introduce yourself dartmouth essay

How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2023/2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What are the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay Prompts?

How to Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt for Dartmouth

• How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay Prompt #2
• How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay Prompt #3

You’ll find an extensive, by-the-numbers look at Dartmouth’s offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set . For insight into how this private research university envisions its historic “Inclusive Excellence” initiative to foster diversity, check out the Provost’s Diversity Plan (feel free to skim if you need to). Reading through this will give you a strong idea of what Dartmouth values, what its future looks like (and how and where you may fit in). 

But please don’t just copy and paste chunks of the plan into your essay because a) that’s plagiarism and basically an academic crime, and b) anyone can do that. 

More on what you should do instead below.

What are the Dartmouth supplemental essay prompts?

Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer: Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2027, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer.

Required of all applicants. Please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer: 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. "Be yourself," Oscar Wilde advised. "Everyone else is taken." Introduce yourself.

Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 250 words or fewer: What excites you? 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 making—an impact? Why? How? Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." What do you wonder and think about? As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind? Celebrate your nerdy side. “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 and outlook? As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #1

This is a super short “Why us?” essay.  

Because it’s so short, the key will be finding 2-3 reasons that set Dartmouth apart from all the other schools you’re applying to.

Here’s the “Why us?” essay guide —in this case the Cornell example is probably the best example to check out. We talk a bit about how to tackle the shorter version of this essay, and the Tufts example is a great one. 

Here’s the short version:

Spend 1 hr+ researching 7+ reasons why Dartmouth might be a great fit for you (ideally these reasons will be unique to Dartmouth and connect back to you). 

Maybe make a copy of this chart to help you map out your college research.

Pick the top 3-4 reasons and consider drafting a one-sentence thesis to set your essay up.

Write a first draft!

As you write, try to  avoid these common mistakes: 

Six Common Mistakes Students Make on “Why Us?” Essays

Mistake #1 : Writing about Dartmouth’s size, location, reputation, weather, or ranking.

Mistake #2 : Simply using emotional language to demonstrate fit.

Mistake #3 : Screwing up the mascot, stadium, team colors, or names of any important people or places on campus.

Mistake #4 : Parroting the brochures or website language.

Mistake #5 : Describing traditions the school is well-known for.

Mistake #6 : Thinking of this as only a "Why them" essay.

Here’s a great sample essay for this prompt:

As someone who aspires to become an economist fighting climate change, I believe Dartmouth will be the best place to start. I look forward to model policy-making projects in Environmental Problem Analysis and Policy Formulation (ENV 50), but also applying these experiences to the Sustainability Task Force, where I hope to explore renewable solutions to contribute to Dartmouth’s 50% renewable energy target by 2025. But when I’m not at the Irving Institute for Energy and Society or on an Energy Immersion Trip, I hope to dig into new dishes with Spoon members or write preposterous (yet meaningful) articles for Jack-O-Lantern.  — — —

Tips + Analysis:

Be direct. With just 100 words, there’s little room for verbal bubble wrap. Just the goods. If you know what you want to study/be/do, consider clearly naming your dream or aspiration in the first sentence. This writer tells us that she aspires to be a climate change-fighting economist (cool) and alludes to a future major or double major (bonus). If you don’t know what you want to do/study/major in, don’t worry, just focus on the tips below.

List specific classes. This shows that you’ve done your research (and for one of the most research-intensive universities in the United States, maybe even the world, this matters). Listing specific, pertinent classes is the first rite of passage to make it into the “Why us?” essay hall of fame. This student takes it a step further, showing us how she’ll apply the knowledge she’s gained from “Environmental Problem Analysis and Policy Formulation (ENV 50)” to the “Sustainability Task Force,” where she’ll contribute to a university-wide goal (“50% renewable energy target by 2025”). Gold stars for days.

Imagine yourself at Dartmouth: Rather than writing, “I hope to participate in the Irving Institute for Energy and Society,” this student uses the present tense (“I’m”) as if she is already at Dartmouth. Paint a picture of yourself on campus: What are you doing? How are you engaged with Dartmouth’s community in and out of the classroom? Imagination is a powerful tool. Help the reader see you there. 

Show a side of yourself that you haven’t elsewhere in your application. We know you’re smart and motivated by research and academics. But, what else? Remember that these super-short essays are the speed dating of college essays. In the last line, we learn that this student is not just a future climate change-fighting economist, but also a foodie and a writer who plans to write “preposterous” and “meaningful” articles for the school magazine. What’s not to love?

Here’s another great example:

Dartmouth’s abundance of trees reminds me of my local arboretum, a refuge which has nurtured my science enthusiasm and encouraged me to branch out into social sciences. In the Biology-Modified major, Disease, The Environment, and Human History will teach me about diet modifications and diseases that have intensified negative environmental changes. Advocating for H.Res.109 (Green New Deal) has expanded my interests in sociology and environmental science. Through Health Disparities, I would learn how race and social class affect health treatments,while expanding the practical knowledge I’ve gained at Community-Servings, a nonprofit that provides healthy food for impoverished families. (100)

How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #2

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

If you look closely at these prompt options, they’re both really asking about what you feel makes you, you. While the first option pretty directly asks you to paint a picture of the world in which you grew up AND explain how that upbringing shows up in your current life, the second option points in that possible direction as well, but leaves it a bit more open ended (“Introduce yourself” is pretty wide open). It’s useful to keep in mind that Dartmouth wants to learn about who you are, but they’ll also be reading this thinking about how the current you will fit into their community. 

As you think about the details of your upbringing to include in your response, remember to link them in clear and explicit ways to who you are now. For example, if you were raised in a household that valued the family time you spent together every night at the dinner table, it would make sense for you to link that to the ways you’ve created this same connection through food with your friends. It probably WOULDN’T make sense for you to link this dinner table time to your obsession with anime (unless of course, anime was a frequent topic of discussion over that plate of meatloaf). If you had an infinite word count, you’d have the space to tease out these obscure connections, but because 250 words is fairly short, you’ll want to lean into clarity and directness here.

Because the first option is new this year, the example below wasn’t written for it specifically, but because it was written for a very similar prompt for another school, it would work great here.

At family dinners over gnocchi and arancini, my grandpa would always ask my two older brothers how their education and sports were going. I’d wait for my turn to tell him about the math test I’d just aced or the cross-country race I’d worked so hard to win, but the question was never directed my way. In contrast, my grandma always tells me how thankful she is that I’m able to get an education of my own. She frequently mentions how she regrets never getting an education, almost as if it were her fault. When she immigrated to America, she created the holes for buttons on men’s shirts in a clothing factory for $1 an hour to provide for her future family. I pursue my education with a fire within me to do what she wasn’t allowed to. During the summer of 2021, I realized that taking this initiative by myself wasn’t enough. I decided to write a children’s book about influential women in STEM in order to inspire the next generation of female scientists. Galvanized by the female researchers I worked with in the lab that same summer, I named the main character after the graduate student I worked with most frequently, Kate. As I’ve worked to empower other girls, including my younger cousins, I’ve also gained confidence in using my voice. And I’ll no longer be quiet at the dinner table. (233 words) — — —

End at the beginning. Personal anecdotes are a great way to engage your reader right off the bat, and they also provide an excellent way for you to “show” your reader important details (eating gnocchi, chatting with Grandma and Grandpa). But even better than that, they give you a built-in option for a conclusion as well. If you start with a personal story, circling back to that story at the end of your response (this technique is often called “ bookending ”) is an excellent way to bring your essay full-circle. This writer does a nice job of starting with a picture of sitting at the table with family, then seamlessly moves into the idea of finding her voice, and the heads back to the dinner table. The final line makes the essay feel complete (not simply stopped).

Keep the focus on yourself. With a prompt like this, it is really easy to end up writing an essay that extols the virtues of someone you admire or has had a significant impact on you. But the people reading your essay want to know about YOU since you’re the one who will be gracing their halls, living in their dorms, and finding your place in their community (i.e., you want to avoid the “your grandma sounds awesome, does she want to attend our college?” pitfall). What this writer does so well is to mention the people who have impacted her without making the essay about them. Instead, she tells us how her grandmother’s experience energized and motivated her, and then she tells us what the outcome of that motivation is. Although this response features other people, it is squarely about the writer.

Don’t forget the “how.” This prompt is really asking you two things—to identify the people, environmental factors, and life experiences that have impacted your current self AND to explain HOW these people and experiences have left their mark. The “how” is such an important piece to this prompt because it is here that you get to offer some self-reflection. This writer doesn’t just tell us who the significant people in her life are; she also very clearly and specifically links their influence to the decisions she’s made. The “who” and the “what” are definitely important in this prompt, but don’t ignore the “how.”

And here’s an example written for a past Dartmouth prompt that would work well for option 2 (though would need to be cut by 50 words).

Option #2 Example:  

•2002 Prasuti-Griha Hospital, Nepal. I’m born Shrinkhala Sunuwar. Eleven months later, my parents weep. Diversity Visa Lottery is a win and loss: my parents can't bring me to America with them.  •2008 Kathmandu, NP. I greet people with नमस्कार (namaste). Dust permeates my nostrils as I walk by others bargaining in market stalls to grandpa’s palm reading sessions. Flickering temple lights, smells of incense, and lively monkeys open my eyes to my Nepalese ethnicity and religion.  •2009 Brighton-MA. I become American and reunite with my parents. I’m mystified by July-4th fireworks. Autumn turns green leaves red and yellow. Other firsts: riding trains, biking in parks, learning to swim at the YMCA, and my first loss: grandpa’s death to laryngeal cancer. These experiences strengthen my character and impulse to explore the unknown.  •2012 Walter-St, Roslindale-MA. I become a photographer. My escape: Arnold Arboretum. I birdwatch and sit atop Peter’s Hill to marvel at the city view. I bike across winding trails that lead to secret destinations. Desire to capture nature leads to a love for photography.  •2015 Centre-St, Roslindale-MA. I’m reborn as Caroline Sunuwar. A paint palette and a palate for American dishes. First house. We spend hours painting walls red, white, and blue. I eat Harry’s All-American Breakfast, A & N Pizza, and burritos. I gain appreciation for America’s colors and flavors.  •2016 Boston, MA. I become a leader. BLCDC. Seven teenagers host drives, bake sales, petitions for nuclear disarmament through Mass Peace partnership. Social advocacy leads to a stronger self.  •2019 Everywhere.  Hello has replaced नमस्कार. Instead of running around temples throwing bananas at monkeys, I pray peacefully at Sri Lakshmi temple. Rather than observing market vendors, I observe physicians, politicians, and researchers. The Diversity Visa Lottery that separated my parents and me has ultimately yielded more wins than losses. (300 words) — — —

Quick Tips + Analysis:

Due to the word limit for this one, if you want to include a challenge, keep it short and impactful. The writer clues us into incredible challenges (being separated from her parents for seven years and her grandfather dying while she’s away in America), but she doesn’t linger for too long on these. The essay could have been about seven years without her parents and how that shaped her (and in some ways, it is), but she keeps going. She shows her values of independence and adaptability. She also explores complexity. Instead of “My parents left me behind when they went to America,” for example, she writes, “Diversity Visa Lottery is a win and loss: my parents can't bring me to America with them.” This demonstrates that she recognizes the opportunity this change brought for her parents even though it was likely difficult for the whole family. 

If possible, avoid common phrases. How? First, write a draft describing your story exactly as it happened. Focus on getting all the details on the page (the more, the better). Then, think about what’s essential to the story, and then try to describe the big challenges and transitions in an unexpected way. Challenge yourself to find unique words and phrases that are specific to your life. Some examples from this essay:

Instead of:  

“I grew up speaking Hindi” 

The author writes:

“I greet people with नमस्कार (namaste).”

Instead of:

“Then, I came to America and learned English.

“Hello has replaced नमस्कार.”

Be creative. The structure of this response is one of its great strengths. Each moment in time packs a lot of detail into a short space, the writer takes us through her journey with vivid imagery and detail, and she does this all by, essentially, using bullet points. This response jumps out from the screen because of its visual organization, and that draws the reader in. To clarify, you definitely don’t have to emulate this structure—but explore getting a little creative while maintaining clarity.

How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #3

• What excites you?
• 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 making—an impact? Why? How?
• Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." What do you wonder and think about? As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?
• Celebrate your nerdy side.
• “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 and outlook?
• As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

Quick tip: You can probably recycle this essay for another school’s supplemental essay, or vice versa (tweak something you’re writing for another school for this prompt). If you already have a list of your essay prompts for the other schools you’re applying to, consider writing a Super Essay and use it for both. 

Here are some quick tips for each prompt:

Prompt #1: What excites you? This prompt is an open request for you to talk about your interests, but remember to bring it back to yourself and your values. To brainstorm ideas, take 2 minutes to play the “I Love” Game . That should give you a menu of ideas. Pro Tip: this could also be a great chance to write a mini “Why Major?” essay .

Prompt #2: In what ways do you hope to make—or are you making—an impact? This can be a future-focused essay in that it doesn’t really rely on Something Important You’ve Done. But it also tends to be easier to write effectively about concrete actions you’ve already taken. If you’re worried that you haven’t done a ton of stuff worth writing about, this might be a good one to consider.

Prompt #3: What do you wonder and think about? Curious about internet slang? Wondering where Suzan-Lori Parks drew her inspiration for Topdog/Underdog? Here’s your chance to write about it. Check out the example below for more tips on this prompt.

Prompt #4: Celebrate your nerdy side. Oh, how we love this prompt. Not only do you get to proclaim your nerdiness, you also get to define what being a nerd even means. Be creative here! Super into coelacanths? Borderline encyclopedic knowledge of baseball analytics? Do you completely geek out when you get an actual letter in the mail? Great! Tell them so and then tell them why it’s so awesome, and what it is about, for example, the physical sensation plus the history of physical mail that captivates you. Just make sure to both explain what makes you a nerd (as in, define your terms) and why it’s so amazing that you’re a nerd in this specific way (that’s the “celebrate” part of this prompt). Go forth and write, fellow nerds!

Prompt #5: How have you embraced differences as part of your identity and outlook? In a prompt like this, it’s really important to unpack the language they use. Dartmouth isn’t just asking you about “difference” (although that’s part of it); they also want to know how you’ve EMBRACED difference. This is not the same as “accepting” differences, so when answering this prompt, remember to show that you value differences… not just that you tolerate them (in yourself and others).

Prompt #6: Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you? This is a big, broad prompt, which is actually great because it lets you determine how you want to shape your response. In asking this question of you, Dartmouth wants to know what you’ll bring to their school community. “Potential” and “promise” are forward-thinking words, so zero in on the path you see ahead of you (at Dartmouth). How do you want to engage? What haven’t you done that you still want to do? What are you curious about that you want to explore in your classes? What is the huge intellectual question that has yet to be answered and that YOU want to find the answer to?

Here’s a great example essay:

Prompt #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 making—an impact?

While I lived in Mexico, my dad’s security system could not protect our restaurant from robbers, who would steal anything from cash to the shrimp from our freezer. After the sixth robbery that year, I began experimenting with our security system. It turned out the devices were utterly unusable: the cameras would disconnect, the sensors would malfunction overnight, and the alarms wouldn’t contact the police. I wondered how we could improve that system. That’s when my interest in engineering was born.  I want to design a multitasking, roof-crawling, autonomous device capable of sensing, recording, and reporting potential criminal activity. But to develop the necessary skills and knowledge, I’ll need Dartmouth’s help. At Dartmouth, I look forward to a modified major in the Thayer School of Engineering that teaches both Psychology and Engineering/Computer Sciences.  Thieves are often able to outthink security systems because they research their target prior to attack, so exploring cognition through courses like “Psychology and Organizations” will help me create a system ready for the most creative minds. In addition, I am interested in Professor Charles Sullivan’s research on “Microfabricated magnetic components using nanomaterials,” and Professor Eric Fossum’s research on “Advanced image sensors and camera systems.” Miniaturizing the components of a robot and utilizing next-generation camera technology together can revolutionize the ways that security devices monitor and record.  Finally, having been raised in three distinct cultural worlds, I seek to promote diversity wherever I go, and I’m looking forward to sharing part of my Mexican heritage with other Latinx students by joining La Alianza Latina. Coming from a family that has been committed to intensive manual labor, I pioneer the era of modern technology. With a Dartmouth education, I contemplate the possibility of upgrading the security of our small restaurant and perhaps, one day, national security. — — —

Consider using this simple, three-part structure: the challenge, what you’ve done (or hope to do) about it, and how Dartmouth can help. Even though this prompt asks you to discuss how you will make or are making an impact, admission readers really want to know about you and how you’ll use your education. State the problem succinctly, say why it matters to you personally (if you can), then spend the rest of the essay showing how you’ve tackled it (or will tackle it) and what specific resources you’ll make use of. 

Consider hooking the reader (briefly) before revealing your specific topic. This student starts off with “robbers, who would steal anything from cash to the shrimp from our freezer,” creating a compelling story line and urging the reader to continue reading to learn more. This is much more interesting than if he’d started with the thesis, “I want to create advanced image sensors and camera systems to prevent robberies at my dad’s restaurant.” 

Option to approach the second half like a “Why us?” essay. If you add “Why us?” details (which can be a great idea), get super duper specific with what opportunities you’ll make use of at Dartmouth. Imagine yourself at Dartmouth and paint that picture for the admission reader. Include professors you’re interested in working with and classes you’re dying to take. By letting us know that Dartmouth has a modified major in the Thayer School of Engineering that teaches both Psychology and Engineering/Computer Sciences and classes like Psychology and Organizations to help him get into the heads of thieves, it’s clear that this student has really done his research. For more on how to do this, click here for the complete guide.

Here’s one more great example:

Prompt #3:  

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?

“I don’t get it.” I glance over at my sister. We are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art looking at Composition, my favorite piece by Piet Mondrian. Tracing the dark lines, we watch as they meet at vertices to form rectangles. “It’s math,” I reply. “No pun intended, but that’s the point.” If we had not been in a crowded museum, I would have told her that one of the first things we are taught in algebra is how to graph a line on a coordinate plane. That Y=MX+B governs us until we learn Y=ax^2+bx+c. I would have explained how we are reminded, time and time again, of the importance of graphical analysis; like the paintings of Mondrian, though not as gracefully, our lines come together to form shapes. Geometry then teaches us of right angles, the foundation of both structure and society. Calculus asks us to retrieve data from the lines we had graphed when we first learned. Forming an Eulerian cycle, our mathematical world follows a path, hitting off each edge and meeting back at the same vertex. I was not a math person until I stumbled upon the works of Matt Parker and Noson S. Yanofsky. Staying up late into the night, flashlight in hand, sister reminding me to get some sleep, I was introduced to a world of numbers beyond what I’d been taught in school. I began to see mathematical concepts for their beauty, recognizing their influence in art and philosophy, even pushing myself to try Coursera courses in coding after Parker’s references to logic gates. Besides being the bane of schoolchildren everywhere (and perhaps my family at the dinner table), graph theory underlies the methods with which we perceive our universe — both literally and figuratively, the possibilities are limitless. — — —

Consider using “geeky” language. This writer shows us that she knows her math and catches the reader’s tired eyes with: “That Y=MX+B governs us until we learn Y=ax^2+bx+c.” Don’t be shy about doing the same. But do it within reason, because overdoing it may alienate your reader.

Tell us what you’ve done outside class. Push yourself to go beyond what’s offered at school and show that off (humbly) in your essay. For many, high school sucked. This student tells us about her late-night internet discoveries (Matt Parker, a literal “Standup Mathematician,” and Noson S. Yanofsky, a college-level math prof who writes college-level stuff for the advanced and curious HS students). But then she goes further, taking “ Coursera courses in coding after Parker’s references to logic gates.” What do you learn about outside of school? Surprise us. Haven’t explored much outside class? There’s still time! (Probably.)

Try to make uncommon connections. Art + math = uncommon connection. We don’t expect a moment at the MET to turn into an ode to math. But it does, and that’s what makes this essay great. How do you do this? Take a look at this values list and ask yourself: What’s something the reader would not expect me to say? 

Here’s another example that could probably work for a few of the prompts above, especially prompts 1 and 3 (and probably 4).

I can always spot a mushroom. Once, driving through the streets of Boston, a clump of white mushrooms a hundred feet away caught my eye. I parked and ran back to the fungi to make sure they were well-documented with an impromptu photoshoot. Seeing mushrooms explode over a day or two, I am amazed by their resilience and adaptability. They can pop up almost anywhere, from desert to beach to forest. There is no one to cultivate them or prepare for their arrival, yet they still come in multitudes, completely self-sufficient.  I keep photo albums of the mushrooms I find on various trips; my best is from an expansive garden in rural Georgia. Straying away from the paths and into the forested areas blanketed with moss, I found mushrooms that looked like exploded pumpkins, hunks of steak, tiny alien tendrils tipped in red, a small boulder, and ones that could have been illustrations in a storybook. Their abundance and variety were astounding.  Not only do mushrooms have diversity in appearance, but in function as well. Food, pest, hallucinogen, building material, medicine—all in the same kingdom. When I stumble across a mushroom in the wild, I may not know its specific purpose, but knowing that it has some mysterious use stimulates my curiosity like nothing else. Mushrooms are the first thing I look for when I’m somewhere new, and the last thing I reflect on over and over in my camera roll. I want to emulate the qualities of mushrooms—resilience, adaptability, intention, and purpose. I can’t wait to see what mushrooms live at Dartmouth. (263 words) — — —

Be unconventional. A few of the prompts above give you the option to explore how you experience “wonder,” so let your mind WANDER as you think about ways to answer this question. Who knew a few paragraphs about mushrooms could be so engaging? But they ARE, because they’re unexpected. This writer lets us know they’re a photographer and an adventurer and a careful observer, just by telling us about mushrooms.

Use those metaphors. By comparing mushrooms to pumpkins, steaks, and aliens, this writer gives us a glimpse into how their mind works, into how they THINK. And that’s precisely what a few of these prompts ask for. It is possible to overdo it with metaphors (you don’t want your reader to have to interpret everything in your response), but a well-written metaphor or two can help paint a picture in unique and effective ways (isn’t it cooler to think about what a steak-like mushroom might look like than to have the reader tell us is it was weird looking?)

Get your values in there. As this short response reaches its conclusion, the writer makes sure to circle back to themselves. They’ve shown how mushrooms are purposeful and flexible, but they don’t stop there (because this response isn’t really just about mushrooms, right?). This writer makes sure to explain why we should care about these mushrooms, and we should care about them because they embody traits the writer wants to emulate.

And here’s a final example that could work nicely for option 1 (or maybe option 4):

My Top 10 (Actual) Superpowers: 10. Able to give anyone a Magical Mystery Tour by playing any song by The Beatles on the piano. 9. Can name every single presidential candidate to run for president in the 2016 primaries. Even Lincoln Chafee before he dropped out. 8. Undefeated at thumb-wrestling (thank you, nine years of clarinet playing). 7. Can differentiate “I want sleep” from “I want dumplings” in Chinese, even though sleep and dumplings are both pronounced “shui jiao”. 6. Ability to appreciate both Star Wars and Star Trek. Sci-fi nerds must stand united, not divided. 5. Able to pitch a tent in the rain at 1 in the morning after it collapsed because I forgot to take down the sunroof that filled with water and brought the tent down. Bonus point: learned from mistake and haven't needed to demonstrate this ability again.  4. Can play the opening to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on clarinet. Yes, even the glissando.  3. Able to deliver an impromptu speech at any given time (so long as caffeine level is appropriately high). 2. Thanks to debate, am comfortable explaining the United States’ complicated mess of an immigration system. Bonus point: able to discern real immigration plans from those of carnival barkers declaring a wall must be built.  1. Always stands out in a crowd; ginger hair is a mighty beacon of hope. (228 words) — — —

Tips + AnalysiS:

Use humor. It’s not easy to incorporate humor into our writing (let’s face it, we all probably think we’re funny and maybe only half of us actually are), but if you can do it well it can make a great addition to an essay. This writer doesn’t take themselves too seriously (for example, the final sentence of the essay), and they strike the perfect conversational tone in this response, but it’s still focused and answers the prompt in clear and direct ways. If you’re naturally sarcastic or if humor is where you’re most comfortable, use THAT superpower to answer this prompt.

