Dartmouth is an Ivy League liberal arts-oriented university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Recognized as one of the best schools in the world, Dartmouth is also known as ‘the outdoorsy Ivy.’ It’s a place outstanding students go when they are serious about their academic future but also want to go skiing on a Tuesday or hiking on a Thursday. They received a record-breaking 31,657 applications for the Class of 2028, resulting in a acceptance rate.

There are about 4,000 undergraduates, and more than 40 academic programs and departments at Dartmouth. The location of the university means that students have for field work and exploration, including through more than 75 centers and institutes that lead experiential learning and research in medicine, the arts, engineering, and business.

In 2024, Dartmouth led the charge for making the SAT and ACT not just expected but for applicants. After nearly every single college went test-optional during COVID, including Dartmouth, they posed a research question to their leading faculty-members and researchers. Do the SAT or ACT make a difference in the diversity and outcomes for an accepted class? Their answer was a resounding (and fairly surprising), yes. Where people thought going test-optional would welcome more people into the admissions process, Dartmouth found it removed a useful predictor of student success and contributed to a reduction in diversity across many metrics. You can learn more about the research, and their findings, .

In this post, we’re going to break down everything you need to know to ace the Dartmouth supplement and amplify your application. 

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The Dartmouth supplement has three questions and a lot of options. We’ll break down each option for each supplement, so you are empowered to do your best work.

First, though, let’s talk about the resume. Dartmouth allows applicants to upload a resume, and it’s technically optional. But optional is not optional. You will need to upload a resume, and we’ve provided detailed information on how to put together a resume to help you out. The most important thing to know now, though, is that this resume absolutely must be one page. It cannot be more than one page — please. We see so many students apply to the Ivy League with multi-page resumes, and it is not helpful for the application and actually counts against you when you do it. One page. Seriously.

Now to the first question.

As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2029, what aspects of the college’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you? (100 words max)

This is a very short supplement, so you’ll need to be succinct and focused to pull it off with ease. First, identify your intended major, something within the major that you’re really excited about (like a program, a research opportunity, or a professor), and a community resource (a club, society, activity, sport, etc.) that you’ll absolutely get involved with.

Once you’ve identified these three things, you need to structure the presentation of them as a story. Ideally, this story should link to the Dartmouth ethos and environment in some way. This could be from a visit to campus, or a course in school that connected to what you want to study at Dartmouth. Whatever story you pick, remember that the story is the ‘tray’ upon which you present the major, program highlight, and community group. Don’t get it twisted. Leaving out the Dartmouth details to make more room for the story will not serve you.

250-Word Short Answer: Select one prompt from below

For this supplement, you can pick one of two prompts to answer. There is no ‘right’ answer, but there is a right answer for you.

Option 1: 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. 

The first part of this prompt is much more interesting to us than the explanation that follows it. “Let your life speak” is such a strong and powerful statement, and if you had a visceral reaction when reading it this may be the perfect prompt for you. The key to this prompt is to tell a story, not simply describe where you are from. Describing is a waste of space if there isn’t a story that is driving those descriptions. Instead, show the reader a place that is important to you. Take them there, at a precise time and in a precise moment, and share why it matters to you. Whether it’s listening to rain hit a porch or watching people walk by on a bustling street or driving down a highway counting miles, take the reader there.

Option 2: “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.

This is another amazing prompt, and we honestly wish that you could answer both. Picking option 1 or option 2 is a matter of following your gut, and if you pick option 2, you’ll want to follow your gut all the way to your answer. We especially like when students answer this prompt in non-traditional ways. If you identify as a poet, write a poem. If you make films for fun, write a screenplay. If you act, write a side. If you play a sport, outline a play. If you love math, write your equation. Be totally you because that’s the only way to make this prompt work for you.

250-Word Short Answer: Select one prompt from below

Now you have the same situation: one answer and a series of prompts, but a lot more options to pick from. For this 250-word short answer, you have seven options. Let’s break them down.

Option 1: What excites you?

This prompt is amazing because it’s simple, and there is no wrong answer. Like option 2 from the supplement above, this prompt is best answered in a way that fully embraces your unique quirks and personality. Simply saying what excites you is uninspiring for admissions officers. Showing your excitement through a story is much more fun for the reader. And don’t worry if what excites you is niche or maybe associated with being a ‘nerd’. If numbers raise your heartrate or putting together spreadsheets is your therapy, that’s awesome.

Option 2: 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?

We love this prompt if you are already heavily involved in volunteering and service in your local community. If you are not already giving back, this isn’t the prompt for you. But if service is central to your identity, this may be a perfect fit. Tell a story about how you’re helping others, and link that to what you want to do to shape the world in the future. For example, maybe you volunteer as a tutor now, but want to start a company that provides students to better educational resources in the future.

Option 3: In “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” Dr. Seuss invites us to “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” Imagine your anticipated academic major: How does that course of study sync with Dr. Seuss’s advice to you?

We don’t love this prompt, because it feels a little wishy-washy and can come off as cheesy or forced. For these reasons, we advise looking elsewhere for your perfect fit prompt.

Option 4: 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?

This prompt is awesome, if you are careful not to come off as preachy or as if you know better. Instead, focus on coming together and connection if you pick this prompt. Select a conversation that, ideally, was tough for social reasons — ideally not political ones — and then break through the finding of resolution. For example, if you got into a sticky friendship situation, sharing how you navigated that with your peer(s) can be a great story, even if finding common ground meant redefining the terms of your friendship. Another great framework for this prompt can be having to navigate working with someone you disagree with personally on a team for a sport, a group project, or at a place of work. For a story like this, one of the takeaways may be that you don’t have to agree on everything of the (metaphorical or literal) field to be a formidable and functional team on it.

Option 5: Celebrate your nerdy side.

This prompt is fun, but we actually don’t love it. There are better supplements here for exploring what you find most fascinating without categorizing it as ‘nerdy’. By putting the ‘nerdy’ label on it, this prompt feels a little like it’s hemming you in rather than opening up the conversation. We want you to have more room to explore, not less, so we recommend skipping this prompt.

Option 6: 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?

This is an interesting prompt, and you may need to read it twice to make sense of it. The central theme is writing about a way in which you stand out from the crowd, and how you have embraced it. The problem with this prompt is that it really only serves a very small percentage of applicants, and those it serves best may not realize it’s for them. If you have a disability, especially a visible disability, this prompt may be great for you. It also may be a good option for trans youth who want to be able to write about their experience navigating their identity. What it’s not great for is writing about things like race, ethnicity, or religion. Those subjects may fit into your Dartmouth application, but they aren’t a great fit for this prompt except in rare circumstances.

Option 7: Buddy Teevens ’79 was a legendary and much beloved coach at Dartmouth. He often told parents: “Your son will be a great football player when it’s football time, a great student when it’s academic time, and a great person all of the time.” If Coach Teevens had said that to you, what would it mean to be “a great person”?

This prompt is a heavy one, and can be hard to navigate on your own without support. If it speaks to you, try answering verbally and recording it as an audio memo. We suggest this, because it’ll give you an opportunity to puzzle through it without the perceived ‘commitment’ of putting things in writing. If you get through that step and feel like you’ve landed on something that ‘clicks’ run with it. Ideally, this will look something like a story tied to a core message or takeaway for the reader.

The number of options Dartmouth offers for the supplements can be overwhelming, and we get it. Really, for the second long supplement, it’s too many. Don’t let it bog you down, though. Instead, pick what feels right and run with it. Be you because that’s exactly who they want to see.

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