit button. 
2. Applicants must decide on the next step before the Commitment Deadline.

• If an applicant chooses to accept and commit to the program, their application status will be changed from 'Accepted' to 'Committed'. The student then moves on to the "Post-Decision Phase" of the process when preparing to go. From here, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all prerequisites and participation requirements are completed before going off-campus. Once students are committed to a program, they can no longer withdraw from a program via the application. 
• If an applicant chooses to decline their acceptance, their application status is automatically changed to 'Withdrawn'.
• If an applicant takes no action by the commitment deadline, their application status will be changed to "Withdrawn" and a spot will be offered to a student on the waitlist, if available.

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