One deep thing vs. variety. To clarify, you don’t have to make a list here—you can pick one specific thing and build a strong response from it (several of the above, for example, could make interesting essays on their own). But you can also go wide instead of deep, incorporating variety that helps us see a bunch of sides of you we aren’t getting elsewhere in your application. If you want to take the “wide/variety” approach, probably avoid making 5 out of 10 of these powers about your ability to bake bread from scratch. Are you a baker and also a welder? Cool. Make sure you let your readers know!

Overwrite to underwrite—Make every word count. There are no extra words in this response, no fluff at all. But early drafts were definitely over word count. And that’s a good thing for the writing process: aim for over the word count in early drafts, so you can then cut down to the language that truly does its job. In the essay above, every word serves a purpose and contributes to the overall essay, so let concision guide you as you write. That’s all we have to say about that. 

Special thanks to Jessica B. for writing this blog post.

Jessica has a Ph.D in English from the University of Southern California and teaches English at a Los Angeles-area independent school, where she has also been English department chair and a class dean.  Sandra Cisneros is her hero, and she loves books, her awesomely-sarcastic family, the beach, cozy sweaters, and more books. Oh, and her sweet pitbull/lab mix named Ruby. 

Top values: Curiosity, equity, wonder

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How to Get Into Dartmouth: Strategies and Essays That Worked

How hard is it to get into dartmouth learn the dartmouth acceptance rate and admissions requirements, plus strategies for conquering the dartmouth supplemental essays.

LEARN HOW TO GET INTO DARTMOUTH

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: dartmouth admission requirements , part 3: applying to dartmouth early decision vs. regular decision, part 4: 2023–2024 dartmouth supplemental essays (examples included).

Most Ivy League institutions are large research universities located in cities along the Eastern seaboard—but one of the most prestigious lies deep in the New Hampshire wilderness. If your child is an Ivy-competitive college applicant hoping for a small student body and a large forested campus, Dartmouth College might be the right place for them.

Getting into Dartmouth requires more than the generic drive to attend an Ivy. If you want to know how to get into Dartmouth, begin by learning about the school’s unique academic and social culture, including the Dartmouth Flexible Study Plan and countless traditions such as the community’s love of the outdoors.  

Dartmouth’s unique year-round calendar of four 10-week terms allows students to decide when they want to study, research, and work throughout their undergraduate career. In this flexible study plan, called the Dartmouth Plan or D-Plan for short, students can pursue internship and research opportunities any time of year, giving them a competitive advantage over other college students following a traditional schedule.

Your child could spend their winter conducting seasonally specific ecological research in Costa Rica and return to Dartmouth for spring and summer to continue the same research in one of Dartmouth’s state-of-the-art laboratories. They could work on a Texas congressional campaign leading up to a November election and return to campus in time to ski with the student government association. 

No matter where the D-Plan takes your child, each matriculating class at Dartmouth reconvenes on campus for the Sophomore Summer program, what Dartmouth calls the “epicenter” of their educational model. Each summer, Dartmouth gives its campus over to rising juniors as they declare their majors and map out research projects for the remainder of the undergraduate studies. During that season, rising juniors have exclusive access to faculty and subject-area librarians.

If your child is interested in Dartmouth, they can also look forward its outdoorsy, sporty culture (about 25 percent of students are NCAA Division 1 athletes).

They should also be aware of the dominance of Greek life on campus—the comedy “Animal House” was inspired by a Dartmouth fraternity, though these days students say there are more alternatives to a Greek-dominated system. Indeed, Dartmouth’s attention to its small but vocal cohort of Native American students, and its Native American Studies major, is one indication of the school’s awareness of diversity.

In election years, Dartmouth hosts a major debate for presidential nominees thanks to its New Hampshire location, the first-in-the-nation primary state for national elections. Dartmouth attributes this tradition with inspiring many of its graduates to pursue careers in journalism and politics. Notable Dartmouth alums have gone on to become U.S. Supreme Court justices, U.S. senators, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, national news anchors, celebrity chefs, and comedians.

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Dartmouth College ranking 

U.S. News & World Report: 12

Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education: 39

Where is Dartmouth?

Dartmouth is in Hanover, New Hampshire, deep in the scenic Upper Connecticut River Valley. Hanover is a quintessential New England college town, dotted with cute restaurants and bakeries, and beautiful bookstores. The town also hosts a major teaching hospital, an art scene with world-class museums and performance spaces, and a growing high-tech sector, thanks to Dartmouth’s draw as a top research university.

Nestled between the White Mountains and the Green Mountains, Hanover is a perfect basecamp for skiing in the winter. In the summer, canoeing and kayaking are popular on the Connecticut River that runs just next to town.

Dartmouth College setting

Dartmouth rural setting lives up to the school’s motto Vox clamantis in deserto, which translates to “a voice crying out in the wilderness.” Dartmouth is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful colleges in America. The 269-acre campus coalesces on the five-acre Dartmouth Green, surrounded by academic buildings in its signature Georgian colonial architecture. The Green is Dartmouth’s community hub, hosting such campus traditions as the Winter Carnival and a weekly farmer’s market.

If a 269-acre campus isn’t enough, Dartmouth also owns a large portion of Mount Moosilauke in New Hampshire’s famous White Mountains and 27,000 acres of northern New Hampshire known as the Second College Grant.

Proud of its deep connection with nature, Dartmouth has the oldest and largest collegiate outdoors club in the nation, aptly named The Outing Club. Students often spend their spare time hiking, camping, and skiing in the nearby mountains. The Appalachian Trail runs right through the middle of campus.

Dartmouth student population

Undergrad population: 4,170

Grad and professional school population: 2,122

Dartmouth acceptance rate

Here are the admissions statistics for Dartmouth’s class of 2026:

Applications: 28,336

Acceptances: 1,808

Matriculants: 1,125

Acceptance rate: 6.4%

(Suggested reading: Ivy League Acceptance Rates )  

Dartmouth tuition and scholarships

In 2023–2024, Dartmouth’s cost of attendance (i.e., tuition, room, board, and fees) lands at $87,793.

Dartmouth promises to meet 100 percent of students’ demonstrated need, and students whose families earn under $125,000 per year typically get their entire cost of attendance covered without loans. Among the class of 2026, 56 percent received some amount of financial aid—the average award was $67,127.

Who gets into Dartmouth?

To get a sense of what it takes to join Dartmouth’s next incoming class, let’s take a look at the admissions and demographic statistics for the class of 2026:

Note: The standardized test scores below are for the class of 2024, which is the most recent year scores were required to be submitted.

95% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class.

Average high school GPA: Like most of the Ivy League, Dartmouth does not report the GPAs of admitted students. Their admissions team reviews applications holistically, without a minimum GPA requirement, though they mention that a strong GPA is one indicator for success at Dartmouth.

Dartmouth average ACT score: 33

25th percentile: 32

75th percentile: 35

Dartmouth average SAT Critical Reading score: 733

25th percentile: 710

75th percentile: 770

Dartmouth average SAT Math score: 750

25th percentile: 730

75th percentile: 790

International students: 15%

First generation college students: 16%

Legacy students: 10%

52% of the class identified as Caucasian. The next largest group were Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at 22%. 11% were Latino, 11% were African American, and 4% were Native American.

Dartmouth academic requirements

Like most other Ivy League and Ivy+ schools, Dartmouth practices what it calls “holistic admissions,” meaning they look at each applicant comprehensively and not as a sum of their grades, test scores, and class rankings.

Dartmouth doesn’t have a particular set of coursework required, but they seek out students who have taken advantage of the most challenges courses and activities available to them. In order to fully appreciate each applicant, the school also takes their socioeconomic status into account, as well as their particular school’s course offerings and grading and ranking practices.

That said, if your child is planning to major in a STEM discipline, Dartmouth recommends that they complete the following coursework at minimum:

English: 4 years with a preference for writing-intensive literature courses

Mathematics: 4 years, through calculus for students interested in engineering and the STEM disciplines

History and social science: 3 years

Science: 3 years of laboratory science with 4 years including physics for students considering engineering

Foreign language: 3 years of a single language (ancient or modern) with 4 preferred

Dartmouth application requirements

We’ve provided a list of Dartmouth’s application requirements to save you the headache of hunting them down. They include:

Common App Essay

Dartmouth Writing Supplement

Optional in 2023–2024: SAT or ACT

2 teacher letters of recommendation

Secondary school report, transcript, school profile, and counselor evaluation submitted by your child’s guidance counselor

Peer recommendation (strongly recommended but not required): a written statement of support from someone who the applicant considers a “peer,” like a classmate or teammate, sibling, co-worker, friend, lab or debate partner.

Optional: Supplemental materials like resumes, art portfolios, or newspaper articles about your child

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Dartmouth’s deadline for early decision is November 1st and admissions decisions are mailed out in mid-December. Dartmouth’s early decision admission is restrictive, so students who apply this way are committed to attending Dartmouth if they are admitted, barring extenuating circumstances like unanticipated financial hardship.

Regular decision applications are due January 2nd and applicants receive their results by late March or early April.

Though early decision candidates are accepted at a significantly higher rate, the majority of Dartmouth’s incoming class is still admitted regular decision.

How do you know if your child should apply to Dartmouth early decision?  

If Dartmouth is your child’s clear first choice for college, and their application is completely ready by November 1st, then they should apply early decision.

If your child needs their first semester of senior year to bulk up their grades, test scores, or achievements outside of school, or they’re not entirely sure that Dartmouth is the school for them, they should wait and apply regular decision in January. 

(Suggested reading: Early Action vs. Early Decision: Pros and Cons and What Your Child Should Do )

(Note: While this section covers Dartmouth’s admissions essays specifically, we encourage you to view additional successful college essay examples .)

Like other Ivy League and Ivy+ schools, Dartmouth requires three supplemental essays to make sure that applicants are the best fit for the particular culture of the school: the first is a very short essay that every applicant must answer, the second is a fairly standard essay, and the third is chosen from five options provided .

Your child should remember what makes Dartmouth unique: The D-Plan, its signature flexible plan of study, its proud school traditions like the Winter Carnival and the Dartmouth Powwow, and its connection to the natural world.

These supplements are also an opportunity for your child to tell Dartmouth what makes them unique in ways that don’t necessarily translate on a transcript or a list of extracurriculars—and how these experiences, identities, or philosophies might thrive at Dartmouth specifically.

Meet three Dartmouth applicants closely based on students we’ve worked with:

Leena is interested in the intersection of art, technology, and culture. She set up a series of art installations around her hometown of Portland, Oregon last summer, and created a mirror image of these installations in Kerala, India, where her extended family lives. She’s interested in film and media studies but wants to create a custom major.

Roberto is interested in both science and the arts. He started performing stand-up comedy last year in his city, Los Angeles, CA., and also volunteers at UCLA Medical Center. He plans to pursue a materials science or engineering sciences major but wants to supplement physical sciences with social sciences and cultural studies.

Angela became interested in journalism after investigating the school system in her small town in rural Tennessee. For the exceptional work on her school newspaper, she received a scholarship to the School of the New York Times last summer. As a member of the Cherokee Nation, she is also interested in the Native American Studies Program. 

Dartmouth supplemental essay 1

Prompt: Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2028, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth? (100 words or less)

This is a very common question that applicants see from many universities. Students have the opportunity to convey exactly what they value about Dartmouth, beyond its prestigious status. Is it a specific program of study? A Dartmouth tradition they can’t wait to participate in? A corner of the campus they found particularly inviting during a campus visit? To stand out, your child should always research the school and be as specific as possible.

Since this is the shortest essay, and the one that most directly focuses on Dartmouth, we’ve provided examples from each of our example applicants. Here’s Leena’s answer:

In my artistic practice, I’m preoccupied with space—how objects interact with their environment. When I visited Dartmouth’s campus last summer, all I could think about was how the school interacted with the nature that surrounds it. How the campus and the historic Appalachian Trail occupy the same physical space—the beauty of the trees so different than my homes in Portland and Kerala. I became so excited to see how my art installations interact with and reflect Dartmouth’s unique intersection of intellect and the natural world. I can’t wait to work in these spaces and be a part of them.

Why is Leena’s essay strong?

She shows continuity and growth in a specific context. Leena demonstrates her enthusiasm for Dartmouth’s culture by envisioning how she will continue her current artistic practice there. Dartmouth is proud of its commitment to nature and Leena uses that to her advantage.

This is how Roberto responded:

While I thought about focusing on Dartmouth’s state-of-the-art laboratories for my scientific research, or how it’s consistently the number one school for scientific patents, I realized there were many aspects of Dartmouth’s culture and community that align with my passions for scientific research and climate activism. That’s why I’m so excited to explore the Upper Valley with courses that both track climate change in the region and search for community-based solutions to these growing problems. As a city boy, I can’t wait to call the Upper Valley Land Trust my new home for research and political organizing.

Roberto’s strengths:

He demonstrates he’s really done his research on the school. Roberto uses a strategy of “while I could talk about x and y, I am going to focus on z” to show that he has dedicated time to learning all he can about Dartmouth and how its facilities fit into his interests and career goals.

And here’s Angela’s essay:

So far, my experience with Native American culture has been limited to family reunions, where everyone is some part Cherokee. Attending Dartmouth would give me an unparalleled opportunity to connect with other Native students from tribes all around the country, learning and collaborating with students who, unlike me, had experiences of growing up in Native communities. No other university would come close to the education in Native American Studies, from the classroom to the Dartmouth Powwow, that I could experience at Dartmouth. 

Angela’s strengths:

She focuses on something that only Dartmouth can offer her. Angela uses her essay to home in on a part of Dartmouth that both academically and culturally is not offered at other similar schools, underscoring why she wants to go to Dartmouth and not just any Ivy.

Dartmouth supplemental essay 2

Prompt: Required of all applicants, 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.

Dartmouth supplemental essay 3

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. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." As you wonder and think, what's on your mind?

D. Celebrate your nerdy side.

E. "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 and outlook?

F. As noted in the College's mission statement, "Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…" Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

Gain instant access to essay examples for every supplemental essay prompt from the top universities and BS/MD programs in the United States.

Final thoughts

Dartmouth is a great choice for an Ivy-competitive student who values a traditional college experience, a love of the outdoors, and a small student body. Every applicant should consider the importance of these traits and whether they will thrive in the specific academic and social environment that Dartmouth prides itself on having created.

About the Author

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.

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How To Answer Dartmouth's Supplemental Essay Prompts 2023/24

What's New in 2022/23

What Are Dartmouth's Essay Prompts

Why Dartmouth Question

Dartmouth's Deep Dive Questions

Dartmouth's "Exploratory" Questions

Dartmouth is an Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. It has an acceptance rate of around 6%, making it one of the most prestigious and selective schools in the United States. The Supplemental Essays offer you a unique opportunity to showcase your motivations for being a Dartmouth student. These essays are also a great opportunity to provide insights into your journey of self-awareness, your values, and aspirations. This blog serves as a comprehensive guide to each of the prompts in the Dartmouth Writing Supplement for 2023/24. Use the tips and insights below to craft strong responses that will help you stand out from other applicants.

How Julian Got Into Dartmouth

Dartmouth College's 2023/24 Supplemental Essay Updates: What's Changed?

Gaining admission into Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution with an illustrious history, is no small feat. Among the diverse components of the college application, the supplemental essays play a pivotal role in presenting your unique story and illustrating how you resonate with Dartmouth's values.

Elite universities like Dartmouth continually adapt their application requirements each year, seeking a holistic grasp of their potential students' backgrounds, aspirations, and values.

This year, similar to last year, Dartmouth applicants have three required “writing supplements” to complete. For the 2023/24 admissions cycle Dartmouth has made some limited but notable modifications to essay prompts.

1. Modification of Existing Prompts

The foundational prompt about Dartmouth's distinctive sense of place and purpose remains largely unchanged, with minor tweaks in phrasing for clarity.

2. Introduction of New Topics

Dartmouth's second required essay now offers a choice between introducing oneself, in line with Oscar Wilde's famous quotation, or describing the environment in which one was raised, inspired by a Quaker saying. This presents applicants with the opportunity to either present a personal introduction or delve deeper into their upbringing and its influence.

3. Expanded Choices for the Third Prompt

Previously, Dartmouth gave applicants five options to choose from for their third essay. This has been expanded to six, including a chance for applicants to "celebrate their nerdy side", discuss embracing differences, or share about their promise and potential in line with Dartmouth's mission statement. These additions seek richer insights into applicants' personalities, values, and potential contributions to the Dartmouth community.

4. Rephrased Prompts for Clarity and Depth

Several of the essay options have been reworded to invite deeper reflection. For instance, the Dolores Huerta inspired prompt now adds "Why? How?" to drive applicants to think more about their motivations and methods.

5. Inclusion of Diverse Themes

The newly introduced prompts encompass diverse themes like embracing differences and individual promise, showcasing Dartmouth's commitment to nurturing a varied and dynamic student body.

These alterations underline Dartmouth's ever-evolving admissions perspective, spotlighting a more profound comprehension of applicants' diverse experiences, aspirations, and the intrinsic values they might bring to its vibrant academic community.

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What Are Dartmouth's Supplemental Essay Prompts for 2023/24?

For the 2023/24 application cycle, Dartmouth College has thoughtfully designed supplemental essay prompts that delve deeply into the perspectives, backgrounds, and aspirations of its applicants. These prompts aim to illuminate your personal growth, understanding of Dartmouth's ethos, individuality, and potential contributions to the Dartmouth community.

1. Dartmouth's initial prompt is the “Why Dartmouth” prompt.

This prompt revolves around the institution's essence and its impact on your educational pursuits. Note, this first supplementary essay is only 100 words or fewer, making it shorter than the remaining two essays.

Dartmouth's Unique Ethos : Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2028, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth? (100 words or fewer)

For the remaining two essays (each 250 words or fewer), Dartmouth offers several creative prompts. Choose ONE from each list.

2. Deep Dive Questions

Pick one prompt from two offered. These essay options are crafted to provide a window into your character, upbringing, and thought processes.

• Personal Background and Upbringing : 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.” (250 words or fewer)
• Introducing You : "Be yourself," Oscar Wilde advised. "Everyone else is taken." Introduce yourself. (250 words or fewer)

3. Exploratory Prompts

Pick one prompt from the six offered. These prompts are diverse, encouraging you to showcase various facets of your personality, aspirations, and beliefs:

• Passions and Interests : What excites you? (250 words or fewer)
• Purposeful Living : 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? (250 words or fewer)
• Inner Thoughts: Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." As you wonder and think, what's on your mind? (250 words or fewer)
• Embrace Your Quirks: Celebrate your nerdy side. (250 words or fewer)
• Celebrating Otherness: "It's not easy being green..." was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has the difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity and outlook? (250 words or fewer)
• Unearthing Potential: As noted in the College's mission statement, "Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…" Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you? (250 words or fewer)

Requirements

Ensure your response to the initial question does not exceed 100 words. For the deep dive and exploratory questions, maintain a word count of 250 words or fewer.

Dartmouth's admissions process is exceptionally competitive, but these essay prompts offer candidates a golden chance to shed light on their unique experiences, aspirations, and the richness they'd contribute to the Dartmouth mosaic.

How to Answer Dartmouth's Supplemental Essay Questions?

How to answer the “why dartmouth” question, dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. as you seek admission to dartmouth's class of 2028, what aspects of the college's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest in short, why dartmouth, - 100 words or fewer.

This prompt seeks to understand your motivations behind choosing Dartmouth. It's an invitation to dive deep into your reasons and showcase how Dartmouth aligns with your academic and personal aspirations.

Reflect on Dartmouth's Essence

Think about the distinct attributes of Dartmouth that appeal to you.

• Is it a specific academic program?
• The close-knit community feel?
• The rich traditions and serene campus environment?

What combination of features like these, and others, make Dartmouth appealing to you and why?

Be Specific

Avoid vague statements. Instead of saying you're attracted to Dartmouth's "strong academic reputation," mention a particular program, research opportunity, or professor that aligns with your interests.

Personalize Your Answer

What personal experiences or goals make Dartmouth the right fit for you? Maybe you're drawn to Dartmouth's unique D-Plan or its emphasis on undergraduate teaching. Relate these aspects back to your own journey and aspirations with authentic and genuine insights into your unique interests, aspirations, and values and how they fit with specific campus attributes.

Stay Concise

With only 100 words, every sentence must be purposeful. Ensure each word contributes meaningfully to your response, and avoid redundancy.

• Drawn to Dartmouth's renowned Engineering program, I'm excited about its interdisciplinary approach, blending liberal arts and technology. Additionally, the Dartmouth Outing Club aligns with my passion for outdoor leadership.
• The intimacy of Dartmouth's community and its emphasis on undergraduate research in the sciences resonate deeply with my aspirations. Coupled with the picturesque Hanover setting, Dartmouth embodies my ideal learning environment.

Dartmouth's first essay prompt provides a canvas to illustrate your unique connection with the college. By being specific, personal, and concise, you can effectively convey why Dartmouth's academic program, community, and environment align seamlessly with your aspirations.

How to Answer Dartmouth's "Deep Dive" Questions?

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., - 250 words or fewer.

Dartmouth, like many elite institutions, values a diverse student body, recognizing that every individual's background shapes their perspectives, values, and contributions. This prompt is an avenue to shed light on the influences that have shaped your character, beliefs, and aspirations.

Exploring Your Roots  

Begin by painting a vivid picture of your upbringing:

• Physical setting: Were you raised in a bustling city, a rural village, a suburban neighborhood, or a tight-knit community?
• Cultural influences: What traditions, customs, or rituals were integral to your family or community?
• Key figures: Who played pivotal roles in your formative years? How did they influence you?

Reflecting on the Impact

Moving beyond mere description, analyze how these elements of your background molded your beliefs, values, and aspirations:

• Challenges and Triumphs: Did certain experiences, perhaps dealing with adversity or celebrating triumphs, particularly influence your growth?
• Evolution: How have the cultural and familial lessons from your upbringing influenced your worldview, values, and future aspirations?

Crafting a Cohesive Narrative

While 250 words might seem restrictive, focus on weaving a concise yet impactful story that encapsulates your upbringing and its influence on you.

Dartmouth's first "Deep Dive" prompt seeks to understand the fabric of your background and how it has sculpted your character and aspirations. Dive deep, be introspective, and craft a narrative that offers a genuine glimpse into your world.

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

Dartmouth's prompt resonates with the essence of individuality. Every student brings their unique narrative, beliefs, experiences, and quirks. Through this prompt, Dartmouth seeks to understand *you*, beyond academic achievements and extracurriculars.

