Dartmouth College: Supplemental Essays 2025-26

Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, attracts students seeking a strong liberal arts foundation paired with Ivy League rigor. As the smallest of the Ivy League schools, this rural and rigorous college is known for its high-quality academics, emphasis on global learning, and a tight-knit, supportive campus culture. Dartmouth also stands out for its distinctive D-Plan, which allows students to customize their academic schedule.

TTA Top Tip from former Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid, Maria Laskaris, TTA Senior Private Counselor: Dartmouth’s supplemental essay questions focus on the factors that matter most to the College: academic excellence, leadership, community, collaboration, and intellectual inquiry. As you craft your responses to these prompts, SHOW how your own experiences and aspirations align with Dartmouth’s values.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE: SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY PROMPTS

Question 1 (Required)

Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

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?

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Questions 2 (Required; Choose One)

Please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:

A. 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.

B. “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.

Question 3 (Required; Choose One)

Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:

A. What excites you?

B. 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?

C. 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?

D. 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?

E. Celebrate your nerdy side.

F. “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?

G. 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.

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Are you thinking about applying to Dartmouth? Confused on how to start writing these essays? Contact us to discuss our Essay Guidance Program or Personal Application Boot Camp® and improve your odds of admission with expert guidance.

Top Tier Admissions is tracking the 2025-2026 supplemental essay prompts for all top schools here — we look forward to supporting you!