Dartmouth College

The smallest Ivy, set in rural New Hampshire, known for its D-Plan quarter system, outdoor traditions, and strong undergraduate teaching.

Hanover, NHUniversity

Verified Jul 19, 2026·2029-2030 cycle

View official admissions source →

Next deadline

Nov 1, 2026

Early Decision

Essays

10

Prompts

Supplement

Required

2029-2030 cycle

Platform

Common App

Accepted platform

Selectivity

6%

Highly selective

Enrollment

4,458

Mid-size undergrad

Build your Dartmouth College application plan

Track the deadline, review every supplemental essay prompt, and shape each response around one clear admissions story.

Start with Jengo →Find more schools

Application deadlines

Supplemental essay prompts

1. Why School100 words2029-2030

   As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2030, what aspects of the college's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
2. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   There is a Quaker saying: Let your life speak. Describe the environment in which you were raised and the impact it has had on the person you are today.

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
3. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   "Be yourself," Oscar Wilde advised. "Everyone else is taken." Introduce yourself.

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
4. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   What excites you?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
5. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. "We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things," she said. "That is what we are put on the earth for." In what ways do you hope to make—or are you already making—an impact? Why? How?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
6. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   In an Instagram post, best-selling British author Matt Haig cheered the impact of reading. "A good novel is the best invention humans have ever created for imagining other lives," he wrote. How have you experienced such insight from reading? What did you read and how did it alter the way you understand yourself and others?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
7. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   The social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees have been the focus of Dame Jane Goodall's research for decades. Her understanding of animal behavior prompted the English primatologist to see a lesson for human communities as well: "Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right." Channel Dame Goodall: Tell us about a moment when you engaged in a difficult conversation or encountered someone with an opinion or perspective that was different from your own. How did you find common ground?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
8. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   Celebrate your nerdy side.

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
9. Supplement250 words2029-2030

   "It's not easy being green…" was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity, outlook, or sense of purpose?

   Approach ↓Analyze a draft →
10. Supplement250 words2029-2030

    The Mindy Kaling Theater Lab will be an exciting new addition to Dartmouth's Hopkins Center for the Arts. "It's a place where you can fail," the actor/producer and Dartmouth alumna said when her gift was announced. "You can try things out, fail, and then revamp and rework things… A thing can be bad on its journey to becoming good." Share a story of failure, trial runs, revamping, reworking, or journeying from bad to good.

    Approach ↓Analyze a draft →