Embracing Your Uniqueness

While it's tempting to present an idealized version of oneself, Dartmouth is looking for authenticity. Reflect on:

• Personality: Are you introspective, outgoing, witty, or analytical? What qualities define you?
• Passions and Hobbies: What do you love doing in your free time? How do these activities reflect your character or aspirations?
• Personal Stories: Share an anecdote or experience that captures your essence.

Moving Beyond the Resume

Avoid reiterating what's already in your application. This is a chance to share aspects of your life and personality that don't fit neatly into traditional application boxes.

Be Genuine and Introspective

While keeping your introduction relevant and the tone appropriately formal, consider how you can also incorporate some touches of intimacy and vulnerability with some deeper introspection and with some authentic and genuine sharing about who you are.

Using Your Voice

Sometimes an introduction is formal. But for this essay, also consider using elements of your authentic personal voice to help convey unique features of your personality. Be it a streak of humility or a sense of humor, use an authentic voice to reveal meaningful insights into your individuality.

Crafting a Personal Statement

Given the brevity of the prompt, every word should contribute to your narrative. Be concise yet compelling, ensuring the introduction offers a genuine reflection of who you are.

Dartmouth's second "Deep Dive" prompt is a canvas for you to paint a portrait of yourself. This isn't about showcasing achievements but about presenting an authentic, holistic image of who you are. Dive deep into introspection, embrace your uniqueness, and introduce yourself in a way that remains memorable and genuine.

How to Answer Dartmouth’s “Exploratory" Questions?

Navigating Dartmouth's exploratory essay prompts requires a blend of introspection and a clear understanding of what the college values. While each question is a chance to spotlight a distinct facet of your character, they collectively serve to convey your fit for Dartmouth's vibrant community.

What excites you?

Genuine enthusiasm.

Share what genuinely excites you, not what you think Dartmouth wants to hear.

Make it Compelling

Don't only skim the surface or introduce sources of excitement that are superficial in nature. Connect what excites you with deeper passions and aspirations.

• Look for more profound topics. For example, going to a baseball game may be exciting for you, but does it connect to deeper experiences, reflections, or aspirations? That said, maybe going to a baseball game with a specific family member was exciting because of the relationship and the opportunity these baseball outings presented to deepen it.
• Emphasize sources of excitement that truly reflect or shape your personality and which connect with things you care deeply about.

Personal Anecdote

• Illustrate your passion through a personal story, giving a genuine glimpse into what drives you.
• Highlight anecdotes that will help the reader appreciate the contexts that make your insights compelling for you.
• Craft vivid narratives that cast light on people, events, or circumstances that shaped your feelings of excitement and to make your response more memorable.

Connect with Dartmouth

Maybe there's a Dartmouth program or club that aligns with your passion or with what excites you. Showing that connection can demonstrate both your genuine interest and how you'd immerse yourself on campus. Reveal how what excites you will shape your contributions to campus life and specific goals or aspirations you have for college and beyond.

• Discovering the world of computational biology during a summer program transformed my view of computer science, from merely app development to solving biological mysteries. Dartmouth's interdisciplinary courses promise further exploration into this thrilling intersection.
• Art, for me, isn't just a hobby; it's a lens through which I see the world. Every brush stroke or sketch is a reflection of my interpretations. At Dartmouth, I'm excited about the potential of integrating art with academic studies, enriching my perspectives further.

The first "Exploratory" prompt is very open ended. Try to home in on a source of excitement that offers insights into your more profound passions, motivations, and perspectives on life. Be genuine and be sure to connect what excites you with larger aspirations.

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?

This prompt calls for a profound understanding of your own commitment to betterment and change. Dartmouth values students who are not just achievers in the academic sense but also those who aspire to make a meaningful impact on society through commitment, conviction, and courage.

Genuine Motivations

Deeply reflect upon the driving forces behind your actions. What inspires you to create change? Whether it's a personal experience, someone you look up to, or a broader vision for society, share the root of your motivations.

Link to Dartmouth's Values

Show that your vision aligns with Dartmouth's ethos. Perhaps there's a Dartmouth initiative, club, or program that corresponds with your efforts to create positive change.

Narrative Engagement

Use storytelling to bring your experiences to life. Instead of simply stating facts, walk the reader through your journey, the challenges you faced, and the lessons learned.

Vision for the Future

Expand on how Dartmouth can be the platform for furthering your initiatives or supporting your drive for societal improvement.

• Driven by witnessing educational inequalities in my community, I initiated a tutoring program for underprivileged students. Dartmouth's Tucker Center, with its extensive community service programs, inspires me to scale my initiative to broader horizons.
• Ever since participating in a local environmental cleanup, I've been motivated to promote sustainable living. At Dartmouth, I see an opportunity to engage deeply with the Dartmouth Organic Farm, expanding my understanding and driving larger community initiatives.

Dartmouth's second "Exploratory" prompt offers an avenue to express your genuine commitment to pursuing a purpose-driven life and enacting positive change. Through a combination of personal storytelling and a forward-looking mindset, this is your chance to showcase how your life's purpose aligns with Dartmouth's values. Share how you can contribute positively to campus life and reflect on how Dartmouth can help you further your impact on the world.

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, 'Think and wonder. Wonder and think.' As you wonder and think, what's on your mind?

This unique prompt from Dartmouth encourages you to introspect and share your musings, highlighting how deep reflection forms an integral part of your character. It offers a window into your mindset, showcasing how you engage with the world around you.

Venture Beyond the Superficial

While it might be tempting to discuss a recent event or popular topic, delve deeper. Reflect on those bigger questions or thoughts that linger in your mind. It could be something philosophical, societal, or even a personal revelation.

Relate to Dartmouth’s Legacy

Given the mention of Theodor Geisel, an illustrious Dartmouth alumnus, consider ways in which your reflections might connect to Dartmouth’s storied history, its emphasis on liberal arts, or its commitment to fostering critical thinkers.

Just as with the previous prompt, storytelling can be a powerful tool here. Walk the reader through your thought process, the genesis of your musings, and the conclusions or further questions they led to.

Consider Dartmouth’s Environment

Dartmouth's unique setting, amidst the serene landscapes of Hanover, provides the perfect backdrop for reflection. Consider weaving in how such an environment can further fuel your introspection and quest for answers.

• Contemplating the ever-evolving nature of language, I often wonder about the next phase of human communication. Dartmouth’s rich linguistic courses and its diverse community provide the ideal setting for such explorations.
• In today's digital age, I ponder the balance between connectivity and genuine human interactions. Dartmouth’s tight-knit community offers a compelling environment to explore this, bridging the traditional with the contemporary.

Dartmouth’s third “Exploratory” prompt is an opportunity to provide insights into your deeper reflections and how you process the world around you. By delving into genuine thoughts and connecting them with Dartmouth's ethos and environment, you can craft a compelling narrative that underscores your fit for the institution.

Celebrate your nerdy side.

Dartmouth recognizes that it's often our quirks, those distinctive characteristics and passions, that make us uniquely interesting. This prompt invites you to showcase a side of yourself that might not be immediately evident but is an intrinsic part of who you are.

True Colors

It's vital to ensure your response is genuine. Highlighting an authentic quirk or passion can create a more memorable and personal essay. Whether it's a hobby, a talent, or a particular mindset, delve into something you truly identify with.

Narrative Storytelling

Consider using anecdotes or personal stories to illustrate your point. A short narrative about a time when your "nerdy side" played a significant role can effectively showcase your personality and make your essay more engaging.

Relate to Dartmouth

While discussing your quirks, find a way to connect it to Dartmouth's environment or ethos. Perhaps there's a club, organization, or course at Dartmouth that aligns with your quirky side. Demonstrating how your unique traits would fit into and benefit the Dartmouth community can add depth to your essay.

Deep Reflection

Go beyond just describing your quirks. Reflect on why they matter to you, how they've shaped your perspectives, and the role they've played in your life.

• Ever since I started collecting antique calculators, I've been dubbed the "math historian" among my friends. At Dartmouth, I hope to merge this love for history and math by delving into the evolution of mathematical theories.
• I've always been fascinated by the intricacies of board games, often creating my own. Through Dartmouth's Game Design Club, I hope to bring my unique designs to life, encouraging strategic and creative thinking.

Dartmouth's fourth "Exploratory" prompt offers a chance for applicants with a passion for, or obsession with, a particular intellectual or academic interest, or other kind of interest that captivates them, to embrace it and share it in an essay that is compelling and memorable. By focusing on genuine characteristics and weaving a narrative that connects to Dartmouth's values and offerings, you can create a standout essay. Highlight an important area of personal fascination while helping Dartmouth understand how this might shape your aspirations and participation in college life.

'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 and outlook?

Dartmouth acknowledges and celebrates the diverse backgrounds and experiences of its students. This prompt provides an avenue to discuss how you've encountered, processed, and embraced differences in your life, be it in terms of race, culture, beliefs, or personal experiences. It’s an opportunity to highlight your unique journey — and perhaps exceptional resilience or insights shaped by this journey — while foreshadowing the positive ways you’ll impact the college community.

Personal and Genuine Experiences

Begin by introspecting on moments in your life when you felt different or stood out. Was it due to cultural, racial, personal beliefs, or perhaps a unique experience? Share these genuine stories to give a deeper insight into your journey.

Navigating Challenges and Growth

Being different often comes with challenges. Discuss how you navigated them, the insights gained, and how these experiences contributed to personal growth. Show how these challenges strengthened your character and shaped your worldview.

• Did they help you develop personal resilience? If so, how is this reflected in real events or relationships in your life, or in challenges you’ve faced?
• Does your experience with difference shape your worldview, personality, or your perspectives?
• Do these factors impact other facets of your life experiences, such as interpersonal relationships, school or community life, or your views on society?

Connect to Dartmouth

Highlight how you see Dartmouth's diverse community as an extension or complement to your experiences. Maybe there are student groups, initiatives, or programs at Dartmouth that align with your journey. This connection can underscore your fit within the Dartmouth community.

Celebrate the Differences

Rather than merely discussing the challenges, celebrate the advantages and strengths that come from embracing diversity. How has it made you a more empathetic, open-minded, or resilient individual?

• Growing up in a multicultural neighborhood, I've always been the bridge between various cultures, facilitating understanding. Dartmouth's Global Village program, emphasizing cultural exchange, resonates with my experiences.
• Being the only left-hander in my family always made me feel unique. This simple difference taught me early on that there's no one-size-fits-all approach. At Dartmouth, I'm eager to be part of communities that appreciate and celebrate such nuances.

Dartmouth's fifth "Exploratory" prompt offers an opportunity to reflect on your personal journey and how it's shaped by the differences you've encountered or embraced. By intertwining personal narratives with Dartmouth's ethos and values, you can create an impactful essay that showcases your understanding and appreciation of diversity in its many forms.

As noted in the College's mission statement, ‘Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…’ Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

Dartmouth is seeking students who not only excel academically but also exhibit promise in their endeavors and potential to impact the world. This prompt is your opportunity to showcase your capabilities, determination, and the promise you hold for the future.

Highlight Authentic Moments

Recall instances where your potential was evident, be it through academic accomplishments, extracurricular leadership, or personal growth moments. Choose stories that capture your drive, ambition, and the qualities that set you apart.

Relate to Dartmouth's Values

Dartmouth's mission emphasizes both lifelong learning and responsible leadership. Ensure your essay reflects these aspects. Discuss how Dartmouth's programs, values, or opportunities align with your potential and how they can further amplify it.

Evolution and Growth

Rather than just stating your achievements, reflect on your journey. How did you overcome challenges? What did you learn? Demonstrating growth gives depth to your potential and makes it more tangible.

Envision Your Future

Project into the future. How do you see your potential evolving at Dartmouth? In what ways do you hope to contribute to the community and eventually make an impact in your chosen field or the broader world?

• My initiative in founding a community service club showcased not just leadership, but a potential to drive change. At Dartmouth, I'm excited to further this potential through hands-on service projects and leadership seminars.
• From initiating a school-wide recycling program to representing my school in national debates, my journey has been about discovering and nurturing my potential. Dartmouth's focus on holistic education and fostering leadership resonates deeply with where I see myself evolving.

Dartmouth's sixth "Exploratory" prompt is an open canvas for you to highlight your strengths, journey, and vision for the future. By weaving in authentic experiences with Dartmouth's values and offerings, you can craft a compelling narrative that showcases not just who you are, but who you aspire to be in the Dartmouth community and beyond.

General Guidelines for Answering Dartmouth's Supplemental Essay Questions

1. deep dive into dartmouth.

Dartmouth's prompts allow you to demonstrate your affinity with the college's ethos and community.

• Highlight specific courses, faculty members, research opportunities, or clubs that align with your interests.
• Be detailed in your approach to specific aspects of college life or specific academic offerings or resources that hold a genuine interest for you personally in order to spotlight the depth of your commitment to understanding Dartmouth.

2. Introspective Insight

Dartmouth highly values self-aware learners. When discussing personal experiences or academic interests, always loop back to the personal growth, insights, or lessons you've absorbed over time.

3. Champion Diversity

Dartmouth is proud of its diverse and inclusive student community.

• Highlight the unique perspectives, experiences, or backgrounds you'd bring and how these have influenced your own evolving self-awareness and life journey in profound ways.
• Emphasize how these perspectives and experiences will enhance diversity at Dartmouth and shape unique contributions you’ll make to community life and academic dialogue at Dartmouth.

4. Genuine Narratives

Honesty resonates deeply. Craft responses that echo your true passions, hurdles, and aspirations, rather than what you feel the admissions committee wants to hear.

• Use a personal voice and/or personal anecdotes to convey authentic glimpses into your unique life circumstances and influences.
• Keep it relevant to the college admissions process, but don’t shy away from sharing intimate features of your personality, inner thoughts, “hidden” interests, and remember some glimpses of humility and vulnerability may add authenticity or further help you make your essay more memorable.

5. Focus on Depth

The word limits mean precision is crucial. Opt for depth over breadth, delving into a few points in detail rather than skimming over many.

6. Engaging Storytelling

Craft your essays in a compelling narrative format. An evocative story or reflection often remains etched in the reader's mind longer than mere facts. Use relevant narrative or storytelling techniques and vivid description, with an emphasis on showing, not telling, to help make introspective elements and reflections more natural, convincing, compelling, and memorable.

7. Meticulous Proofreading

Ensure your essays are impeccable. Beyond checking for grammatical errors, ensure your narrative flows smoothly and communicates your main points effectively. Consider getting feedback from peers or mentors for fresh insights.

8. Tie to the Larger Context

Position your answers in the broader context of your potential contributions to Dartmouth.

• Highlight future-facing aspirations, goals, or commitments.
• Describe how the college's offerings and ethos align with your aspirations.
• Reveal what contributions you expect to make as a valuable member of the Dartmouth community.
• Explain how Dartmouth will further your goals and aspirations.

9. Embrace the Process

Remember, these essays offer a unique opportunity to showcase facets of yourself beyond academics. Relish this chance to illustrate why Dartmouth and you could be the ideal fit.

Armed with these guidelines, you're poised to craft compelling responses that not only answer Dartmouth's supplemental questions but also resonate with the spirit of the institution.

What Makes Crimson Different

Final Thoughts

Dartmouth doesn’t shy away from creative supplemental essay prompts. Nor do they want you to shy away from embracing and celebrating what most makes you, you — whether something deep and purposeful, something quirky, something that’s complex and laced with vulnerability, or an exciting passion…

When multiple prompts are offered, choose the prompt that resonates best with you and will allow you to probe qualities of your personality, life journey, and college aspirations that will play a central role shaping your contributions and achievements at Dartmouth.

Dartmouth wants to get to know you better. Be authentic to your personality. If you’re unsure if the essay sounds like you, have someone close to you read it and tell you if it sounds like you. While grammar and spelling are important, showcasing the unique qualities that make you perfect for Dartmouth are equally important.

Need help with your supplemental essays? Crimson Education is the world’s leading university admission consulting company. Our expert admission strategist can help you narrow down your ideas and word choice to help you craft the perfect essay prompt response. Get your essay reviewed today!

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How to Write the Dartmouth Supplemental Essays 2023–2024

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Dartmouth College asks applicants to answer three supplemental essay prompts, each quirkier than the last. As the smallest and most northern Ivy League school, Dartmouth stands out for its tight-knit community and famously creative alumni, from Dr. Seuss and Mr. Rogers, to Mindy Kaling and Robert Frost. If you’re applying to Dartmouth, you might find their unusual essay prompts intimidating. In this post, we’ll break down how to answer each of the Dartmouth supplemental essays. We’ll also help you choose the right prompts for your unique background and personality so that you can put your best foot forward on your application.

Dartmouth College’s 2023-2024 Prompts

You will need to write three essays for your Dartmouth College application. The first essay is a relatively straightforward “Why Dartmouth?” prompt. For the second and third essays, you’ll be able to select your favorite prompt from a list of prompts. You’ll want to choose wisely!

Supplemental Essay Prompts

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. as you seek admission to dartmouth’s class of 2028, what aspects of the college’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest in short, why dartmouth (100 words).

• 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.
• “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.
• What excites you?
• 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?
• Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?
• Celebrate your nerdy side.
• “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 and outlook?
• As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

Why Dartmouth?

This prompt looks like many other college application prompts: it just boils down to “Why Dartmouth?” That said, there are some differences. Dartmouth admissions officers, when composing this prompt, hint at the location and mission of Dartmouth College. If you find yourself drawn to any specific aspect of Dartmouth’s mission statement and core values , this essay response is a great place for you to break down why those values speak to you and/or draw you to apply to Dartmouth College.

In addition, the reader expects you to have completed some research on Dartmouth’s unique offerings. Name programs, courses, clubs, and/or specific cultural qualities of Dartmouth College that interest you. Then, explain what interests you about them. You could also touch on what makes Dartmouth different. Without putting other schools down, what does Dartmouth provide that you couldn’t have access to anywhere else? The key is that your reader should know you’re writing about Dartmouth whether they’re explicitly told or not. Why? Because your explanation for why Dartmouth is right for you could not be repurposed for any other school.

Who Are You?

The following two prompts, which you can choose between, both focus on who you are. Option A asks about your background; option B asks you to introduce yourself. Unlike many other essay prompts, these prompts don’t focus on who you will be and what you will do, but rather on who you are now. 

Here’s a quick breakdown to help you choose the prompt that’s right for you:

• If you would prefer to focus on how your community, hometown, family, school, or other factors outside of your control have shaped the person you are today, option A is probably the best option for you.
• If you would prefer to write about how you have developed as a unique individual, not necessarily as a result of your background (which may feel less compelling to you to write about), then option B is probably your best bet.

Option 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. (200-250 words)

This prompt asks you to reflect on your past and bring it to the page in a brief essay response. It’s a tall order: you’ll need to describe not only your background, but also how it has impacted you, and who you are today. These elements can be provided in any order. For instance, your essay could have one of the following outlines:

• Describe my unique way of seeing the world
• Describe my family and how they see the world
• Describe how my family influenced the way I see the world
• Open with an anecdote about my school
• Describe how I struggled to fit in at my school
• Express how that experience has shaped who I am today

These outlines are just examples, not suggestions or prescriptions. Before writing this essay, consider writing your own outline so that you can be sure you incorporate all of the important elements into your essay.

Option B: “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself. (200-250 words)

This essay prompt asks you who you are, but more than that, it asks you to describe what makes you unique. If “everyone else is taken,” authenticity is all the more important. Honesty and integrity are crucial aspects of the college application process; this essay particularly relies on authenticity and standing out from the crowd by means of your authenticity.

Like your “Why Dartmouth?” essay, you want this response to be applicable only to you . If someone who knows you read this essay without anyone telling them who wrote it, they should be able to identify the author confidently.

Introducing yourself is a notoriously difficult task despite sounding quite simple. Consider the biographical details that make you who you are. Also, consider your response to the classic “Tell me about yourself” interview question. Then, try to identify a thread that links some or most of your identifying characteristics together. To the best of your ability, highlight that thread in your essay response.

What Do You Do?

The following six essay prompts are diverse and creative, but each comes down to the same core: what do you do? This question could apply to your academic life, your extracurricular activities, your community service, your family obligations, what you do for fun, or some combination. It can also apply to what you will do in the future (and how you are currently preparing to do those things in the future). 

Here’s a brief breakdown of why you should pick each prompt:

• Option A is the broadest and should be chosen if you feel like you have a good sense of a cohesive answer already that doesn’t quite fit with the other prompts.
• Option B might be best suited to students who are engaged in civic or community service and wish to continue impacting society, though bear in mind that the prompt can be read expansively.
• Option C is likely best suited for students who have powerful imaginations that drive their academic, personal, or extracurricular explorations.
• Option D might be the prompt for you if you possess a specific, unique nerdy interest that might not otherwise be reflected in your application.
• Option E is a strong choice for students whose identities, experience of diversity, or challenging backgrounds have shaped their life experiences.
• Option F, last but not least, is the stand-out choice for students whose identities and actions in the actions in the present are most heavily influenced by their goals and intentions for the future.

Option A: What excites you? (200-250 words)

This essay prompt gives you a broad canvas to paint upon—which means you especially need to make sure your composition is cohesive! When writing your response to this prompt, you might want to start by focusing on a specific 2-4 activities, topics, ideas, etc. that excite you. If possible, draw a thread between the different items you list.

Note that it’s okay to describe just one topic/idea/activity which excites you. If you choose that route, you’ll want to be sure that you expand upon the nuances of your choice and how it excites you in a multitude of ways. Even if your essay focuses on a limited subject, you can describe the different strengths you employ to do this exciting activity. Alternatively, you could discuss the different parts of your personality which are required to engage with this idea which excites you.

When answering this question, don’t feel restricted to academic or “serious” endeavors. Excitement doesn’t need to have formal or educational origins to be genuine and appropriate for a college essay context. Nevertheless, if possible, provide some diversity to your brief list. You can get creative with your answer! For instance, you might list many (i.e. 10+) topics, but each revolves around 1-2 related central ideas. Stay cohesive and cogent.

Option 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? (200-250 words)

This essay prompt requires specificity when it asks “Why? How?” When describing the impact you hope to make or are already making, make sure your description is grounded in concrete details. Consider the following types of details you can name: 

• Community organizations you work with or hope to work with
• Specific communities of individuals you help or would like to help
• Specific initiatives you are spearheading or hope to spearhead
• Specific social issues you are working to solve now or in the future

Even though this prompt implies topics of community or civic service in its response, you can respond expansively. For instance, if you are a painter, you might want to impact the people who view your paintings with a certain kind of emotion. If you’re a student-athlete, maybe you want to inspire the next generation of student-athletes or run marathons for charity. If you’re an aspiring mathematician, maybe you want to impact your specific field of interest with groundbreaking discoveries.

Whatever impact you hope to make or are making, do your best to elucidate what actions you are taking to instigate this change. Additionally, provide some insight regarding what motivates you to make this impact.

Option C: Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind? (200-250 words)

Imagination comes in many flavors, and this essay prompt gives you the opportunity to share your unique flavor of imagination. Before you respond to this prompt, try sitting with your thoughts (with your phone and other devices put away). Let your mind wander. Do this activity for at least 15 minutes before writing down your thoughts. Write them down quickly, so you remember what they are! Feel free to do this exercise several times on different days. Doing so will help you accrue a diverse selection of thoughts.

