You're staring at a blank Google Doc. The cursor is blinking like a taunt. You know the stats: Dartmouth’s acceptance rate hovered around 5.3% for the Class of 2028, and it’s not getting any easier. Everyone talks about the "Ivy League vibe," but Dartmouth is its own weird, wonderful thing. It’s the "Big Green." It’s rural. It’s intense. It’s also the place that asks you to write about everything from your "Introduction" to "The mountains are calling." If you’re trying to figure out the Dartmouth College supplemental essays, you have to stop thinking like an applicant and start thinking like a future classmate.
Admissions officers at Hanover aren’t just looking for high SAT scores—though they brought those back recently, so keep that in mind. They want to know if you're someone who can handle a brutal winter and still show up for a 9:00 AM seminar on the works of Toni Morrison. They want to see your "intellectual spark." Basically, don't be boring.
The "Introduce Yourself" Prompt is a Trap
"Please imagine you are appearing at a late-night talk show. The host says, 'Please welcome [Your Name]!' and asks you to introduce yourself. What would you say?"
This is the quintessential Dartmouth prompt. It’s been around in various forms for years. Most people mess this up by reciting their resume. Don't do that. If you spend 250 words talking about your GPA and your role as captain of the debate team, you've failed. Why? Because the admissions officer already has your transcript. They know you're smart. They want to know if you’re funny, or obsessed with baking sourdough, or if you spend your weekends restoring old film cameras.
Think about it like this: if you were actually on a talk show, the audience would fall asleep if you started listing your extracurriculars. You’d tell a story. Maybe it’s about the time you tried to build a computer and accidentally fried the motherboard, or how you have a secret passion for 1970s disco music. Lee Coffin, the Dean of Admissions at Dartmouth, has often spoken on the Admissions Beat podcast about looking for "voice." Your voice isn't a list of achievements; it's the specific way you see the world.
Some students think they need to sound "professional." Honestly, that’s the fastest way to get rejected. Be human. Use a contraction. Start a sentence with "And" or "But" if it feels right. The "Introduce Yourself" prompt is about personality, not polish.
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Why Dartmouth? (But Make It Specific)
The second of the Dartmouth College supplemental essays is the classic "Why Us?" prompt. This is where the research comes in. If you write "I want to go to Dartmouth because of the D-Plan and the beautiful campus," you might as well just withdraw your application now. Every single person writes that.
You need to go deeper.
Maybe you’re a prospective Engineering major. Don’t just mention the Thayer School of Engineering. Mention the Cook Auditorium or a specific project within the DALI Lab. If you’re a history buff, talk about the Rauner Special Collections Library and the specific primary sources you want to get your hands on.
Dartmouth’s D-Plan (the quarter system) is a huge selling point, but it's also polarizing. It’s fast. It’s hectic. You’re on campus for ten weeks, then you’re off doing an internship in D.C. or studying abroad in Berlin. Explain why that pace works for you. Are you someone who thrives on intensity? Do you like the idea of focused, immersive learning? Show them you understand the culture of the school. It’s a community where people actually know their professors. Use that.
Choosing Your Creative Prompt
Dartmouth usually gives you a list of prompts for the final essay. For the 2024-2025 cycle, these included topics ranging from "The mountains are calling" to "Celebrate your nerdiness."
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- The "Mountains Are Calling" Prompt: This isn't just for hikers. It’s about your relationship with your environment. If you grew up in a concrete jungle like NYC, talk about how that shaped you. If you actually do love the outdoors, don't just say you like hiking. Talk about the specific silence of the woods at 5:00 AM.
- The "Nerd" Prompt: This is a fan favorite. Dartmouth loves people who are deeply, unironically into something. Whether it’s urban planning, Taylor Swift’s bridge-writing techniques, or the physics of a perfect curveball, dive in. The more niche, the better.
- The "Labor of Love" Prompt: This one is great for showing grit. What have you done just because you loved it, even when it was hard? It shows that you’re not just doing things for the "Common App" clout.
One mistake I see constantly: students trying to pick the "right" prompt. There isn't one. The "right" prompt is the one that makes you want to keep writing even after you've hit the word count.
The Peer Recommendation: The Secret Weapon
Okay, this isn't technically an essay you write, but it’s a massive part of the Dartmouth application. Dartmouth strongly encourages a Peer Recommendation. This is a letter from a friend, a sibling, or a teammate.
You cannot write this yourself. Please. Just don't.
But you can choose the right person. Don't pick the person who will just say you’re "nice" and "smart." Pick the friend who saw you stay up all night helping them finish a project, or the teammate who knows how you handle a loss. This letter should provide a side of you that a teacher or a counselor can't see. It’s the "vibe check" of the Ivy League.
Avoiding the "Ivy League Cliché"
There’s a specific type of writing that pops up in Dartmouth College supplemental essays that makes admissions officers roll their eyes. It’s the "I went on a service trip and realized how lucky I am" essay. It’s the "I won the big game in the last ten seconds" essay. These are clichés for a reason—they happen—but they rarely reveal anything unique about the writer.
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If you’re going to write about a common experience, you need a very uncommon perspective.
Instead of writing about the service trip, write about the specific conversation you had with a local kid about a shared love for a certain video game. Instead of the big game, write about the bus ride home after a loss. Nuance is your friend.
Final Polish and the "Hanover Test"
Before you hit submit, read your essays out loud. If you sound like a robot or a LinkedIn post, go back and fix it.
Ask yourself: "Could this essay work for Cornell? Or Williams?"
If the answer is yes, you haven't been specific enough about Dartmouth. Dartmouth is a very specific place. It’s isolated. It’s tight-knit. It’s a place where the "Outing Club" is the biggest organization on campus. Your essays should reflect that you’re ready for that specific environment.
Practical Next Steps for Your Dartmouth Application:
- Audit Your Activities: Look at your Common App honors and activities. Identify the "gaps" in your personality that aren't represented there. Use the "Introduce Yourself" prompt to fill those gaps.
- Specific Research: Spend an hour on the Dartmouth department website for your intended major. Find one professor’s research or one specific course (like "COLT 1.01: Masterworks of World Literature") that actually excites you.
- The Peer Rec: Ask your peer recommender now. Give them a few "memory joggers"—specific stories or moments you share—to help them write a more detailed letter.
- Drafting: Write your first draft of the "Talk Show" prompt without looking at the word count. Let it be 500 words. You can cut it down later. The goal is to capture the "spark" first.
- Review: Have someone who knows you well—but isn't a teacher—read your essays. Ask them, "Does this sound like me, or does it sound like an 'applicant'?" If they say 'applicant,' start over.
Getting into Dartmouth isn't about being perfect. It's about being "Big Green" material. It's about showing that you're ready to contribute to a community that's as intellectually rigorous as it is socially connected. Good luck—Hanover is waiting.