Hanover, NH · Private · 4,541 undergraduates · town
Dartmouth College
Extremely selective
Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy and the one most closely associated with the outdoors. Hanover is remote enough that the college must create much of its own social world, while the D-Plan lets students move academic terms across the year for internships, research, or travel. The result is intimate and flexible, but neither quality suits someone who needs a major city outside the gate.
Institutional profile
Top tier Exceptional in career outcomes, and strong in academic standing.- Admission
- 6.2% admitted
- Price by income
- Varies across five income ranges
- Completion
- 95.3%
28,841 applicants in the reported year
Compare recent average annual costs by household income
$97,434 median earnings 10 years after enrollment
What sets Dartmouth apart
The D-Plan makes the calendar flexible
Students can rearrange on-campus terms to pursue work, research, and travel at less crowded times of year.
Outdoor life is part of the institution
The Dartmouth Outing Club connects trips, cabins, instruction, and traditions to ordinary undergraduate life.
Undergraduates dominate the campus
The college’s size and structure keep undergraduate teaching and community at the center.
The Dartmouth calendar
Four years built from movable terms
The D-Plan makes time itself part of the undergraduate design.
Build a Hanover base
Classes, Houses, teams, and clubs create the close community that anchors the degree.
Leave when others are in class
Students can use less conventional timing for research, work, or travel.
Bring the experience back
Flexible terms matter most when outside work changes the questions pursued on campus.
Can I get in?
6.2% admitted
Strong grades in demanding courses are expected. Dartmouth also needs evidence that the applicant will take part in a close campus community rather than treat the college as a platform for private achievement.
Recent applicant pool
28,841About 6 in every 100 applicants were admitted.
Academic range
Of admitted students, 43% submitted an SAT, and 23% submitted an ACT. Submission rates alone do not settle the choice. Submit a score if it strengthens the application.
In the season card
Where your GPA sits in the entering class
The full entering-class GPA distribution for Dartmouth, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.
See where I landIn the season card
What Dartmouth weighs when it reads a file
See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.
- Course rigor
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Demonstrated interest
What moves the application
The evidence that separates a strong file
Community participation
Show where the student has made a small community stronger through sustained action.
Academic closeness
Use examples that support learning through discussion, faculty contact, and collaborative work.
A real reason for Hanover
Explain why a rural residential setting fits rather than merely accepting it as the price of admission.
Use off terms well
Work, research, travel, or service can demonstrate readiness to use the D-Plan well.
How to apply
Rounds, route, and required materials
Dartmouth offers Early Decision and Regular Decision. The application should show why a small, residential, rural college fits you, and how you would take part once there.
Fee waiver: accepted
Can I afford it?
Compare annual cost by household income.
Need-based aid can change the price substantially. Travel to Hanover and the cost of off-term plans deserve a place in the family comparison.
College funding
Scholarships and financial aid
Review available aid, application requirements, and renewal terms.
In the season card
Average annual cost by household income at Dartmouth
Compare recent average net prices across five federal income ranges and estimate a 4-year cost for yours.
- $0–30k
- $30–48k
- $48–75k
- $75–110k
- $110k+
Is it worth it?
Completion, debt, and earnings
The alumni network reaches further than the size of the school suggests. Finance, consulting, technology, medicine, public service, and graduate study all benefit from close faculty and alumni contact.
Degree completion across the reported entering cohort
First-year students who return for year two
And what that comes to against what they earn.
Reported 10 years after enrollment
Academic portfolio
Largest bachelor’s fields
How many students finish in each field, and median earnings four years after completing the program.
Economics
Political Science and Government
Computer Science
Biology, General
Engineering Science
What is campus life like?
Dartmouth beyond the classroom
The Green, residence communities, athletics, and the Dartmouth Outing Club make campus life highly participatory. Greek organizations have a larger social role here than at several Ivy peers.
House communities organize residential life
Students join one of six House communities that connect housing, advising, events, and class years.
Meals stay close to the Green
Campus dining and Hanover restaurants serve a community whose daily geography remains compact.
The outdoors is an institution
The Outing Club, athletics, publications, performance, service, and research make participation central to the experience.
Greek organizations are prominent
Fraternities and sororities carry substantial weekend activity alongside Houses, teams, clubs, and college traditions.
The D-Plan changes who is present
Flexible enrollment terms create unusual internship options, but friends may spend different quarters on and off campus.