When drafting the essay, you can use the fruits of your mind-wandering sessions as the basis for your answer. Using your real thoughts to spark your essay response will allow you to generate a genuine, memorable essay. Still, you’ll need to make sure that your essay is comprehensible to someone who doesn’t know you well. When we think, we often skip through logical progressions that make inherent sense to us. Be sure to share this essay response with a few readers who don’t know you well. These readers can point out where they struggle to follow your thought processes.

Option D: Celebrate your nerdy side. (200-250 words)

This joyful essay prompt gives you the opportunity to embrace what makes you a nerd, freely and without judgment. Many students have nerdy interests that don’t naturally fit into a college application. Maybe you have an obsession with a board game, a book series, or an esoteric area of study. If so, this prompt is for you.

If you’re full of nerdy qualities but finding this essay prompt challenging, consider asking a few friends or family members who know you well to describe what they think are aspects of your nerdy side. Oddly enough, “nerd’ is not usually a label we assign to ourselves, but one that others assign to us, sometimes in a critical manner. This essay prompt lets you reclaim this label in a positive light and express what nerdy activities, behaviors, or thought experiments you engage in—and how your nerdy side makes you you .

Option E: “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 and outlook? (200-250 words)

This essay prompt puts a positive spin on the premise of being different and facing challenges. Try free-writing a response to this prompt before you compose a proper draft. What makes you stand out from the crowd, and how have those character traits, aspects of your identity, activities, or other qualities impacted the way you move through the world?

When embarking upon a draft of this essay, try to describe the way you, today, are influenced by your difference(s). What actions do you take, what perspectives do you hold, and how do you interact with the world as a result of your difference(s)?

As always, keep your essay response specific and personal to you and your experience. Although this essay response is about what makes you different, there may be many other students who are different in the same way or a similar way as you are. Ideally, if someone who knows you reads this essay, they will instantly know it’s about your experience, not the experience of someone who happens to be similar to you. 

Lastly, note the usage of “embraced” in the essay prompt’s wording. The reader is anticipating an optimistic outlook and/or positive view of your differences. If/when you describe the adversity you’ve faced, make sure that your response emphasizes the way you have embraced your difference(s) despite or even because of the adversity you have faced.

Option F: As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you? (200-250 words)

The wording of this prompt is giving you a heads-up when it says “Promise and potential… can be elusive qualities to capture”: many students respond to this prompt without quite capturing the promise and potential they aim to highlight. Knowing this, it’s your job to capture those qualities in yourself nonetheless.

How can you illustrate your promise and potential to a reader, without sounding arrogant or self-satisfied? One way is to describe the concrete actions you have taken to grow and/or better yourself. Demonstrating growth will imply the continuation of growth. Moreover, if you make that implication explicit by describing how you continue to foster your growth, you will be able to humbly prove your potential. 

In sum, you can provide a brief narrative of how you overcame a challenge or obstacle; how you grew as a person; or how you learned an important life lesson. Focus on an area of your life not otherwise highlighted in your application. Then, describe how you changed as a result of that experience. Finally, conclude by describing the actions you take currently to keep overcoming challenges, learn, and grow.

If you need help polishing up your Dartmouth College supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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Dartmouth Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompts and Advice

August 11, 2023

Dartmouth receives the fewest number of applications of the eight Ivy League schools. There were 28,841 hopefuls for the Class of 2027, less than half the number at Columbia or Harvard. Yet, that still represented an increase in the number of Dartmouth applications from the two years prior, resulting in the school’s lowest-ever acceptance rate of 6% (down from 6.2% the previous year, and a whopping 8.8% in 2024). When applying to a school that rejects 94% of applicants, you need to find ways to grab an admissions officer’s attention and give them a reason to say, “Yes!” The Dartmouth supplemental essays are one such chance.

Want to learn more about How to Get Into Dartmouth College? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Dartmouth: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.

One of the best opportunities to move the admissions needle is through the three supplemental essays that Dartmouth requires. Dartmouth College’s essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle are listed below along with accompanying advice about how to tackle each one:

1) Dartmouth Supplemental Essays – Required Essay #1

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth? (100 words)

This is, in essence, a straightforward “Why this College?” essay. Great things to highlight here include:

• Firstly, specific  student organizations at Dartmouth  that you would like to become involved with.
• Particular courses  offered in your discipline of interest at Dartmouth.
• Dartmouth professors whose work/research/writings you are intrigued by.
• Undergraduate research opportunities  unique to Dartmouth.
• Aspects of Dartmouth’s mission statement that resonate with you.
• Lastly,  study abroad opportunities .

Make sure to really do your research on the school. As a side benefit (and not an unimportant one), you may discover further reasons why Dartmouth truly is the perfect fit for you.

2) Dartmouth Supplemental Essays – Required Essay #2

Please choose one of the following prompts and respond 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.

This is an opportunity to share something about your background that may not shine through anywhere else on the application. To do so, consider discussing how your role in your family, important aspects of your upbringing, or a particular cultural, religious, or community influence either impacted your core values and beliefs or helped develop a particularly important attribute.

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

This is a fun opportunity to share something genuinely unique about yourself. As such, pick one (or several) key aspects of your personality/background that reveal something deep and meaningful about you. As you brainstorm, consider the following avenues:

• What moves your spirit? Discuss any art, movies, music, and books that you find deeply moving and personally important.
• Your role in your family.
• Your role in your social group.
• The funniest things you’ve ever done.
• The strangest things you’ve ever done.
• Commitment, passion, and enthusiasm.
• Core values and beliefs.
• Important aspects of your upbringing.
• Most intriguing and unique attributes.
• Cultural, religious, community influence.

3) Dartmouth Supplemental Essays – Required Essay #3

Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 200-250 words:

A) What excites you?

Out of everything on this Earth, what makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? What subject makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? If you could address one problem in the world, large or small, what would it be? What do you love to do? If you are answering at least one of these questions, you are on the right track with this essay.

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 making—an impact? Why? How?

This is your chance to show that you are a global citizen, aware and sensitive to issues faced by this planet and all life that occupies it. If you are passionate about climate change, the fate of democratic institutions, food scarcity, human rights, the impact of disinformation campaigns, privacy issues related to big tech, or any of the millions of other challenges faced by humanity, this is a great choice for you. Note that this year’s prompt includes the guiding questions why and how , so be sure to let them both guide your response.

Dartmouth Supplemental Essays (Continued)

C) Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?

Last year’s prompt: what do you wonder and think about? This year’s prompt: as you wonder and think, what’s on your mind? It’s clear that Dartmouth is not only interested in what you’re thinking about but also your overall thought process. What questions are you asking? Why are you asking them? What conclusions have your questions led you to, and how do you feel about those conclusions? Is there anything that you  like to know that you don’t have the answer to right now? What motivates, scares, or surprises you about your most pressing questions? The key here will be to take the reader on a little trip inside your brain (Magic School Bus not required).

D) Celebrate your nerdy side.

In just about every nineties movie, the nerds function as insanely smart social rejects with questionable outfit choices and pocket protectors, often banished to the worst lunch table. Luckily, times have changed, and being a nerd—especially at a school like Dartmouth—is downright aspirational. Moreover, the definition of a “nerd” is someone who is incredibly enthusiastic about a certain topic—especially if unique. Accordingly, if you’re interested in answering this question, make a list of any “specialties” that you are particularly dedicated to. Do you love the soundtracks of eighties movies? Science fiction short stories? Strategy games? Rubik’s cubes? Your backyard barometer? Comic book collections? Whatever topic you choose, make sure to truly lean in and celebrate it—what do you love about it, and why? How does it influence you?

E) “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 and outlook?

Do you feel that your lived experience is different from others in your peer group, family, or community, perhaps in regard to relationships, household income level, mental or physical challenges, neurodiversity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or cultural background, to name a few? If so, answering this prompt could be a good option. While crafting your response, the important thing to keep in mind is that the difference/challenge itself is  less important  than what it reveals about your character and perspective. What steps have you taken to cope with your chosen difference? How has it positively impacted you? How has it influenced your perspective and the way you engage with the world? Is there anything about your difference that you feel especially appreciative of?  Make sure you share what you were feeling and experiencing; this piece should demonstrate openness and vulnerability.

F) As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

One of the best ways to communicate promise and potential is to demonstrate a passion for learning and growing. This prompt is not about presenting a laundry list of accomplishments; instead, it’s about showing the admissions committee that you possess qualities that can be cultivated for a lifetime, regardless of major or career, such as dedication, curiosity, innovation, or creativity, to name a few. You can accomplish this goal by describing how you’ve grown in a particular area and/or how you wish to grow, while remembering that flaws and mistakes made along the way often demonstrate tremendous self-awareness.

How important are the Dartmouth Supplemental Essays?

The essays (both the Common App essay and the supplemental ones) are “very important” to the evaluation process. Seven other factors are “very important.” These factors are: rigor of coursework, class rank, GPA, recommendations, test scores, character/personal qualities, and extracurricular activities. Clearly, Dartmouth College places enormous value on the quality of your supplemental essay.

Dartmouth Supplemental Essays – Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

To conclude, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Dartmouth supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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How to Write the Dartmouth College Essays 2021-2022

Dartmouth College is consistently ranked in the top 15 national universities.  Due to its high ranking and prestige, Dartmouth is a highly selective institution and consistently has low acceptance rates.  

The college is frequently ranked one of the most beautiful colleges in America, given its picturesque setting in the deep green Upper Connecticut River Valley. It’s no coincidence that Dartmouth’s Latin motto “Vox clamantis in deserto” translates into “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” Dartmouth is surrounded by mountain vistas and thick forests, which makes athletics and outdoor activities extremely popular at the university. Given the bucolic nature of Dartmouth’s location, around 60% of undergraduate students participate in Greek life as the main source of social interaction. 

Applications can be submitted to Dartmouth College through either the Common Application or the Coalition Application. In addition to these general applications, Dartmouth requires two supplemental essays; all applications must submit the first prompt, but may choose from six different options for the second prompt. Read on to find out how to ace these essays! Want to know your chances at Dartmouth? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Want to learn what Darmouth will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Dartmouth needs to know.  

Dartmouth College Supplemental Essay Prompts 2021-2022

Prompt 1: While arguing a Dartmouth-related case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, delivered this memorable line: “It is, sir,…a small college, and yet there are those who love it!” As you seek admission to the Class of 2026, what aspects of the College’s program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? (100 words)

Prompt 2: Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 250-300 words:

• Option A: The Hawaiian word mo’olelo is often translated as “story” but it can also refer to history, legend, genealogy, and tradition. Use one of these translations to introduce yourself.
• Option B: What excites you?
• Option C: In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba, Class of 2014, reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power the electrical appliances in his family’s Malawian house: “If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.” What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you already made?
• Option D: Curiosity is a guiding element of Toni Morrison’s talent as a writer. “I feel totally curious and alive and in control. And almost…magnificent, when I write,” she says. Celebrate your curiosity.
• Option E: “Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away,” observed Frida Kahlo. Apply Kahlo’s perspective to your own life.
• Option F: In the aftermath of World War II, Dartmouth President John Sloane Dickey, Class of 1929, proclaimed, “The world’s troubles are your troubles…and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix.” Which of the world’s “troubles” inspires you to act? How might your course of study at Dartmouth prepare you to address it?

Overview of the Dartmouth Essays

Dartmouth asks for two supplemental essays—one in 100 words, and the other in 300 words. Your response to prompt 1 needs to be tailored to Dartmouth specifically. If in your prompt 1 essay, it is possible to switch out the name “Dartmouth” for another school’s name, with the essay still making sense, then you need to dive into greater detail. 

Remember that every essay you write in this college application process, including the Common App, is a component of your candidate profile. To help maximize the admissions committee’s  understanding of you, for each school’s essay portfolio, be sure to choose topics that complement each other. 

For example, if you wrote already about a personal geology project in your Common App, don’t also write about your aspiration to solve a geological crisis in the second supplemental prompt, or only concentrate on the geology program in the first supplemental prompt. You want to showcase other elements of who you are in the supplement essays.  

While arguing a Dartmouth-related case before the US Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, delivered this memorable line: “It is, sir,… a small college, and yet there are those who love it!” As you seek admission to the Class of 2026, what aspects of the College’s program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? (100 words)

This is essentially the classic “Why This College” essay . With only a meager 100 words available, the goal of this is not to mention every program or component of Dartmouth that attracts you, or give an elaborate praise of those programs. Rather, you have to demonstrate why the essence of Dartmouth resonates with you . Here are some dos and don’ts to get you thinking in the right direction: 

Pick one of Dartmouth’s programs, values, activities, clubs, or classes that you feel deeply connected to. 

For example, if your academic love is environmental science, consider writing this essay on Dartmouth’s prioritization of sustainability through emphasis on programs like beekeeping, ethical fish farming, and proper extraction of maple syrup from sugar maple trees. When describing these opportunities, however, be sure to connect them back to yourself and your interest or passion.

That said, keep in mind that ultimately, you need to present a holistic candidate profile to the school. That means showcasing as many aspects of yourself as possible—if you focus on an academic interest in this prompt, make sure to hone in on your favorite aspects of campus life and extracurricular offerings in the next prompt.

Do not, however, dive into a detailed dissertation of why the program you choose to write about is so necessary in our world today. Whichever reason attracts you to Dartmouth, chances are, someone else wants to attend the college for the same reason.

The admissions committee is not interested in reading the hundreth essay on why the school made the right choice to implement these sustainability initiatives—the admissions officers likely know the school well enough to understand why Dartmouth initiated those programs. Instead, what admissions want to know is why these are deciding factors for you to choose Dartmouth.

For example, perhaps you lived in an area that was affected profoundly by a catastrophic natural disaster. Since then, you have been hyper-aware of the interactions between people and their habitats, and want to devote your energy towards decreasing the likelihood of a natural disaster happening to someone else.

Focus your essay on one core theme. 

For example, if you choose to write about Dartmouth’s unique outdoor-centric student life, structure the entire essay around this topic. 100 words do not provide you with enough leeway to cover multiple topics well. That said, if there is a tangential factor relevant to your core theme that attracts you to Dartmouth, do add it in to spice up your essay.

Do not write a list of everything you love about Dartmouth. Don’t try to expound on your love of the college’s vibrant Greek life while attempting to describe your passion for sustainability and your appreciation for the school’s flexible curriculum. Doing so would only allow you to mention each element in passing without connecting it to you personally. 

For the second prompt, you need to select one of the six options below to answer the question in 250-300 words. While quality essays often require conciseness, you are not recommended to go below the 250-word benchmark. All six of the prompts are unique and open-ended, which means there are a lot of routes you can take to create the perfect essay. 

Some tips on prompt selection: 

Tip #1: Read through all of the prompts. While you may notice that there is one prompt that immediately grabs your attention, this does not necessarily indicate that it would be the best prompt to showcase your unique traits to the admissions office. 

Tip #2: Immediately categorize the options into 3 segments: “likely,” “possible,” and “unlikely”

• Under “likely” are all of the prompts you have an immediate answer for 
• Under “possible” are all prompts you find interesting and would be open to 
• Under “unlikely” are prompts that you find are prone to cheesy answers, or those that you simply cannot relate to at all 

Tip #3: Jot down ideas for the prompts you deemed were “likely” or “possible”.

Tip #4: Review them and select the topic with the most unique story, or one that best showcases your wit and intellectual prowess.

With those tips in mind, let’s dive into the different essay options!

Prompt 2, Option A

The hawaiian word mo’olelo is often translated as “story” but it can also refer to history, legend, genealogy, and tradition. use one of these translations to introduce yourself. (250-300 words) .

This prompt cannot be immediately categorized as one of the “classic” essay questions and requires a bit more creativity for effective execution. It also adds yet another layer of decision-making to essay-writing—choosing the translation to continue with.

A few tips on which interpretation to choose and how to write your essay:

Tip #1: Out of all available translations, the term “story” is the most generic of the five. It is easy to argue that your story encompasses your history, your family’s legends, your genealogy and your culture’s traditions. If you do not have an instinctive response to this prompt, but still prefer this question as a whole, then choose this interpretation. The broad scope of this translation will allow you to take your essay in whichever direction you see fit.

In regards to writing the essay, you can choose to narrate a defining moment of your life that does not easily fit under any of the other four headings.

Perhaps on a family hike on Chirico Trail during winter break in your sophomore year, you witnessed the majesty and freedom of paragliders and have been fascinated by this extreme sport ever since. You can then expand on how the sport has changed your perspective on the feeling of existence, of your resoluteness to live every moment to the fullest, etc.

Tip #2: History here can refer to family history, academic history, employment history, recreational history, etc. Choose this translation if there is a chronology in a certain aspect of your life that you want to highlight, a more or less linear process through which you matured.

Perhaps your illustrious history in competitive chess is especially important to you, and was critical in shaping your attitude towards work. Then use this opportunity to delineate your competitive history, and delve into the intellectual, and emotional impact it has imprinted on you.

Tip #3: Legend is one of the trickier ones, and will likely be a less popular selection. If you are particularly confident in your creativity, and prefer to distinguish yourself from the onset, then this is the one for you.

One way to interpret this is to relate a folktale important to your culture, and use it as a segue to introduce your culture and the role it has played in shaping your values and character. The same thing could be done with a “bedtime story” that you grew up on—you could use the fable as an entry point to describe your upbringing and the continued impact it has on your personality today.

Tip #4: Genealogy is also an interesting one—similar to “legend,” you could leverage the anecdote of your family lineage to depict important family members, or even family heirlooms, and the significance of their role in shaping how you feel about your culture.

Perhaps you share a unique bond with your grandmother, who was your primary caretaker while you were growing up. Her lineage could be traced back to Edinburgh, Scotland, where generations before, her ancestors braved the extreme weather and fed their community as hardy wheat farmers. Though you had previously hated your ginger hair, and purposefully distanced yourself from Scottish culture because you were teased, you feel more grounded and closer to your origins through the family tales passed through generations.

Tip #5: Tradition can be approached in a very similar manner to genealogy, or legend. Choose this translation if the topic you wish to discuss is more a custom than a linearly chronological account of a cultural phenomenon.

Prompt 2, Option B

What excites you (250-300 words) .

This prompt gives you the opportunity to showcase your personality and talk about a passion, hobby, or experience that does not really “fit” into the themes explored by other prompts. Think about this essay as a personal inquiry, it gives the admissions officer the ability to humanize your application and understand what type of person they are admitting to Dartmouth. 

There is no shortage of topics you can explore with this prompt. 

• Are you excited whenever Sunday Night Football is able to bring together your family for a night? 
• Or, are you excited when it rains outside and you can dance around with your friends? 
• Or, are you excited when you get the opportunity to talk about gender equality at an organization that you intern at? 

Whether it’s a monumental achievement or a simple pleasure, at the core of this essay the admissions office is asking you to speak with passion. 

It’s important to connect whatever topic you are discussing to the resources and opportunities available to you at Dartmouth. 

For instance, if you are a student who gets super excited when you can collect rocks down at the beach with your friends, this would be a great chance to connect your passion back to research opportunities at Dartmouth in the Earth History department or how the outdoorsy-feel of Dartmouth would feel like home. 

Don’t be afraid to take a risk with this prompt. If watching Avatar excites you, feel free to explore this route, especially if you are an applicant that can connect this back to East-Asian studies or film/production studies at Dartmouth. However, be cautious about going on a tangent or exploring too many things within this essay. Stick to talking about one thing that excites you and connecting it back to Dartmouth. 

Prompt 2, Option C

In the boy who harnessed the wind, william kamkwamba, class of 2014, reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power the electrical appliances in his family’s malawian house: “if you want to make it, all you have to do is try.” what drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you already made (250-300 words) .

This prompt highlights an applicant’s entrepreneurial skills, perseverance, and imagination. From this essay the reader wants to gauge how you approach problems and whether you have taken the initiative to solve problems in your own life. Whether this means you created a marketing strategy for a non-profit or makeshift solar panels to charge your phone, make sure that your creation connects to your goals at Dartmouth. 

Now, let’s shift our focus to the first part of the prompt. The admissions office wants to see what drives you to create, which means that they want to see passion for a certain topic or cause. 

If you are super interested in sustainable business and hope to start a non-profit one day that supports marginalized artists in rural communities, then take this essay as an opportunity to flesh out your plan and the vision behind your idea. 

Remember these admissions officers are looking for applicants who will take full advantage of the degree that Dartmouth will give them, so an applicant with an idea stands out from the bunch. 

Let’s take a look at the second part of the prompt.

If you have created something that you are proud of then we highly recommend that you use this prompt. Dartmouth would love to see an applicant that is taking action before even starting college. If you are a prospective digital media major and you created a video game in high school that 10 people played, don’t be afraid to share this! 

Do not compare your creation to those of other people. Take this opportunity to reflect on the motivations and thought process behind your creation, instead of spending the entire essay just describing the characteristics of the creation. 

Regardless of which part of the prompt you choose to focus on, you need to reflect on how Dartmouth can make your idea a reality or help you advance the creation you already made. 

Talk about specific departments or courses that will help you build on your knowledge or study-abroad opportunities that are perfect to help advance your design. Personalize the essay to Dartmouth by talking about how the community or educational environment will directly advance your ideas/creations. 

Prompt 2, Option D

Curiosity is a guiding element of toni morrison’s talent as a writer. “i feel totally curious and alive and in control. and almost…magnificent, when i write,” she says. celebrate your curiosity. (250-300 words) .

This prompt is super open-ended, which gives you the opportunity to share a moment or experience that is directly related to something you are curious about. Do not think that only people who are passionate about writing can choose this prompt, because “curiosity” is being presented as something everyone can celebrate. 

Some of the ways you can approach this essay include:

• Choosing an anecdote that explores a moment or event where your curiosity was sparked
• Writing a “love letter” to something that sparks your curiosity or telling the reader about a topic that makes you curious

Be careful not to oversimplify your answer, you need to reflect on your answer and how it connects to your undergraduate ambitions. 

For instance, if you are a prospective public policy major but something that sparks your curiosity is statistics, you could talk about Dartmouth’s special Quantitative Social Science program that allows students to combine mathematical training with the social sciences. 

It is important to spend around 75% of your essay talking about what makes you curious and 25% of the essay directly talking about resources at Dartmouth that will allow you to explore said curiosity. 

Dartmouth is looking for students that can show a passion for certain subjects, because those students end up being the most successful in undergrad and beyond. So, do not pick something you are not actually curious about. It does not sound better to half-heartedly talk about a fake curiosity in “War and Peace” and classical literature, even if literature studies is your intended major. 

Take this prompt as an opportunity to showcase your personality, and do not force the connection to Dartmouth. If you feel yourself forcing the connection, then this may not be the prompt for you. 

Prompt 2, Option E

“everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away,” observed frida kahlo. apply kahlo’s perspective to your own life. (250-300 words) .

This prompt requires you to put a lot of thought into how to connect your own experiences with the thoughts of the esteemed artist, Frida Khalo. Dartmouth wants to see your perspective shine through within this essay, and the best way to execute that effectively is to jot down ideas about each part of the quote, then find a “thought” that connects them all. 

A few tips on how to write your essay:

Tip #1: Try and focus on specific events or topics instead of talking about big ideas. 

For instance, if you are a student who is extremely passionate about social justice and advocacy, do not talk about how the criminal justice system is changing and disproportionality affecting minority populations. Instead, try and talk about an experience you witnessed or something that directly affected you in relation to the criminal justice system or the minority identity. 

Tip #2: Focus on how an experience or perspective has impacted your and your goals. 

