Dartmouth College

Essay prompts (9)

1. why usAll first-year applicants (required)2026-27100 words

   Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer: As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2031, what aspects of the college's academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you?

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2. identityAll first-year applicants (choose one of two)2026-27250 words

   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.

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3. identityAll first-year applicants (choose one of two)2026-27250 words

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

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4. otherAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

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

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5. communityAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

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

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6. academic interestAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

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

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7. communityAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

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

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8. weirdAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

   Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer: Celebrate your nerdy side.

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9. identityAll first-year applicants (choose one of six)2026-27250 words

   Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer: "It's not easy being green…" was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity, outlook, or sense of purpose?

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The school's published AI policy

No published AI policy for applicants as of Aug 27, 2026.

How reviews use this page

When you request a review for a Dartmouth College supplement, the feedback is grounded in exactly what you see here: the prompt itself, its word limit, and what the school publishes about its values and programs. That's the whole claim — calibrated to the prompt and the school's own published guidance, scored against a consistent rubric. Not insider knowledge, and never a rewrite: Second Read is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It flags weaknesses and tells you what to fix and why; it never writes a sentence of your essay.

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Prompts move mid-season

Every Friday: what changed in this week’s prompts. Nothing else. See what changed.