Dartmouth Supplemental Essays 2025-26 鈥� Prompts and Advice
July 30, 2025
Of the eight Ivy League schools, Dartmouth receives the fewest number of applications. There were 28,230 hopefuls for the Class of 2029, around half the number at Columbia or Harvard. Applications also decreased slightly during the 2024-25 cycle, resulting in a slightly friendlier but still uber-competitive 6% acceptance rate (up from 5.3% the previous year). When applying to a school that rejects 94% of applicants, you need to find ways to grab an admissions officer鈥檚 attention and give them a reason to say, 鈥淵es!鈥� The Dartmouth supplemental essays are one such chance.
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One of the best opportunities to move the admissions needle is through the three supplemental essays that Dartmouth requires. are listed below along with accompanying advice about how to tackle each one:
1) Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #1 鈥� Why Dartmouth
As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2030, what aspects of the college’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you? (100 words or fewer)
This is, in essence, a straightforward 鈥�Why this College?鈥� essay. Great things to highlight here include:
- Firstly, specific聽聽that you would like to become involved with.
- 聽offered in your discipline of interest at Dartmouth.
- Dartmouth professors whose work/research/writings you are intrigued by.
- 聽unique to Dartmouth.
- Aspects of that resonate with you.
- 尝补蝉迟濒测,听.
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. Along the way, you’ll want to explain why the offerings you chose are a great fit for your interests, goals, and/or learning style.
2) Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #2 鈥� More About You
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:
- Your role in your family.
- Your role in your social group.
- An activity or initiative to which you are deeply committed and/or passionate about.
- A core value or belief.
- Important aspects of your upbringing.
- Most intriguing and unique attributes.
- Cultural, religious, or community influence.
3) Dartmouth Supplemental Essay #3 – Choose 1 of 7
Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 250 words or fewer:
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 Dartmouth supplemental essay.
B) Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. 鈥淲e must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is what we are put on the earth for.鈥� In what ways do you hope to make鈥攐r are you making鈥攁n 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. Similar to last year, this year鈥檚 prompt includes why and how questions, so be sure to let those guide your response.
C) In an Instagram post, best-selling British author Matt Haig cheered the impact of reading. “A good novel is the best invention humans have ever created for imagining other lives,” he wrote. How have you experienced such insight from reading? What did you read and how did it alter the way you understand yourself and others?
Avid readers, assemble!
Brand-new for the 2025-26 cycle, this Dartmouth supplemental essay prompt wants you to reflect on a powerful reading experience. As you brainstorm, think about the books you’ve read recently (within the last 2-3 years). Which one(s) most immersed you in the plot, setting, and/or characters? How come? Did the plot, world-building, or setting change how you feel about a certain social issue, norm, or trend? Did a particular character’s actions and choices impact how you view yourself, how you view others, or how you view the world in general? You can also reflect on your reaction to said novel, and whether you were surprised, confused, grateful, etc. for the insight you gained.
D) The social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees have been the focus of Dame Jane Goodall’s research for decades. Her understanding of animal behavior prompted the English primatologist to see a lesson for human communities as well: “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” Channel Dame Goodall: Tell us about a moment when you engaged in a difficult conversation or encountered someone with an opinion or perspective that was different from your own. How did you find common ground?
The U.S. presently finds itself in an extreme state of polarization. There seems to be little agreement even as to what constitutes 鈥渢ruth鈥� or 鈥渇acts.鈥� Within this divided world, it can be hard for individuals with competing viewpoints to engage in civil and productive dialogue. Here, Dartmouth is giving you the chance to show that you are an open-minded, intellectually curious, truth-seeking young person. Illustrate how you are willing to engage in conversations/debates with people who hold opposing positions on topics of great importance to you. One key thing to remember when addressing this prompt is that you don鈥檛 have to be the hero of the anecdote. In fact, you may be one who learned to expand their thinking.
Finally, Dartmouth wants you to go one step further and discuss how you and the other person found “common ground.” This doesn’t mean that the two of you needed to suddenly see eye-to-eye amidst a flock of doves and beneath a double rainbow. Instead, perhaps you understood the other person’s viewpoint in a new way, even if you didn’t agree, or learned a surprising fact that made you reassess your stance. “I want to learn more about that point you made” or “I appreciate how passionate we both are about this issue” or “I can see where you’re coming from” are all good examples of finding common ground.
E) 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鈥攅specially at a school like Dartmouth鈥攊s downright aspirational. Moreover, the definition of a 鈥渘erd鈥� is someone who is incredibly enthusiastic about a certain topic鈥攅specially if unique. Accordingly, if you鈥檙e interested in answering this question, make a list of any 鈥渟pecialties鈥� that you are particularly dedicated to. Do you love the soundtracks of eighties movies? Science fiction short stories? Strategy games? Rubik鈥檚 cubes? Your backyard barometer? Comic book collections? Whatever topic you choose, make sure to truly lean in and celebrate it鈥攚hat do you love about it, and why? How does it influence you?
F) “It’s not easy being green鈥�” was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity, outlook, or sense of purpose?
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聽less important聽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?聽 Make sure you share what you were feeling and experiencing; this piece should demonstrate openness and vulnerability.
G) The Mindy Kaling Theater Lab will be an exciting new addition to Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts. “It’s a place where you can fail,” the actor/producer and Dartmouth alumna said when her gift was announced. “You can try things out, fail, and then revamp and rework things鈥� A thing can be bad on its journey to becoming good.” Share a story of failure, trial runs, revamping, reworking, or journeying from bad to good.
Option G is another Dartmouth supplemental essay prompt that is fresh out of the box for the 2025-26 cycle. If you can think of a failure, obstacle, or journey of trial-and-error that was significant to you, this prompt could be a great choice.
Of course, some teens have faced more significant challenges or failures than others, but any story told in an emotionally compelling, honest, and connective manner can resonate with an admissions reader. For example, “slice of life” topics, like getting cut from a sports team, struggling to revise a short story, freezing during your very first theater audition, or reworking a faulty code during robotics, can easily result in an excellent, impactful essay.
Bottom line: there are no trite topics, only trite answers. The failure/challenge you choose is much less important than what it reveals about your character and personal growth, whether that’s resilience, open-mindedness, curiosity, positive attitude, persistence, etc.
How important are the Dartmouth supplemental essays?
The essays (both the Common App essay and the supplemental ones) are 鈥渧ery important鈥� to the evaluation process. Seven other factors are 鈥渧ery important.鈥� 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.
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