Since a “perspective” is often tied with your identity, try and focus on how something ever changing or uncontrollable in your life left a positive impact on your sense of self. While it may be intriguing to interpret the “goes away” as a negative experience, shy away from using a lot of negatively connotated phrases/words in your essay because this will bring down the mood of the admissions officer reading your essay. Instead, show your personal growth. 

Tip #3: Do not be afraid to explore your creativity with this prompt. 

For instance, you could talk about something abstract like time evolving or something concrete like changing your hair color often. Regardless of the subject, approach it with flexibility and play around with the structure of your essay. 

Finally, when asked to apply a perspective to your own life, it is important to qualify the impact of said perspective. 

In this case, if you were a prospective religious studies major, you could talk about how the flow of life and spirituality in your East Asian household has impacted how you choose to confront challenges. 

Or, if you are a student who wants to play sports in college, you could mention how practicing and accepting defeat has instilled in you a sense of perseverance that will be beneficial when pursuing higher education. 

Again, make sure to qualify the impact of this perspective and reflect on how it applies to your own sense of self. 

Prompt 2, Option F

In the aftermath of world war ii, dartmouth president john sloane dickey, class of 1929, proclaimed, “the world’s troubles are your troubles… and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix.” which of the world’s “troubles” inspires you to act how might your course of study at dartmouth prepare you to address it (250-300 words) .

This prompt gives you an opportunity to discuss a current political or social issue that you are passionate about and to explain how it motivates you to pursue educational opportunities at Dartmouth. You should select this prompt option if you are someone who is interested in service, social action, and policy. 

You need to be able to clearly articulate the “trouble” in your society that you find particularly compelling and worthy of tackling, explain why it matters, and tell the reader what you plan to do about it one day. 

There is no shortage of topics you can tackle. “The world’s troubles” is an intentionally broad category that allows you to hone in on your particular interest. 

• Are you passionate about defending women’s rights and expanding their right to affordable reproductive care? 
• Do you volunteer at your local soup kitchen and ponder solutions to urban homelessness in your social science courses? 
• Do you participate in marches and political actions that focus on preserving the environment and combating climate change? 

These are just some ideas for possible “troubles” you could explore in your response. 

In fact, your topic doesn’t necessarily need to be national or international in scope. If the “troubles” that keep you up at night are closer to home, don’t be afraid to tell the reader about them! 

For example, if you are planning to study civil engineering at Dartmouth because your rural community has struggled with transportation access, leading you to become curious about better ways to develop road networks, you can, and should, write about that. 

Once you’ve outlined the “trouble” of your choice, don’t forget to answer the second part of the prompt. Tell the reader how you hope to address the problem, what actions you want to take and what tools you need in order to do so. Be sure to mention specific programs, courses, or extracurricular opportunities that Dartmouth offers that will enable you to tackle the problem of your choice.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Dartmouth Essays 2023-24

Dartmouth Essays

Like many schools, Dartmouth College requires supplemental essays as a part of the admissions process. Through the Dartmouth essays , you can showcase elements of your application that may get lost otherwise. The Dartmouth supplemental essays can help admissions officers get to know you better. So, the more time and energy you dedicate to your Dartmouth essays, the more holistic picture you’ll paint for the Dartmouth admissions office. 

In total, students will submit three Dartmouth essays and can choose between several prompts. Selecting which Dartmouth essay to write can be a difficult choice. This guide will break down each of the Dartmouth College supplemental essays so that you can make the best choice for your Dartmouth application.

Dartmouth Supplemental Essays: Quick Facts

Dartmouth supplemental essays quick facts.

• Dartmouth College Acceptance Rate: 6% – U.S. News  
• One 100-word essay
• Two 250-word essays
• Dartmouth College Application : Students must submit their Dartmouth College application through the Common Application. Make sure to have all your Dartmouth College supplemental essays and other application materials ready before applying. 
• Early Decision: November 1 st  
• Regular Decision: January 2 nd  
• Dartmouth Essay Tip: Make sure you choose the right Dartmouth essay prompt for your responses – try writing an essay for each prompt to see which one connects with you the most! 

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does Dartmouth have supplemental essays?

Yes, the Dartmouth supplemental essays are a required part of the Dartmouth application. The Dartmouth essays allow students to choose from several different prompts. In total, each applicant will submit three Dartmouth supplemental essays. 

The Dartmouth essay prompts are designed to add to your overall application. So, use them as a chance to demonstrate your interest in Dartmouth. The Dartmouth College supplemental essays are required for all applicants and can be submitted via the Common App. 

Overall, the Dartmouth essays form a key part of the Dartmouth requirements. Moreover, the Dartmouth essay prompts help admissions officers get to know you better. The Dartmouth essays can help the Dartmouth admissions team determine if you are a good fit for their campus, so it’s important to present your best work. This guide will walk you through the Dartmouth essay prompts to help you tackle the Dartmouth supplemental essays. 

How many essays does Dartmouth require?

The Dartmouth requirements include three separate Dartmouth supplemental essays. The first Dartmouth essay prompt is required for all applicants. The second and third Dartmouth essays allow students to choose between several prompts. With three separate Dartmouth essays, students have ample opportunities to shine in the Dartmouth application process. 

Additionallyy, it can help to read Dartmouth essays that worked to inspire your writing process. This can give you a sense of what the Dartmouth admissions team looks for. Overall, your Dartmouth essays should highlight your authentic voice and bolster your application narrative. 

The Dartmouth supplemental writing prompts help students showcase their unique perspectives to the admissions committee. So, make sure to dedicate time and energy to each of the Dartmouth essay prompts.

What are the Dartmouth essay prompts?

There are several different Dartmouth essay prompts. The first Dartmouth essay prompt is required for all applicants and is commonly referred to as the Why Dartmouth essay. 

The second Dartmouth essay has two prompt choices, and the third Dartmouth essay has 6 different prompts to choose from. We’ll go into each Dartmouth essay prompt later in this guide and provide some tips on how best to tackle the Dartmouth essays. 

With so many options, the Dartmouth essays give students the chance to showcase their talents, interests, and goals. The different Dartmouth essay prompts allow students to write essays that will highlight the best parts of their application. Keep reading for a deep dive into the different Dartmouth supplemental essays.

Why Dartmouth Essay

The first Dartmouth essay prompt is required for all applicants. Students must respond in 100 words or fewer: 

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth?

The Why Dartmouth essays help admissions officers understand your desire to go to Dartmouth. Specifically, the Why Dartmouth essays seek to determine if you would be a good fit at Dartmouth and to gauge your interest in the school. All applicants must complete this Dartmouth supplemental essay, so be prepared to explain why you’re interested in Dartmouth. 

The Why Dartmouth essays can be difficult to tackle—explaining why you want to go to Dartmouth in less than 100 words is a tricky task. So, think through why you’re interested in Dartmouth and pick 1-2 things to focus on. Consider researching a specific class or professor you’re interested in working with, or focus on the unique campus environment Dartmouth offers. You can also focus on the unique quarter system , any specific programs or majors you’re interested in, or a club you’re excited to join. 

Do your research

The Why Dartmouth essays require students to research the unique reasons why they’re interested in Dartmouth. As an Ivy League school, many students apply to Dartmouth each year. Your Dartmouth essays can help your application stand out, so it’s important to highlight the research you’ve done. So, spend some time on Dartmouth’s website . You can read about student life at Dartmouth and student stories – this can help inspire your Dartmouth supplemental essays. You can also read through Dartmouth’s student newspaper, The Dartmouth , for inspiration.  Envisioning your life at Dartmouth can help your Dartmouth essay shine. 

In addition to researching Dartmouth’s campus and programs, it can be helpful to read other Why Dartmouth essays. While your Dartmouth supplemental essays should be unique to you and your goals, reading other Why Dartmouth essays can give you a great place to start. Other Why Dartmouth essays can also help inspire you if you don’t know where to take your Dartmouth supplemental essays. You can read examples of “Why This College” essays here . 

Dartmouth Essays #2: Introduce Yourself

In addition to Why Dartmouth essays, the Dartmouth College supplemental essays have two additional requirements for students to complete. The second Dartmouth essay has two different prompts from students to choose from and should be no more than 250 words.

Here are the prompts: 

Dartmouth Essays #2

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..

Both of these Dartmouth essays ask you to introduce yourself to the admissions team. This essay should be slightly longer than the Why Dartmouth essays, giving you a little more room to write about yourself. This is one of the more challenging Dartmouth supplemental essays, as summarizing yourself in 250 words is difficult. 

Let’s break down each of these Dartmouth essay prompts and give you some tips for each one. 

Prompt A 

Both of these Dartmouth essays aim to introduce students to the admissions committee. However, they each have a slightly different way of doing so. 

Prompt A focuses on your environment and how it’s shaped who you are. You may want to reflect on your hometown, family structure, cultural environment, religion, or anything that you feel has contributed to your upbringing. Did you experience a change in any of these things at any point? How do you think that impacted you? Is there anything unique about the way you grew up or anything you want to reflect on? 

Try to focus on one or two elements—250 words is not a lot of room! You want to give the reader enough context to understand your upbringing. However, you should focus your essay on reflection and how your upbringing impacted you. Striking that balance can be tough and may take several drafts. 

Prompt B 

The second of these Dartmouth essays is a lot more general—it asks you to simply introduce yourself. With such a general prompt, many students may not know where to begin. It can be helpful to brainstorm what you want to focus on with a mentor or a teacher—what do you think are the top 3 facts about yourself that you would want Dartmouth to know? Focus on your passions and goals—and remember that the Why Dartmouth essay may have already captured your academic goals. So, is there something that you feel is not currently reflected in your application that you want the admissions committee to know? Moreover, what aspects of your identity feel the most central to who you are? 

While the Why Dartmouth essays can capture your academic goals, this prompt gives you a great chance to focus on your identity more holistically. Who are you outside of school? What are your core values? What extracurriculars are you involved with and why?

This Dartmouth supplemental writing prompt can be challenging, so spend some time brainstorming your topic. Additionally, try to write multiple drafts of this Dartmouth essay and share them with family and friends. They might help you decide which one represents you the best. 

Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #3: Choose one

The final Dartmouth essay has 6 different prompts to choose from. Students are required to pick one of the following prompts and compose a 250-word response: 

Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #3

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. dr. seuss, aka theodor geisel of dartmouth’s class of 1925, wrote, “think and wonder. wonder and think.” as you wonder and think, what’s on your mind, d. celebrate your nerdy side., e. “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 and outlook, f. as noted in the college’s mission statement, “dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you.

Each of these Dartmouth supplemental prompts lets you paint a more holistic picture of who you are. It can be difficult to select which Dartmouth essay to pick, so we’ve broken down each prompt to help you.

Breaking down Dartmouth’s ‘Choose One’ Essay

Prompt A: What excites you? 

Prompt A asks what excites you. So, this Dartmouth essay can be a great place to discuss one of your passions that you haven’t highlighted elsewhere. Make sure to pick something that hasn’t come up in your other Dartmouth supplemental essays. The Why Dartmouth essays capture academic goals, so this may be a good place to elaborate on your passions outside of school. This is also a great Dartmouth essay to pick if you have a unique hobby or interest. 

Prompt B: Understanding your impact

Prompt B asks you to reflect on what impact you hope to make. Then, it asks you to elaborate on why and how you’ll make that impact. This Dartmouth essay is a great choice for students with a clear career goal in mind. Be sure to not repeat your Why Dartmouth essay, however. This essay should focus on what you hope to achieve on a larger scale. Moreover, it should explain why and how you hope to reach your goals. If you participated in a community service-oriented club in high school, this may be a great essay for you. 

Prompt C: Thinking and wondering

Prompt C focuses on wonder and asks you to reflect on what comes to mind when you’re wondering and thinking. This can be a great essay to reflect on possibilities for your future. However, you can also get really creative with this prompt. With such an open-ended question, this Dartmouth essay can really center around anything. You can take this essay as a chance to invite admissions officers into your thoughts and showcase your creativity. 

Prompt D: Your nerdy side

Prompt D asks you to celebrate your nerdy side. So, like many of the other Dartmouth supplemental essays, this is a great place to highlight your passions and interests. Be sure to focus on something that hasn’t come up in your other Dartmouth essays. Instead, take this as an opportunity to share something that hasn’t come up elsewhere in your application. What topic do you feel the nerdiest about? Try to pick something outside of school  – this will help admissions officers get to know you much better! 

Prompt E: What difference means to you

Prompt E asks you to reflect on difference and how it has impacted your identity and outlook. This can be a great Dartmouth essay to pick if you want to share something personal with the admissions office. In it, you can reflect on how difference has shown up in your life and how it’s shaped who you are. Additionally, out of all the Dartmouth essays, this prompt can be the most personal for students to pick. So, try to focus on the reflection part of the prompt. Then, think through how being different has made you who you are. 

Prompt F: Potential and promise

The final Dartmouth essay prompt asks you to reflect on your potential and promise. This can be a good essay for students with focused career goals or students with a clear sense of what they wish to accomplish at Dartmouth. While it can be similar to the Why Dartmouth essays, this prompt is a little more focused on what you may accomplish beyond Dartmouth. Be sure to include ways in which Dartmouth will help you meet your potential, but it’s important to paint a holistic picture. 

Overall, you should choose the Dartmouth College supplemental essays that speak to your accomplishments and highlight what you want your readers to know. 

The next section of our guide will focus on how to write the Dartmouth essays, so if you’re still feeling stuck, read on! 

How to write Dartmouth supplemental essays

The Dartmouth essays form a major part of the Dartmouth requirements for admission. So, if you’re wondering how to get into Dartmouth, make sure your Dartmouth supplemental essays reflect your personality and goals. The Dartmouth College supplemental essays offer the perfect chance to show the admissions team who you are and why they should admit you. 

The first step to writing your Dartmouth supplemental essays is to select your Dartmouth essay prompts. It can be helpful to write a draft for more than one prompt and see which essay fits the best. Try to pick Dartmouth supplemental essays that highlight your accomplishments the most. You should also select prompts that help explain aspects of your application you want to expand on. Additionally, you can change your mind on which Dartmouth essays to complete – just give yourself enough time to finish your drafts before the application deadline . 

Drafting the Dartmouth essays

Once you’ve chosen your prompts for the Dartmouth essays, it’s time to write your first draft. Try to outline each essay with the general topics you wish to cover. Research different programs, classes, and clubs at Dartmouth that you want to incorporate. Try to organize your Dartmouth supplemental essays around a central idea – this can help anchor your essays and make them feel cohesive. 

Your Dartmouth supplemental essays should represent an honest reflection of your interests, goals, and passions. For a first draft, it can help to just write the first things that come to your head. Then, edit your writing to suit the prompt and the word count. Additionally, make sure to share your Dartmouth College supplemental essays with a teacher or mentor for feedback—the more people who can read them, the better. You should plan to edit your Dartmouth supplemental essays at least 2-3 times before you submit them. This will help ensure your Dartmouth essays are the most polished they can be.

Dartmouth essays that worked

When starting your Dartmouth supplemental essays, it can help to read through essay examples. When you read Dartmouth essays that worked, you can learn what the admissions team typically looks for. You can find examples of Dartmouth essays in our guide to Dartmouth University essays that worked guide here . These Dartmouth supplemental essays are organized by prompt, so you can refer to the specific Dartmouth essays you plan to write.

For students researching how to get into Dartmouth, reading other Dartmouth supplemental essays can be key. With such a competitive admissions process and many highly-ranked programs, Dartmouth is one of the hardest schools to get into. So, reading successful Dartmouth supplemental essays can help you learn what kind of Dartmouth essays impress admissions officers. If you’re feeling stuck, read through different Dartmouth College supplemental essays—it may help spark some inspiration!  

Reading other Dartmouth College supplemental essays can also give you a sense of the grammar standards and general flow of a strong essay. However, while reading other Dartmouth supplemental essays can be helpful, be sure that your Dartmouth essays speak to your authentic passions and goals. 

Dartmouth Supplemental Essays: Final Takeaways

For students interested in how to get into Dartmouth, perfecting the Dartmouth College supplemental essays is key. So, here are some final takeaways as you prepare to write your Dartmouth supplemental essays: 

1. Pick the right prompt 

The Dartmouth essay prompts are designed to help admissions officers get to know the “real” you. So, choose the prompts that best highlight your skills, passions, and goals. 

2. Start early 

The Dartmouth essays can take some time to perfect, so start the writing process as soon as you can. The Dartmouth essay prompts are typically released in late summer, so plan to start your first draft once they’re available. 

3. Write multiple drafts 

In addition to writing multiple drafts for the prompts you select, try to write some drafts for other prompts—just to see which one works the best. Then, ask others to read your Dartmouth essays and incorporate their feedback through the editing process. 

4. Be ready to edit 

The editing process is a crucial step in writing strong Dartmouth College supplemental essays. So, take the time to carefully reread and edit your work. This will help you write the best Dartmouth essay possible. 

5. Be yourself

Remember, this is an opportunity for the admissions officers to get to know you on a deeper level. So, make sure your Dartmouth essays reflect you and your personality! 

Looking for more support as you approach the Dartmouth supplemental essays? Click here to schedule a meeting with our team and learn how one-on-one college admissions support can help you succeed.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, crafting a unique 'introduce yourself' essay for dartmouth.

So, Dartmouth's 'introduce yourself' essay is making me second-guess everything I know about myself. Any juniors here who are applying and can share some approaches on how to showcase personality in the essay without sounding like everyone else?

It's definitely a challenge to capture the essence of your personality while standing out, and I see many students struggle with this. What I often suggest is looking for a narrative thread that runs through your life - is there an interest, an experience, or a perspective that makes you, you? This doesn't need to be something monumental but should be something genuine and reflective of your character.

For example, if you find joy in the small things, perhaps you can frame your introduction around how noticing the details makes you approach life. Instead of just saying you're an optimist, share a short anecdote of a time when you turned a situation around with your positive outlook. Remember, the admissions officers are reading this essay to get to know you as an individual, not just another student with grades and scores. So, portray yourself with authenticity, and make sure your unique voice comes through in your writing - that's what's going to make you stand out.

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Dartmouth College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 3

You Have: 

Dartmouth College 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 100 words, 2 essays of 250 words or fewer.

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Oddball , Community

The Dartmouth writing supplement offers you options! Let’s dig in.

1. Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. as you seek admission to dartmouth’s class of 2027, what aspects of the college’s academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest in short, why dartmouth please respond in 100 words or fewer..

If you have the unsettling feeling that you’ve read this prompt somewhere before, worry not. This prompt should ring a bell because it’s just a slightly more verbose version of the most common supplemental essay question out there: why here? Phrased this way, Dartmouth’s prompt is specifically probing for information about what piques your interest about its academics, community, and/or campus environment. Focus on how you would spend your time at Dartmouth and how the environment might enrich your own sense of purpose. What are you hoping to major in and why? What cozy corners of campus would you curl up in to review course materials? Are you eager to get involved in the student newspaper or gospel choir? As with all other “why” prompts, research is the key to writing a memorable essay, so spend a little time on the Dartmouth website and literally map your path from where you are now to where you hope to be in the near or distant future.

2. Required of all applicants, 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. .

Admissions wants to know what or who has made you into the person you are today. Where do you come from? What has shaped you as a person, and how has that made your perspective unique? What you focus on here can be reflective of larger cultural constructs or specific to you and only you. Dartmouth is looking to add diverse perspectives to weave into the fabric of their student body. Is there anything you can teach your classmates about your hometown, traditions, culture, cuisine, orientation, identity, race, or ethnicity that they might not already know? Were you raised in a Muslim family in a small southern town? Have you grown up on a farm tending to the animals and land? Were you adopted as a toddler? Consider what has influenced your identity and how your worldview or background will bring something of value to the community at Dartmouth.

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

This is the kind of prompt that tends to stump students the most. It’s so open-ended that many applicants don’t know where or how to start! Don’t worry, you’ll have a finished draft in no time. Start by answering the question stream-of-consciousness style. How would you introduce yourself to someone in a setting you’re comfortable in? Think about introducing yourself to someone after one of your plays or soccer games, gaming competitions or yoga classes. What would you say? You might talk about what interests you, things that are important to you, ideologies about life that offer you hope or feelings of connection. Maybe you’d address your favorite qualities about yourself or the burning passions that motivate your choices and worldview. We believe your best bet at a unique and memorable response is to leave yourself enough time to freewrite, draft, organize, edit, and polish. Responses to prompts like these shouldn’t be written in one sitting—there’s too much to capture!

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

A. what excites you.

This prompt is as simple as they come, and yet it can be totally overwhelming to tackle. If nothing comes to mind immediately, read through the other prompts to see if anything makes that magic light bulb appear above your head. If you find yourself coming back to this prompt, try to focus on a subject that stokes your curiosity, a specific concept that has infiltrated your browser history, or an experience that has burned itself into your brain. Which kind of homework assignments are you clamoring to complete first? Which topics want to make you open up a new book, Google the definition of a word you’re not familiar with, or hit play on a podcast? Who challenges you to think of issues in new ways? Whatever excites you, Dartmouth is aiming to bring self-motivated, deep thinkers into their student body. Admissions officers want to know that you’ll be eager to contribute to lively class discussion and maybe conduct research in your latter years on campus. Remember, enthusiasm is infectious, so show them that you’ll be a valuable addition to any classroom setting by getting specific here — and maybe even getting them excited about a new topic!

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?

Community, community, community. Even though it doesn’t say it explicitly, this question is asking, “What do you hope to achieve for the greater good?” Dartmouth wants to know what you consider to be your life’s purpose. (They know you’re young and still figuring things out, so don’t worry about being held to it!) What kind of mark would you like to leave on the world? If you find yourself drawn to this prompt, odds are you already have a few ideas in mind. Whether you’d like to dedicate your life to advocating for the voiceless or tearing down barriers for marginalized groups, tell admissions why this path is the one you’ve chosen (or maybe it has chosen you!). Be sure to mention any progress you’ve already made toward this goal and how it will influence the work you hope to do in the future.

C. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?

Dartmouth wants to accept intellectually curious applicants, so take this opportunity to share one of the concepts that lives rent-free in your mind with admissions! When was the last time you went down an internet rabbit hole researching something that piqued your interest? Maybe you spend time wondering about the mind, body, and spirit—where each begins and ends—or perhaps you find yourself daydreaming about the potential of time travel and its related consequences on Earthlings (cue Tony Stark’s lecture that it’s nothing like Back to the Future ). Ultimately, you want to discuss examples of what truly fascinates you while also reflecting on what these examples say about your personality traits, interests, and/or learning style.

D. Celebrate your nerdy side.

Alright, passionate people, this one’s for us! Dartmouth wants to accept intellectually curious applicants, so take this opportunity to demonstrate your passion for pursuing knowledge! When was the last time you lost track of time while researching something that caught your interest? When were you recently motivated to solve a problem or create something new? What was the last fact or skill you learned outside of school? Ultimately, you want to discuss examples of what truly fascinates you while also reflecting on what these examples say about your personality traits, interests, and/or learning style. Whether you could read about the cult of celebrity for hours on end or spend all weekend in the garage refurbishing old cars with your mom, admissions wants to hear about it. And don’t forget: this is still an essay about you, so don’t get lost in a detailed explanation of linear algebra; instead, focus on why it brings you joy, satisfaction, etc. 

