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Dartmouth  /  Essays  /  Prompt 1

Dartmouth: Why Dartmouth (Required)

100 words

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?
What it’s really asking

In very few words, name the specific things at Dartmouth that fit you, and connect each one to something real about you. This is a "Why us" essay with almost no room, so it is really asking: have you done your homework, and do you actually belong here?

Why they ask it

Dartmouth is small and residential, so fit matters enormously. They want students who chose Dartmouth on purpose, not as a ranking, and who understand what makes it distinct (the D-Plan, the rural setting, the focus on undergraduates).

Three ways in
Lead with one true academic hook

Open with a specific First-Year Seminar topic, a professor's research that maps to your interest, or a department strength only you could claim, then connect it to something you have actually done.

Use the D-Plan as structural fit

Point to the D-Plan or an off-campus program as a feature that fits your goals, then tie it to a concrete plan rather than mentioning it as a perk.

Name a community you would join

Reference a club, the outdoor programs, or a cultural group and link it to who you already are, not who you hope to seem on paper.

✕  Weak opening

“Dartmouth's prestigious academics, world-renowned faculty, and beautiful campus make it my dream school.”

✓  Strong opening

“I want to take Professor Hudson's First-Year Seminar on rivers because I have spent three summers testing pH in the creek behind my house and never had anyone to argue with about it.”

✦ Annotated example · The 3FB and the off-season ridgeline. Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
I want the Foley House dinner where someone argues that Antigone is really about logistics. 1Dartmouth's quarter system lets me take Government 30 and a 3.0 Forensics writing course in the same term, 2then disappear into a sophomore-summer field study without falling behind. 3I read about the Dickey Center's policy debates and immediately knew where I'd waste my Tuesdays. 4But mostly it's the scale. 5At a place small enough that professors run discussions, not lecture halls, I can be a person with a name and a half-formed idea, walk it up a ridgeline in the off-season, and bring it back better.
  1. 1Opens with a hyper-specific, slightly funny image instead of "Dartmouth's vibrant community." It signals the applicant has actually pictured being there, not just admired the brochure.
  2. 2Names real, checkable mechanics (the quarter system, an actual course number). Specificity over prestige is exactly what Dartmouth rewards, and it proves real research.
  3. 3Sophomore summer is a Dartmouth-specific feature. Citing it shows the applicant understands the actual shape of the experience, not just the name.
  4. 4"Waste my Tuesdays" is a livable, human line. It shows personality and genuine enthusiasm rather than resume-stacking.
  5. 5A short pivot sentence controls pacing inside a tight 100-word limit and sets up the closing turn.
Stuck? Start here
  • What is one Dartmouth course, program, or professor you could name right now without looking it up again, and why does it stick with you?
  • What do you already do for fun or out of stubbornness that Dartmouth would let you keep doing?
  • If a friend asked why Dartmouth and not the ten other schools on your list, what would you actually say?
Before you submit
  • Could this essay be copy-pasted to another Ivy? If yes, make it more specific to Dartmouth.
  • Did you name at least one concrete program, course, or feature and connect it to you?
  • Are you under 100 words with no sentence wasted on generic praise?

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