E. “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 and outlook? 

What a fabulous essay prompt—so simple, so concise, yet so ripe for exploration. Admissions is thinking critically about this common Kermit quote that others may overlook, and they want you to do the same. What is your “green,” so to say? Feeling different from others is quite a universal experience, especially for teenagers, so take some time to think about what makes you feel different and how your relationship with that difference has changed over the years. This prompt could be a great opportunity to discuss your relationship with your racial, ethnic, or gender identity, but it doesn’t have to be. Maybe you have celiac disease and pizza parties have been off the table, forcing you to bring food from home! If this prompt calls to you, trust your instincts and leave yourself plenty of time to freewrite and revise. 

F. As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

In this prompt, admissions plainly states that promise and potential are elusive qualities to capture, then challenges you to highlight those very aspects of your candidacy in your response. (Cool, cool, cool.) If you feel that your application, as it stands, does not capture your full potential, this is likely the prompt for you. Maybe responsibilities at home have prevented you from exploring more academic and extracurricular interests. Walk admissions through how taking care of your younger siblings or an elderly family member taught you valuable lessons that you’ll be able to apply in higher ed. Perhaps you are incredibly tenacious and firmly believe that when a door shuts, another opens. How have you applied this ideology to your life thus far? Have you taken rejection on the chin and thrown yourself back into the ring time after time? Show admissions that you have what it takes to succeed.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 4 tips for writing stellar dartmouth essays.

College Admissions

Dartmouth College , located in Hanover, New Hampshire, is one of the best universities in the world. A member of the Ivy League, Dartmouth has notable graduates, top-of-the-line programs, and a minuscule admissions rate.

If you want to be one of the 7.9% of students accepted to Dartmouth every year, you'll need to write some amazing essays as part of your application's Dartmouth supplement.

In this post, I'll talk about what the Dartmouth essay prompts are, which essays you can choose to write, and how to craft standout responses that'll help ensure your admission.

What Are the Dartmouth Essay Prompts?

You can apply to Dartmouth using the Common Application or QuestBridge Application. No matter which application you choose, you'll also have to submit the Dartmouth Supplement.

Part of the Dartmouth Supplement involves answering three required writing prompts. The first two writing prompts are the same for all students. Students have five prompt options for the third essay and must answer one. 

According to Dartmouth's website, "the writing supplement includes questions specific to Dartmouth that help the Admissions Committee gain a better sense of how you and Dartmouth might be a good 'fit' for each other."

Basically, that means that the Dartmouth Admissions Committee wants to know who you are… and how you'll fit in on Dartmouth's campus. Your Dartmouth supplemental essays give the admissions committee a chance to get to know you beyond your test scores and other credentials. The essays will give Dartmouth a better idea of how you think and act, so they can see if you would be a great addition to the student body.

Similarly, the essays also give the admissions committee a chance to assess your passion for Dartmouth - how badly do you really want to go there? The more you can show your passion for Dartmouth, the better.

Let's take a look at the Dartmouth essay prompts.

Dartmouth Essay Prompts

Here are the 2022-2023 Dartmouth Essay Prompts. Like we mentioned earlier, the first two prompts are the same for all students. For the third essay, students are given five prompt options and must answer one. 

Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

• Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2027, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer.

Essay #2 

Please response in 200-250 words: 

"Be yourself," Oscar Wilde advised. "Everyone else is taken." Introduce yourself in 200-250 words.

Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 200-250 words:

• 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 making—an impact?
• What excites you?
• In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba '14 reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power electrical appliances in his family's Malawian house: "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try." What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you made?
• Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." What do you wonder and think about?
• "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced," wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?

Dartmouth Essays Analyzed

Let's take a look at the Dartmouth essay prompts for 2021-2022.

Dartmouth Essay Prompt 1

All Dartmouth students are required to answer this prompt and for good reason — it's the "Why Dartmouth" essay! This essay shows the admissions committee why Dartmouth is the right school for you.

At only 100 words, this prompt doesn't give you a lot of room to expand upon your favorite parts of the College, so you should pick one or two aspects of Dartmouth that you really love and focus on those.

The prompt encourages you to talk about the program, community, or campus, so don't feel like you have to limit yourself to academics. You can talk about other things about Dartmouth that interest you, such as the student life or extracurricular activities.

Whichever features you choose to highlight, make sure your connection to them is real and personal. In other words, don't just say you're a fan of Dartmouth's sterling academic reputation. Instead, focus on a specific part of that reputation - a professor whose work you admire or a class that you really want to take.

Dartmouth Essay Prompt 2

First impressions can be daunting! How do you want to be perceived? What would you say to pique Dartmouth’s admissions counselors’ interest? This is your chance to be bold, and to stand out from the crowd. But remember the prompt: they’re not quoting Wilde for fun. You’ll need to introduce your most authentic self. In other words, introduce who you are, not who you think Dartmouth wants you to be.

Don't feel confined to traditional, linear methods of storytelling in this prompt. You can play around with form and structure, as long as you do it well. Get an advisor or mentor to read your work and offer feedback, especially if you deviate from your typical style.

Dartmouth Essay Prompt 3

Dartmouth's longer essay prompts give you plenty of room to think creatively and show off your individuality. All students are required to pick and answer one of the prompts in 250-300 words. Let's take a look at the prompts and examine how to answer them.

Prompt A: The Introduction Prompt

A. 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 making—an impact?

This prompt is more tangible and concrete than the others available for selection. If you feel intimidated by discussing your creativity or personal history, this prompt is a good one to choose.

This prompt asks you to pick a real-world issue and discuss how you wish to address it (or are already addressing it). Don't feel like you have to pick something grand and far-reaching, like starvation or world peace. You can also pick an issue that affects people locally, in your community, for instance. The key is to pick a topic that you have a personal connection to and reason for wanting to fix. Your passion will come across in your description of the issue.

Prompt B: The Passion Prompt

B. What excites you?

This essay prompt is asking you to think toward your future and write about something—anything!—that gets you pumped. Dartmouth Admissions is looking to see if you have purpose and passion.

To answer this prompt, take some time to think about your future: your goals for your time in college, things you hope to achieve, opportunities that you find invigorating. You'll want your response to be focused and organized, so choose one idea, goal, or possibility that most excites you and go into detail about that in your response.

For example, maybe you're excited about the opportunity to improve your creative writing craft in the company of other student writers at Dartmouth, so you make becoming a better writer the central idea of your response to this prompt. You might go into detail about how you're excited to take writing workshop courses, learn from other students' writing styles, and eventually work on a creative writing publication with other students.

Whatever topic you choose to write about, you need to have a central idea—something that excites you—and you need to be able to explain how your excitement will shape your life choices as a student at Dartmouth.

There are no right or wrong answers in terms of what excites you, but it is important to try to think toward your future and explain

Prompt C: The Creativity Prompt

C. In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind , William Kamkwamba, Class of 2014, reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power the electrical appliances in his family's Malawian house: "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try." What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you already made

Creativity is crucial to every field of study, and this essay prompt is asking you to show that your interests, academic or recreational, inspire you to make things. To respond to this prompt, you'll need to be able to explain an idea, issue, or interest that motivates you to make stuff, then describe what you've made in the past or hope to make in the future!

The first thing to do is establish what drives you to create . To do this, think about who you are, where you come from, what experiences you've had, and who you want to become. Like in the example given in the prompt, maybe there's a need right in your own home that inspires you to create. You could think locally, like The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, or you could think outside of your personal experience too. Is there a global issue that drives you to create something that will help others in the future, during, or after college? If so, describe that vision and the global issue that motivates it.

Keep in mind that "creating" and "making something" can be interpreted many different ways. Your vision for "making" doesn't have to be artistic or some scientific invention. It could be creating a virtual reading service for overworked parents who need help educating their children during a global pandemic! On the other hand, maybe you're creating a science curriculum through your school's independent study program so you can learn more about climate change, which is your passion.

Whatever the case may be, it's a good idea to relate that creativity to your time at Dartmouth. For instance, maybe your virtual reading service has inspired you to major in business, so you can turn that service into your future career. It would be a great idea to research and talk about joining the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth to help show admissions counselors that Dartmouth is the only school that can help your dreams become a reality.

Prompt D: The Curiosity Prompt

D. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." What do you wonder and think about?

This prompt is actually just an invitation for you to dive deep into something that you're insatiably curious about. Dartmouth admissions wants to see that you have that intrinsic motivation to learn, grow, and expand your horizons, and they want to get to know you better by hearing you go off about that thing that you're endlessly curious about.

So, how do you celebrate your curiosity in this response? Start by pinpointing that one thing that you're the most curious about. You can probably look to your activities, relationships, and even your Google search history to identify what that one thing is. Maybe you're endlessly curious about food: different cultures of eating around the world, America's relationship to food, how to select, prepare, and eat it...and if you're really curious about food, you could probably go on and on about everything you know and want to know about it in your response.

This is a good thing! To organize your response, describe the thing you're curious about in a way that helps admissions counselors get to know you better . Going back to the food example, you could talk about where your curiosity about food comes from, or your background with food, how your curiosity with food plays into your day-to-day living, and some specific things you hope to learn about or do with food as you continue engaging with it.

And finally, connect your past experience, present questions, and future goals at Dartmouth in your response. This will show Dartmouth that you're a dedicated, independent learner who will be an endlessly curious student too.

Prompt E: The Baldwin Prompt

E. "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced," wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?

Some challenges in life appear insurmountable at first—and not all of them can be overcome. This prompt asks you to reflect on your own life, and on your own experiences with growth and change, whether or not you succeeded.

In your response, you'll get the chance to show that you see the value of being adaptable and accepting change. You can demonstrate this quality by writing about how you've seen something happening cyclically, something changing, or a season coming to an end in your life. It's important that you write about a situation that was meaningful to you—one where you saw yourself growing and learning.

Alternatively, you could write about an ongoing situation in your life that you are still facing. For example, maybe your school enacted a policy that you and your peers consider unfair, and you’ve been working for a while to make your voices heard.

It's okay if the thing you choose to write about is something you've had conflicted feelings about. What's important in your response here is showing how facing the challenges you describe strengthened your determination and adaptability —qualities that will be valuable when you become a Dartmouth student.

How to Write Great Dartmouth Essays

In order to write great Dartmouth essays, you need to show the committee two things. First, you need to give them a clear idea of who you are. Second, you need to show them, "Why Dartmouth." In other words, why Dartmouth is important to you. Here are some tips to help you accomplish both of those goals.

#1: Use Your Own Voice

The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person.

You should, then, make sure that the person you're presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don't try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you're not.

If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Dartmouth wants you to be.

#2: Avoid Clichés and Overused Phrases

When writing your Dartmouth essays, try to avoid using common quotes or phrases. These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Strive for originality.

Similarly, avoid using clichés, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work. Don't speak in platitudes about how the struggle for gay and lesbian rights has affected you… unless it actually has! And even then, you don't want to speak in platitudes. It's better to be direct and specific about your experience.

#3: Check Your Work

It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Dartmouth essays are the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Dartmouth application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your Dartmouth essays, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be.

That being said, make sure you don't rely on them for ideas or rewrites. Your essays need to be your work.

#4: Play With Form

Dartmouth's essay prompts leave a lot of room open for creative expression - use that! You don't need to stick to a five paragraph essay structure here. You can play with the length and style of your sentences - you could even dabble in poetry if that makes sense!

Whichever form you pick, make sure it fits with the story you're trying to tell and how you want to express yourself.

What's Next?

Learn more about the most selective colleges in the US . If you're applying to multiple Ivy Leagues, it's a good idea to know your chances at each!

If you're hoping to attend a highly selective school like Dartmouth, you'll need to have a very strong academic record in high school. Learn more about high school honors classes and societies.

Not sure what your GPA means for your chances of college admission? Find out what a good or bad GPA might look like based on your goals.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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August 2, 2023

2023-2024 Dartmouth College Essay Prompts

Dartmouth College has released its essay prompts for the 2023-2024 college admissions cycle. In addition to The Common Application ’s Personal Statement, applicants to Dartmouth will be required to answer three supplemental essays: one of 100 words or fewer and two of 250 words or fewer. So what are this year’s Dartmouth essay prompts ?

2023-2024 Dartmouth Essay Topics & Questions

1. required of all applicants. please respond in 100 words or fewer:.

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth?

Make no mistake: it’s a Why College essay . While the prompt may be a bit wordier than the equivalent essay for other universities, Dartmouth is asking applicants to detail specifics on why they wish to attend the College on the Hill.

And if you’re a regular reader of Ivy Coach ’s college admissions blog , you know that name-dropping professors or listing classes do not count as genuine specifics. Why College essays should not be approached like a game of Mad Libs where you find and replace a specific for one institution with another’s. Instead, it’s about capturing enduring specifics about a university that only apply to the school in question.

2. Required of all applicants, 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.

This essay should be approached as a chance to share a story about who you are and where you come from. But there’s a trap. When so many students read the word “raised,” they’re inclined to write about themselves as children. Instead, admissions officers would much prefer to read about you as high schoolers. They want to understand who you are, how you think, and how you want to leave a mark on the world now — not as children.  

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

This option is even more of a free-write than the first option for Dartmouth’s second essay. Just as The Common Application allows students to write whatever they’d like, Dartmouth provides another opportunity to write what they wish. Students should always write material that complements their other essays rather than tell the same story twice. Essays, in this way, should be thought of as puzzle pieces. They must fit neatly together, and no two essays can be the same shape.

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

A. What excites you?

This prompt allows a student to showcase how they will change the world. Too often, students write about silly things for such broad questions, and such answers usually don’t showcase intellectual curiosity. Since Dartmouth, and all highly selective universities, seeks to admit singularly talented students — rather than well-rounded students — we at Ivy Coach would always encourage students to creatively shine a spotlight on their hook in such an answer.

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?

This essay prompt allows students to showcase how they’ve contributed — ideally through their singular hook — to their school or larger community. But it should not be misconstrued as an opportunity to brag about one’s achievements since doing so will render an applicant less likable in the very human admissions process.

By simply writing about what a student has done — and leaving out even subtle brags — it’s easy for students to make the leap of what they hope to accomplish. And students should always make sure the goal isn’t too grandiose. For a student’s storytelling and activities in college admissions, saving sea turtles always beats ending climate change.

C. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?

Dartmouth’s admissions officers want to know your thoughts and what drives you. They want to understand what you go to sleep thinking about or, in essence, how you hope to change the world in a singular and meaningful way. Like all admissions officers at elite universities, Dartmouth’s readers want to know that you’re introspective and driven to leave your mark on the world.

D. Celebrate your nerdy side.

It’s a broad prompt that allows students to write whatever they wish. But it’s also a booby trap: too many students think that just by spotlighting their nerdiness, they’ll wow Dartmouth admissions officers. If students write about physics, they may write in indecipherable jargon. That’s a mistake. The writing must always be understandable — even to laypeople, as Dartmouth admissions officers aren’t physicists.

E. “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 and outlook?

Like some of Dartmouth’s other essay prompts for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, this prompt has appeared before in the Dartmouth supplement. And we at Ivy Coach claim credit as one of its authors — along with our Kermit the Frog applicant to Dartmouth from several years ago.

But the prompt has new meaning this year — notably after the outlawing of Affirmative Action. The essay question aims to understand an applicant’s diverse background and appreciation of diversity in all forms. For students, in particular, of diverse backgrounds, we strongly encourage them to write about their culture or race in their answers.

Yet they should approach it as an art form so that it doesn’t come across as though they’re trying to game the system. And even students from non-diverse backgrounds, in their own creative way, can spotlight the diversity they hope to bring and benefit from during their college years.

F. As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

It’s another broad option that essentially allows students to write what they wish to Dartmouth’s admissions officers. It’s another opportunity for students to write about how they hope to leave a mark on the world in their own singular and meaningful way. Oftentimes, it’s a small story that will leave the most indelible mark.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Dartmouth College Essays

If you’re interested in submitting powerful essays to Dartmouth to optimize your case for admission, you’ve come to the right place. Ivy Coach is known as The Dartmouth Whisperer because of our track record of helping students earn admission to the Ivy League institution. Over the last 30 years, all of Ivy Coach’s Early Decision applicants to Dartmouth got in 28 times (in all but two Early Decision cycles). Bo knows baseball. Ivy Coach knows Dartmouth .

So if you’d like our help, help offered directly with Ivy Coach’s Ben Schwartz , a former Dartmouth admissions officer, fill out our consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to delineate our college counseling services for seniors.

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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How to Respond to the 2023-2024 Dartmouth Supplemental Essay Prompts

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Dartmouth is an Ivy League institution found along the scenic Connecticut River in Hanover, New Hampshire. Just like other Ivy League institutions, Dartmouth is difficult to be admitted to as their acceptance rate is 6% .  So, how do you become a part of the 9%? Writing stellar supplemental essays for your Dartmouth application is one way!

To stand out on your application, you need to have stunning responses to the Dartmouth supplemental prompts. The Dartmouth supplemental essays offer the perfect opportunity to display pieces of your personality. This is your chance to prove that you are a better candidate than others by sharing the unique characteristics and interests you possess. 

So what are you waiting for? Read our guide below on how to make your Dartmouth supplemental essay responses flawless! 

The Dartmouth College supplemental essay prompts

Responding to the Dartmouth supplemental essay prompts allows applicants to share their unique characteristics and interests. After all, Dartmouth wants to admit students who are a good fit for their campus and community. Dartmouth requires three supplemental essays, with the third prompt offering five interesting options to choose from. Read our guide below on how to make your Dartmouth supplemental essay responses flawless! 

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? (100 words or fewer) 

Although there are a lot of words included in this question, it is essentially just another “Why us?” question! Therefore, do not overthink this one. 

With the 100 word limit, there is not a lot of room to go on about how amazing Dartmouth is (plus, they already know they are pretty amazing!). Therefore, you should brainstorm around two to three things about Dartmouth that you absolutely love. This can include anything about Dartmouth, such as its beautiful campus and location, any important traditions they have, the academic programs offered, any extracurriculars you are excited for, and much more. 

The key to responding to this prompt is to be specific . Show that you have done your research. Remember, you do not have a lot of words to write your response. Therefore, strive to make it short and sweet but also informative. Mention these two to three specific and detailed pieces and why you are interested in them. 

Be sure to spend time researching Dartmouth and what makes them unique compared to other colleges. Remember, you are applying to an extremely selective college, so you want to make sure you are choosing something that other applicants would not think about. It is all about thinking outside of the box and showing the “true you” through your responses. 

“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. (250 words or less)

Who are you, and how did you become who you are? That is the question Dartmouth is asking. As a student applying to Dartmouth, you have your own unique story to tell. While the description of the environment you grew up in is important, the ‘how” it impacted you is the true focus. Dartmouth wants to know how you made the most of whatever situation you grew up in. If you had privilege, what did you do with the opportunities presented? If you struggled, how did you triumph?

Take note of the word “impact” in the prompt, and think of the meaning of the word, which is “strong effect.” After you briefly describe the environment you grew up in (remember you only have 250 words!), ask yourself what your most positive qualities are. Then, ask yourself how your upbringing impacted, or had an effect, on one or two of those qualities. Even if your upbringing was less than ideal, perhaps you are all the more understanding and helpful to others who are less fortunate. 

“Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself . (250 words or less)

Dartmouth receives a lot of applications from students from around the world with impressive applications. Therefore, this is your time to prove how unique you are and how your individuality will flourish while at Dartmouth. Be sure to not restate items from your resume or detail your entire life story. Rather, be as concise as possible while revealing your identity. 

This is a very open ended question, which can be tricky to start. To help brainstorm, think of the following questions: 

• How would you introduce yourself to a complete stranger? 
• If you had to make a slideshow about yourself, what would you include? 
• What are your main interests? 
• What could you not live without? 
• How would someone close to you describe you? 

To format this response you can either: 

• Write as if you were introducing yourself to someone
• Create a more narrative and story-telling piece of writing
• Something more creative!

Ultimately, the formatting does not matter as long as you accurately introduce yourself and highlight your uniqueness. Just remember to be authentic and focus on what makes you stand out from everyone else. 

For the third Dartmouth supplemental essay, you’ll choose from a list of five potential prompts. Before making your choice, read through them carefully and determine which prompt most appeals to you. Remember to only select one prompt to answer and keep it under 250 words! 

What excites you? (250 words or less)

Although this question is short and sweet, it is extremely broad! This means that you can answer this question in a lot of different ways. However, just because the question is broad does not mean your answer should be too. Rather, your answer should be extremely specific and detailed. 

Before you start answering this prompt, you should sit down for a few minutes and list what excites you and makes you happy. Once you have a solid list of things that excite you, select whichever thing you are most passionate about. 

Remember, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. In fact, you can write about anything big or small. For example, you can choose to write about how each week a new episode of a TV show makes you excited because you get to watch it with your family. Or you can write about how going for a walk in new trails where you live excites you because you love seeing new nature scenes. You can write about how helping people less fortunate than you makes you excited for your dream job at a nonprofit organization. 

It does not matter what you choose to write about. What matters is how you justify your answer. The “why” is so important. Why does this particular thing excite you? How does it impact your life? Does it connect back to your future goals? 

In addition, do not forget that this essay is for Dartmouth. So, if possible, try to connect what you are excited by back to Dartmouth and its resources. For example, as stated before, maybe going for a walk around your neighborhood makes you happy and excites you because of the new nature scenes you are able to see. You can then connect this back to your excitement to be immersed in the beautiful trees and nature of New Hampshire. You might even want to connect it back to being excited about studying environmental studies at Dartmouth. 

This essay can be a good place to tie in a passion to your intended major to give the Dartmouth admissions officers an idea of how your major connects to your interests. 

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 making – an impact?” (250 words or less)

Essentially, this prompt is asking “What do you hope to achieve for the greater good?” or “What do you think your life’s purpose is?” 

This may seem like a daunting question to tackle, but Dartmouth understands that you are young and still figuring life out. Therefore, do not feel like you need to have a concrete answer to this prompt. 

Dolores Huerta is a prominent civil rights activist who dedicated her life to advocating for immigrant rights. Therefore, Dartmouth is looking for someone who is dedicating their time to make a long term positive change in their world and community. 

Try to think of passions you have and what you have done to act on these passions. Have you ever volunteered anywhere? Have you created a business that donates money to charity? Have you created a club at your high school to help those who are less fortunate than you? 

Once you have identified your passions and purpose in life, detail what you want to continue to do to make an impact on this community. 

Dr. Suess, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” What do you wonder and think about? ” (250 words or less)

This prompt is the perfect opportunity for applicants who find themselves constantly asking questions and wanting to learn more about anything and everything. Try to think of the last time you went down an internet rabbit hole researching or bombarding someone with a million questions about a particular subject. What was it and why did this topic interest you? 

The great thing about this particular prompt is that there are no restrictions! You can talk about literally anything that you think and wonder about. Ultimately, you want to discuss something that truly fascinates you and makes you “nerd” out! 

Some examples of topics you could discuss are: 

• Time travel
• A bucket list trip
• Going to space
• How Bluetooth works

The possibilities are endless! Do not feel like you need to make up a dramatic narrative in order to impress Dartmouth. Rather, just be true to yourself and write from your heart. This will show Dartmouth how you spend time wondering and what truly interests you. 

“Celebrate your nerdy side.” (250 words or less)

Ultimately, this prompt is asking you to explain what brings out your inner nerd! “Nerd” is being used as a very positive description, so be honest!  

First, you should ask yourself the following:

• What does being a nerd mean to you? 
• Who do you do things that you consider “nerdier” with?

Next, describe in detail what you do when feeling your utmost nerd urge! Choose one specific thing, and make it sound like it is not to miss! Do you enjoy putting jigsaw puzzles together, playing role-playing games, or vintage board games? Share how your nerdy side helped shape you into who you are today and how celebrating your nerdy side continues to help you grow (hopefully at Dartmouth!).

“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 and outlook?” (250 words or less)

Do not worry if you feel that you don’t have so much to write about with this prompt. If you do not think that that sounds like you – do not choose this prompt! 

This question has two parts that you should address in your response. The first piece asks you to share what it is about you or your life that is “different.”  Essentially, what is the difference, and why is it seen as different by the world around you?

The second part of this question straightforwardly asks how embracing your “differentness” helped shape you and your view of life. Perhaps you are more empathetic to others and go out of your way to make all people feel more comfortable about being outside the mainstream. 

Once you have written about what your difference is, be sure to connect it back to who you are. For example, let’s say you were an only child raised by elderly grandparents. You should then connect this back to how you are totally comfortable with older people and know how to entertain yourself in the best of ways. Take this prompt as an opportunity to reflect on what may seem “different” helped shape the person (you!) who is applying to Dartmouth! 

“ As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you? “(250 words or less)

This prompt is a good one for students who feel that they are more than their application conveys. Say you are a stellar student (as most Dartmouth applicants are!), but more recently found your groove or a passion that has motivated you like nothing else. Perhaps you know, down to your bones, that your goals will be reached no matter what life throws at you. Tell Dartmouth how they are the place to help you reach those goals! This is the time to be as honest and sincere as you can. Doing so will shine through, and maybe the person reading your essay will realize that you are right!

Final thoughts on responding to the Dartmouth supplemental essays

After reading our guide for responding to the Dartmouth supplemental essays, it is time to write your responses! 

Be sure you are outlining and brainstorming prior to writing your responses. Remember, this is Dartmouth you are applying to! You want to ensure that every piece of your essay responses are well-thought out. Do not repeat yourself, and be sure to evenly distribute bits of personality and interests throughout your responses. 

You are more than equipped to answer the Dartmouth supplemental essay questions! Good luck during the writing process! 

Next steps after applying to Dartmouth

When you are finished writing your Dartmouth supplemental essays – it is time to submit your application!

Now, you should have celebrated your accomplishment of submitting your Dartmouth application! Well done!  Be sure to check: 

• Dartmouth portal
• Any Dartmouth social media accounts

For any updates to your application status! Once again best of luck to you! 

Additional resources

Now that you are done with the Dartmouth supplemental essays, double check that your Coalition Application and Common Application essays are perfect! Also, make sure you check out our guide on how many schools to apply to . 

Have you completed the ACT or SAT ? If you are wondering about whether or not to send your SAT/ACT scores to test optional schools, check out our guide!

Most importantly, check out our free scholarship search tool to help you finance your education. Best of luck in the college admissions process, and remember that Scholarships360 is here to help you! 

Additional supplemental essay guides

• Cornell University (Ithaca,NY)
• Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)

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Dartmouth Supplemental Essay Examples

Dartmouth supplemental essay examples will help you in your quest to deliver the very finest essay that you can. Seeking guidance on how to write a college essay can be useful, but equally useful can be reading over existing essays to see what the pros do, and how all the bits fit together.

Your essays are one of the most important aspects of your college application, and they should be as polished as possible. This might mean seeking out an essay workshop for students or reading expert college essay tips , but checking out examples can be helpful as well.

This article will take you through the necessary essays for Dartmouth’s supplemental section and provide you with some general essay writing tips.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 10 min read

Dartmouth supplemental essays.

Dartmouth requires students to write three essays. For the first two essays, students get one prompt that they will all follow. Pay close attention to all three prompts but note that if a school is requiring absolutely everybody to respond to the same prompt, that prompt is universally important, and something Dartmouth cares a lot about.

There are several prompts for the third essay, so you can choose the one you think will show off your unique abilities, talents, and experiences. Remember: essays in applications are about showing why you are the best possible candidate for that particular school.

All Applicants

Essay no. 1.

“Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth ... what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth?”

Word limit: 100 words, max.

With the beauty of New England, the academic discipline, and exciting research opportunities, there is nothing about Dartmouth that doesn’t appeal to me. 

My primary reason for wanting to attend Dartmouth is the research potential in energy engineering; I want to make an impact on environmental conservation, starting with energy. Dartmouth’s research on biomass processing technologies is very exciting.

Besides academics, I also have family in Hanover, so my support network would be strong at Dartmouth. Furthermore, the beauty and heritage of the campus is inspiring.

Dartmouth imbues me with a sense of place and purpose that inspires.

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

Word limit: 200–250 words

Given the prompt, it seems appropriate to start by saying that I am a big fan of Oscar Wilde. I am normally a shy person, and I may be uncomfortable being talked about, but I know there are worse things…

My sense of humor is my favorite aspect of myself, and I have always had a love of comedy – hence my interest in Oscar. My parents have said I laughed uproariously as a baby and they have taken as much delight in introducing me to Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, and Mr. Show as I have in laughing with all of them.

I believe that a sense of humor and irony will aid everybody, and we could all use a good laugh at our own expense now and again. So much of politics and business and social anxiety could be better managed with a few well-placed guffaws.

In fact, learning to laugh at myself has been instrumental in conquering my shyness and allowing me to meet people and gain opportunities. Without that, I couldn’t have run for student government at my school – becoming vice president – or attempted stand-up comedy for the first time this summer. For the record, I mostly bombed my set, but I’m re-writing my material and learning how to bounce back from a setback – they won’t stop me!

So, that’s my “me.” Let everybody else be taken, Wilde, I’m perfectly content as I am.

Essay No. 3

Students choose one of the following essays to complete.

A. “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 making – an impact?”

Six hours in the sun pulling a wagon, knocking on doors, and asking people for used aluminum isn’t a fun way to spend a day, but I knew the importance of helping out with our local recycling programs. In this case, we were looking for aluminum tabs from pop cans to be remade into wheelchairs and provided for low-to-no cost to those in need.

My brother Jack uses a wheelchair, and so this cause appealed to me on two levels: I am also an environmentalist – like my parents, who are environmental scientists. Aiding a recycling program and getting wheelchairs to patients was therefore a win-win.

Let’s start with your format, while looking at how to write a college essay . You will follow the standard essay format as often as possible. This is composed of three major sections: the opener, the body, and the conclusion. You can think of them as “beginning, middle, end,” if that is helpful.

The opening paragraph should start with an attention grabber, or “hook,” that will live up to its name and command the focus of the reader. This is the best approach to how to start a college essay . Make it such a good opening line that even someone who isn’t on the admissions committee would want to keep reading.

Your opener also sets up the rest of the essay, providing the central themes and ideas that you’ll explore – these are all contained within the prompts provided by Dartmouth, but your opener will connect those prompts to you, personally. Specifically, reading college essay introduction examples will show you how to accomplish this.

In the body of the essay, you will explore the prompt, how it relates to you, and, ideally, show how you have grown as a person or student, some accomplishments you have made, or skillsets and abilities that you have – all of which must be desirable for a potential Dartmouth student.

If you can connect specifically to Dartmouth, all the better. Mentioning programs or research that are unique to the school or highlighting that you have the qualities they are seeking in their mission and vision statements will connect you to the school and show off how you would be the ideal candidate.

Your overall goal is to make the committee want to bring you in for an alumni-conducted interview, so if your conclusion would make anybody want to meet you, ask questions, and learn more about you and your experiences, you will have succeeded.

Most of Dartmouth’s essays have a short limit of 250 words. The exception is a 100-word essay: even shorter. What this means for you is that you don’t have a lot of space to develop a variety of complex ideas per essay. Be surgical; get in, tell the necessary details for the prompt, and get out.

Be prepared to truncate and mess with the essay format a bit for the 100-word essay, as that prompt really requires a precision answer, and you might not be able to shape the essay in a standard way.

To build a successful application, give yourself every edge and benefit. A strong supplemental essay will achieve that. You are already taking the right steps by reading up on essay writing and seeking out examples to improve your work. Take your time refining the essays for your dream school.

No, you must answer those two essay questions, as per the requirements. Most schools want answers to the questions “Why this school?” and “Tell us about yourself.” They are two of the most common questions asked of students for a reason: they produce information that the admissions committee needs to know.

The amount of time will vary, but generally speaking, we think you should take 2–3 weeks to work on your essays. You don’t need to put in 40+ hours per week, but give yourself time to brainstorm, write, re-write, edit, and proofread; you’ll likely need and want time to get professional feedback as well.

If you’re stuck on an optional prompt, you could switch to a different prompt proposed by the school and see if it resonates more with you. If your required essay is giving you difficulty, you’ll want to break your writer’s block with a little brainstorming. Take two minutes to free-associate on your topic, writing down anything you think of, and you’ll likely open up your thought processes and start to figure out what you want to say.

If you are successful, you will be invited for an interview, which means that you might want to start thinking about how to prepare for your interview.

The Common Application allows for changes to essays after submission, but with Dartmouth, you will specifically need to upload additional materials via your portal.

Look for a credible college essay review service . Teachers and other mentors might be able to help as well, but keep in mind that they are already busy people, so sticking with a professional service might be the better option.

You might think that all you need to do is hit your academics and emphasize how smart you are, but that strategy might not be all that clever. Your transcripts and high school resume will show off your numbers. Instead, use your essay to introduce the “real you” to the admissions committee. They want to know you, and your uniqueness is your best shot at getting into your school of choice. Put the essential you on display for the best results.

Deadlines change from year to year, so just follow the instructions in the Common App or Coalition App. Start as early as possible to maximize your time between now and the deadline.

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How to Approach the Dartmouth College Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Padya Paramita

September 26, 2022

How to Approach the Dartmouth College Supplemental Essays 2022-2023 

If you’re planning to apply to Dartmouth College, you probably already know that you need to build a stellar application in order to stand out among the tough competition. After all, Dartmouth only accepted 6.2% of students for the Class of 2026. Your scores, extracurriculars, and personal statement are undoubtedly important, but you send these to every school. So in order to be more specific about why you’re applying to Dartmouth, and convey to the admissions officers why you are a good fit, you need to take advantage of the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 . 

Many students apply to top schools like Dartmouth for the name and fame—to appease their parents or tell their friends they got into an Ivy League school. If you’re truly interested, writing a well-thought-out supplemental essay that demonstrates your commitment to the school can go a long way. Admissions officers use the supplemental essays to get to know you better—what you value in an academic setting, what current events matter to you, an unusual aspect of your background—and determine whether you would thrive at the college. To guide you through Dartmouth’s essays, I’ve outlined each of the prompts, how to tackle them, and more tips for writing your Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023.

How to Write the Dartmouth College 2022-2023 Supplemental Essays

Alongside the standard “why Dartmouth” question, the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 also offer you the chance to showcase how you might fit in with certain characteristics the school values in prospective students. While the first prompt is mandatory, you only have to answer one of the six short answer prompts. Depending on which prompt resonates with you, you can elaborate on your background or what you hope to change about the world. You might reflect on the way you find creativity or a story that has moved you. 

Let’s take a look at each of the upcoming cycle’s prompts, and some ways to go about answering them.

Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2027, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer.

The first thing that catches the eye with this prompt (other than the fact that it’s not optional) is the word limit. 100 words aren’t many. In fact, you can barely write an introduction in under 100 words. So how are you supposed to write about all of the things you like about the college?

The key to answering this prompt is to prioritize what you’re looking for from your college experience. Don’t write one sentence each about ten or twelve different things you enjoy about Dartmouth. Focus on one or two. Remember, admissions officers want to know if your interest in the school is authentic and well-informed. When the word limit is so restricted, there’s no space to beat around the bush. Browse the college’s website or social media pages and see how courses, clubs, or study abroad programs align with your passions. 

You might be fascinated by the ability to design your own unique major. You might be excited by the prospect of studying astrophysics in greater detail than ever. You may be inspired to write about how you’re drawn in by the campus improv groups and view them as a great opportunity to hone your performance skills. It’s important to think about how you might benefit from the community. 

Don’t spend too much time providing context on who you are. Get straight to the point because you have very little space. When the admissions officers finish reading your essay, they should have a clear picture of why you are excited to attend Dartmouth! Your essay should highlight your application persona, which is the memorable hook that makes you unique.  . Are you an artist who has participated in exhibitions around your state? Are you a budding zoologist who’s worked in animal shelters? Even though the word limit is so restrictive, admissions officers should be able to picture you contributing to different aspects of campus life.

Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 200-250 words:

Labor leader Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist who co-founded the organization now known as United Farm Workers. She said, “We criticize and separate ourselves from the process. We've got to jump right in there with both feet.” Speak your truth: Talk about a time when your passion became action.

This one is a pretty straightforward question. To gain acceptance into Dartmouth, you can’t just say you have big ideas. You have to show that you’re more than just a big talker through concrete examples. While the quote provided centers around social justice and activism, the prompt itself asks about a time that “passion became action.” While yes, it’s definitely impressive if you started a reproductive rights advocacy organization based on your passion for women’s health issues, you can also write about something on a smaller scale, such as starting your own rock band because you live and breathe music. 

The question asks about the time you drove into action mode, so instead of using too much of your word count to talk about what your passion is, focus on why you decided to pursue the activity, whether it happened in a day or gradually, and how you’ve had an impact. Dartmouth appreciates students who are committed to collaboration, so don’t be shy about emphasizing on how you included a bigger community in your efforts. 

What excites you?

This is an extremely open-ended prompt. In fact, the scope is so broad, you might be tempted to avoid answering this question altogether. However, this prompt does provide a wonderful opportunity for the Dartmouth admissions officers to get to know you beyond what you’ve stated on your personal statement and activities list. On its website , the school states that it, “encourages independent thought, and promotes a robust culture of interdisciplinary collaboration” as well as provides a “comprehensive out-of-classroom experiences, including service opportunities, international study, and global engagement.” Think about these factors as you ponder on what to write about — how do you express yourself? How have you collaborated with others? What inspires you to get out of bed every morning?

The answer to this question doesn’t have to center on a groundbreaking activity or passion. While it’s certainly impressive if you started a reproductive rights advocacy organization based on your passion for women’s health issues, you can also write about something on a smaller scale, such as how excited you are to play with your own rock band because you live and breathe music. You might add in how you plan to take action on these ideas at Dartmouth. Don’t go overboard with connecting it back to Dartmouth (the question doesn’t ask for this explicitly), but it may feel natural to reference how you plan to use these ideas at the college. 

In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba, Class of 2014, reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power the electrical appliances in his family's Malawian house: "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try." What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you already made?

This question might appeal to you if you’re someone who spends time on creative work - whether it is poetry or a documentary. Creative work definitely doesn’t mean you have to be an artist or filmmaker — Dartmouth wants to give you “ opportunities to share [your] expertise and passion ,” regardless of what it is. You could also be an engineer who has made a robot that does household chores. Or you could be a programmer who’s coded an app that helps your community. It could also be something on a larger scale, such as your own nonprofit - the word “make” in the prompt is flexible. 

Whatever your interest, there is almost certainly the opportunity to make something. Use the 250 words to write about what inspired you to start the project, what were some fulfilling and tough parts of the creative process, how you feel about the end result, and what you hope to achieve with it. Remember, what you focus on can also be something you haven’t done yet. If you’re planning to write a novel or create your own recipes, talk about your vision. The goal here is for admissions officers to read your answer and know right off the bat that what you’re describing is a project you’ve worked hard on (or plan to work hard on), and are genuinely passionate about. If your love for what you do shines through, admissions officers will gain a deeper understanding of your interests and how the school might be able to help you. 

Whether you’ve created the object of your focus yet or not, your project should be thoughtful and require effort. It should authentically reflect your goals and interests as a creator, and not be something you make up on a whim as an answer for this question. 

Dartmouth College appreciates students who are aware of current events and aren’t afraid to have a “ sense of responsibility for one another and for the broader world. ” This question on the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 directly aligns with that value. The heart of this prompt is in the last two sentences: admissions officers want to know which issue in the world you’re the most concerned about, and how a Dartmouth education can help you improve it. 

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think." What do you wonder and think about?

This particular prompt might be the most open-ended question among the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 . You can write about anything you “wonder and think about.” And your curiosity doesn’t have to be academic either. While  it’s definitely not a bad idea to connect the prompt to your extracurricular or career interests, you can write about something entirely different from your application persona so that Dartmouth admissions officers can see a different side of you. You can use this prompt as an opportunity to talk about a varied interest and let them know that you’re not a one-trick pony!

This is the place to write about a niche topic that you could talk about forever. You could wonder about anything. If you were a dancer as a kid, you might be curious about how dancers rehabilitate and recover from injury depending on the genre of dance. If your favorite subject is math, you might be completely intrigued by the Pigeonhole Principle.

Another way to tackle this prompt might be to narrate an anecdote which demonstrates the ways you expressed your curiosity. For example, you could outline a series of instances in your childhood when you asked your dad questions he was completely thrown off by.

Just like the “why Dartmouth” essay, don’t try to squeeze all of the questions or anecdotes you may have about your curiosity about the world into 250 words. Find one or two related topics that you are curious about and elaborate.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced," wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?

This is a question for students who have taken on challenges. The Dartmouth admissions officers want to know about a time when you weren’t afraid to question an idea and strive for change. If you’re someone who isn’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone and take on new adventures this is the prompt for you. Don’t just talk about what it is that you faced and changed—make sure you reflect on how you did it and what was made better because of it. You could also write about a time you tried to face and change something but did not succeed. What would you have done differently?

Additional Tips for Writing Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023

• You have a choice - use it well - Since you have the option to choose one from the six prompts for your second essay, the topic selection could make a significant difference to your admissions decision. You could also look at the finished product and make your decision. If it turns out that a story about your sketchbook fits one prompt better than another you should choose that prompt. Don’t be afraid to be flexible with your ideas, but ultimately choose the prompt that you believe will bring the strongest essay out of you.
• Cut unnecessary words - It’s obvious that the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 provide you very little room to write your answers. Between the two essays, you have to write you only get 350 words! It can be tricky to get your point across in so little space, but you can’t change the limit. So don’t waste your time sulking or complaining about the fact that you’re 200 words over on your essay, but instead start cutting words. Use a thesaurus, ask a teacher or friend for feedback, and read sentences out loud to see if they still make sense after you shorten them.
• Don’t repeat your personal statement - Since a lot of the options in the second part of the Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 ask you to reflect on your goals, achievements, or background, it could be easy to repeat what you’ve written about in your personal statement. After all, your personal statement is a story unique to you, and the topic of it might overlap with one of the Dartmouth prompts. But, remember that the admissions officers will already have read your personal statement. Supplemental essays are meant to add another layer, providing schools with more context on who you are. Don’t repeat your personal statement and give admissions officers the idea that you have no other interesting stories to tell. 

The Dartmouth College supplemental essays 2022-2023 provide you with the chance to tell the admissions officer who you are. While the first prompt is all about showing that you really have done your research, the optional essays enable you to share more about your background and interests. All are golden opportunities to solidify your interest in Dartmouth and convince them how you embody the values they look for in students. So take advantage of the supplemental essay component. Your knowledge of the school and your stories exemplifying Dartmouth’s ideal characteristics might culminate in an Ivy League acceptance letter.

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August 23, 2022

Tips for Answering the Dartmouth College Supplemental Essay Prompts [2022 – 2023]

Dartmouth College utilizes the Common Application. It requires the main Common Application essay and additional supplemental Dartmouth-specific essay responses. The additional essays help the admission committee round out the overall picture of you as a prospective student by providing insight into your personality. Don’t approach this as just another essay you have to write. Look at this as an opportunity for you to make a convincing statement about why Dartmouth is the ideal school for you to achieve your goals and how you can enrich the campus community. 

Everyone must answer the first two essay prompts, but you have a choice to make about which question to address with your third response. As you decide which of the latter essay prompts to answer, allow yourself some time to think about Dartmouth’s comprehensive character. Consider its location in Hanover, New Hampshire; if possible visit the campus and imagine yourself there as an undergraduate. Take a virtual campus tour. Research the different ways Dartmouth’s curriculum and approaches to education are a good fit for you . Think about the specific activities, programs, or organizations that attract you to Dartmouth. In short, ask yourself why is Dartmouth the best place for me to achieve my goals?

Dartmouth reflects its commitment to assess your potential as a student on the Dartmouth campus in its request for a peer recommendation. Dartmouth encourages you to include a letter of recommendation from a friend, classmate, family member, or someone else you regard as your peer. Although the peer recommendation is a “suggestion,” it is not an opportunity to overlook. This endorsement provides insight into how you are perceived by others. It also gives some indication about your potential fit with the Dartmouth community.

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Dartmouth prides itself on learning without boundaries. The overall academic structure and approach at the school is intended to allow you freedom. The year-round quarter system offers flexibility for you to design your own calendar. You can enter any major without a need for institutional approval (this includes Engineering). How might this sort of structure contribute to your educational success? Students are encouraged to: “Challenge yourself. Be yourself.” Don’t worry about choosing an uncommon topic. Instead, focus on discussing whichever topic you select from your point of view. Your essay responses should express your individual story and reflect your personality.

The Dartmouth writing supplement

Dartmouth’s writing supplement requires applicants write brief responses to three supplemental essay prompts as follows. The first two are the same for all applicants but the third allows you to select from several prompts.

1. Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Clas of 2027, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer .

How is Dartmouth special to you? You have a limited number of words to work with, so be succinct. Remember, they already have your letters of recommendations (counselor, teachers and peer), grades, SAT/ACT/AP/IB scores, curriculum, and list of extracurricular involvement. This question asks you to focus on your personal and/or academic goals and how Dartmouth is a good match for you and vice versa. How will being a part of the close-knit Dartmouth community and engaging with the Dartmouth curriculum prepare you for your future? Consider the factors that make the Dartmouth program, community, and campus environment unique and how those factors will provide the foundation to support your aspirations. Communicate how these elements align with your sense of place and purpose.

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2. “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself in 200-250 words.

What is your personal story? This is a perfect prompt to allow you to showcase specific conditions, situations, and/or circumstances in your background that are significant to your identity. Share something fundamental about yourself, your family, or your intimate community. You can discuss the intricacies of your cultural, familial, and/or social background—tell your story. Sometimes it might be something obvious, other times it might be disguised or hidden in some way. Do you feel pressure based on a set of arbitrary characteristics? Do you feel judged or liberated in some way? What is important to you? How does this relate to your values and sense of individuality? As you discuss your story, you must provide some context—remember to address why it is significant for others to know this about you. Spend a good portion of your essay discussing how this story relates to your sense of identity. What does this reflect about you? How might what you shared influence your goals for the future? How do you reconcile finding a sense of belonging on your own terms? How might attending Dartmouth impact your story?

3. Choose one of the following prompts and respond in 250-300 words:

A. 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 making—an impact?

This prompt is about what motivates or excites you to action and how you make an impact when driven by passion to make something better for others. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for a cause that is meaningful to you. Discuss a specific incident and what was at stake. How did you make a positive impact? Or how did that motivate you to continue working toward that goal? If you acted on something, consider the repercussions of your actions. What was the outcome? What was the cost to you? What did you learn about yourself? How did this experience change you? This is really about why you think striving for change is important. Consider compassion, empathy, and understanding in terms of interpersonal and global impact. How might an education at Dartmouth prepare you for the future? What kinds of skills, ways of thinking, and experiences will help lay the foundation for success? How does a liberal arts education play into your plans? 

B. What excites you?

This prompt has a broad scope but at the core is, what fascinates you? You don’t need to be an expert about the topic—how do you explore and engage your interests? This is an opportunity to discuss your passion for a particular area (academic or otherwise) and how you learn best. Provide an example of something that attracted your interest and then discuss the path you took to embrace your curiosity. What sparked your interest? What made the topic/activity/information/concept/question so meaningful to you? How did you explore the subject more deeply? What did you discover? What did you learn about yourself? Consider your learning style and how you approach new concepts. Also think about the connection you established to the subject—what might that reveal about your personality? How did this process inspire you? Make sure to convey your passion for the subject and your enthusiasm for learning!

C. In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba, Class of 2014, reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power the electrical appliances in his family’s Malawian house: “If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.” What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you already made?

This prompt discusses how creativity and innovation are often borne of necessity. How did/do you apply your creativity to problem-solving? The focus is on your motivation for creativity while providing a space for you to discuss your passion, imagination, motivation, and aspirations. In this modern technological world, how do you think outside of the proverbial box? Capture a specific moment or urge that sparked your vision. This may be an opportunity to incorporate discussion about an extracurricular interest/activity that demonstrates your creativity. Think about the ideas or values that inspire you to make some sort of impact and the ways in which you express your imagination. What have you learned about yourself through your exploration? Then discuss how that influences your sense of identity and perspective about the world. What does what you learned in this creative process reveal about the person you are? How might this affect how you embrace the future? How might you apply this energy going forward? How might you express your creativity and embrace your aspirations at Dartmouth?

D. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” What do you wonder and think about?

This is another board prompt that deals with how you expand or enhance ideas, thoughts, and perspectives about the world to reflect on new possibilities. Examine the on-going cycle of coming up with ideas and how you explore those ideas. At the heart of this prompt is how you process the world around you. Consider how this new knowledge or way of thinking impacted or changed you. The focus of this prompt allows you to discuss the relationship between imagination and intellectual thought. Also consider what you might learn about yourself in the process of trying to understand new ideas. Remember to discuss how these new ideas influenced you—the way you interact with others, how you think about your identity , what you might do differently with this new understanding. Dartmouth prides itself on providing flexibility in learning and an education without boundaries—here’s your chance to tell them why that’s so important to you!

E. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?

This question asks you to identify a specific problem or issue and explain how you actively engaged with it. How did recognizing the problem/issue help you to deal with it? You can address any problem, large or small. Think about the global community, humanitarian efforts, or any issue you would like to fix but make it personal by sharing the impact on your life experiences. Keep in mind that sometimes situations are beyond your control. You can tie this response to community service activities, thoughts about empathy, discussions about agency, and individual responsibility. Consider how you view yourself in relationship to those around you. Why are you inspired to confront this problem? Why is it significant? This response reveals your approach to problem solving, ability to conceive solutions, and illustrates how you process the world around you. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your values, critical thinking skills and creativity. Consider if and how an education at Dartmouth might help you to bring about positive change and address this dilemma. 

Note: If you have unusual curricular patterns, your counselor can mention this in the Secondary Education Report, or you can discuss your circumstances in the “Additional Information” section of the Common Application. 

Final thoughts on applying to Dartmouth

The context of your academic success is a significant factor in determining your overall competitiveness as an applicant. The top applicants take the most rigorous curriculum available at their high schools. Furthermore, by achieving high grades, they demonstrate their ability to thrive in Dartmouth’s challenging academic environment. Dartmouth embraces a holistic approach to the admission process and is committed to reviewing all aspects of your application. This is even more significant given that this application cycle is again test optional. Although Dartmouth is not reporting testing profiles from the last few application cycles, keep in mind; for the class of 2023, over 95% of accepted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average SAT score of 1500, and an average ACT score of 33. For the Class of 2026, it received 28,336 undergraduate applications and had a record low acceptance rate of 6.2%. Your personal narrative essays are your opportunity to pull away from this extremely competitive applicant pool.

Although it is easy to get overwhelmed, remember to stay focused on your goals. Allow yourself enough time to reflect on your experiences in a unique way that expresses your personality. Meet all deadlines and word limits. Your overall application should clearly reflect your interests and motivations while enthusiastically demonstrating why Dartmouth is the best school to help you achieve your objectives!

If you’re applying to Dartmouth College, you already know you’re up against tight competition. Don’t be overwhelmed. Get the guidance of an experienced admissions specialist who will help you stand out from the highly competitive applicant pool so you can apply with confidence, and get accepted! Click here to get started!

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your College Application Essays , a free guide
• How Should I Choose Which Essay Questions to Answer When I Have Choices?
• School-Specific Common App Supplemental Essay Tips

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How to Write Dartmouth's Essays (with Dartmouth Essay Examples)

Kate Sliunkova

AdmitYogi, Stanford MBA & MA in Education

14 min read

When it comes to college applications, writing an exceptional essay can be the key to standing out from the crowd. And for those aiming to join Dartmouth College, mastering the art of crafting compelling essays is crucial. But what exactly distinguishes a Dartmouth essay from the rest? In this article, we will delve into the insider tips and strategies for acing each of Dartmouth's essay prompts, accompanied by inspiring examples from successful applicants. Whether you're at the initial stages of brainstorming or adding the finishing touches to your essays, continue reading for expert guidance on how to captivate the admissions committee at one of the most esteemed institutions in the world. Prepare to unlock the secrets to making your Dartmouth application shine.

Dartmouth's Essay Prompts:

Dartmouth University requires its students to write three supplemental essays.

"Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2027, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer."

"'Be yourself,' Oscar Wilde advised. 'Everyone else is taken.' Introduce yourself in 200-250 words."

Choose one of the following prompts:

"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 making—an impact?"

"What excites you?"

"In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba '14 reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power electrical appliances in his family's Malawian house: 'If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.' What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you made?"

"Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, 'Think and wonder. Wonder and think.' What do you wonder and think about?"

"'Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,' wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?"

How to Write Dartmouth's Essays:

How to approach dartmouth's "why dartmouth" essay.

The Prompt: "Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2027, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer."

When approaching the Dartmouth essay prompt that asks why you are interested in the College's academic program, community, or campus environment, it's crucial to demonstrate your genuine enthusiasm and understanding of Dartmouth's unique characteristics. Remember, you only have 100 words or fewer to make your case, so it's important to be concise and impactful. Here are a few tips to guide you:

• Research and specificity: Take the time to research Dartmouth's academic programs, campus community, and environment. Identify unique aspects that resonate with you. Whether it's the interdisciplinary approach, the tight-knit community, or the stunning natural surroundings, be sure to highlight the elements that truly attract your interest. Be specific!
• Personal connection: Connect your own aspirations, interests, or experiences to Dartmouth's offerings. How do you envision yourself thriving academically or contributing to the community? Share personal anecdotes or examples that demonstrate your alignment with Dartmouth's values and opportunities.
• Show, don't tell: Use vivid and concise language to paint a clear picture of why Dartmouth stands out to you. Instead of making general statements, provide concrete examples or specific details that illustrate why Dartmouth is the perfect fit for your academic and personal growth.

Remember, brevity is key in this response, so choose your words wisely. Craft a compelling and authentic answer that showcases your passion for Dartmouth and conveys your potential contributions to the college community.

Here's a great example of the "Why Dartmouth" essay from Ellie, who got into Yale and Dartmouth.

"Hidden below Hanover sits Base Camp, a Nepalese restaurant and home of the spiciest, most delicious noodles I’ve ever had. At Dartmouth, I’ll spend my time as I did during that meal: with a fire in my gut and a smile on my face. Under the instruction of Dr. Katie Hixon, I will continue my fascination with tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Biomedical Engineering for Global Health is the perfect class for me to pursue my passion of the intersection of science and social work. No matter what, I’ll work with passion, smiling ear-to-ear."

How to Approach Dartmouth's "Introduce Yourself" Essay

The Prompt: "'Be yourself,' Oscar Wilde advised. 'Everyone else is taken.' Introduce yourself in 200-250 words."

When approaching the Dartmouth essay prompt that asks you to introduce yourself, think of it as an invitation to paint a vibrant portrait of your true self. Embrace your quirks, passions, and idiosyncrasies that make you who you are. Instead of presenting a generic laundry list of achievements, focus on sharing the experiences and interests that ignite a fire within you. Whether it's the adrenaline rush of scaling mountains or the magic of capturing moments through your camera lens, reveal the unique facets of your personality that set you apart from the crowd.

In particular, consider highlighting pivotal moments that have shaped your worldview. Perhaps it was a transformative trip that exposed you to different cultures or an unexpected encounter that sparked a deep curiosity within you. Dive into these formative experiences and explore how they have influenced your aspirations, values, and sense of purpose. Then, showcase how these experiences tie into your broader desire for intellectual growth, collaborative learning, or making a positive difference in the world.

Here's an awesome example of Dartmouth's "Introduce Yourself" essay from Sophie. Beyond Dartmouth, Sophie's profile also includes the stats, essays, and awards that got her into Yale, Columbia, Cornell, and Brown.

"My orchestra in Boston is like a flock of flying geese, circling back whenever someone makes a mistake and moving toward our shared destination. With the conductor at the forefront of the V, we are one hundred independent geese paying rapt attention to each other so we can fly together harmoniously. Every Saturday when I see New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall with its tall glass windows, I walk faster in anticipation to join my flock inside as if I were coming home. Before rehearsal and during breaks we chat and laugh about topics ranging from Tchaikovsky to chai tea. Our strong connections arise from communicating in a language deeper than words during rehearsal. When we play, our charged moments of eye contact to coordinate entrances and the smiles we give to each other when we finish a solo are magical.

In one of my flute solos I remember crafting my interpretation in the moment. The freedom made me feel like a flying bird, yet I was in a comforting flock supporting my interpretation. I realized orchestra provides a rare balance between freedom and support. If we have too much freedom, it is hard to synchronize the parts, but if we conform exactly to everyone else, the music feels restricted and lifeless. This balance is why I feel so emotionally connected to orchestra, willing to spend seven hours traveling every Saturday to go to rehearsal. I am a free-thinking explorer, whether in my academic interests, political beliefs, artistic preferences, or any other area of my life. Yet I always look for a nurturing community to belong to, whether it is an orchestra, study group, volunteer group, or college. When I find a community with this rare balance, the excitement drives me to push boundaries and bring others with me."

Strategies for Dartmouth's Final Supplemental Essay

There are so many essay prompts for Dartmouth's final supplemental essay. To ensure you know how to approach each potential option, we recommend you check out our page with a full list of supplemental essay examples from Dartmouth!

Writing Dartmouth's "Dolores Huerta" essay.

The Prompt: "Approaching 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 making—an impact?"

When tackling the prompt about making an impact, draw inspiration from Dolores Huerta's powerful words and reflect on how you aspire to contribute to the world. Share your vision for creating positive change, whether it's through activism, community service, or pursuing a career that addresses pressing issues. Be specific about the causes or areas you are passionate about, and provide examples of how you have already started making a difference. Discuss any projects, initiatives, or organizations you are involved in and highlight the impact they have had. Additionally, explore your long-term goals and how you envision utilizing your skills, knowledge, and resources to bring about meaningful change on a larger scale. Convey your genuine commitment to making the world a better place, demonstrating your determination to leave a lasting and positive impact on society.

Writing Dartmouth's "What Excites You" essay.

The Prompt: "What excites you?"

When tackling the Dartmouth essay prompt that asks "What excites you?", it's an opportunity to showcase your passions, interests, and what truly ignites your enthusiasm. Dig deep and reflect on the activities, subjects, or experiences that bring you joy and fuel your curiosity. It could be a particular field of study, a hobby, a social cause, or an extracurricular pursuit. Be specific and provide examples that demonstrate your genuine excitement. Explain why these interests captivate you and how they have influenced your personal growth or worldview. Moreover, consider sharing any experiences where your excitement led you to take action, such as participating in research, leading a club, or engaging in community service. Use this essay as a platform to convey your authentic enthusiasm and showcase your motivation to pursue these exciting passions further. Ultimately, let your genuine excitement shine through your words and demonstrate how it aligns with Dartmouth's dynamic academic environment and vibrant community.

Writing Dartmouth's "William Kamkwamba" essay.

The Prompt: "In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba '14 reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power electrical appliances in his family's Malawian house: 'If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.' What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you made?"

The Dartmouth essay prompt referencing William Kamkwamba's inspiring story in "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" invites you to delve into your personal drive to create and the impact you aspire to make. Reflect on the motivations that fuel your desire to bring ideas to life. Explore the sense of curiosity, passion, or purpose that compels you to innovate and create something meaningful. Discuss the areas where you have already exercised your creative abilities, whether it's in the realm of art, science, entrepreneurship, or any other domain. Share specific examples of projects or initiatives you have undertaken and the impact they have had on others or on your own growth. Additionally, articulate your aspirations for the future and the creations you envision making. Whether it's a technological invention, a work of art, a social initiative, or a solution to a pressing problem, explain how you aim to contribute to the world through your creative endeavors. Convey your determination to embrace challenges, learn from setbacks, and persist in the pursuit of your creative visions. By showcasing your unique drive to create and make a difference, you can demonstrate your potential to contribute to the vibrant community at Dartmouth and beyond.

Writing Dartmouth's "Dr. Seuss" essay.

The Prompt: "Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth's Class of 1925, wrote, 'Think and wonder. Wonder and think.' What do you wonder and think about?"

When contemplating the prompt inspired by Dr. Seuss's words, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think," you have the opportunity to explore the topics that ignite your curiosity and engage your thinking. Reflect on the areas of knowledge, ideas, or phenomena that captivate your mind. What subjects, concepts, or mysteries do you find yourself pondering? It could be scientific phenomena, philosophical questions, social issues, artistic expressions, or anything else that sparks your intellectual curiosity. Dive deep into your wonderings and share the thoughts that occupy your mind. Discuss why these topics are important to you and how they have shaped your perspective or influenced your personal growth. Furthermore, consider how your wonderings and thoughts have led you to take action, whether through research, discussions, creative projects, or community engagement. Explain how your curiosity fuels your desire to seek knowledge, challenge assumptions, and explore new frontiers. By sharing your genuine wonderings and thoughtful reflections, you can provide insight into your intellectual curiosity and demonstrate your potential to contribute to the academic community at Dartmouth and beyond.

How to Write Dartmouth's James Baldwin Essay

The Prompt: "'Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,' wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?"

This prompt forces deep reflection on the application of this wisdom to your own life experiences. Consider moments when you confronted challenges, obstacles, or difficult truths. Reflect on how facing these situations influenced your growth, perspective, and ability to effect change. Share personal anecdotes that demonstrate your willingness to confront difficult realities and take action. Discuss how this quote has shaped your approach to personal development, relationships, or societal issues. Acknowledge that while not everything can be changed, the act of facing and acknowledging the truth is a catalyst for transformation. Highlight instances where you have embraced this mindset, whether it's initiating tough conversations, advocating for justice, or pursuing personal growth despite adversity. Ultimately, by illustrating how you have applied Baldwin's quote to your life experiences, you can showcase your resilience, introspection, and commitment to effecting positive change in yourself and the world around you.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the essay prompts from Dartmouth University provide a platform for you to express your passions, values, and aspirations. Crafting standout essays that capture the attention of the admissions committee requires genuine introspection and thoughtful reflection. Here at AdmitYogi, we understand the significance of these essays and aim to provide valuable resources to enhance your application process. We offer a vast collection of successful college essays , including examples from Dartmouth students and admitted students at other prestigious institutions like the Ivy League, MIT, and Stanford.

By exploring these examples, you can gain insight into effective storytelling, personal expression, and impactful writing techniques. Reading these essays not only serves as a source of inspiration but also allows you to grasp the nuances of successful applications. We believe that learning from the experiences of others who have navigated the college admissions journey can be instrumental in shaping your own unique approach.

Remember, Dartmouth values authenticity and a genuine connection with their applicants. Utilize the prompts as opportunities to showcase your unique qualities, experiences, and aspirations. Whether you are discussing your passions, reflecting on your personal growth, or sharing your commitment to making a difference, strive to convey your true self in a compelling and engaging manner. The road to Dartmouth and other esteemed institutions is filled with opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Embrace the challenge, trust in your abilities, and confidently present your unique voice and experiences. Good luck!

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Command Education Guide

How to write the dartmouth college essays, updated for 2023-2024, prompt 1: required of all applicants.

Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer:

Explanation:

The key to answering this question is research: spend time perusing your intended major’s department page on the Dartmouth website. Which resources or extracurricular programs interest you? Are there generous research or study abroad opportunities? An eminent professor whose work you’ve examined in school already? A state of the art facility? Specificity is key when writing this essay! Feel free to include details specific to campus and community life to show you’ve taken the time to envision yourself on campus. It’s only 100 words, so it’s important to make use of the little space provided.

When imagining Dartmouth, I think of “firsts.” Before the academic term, I will witness the Upper Valley’s beauty while bonding with the staggering 90 percent of my class who attend First-Year Trips. I will meet aspiring presidential candidates flocking to New Hampshire every four years to plead their cases to constituents voting in the first-in-the-nation primary. To make my own impact in politics, I can pursue the First-Year Fellows program to intern on Capitol Hill. From Dartmouth opportunities like its unique undergraduate public policy school to its setting in bucolic Hanover, there’s no better place to experience my collegiate “firsts.”

Prompt 2: Required of all applicants

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.

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

What values are the most important to you and how do you live by them? What are your defining qualities? What makes you stand out from your peers? In drafting your response here, make yourself shine by either telling Dartmouth about your unique upbringing (the people, the place, or the things you grew up with) or by sharing your eccentricity and writing about the idiosyncrasies that make you unique. The admissions committee wants to see how well you can reflect on both yourself and how you operate in the world around you, so taking the time to reflect on your answers to these guiding questions will help you demonstrate your self-awareness and confidence in who you are and what matters to you.

Hearing the train’s horn signal its impending departure, I scramble down the seemingly infinite linoleum stairs of the Tokyo Metro in a vain attempt to reach the train in time. I notice no one left on the platform shared in my struggle to hurriedly board the train before it left, instead patiently awaiting the next train. During the wait, I feel like a mannequin being analyzed by window shoppers while talking on the phone to my parents — another subway faux pas. As I’m stared down like the new kid in a first-grade class, I realize my six-foot, two-inch stature is also contributing to me looking like a circus attraction.

Having lived as an expatriate, I understand how it can feel to be an outsider (or gaijin, as the Japanese say) in a relatively uniform society. Unwritten rules passed down for generations dictate the terms of engagement, and late arrivers almost never receive a full orientation. Some customs don’t even seem fair—at my boarding school, a proctor wearing pastel chinos told me to change out of my T.J. Maxx cargo shorts because he would not be “caught dead wearing” them. My experiences as a cultural outsider have forged my desire to always recognize and extend a helping hand to the neophytes around me. As a proctor myself now, I constantly check in with my new floormates to ensure their questions are being answered and they feel just as much a part of the school community as the next student.

Prompt 3: Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:

A. What excites you?

Given its intentionally broad scope, you should think of this prompt as a backup if none of the others speak to you. That being said, ensure your deep passion for your topic of choice shines through if you choose to answer this prompt. Feel free to interpret the prompt liberally; you could write about an idea, a subject, a natural phenomenon, a person, a book, a historical movement…anything really! Get creative and try to convey your unique personality.

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?

Huerta’s quote calls for individuals to consider the big picture, and accordingly, students responding to this prompt should aim to clarify how they plan to make a difference in the world. As part of their response, students should clarify how a Dartmouth education (and therefore Dartmouth values) will provide the foundation needed to make this impact. This explanation need not, and frankly should not, be purely theoretical—you should offer examples of your current pursuits that demonstrate your commitment to this impact area. Make clear to the admissions committee that you are a student who practices what you preach!

C. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?

This prompt invites nearly any topic as a response, as long as it celebrates your sense of wonder. A good idea would be to write about your intellectual or academic curiosity to help admissions officers anticipate your potential major and how you would contribute to the campus culture and classroom. If you take this route, the area of study should: a) be one you can see yourself enjoying and excelling at; and b) be one you have experience in that you can draw upon in your essay. Don’t feel the need to limit yourself to non-intellectual curiosities: time spent within nature or games concocted with your little sister could also highlight aspects of your character that would make your application to Dartmouth compelling. The biggest key: don’t hold back on enthusiasm!

D. Celebrate your nerdy side.

Similar to prompt A, we at Command call this a “Nerd Out” prompt. Simply put, Dartmouth should read your response and be able to tell how passionately you care about a certain topic, subject, or other intellectual pursuit. Whether a research interest or a hobby that you’ve dedicated hours to, your love for this endeavor should be dripping down the page. A successful essay would likely also demonstrate how you’ve pursued this interest in your own life and maybe how you would even continue to do so on campus at Dartmouth.

I want to be a fortune teller.

No, I do not need a crystal ball; my computer will suffice. Nonetheless, I want the ability to forecast impending events that others might not foresee. Dartmouth’s Quantitative Social Sciences major excites me in its ability to prepare me to make such predictions. By combining theories of social science disciplines like economics or sociology with an analytic lens, I believe this unique Dartmouth program could uniquely help me to quantify the seemingly unquantifiable.

In high school, I worked with my economics teacher to develop an independent study in econometrics where I attempt to predict the unpredictable. While my project is specifically about discovering the determinants of success in the Major League Baseball playoffs, what it really seeks to understand is how to better measure labor performance — in this case, that of professional athletes — which may be overlooked. Sports, specifically baseball, are a terrific sampling ground for labor analysis, and prejudice regarding labor. In baseball, scouts historically value simplistic factors like the win-loss records or 40-yard dash times of players; however, the Moneyball revolution helped teams to discover that there are players who struggle in traditional aspects of evaluation but possess undetected, often incredible, traits with their own inherent value. By studying QSS at Dartmouth, I hope to develop the analytical capabilities that would allow me to eschew orthodoxy in favor of identifying the “diamonds in the rough” using data-driven approaches.

E. “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 and outlook?

All students are unique, but many students exist in spaces where they are in the minority due to some characteristic difference that is plainly evident or even imperceptible. This essay offers the space for students to not only share those differences but also explain how their lived experiences with those differences has led them to be the person they are today and the person they will be on their future college campus.

F. As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?

Dartmouth attracts thousands of students from all over the world to its campus and accepts the most promising students, and in this essay, their question to you is quite direct: what qualifies you to be considered in that same echelon of their candidate pool? Note that they mention “learning” and “leadership” – your response should shed insight into not only how you are a promising candidate for your intellectual vitality but also how you would be a powerful and positive influence on others on campus and beyond.

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Make sure your essay illustrates your personality! 

Applicants to Dartmouth are required to complete four essays – a personal statement and three brief supplemental ( writing supplement ) essays.

Writing supplement prompts included in Dartmouth's application for admission to the Class of 2028

The Common App offers a variety of topics to choose from for your personal statement as well as access to Dartmouth's supplemental essay prompts .

Your essays should help us understand those intangibles that can't easily be reflected in a resume. Show us the qualities that make you you. Your sense of humor, your passion, your intellectual curiosity, your self-awareness, or social awareness, or some mix of these. Your writing lets us get to know you and we read every word. Help us envision what you'll bring to Dartmouth.

• Writing Supplement