Jul 28, 2026
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By Justin Neiman, Former Ivy League Admissions Officer
Dartmouth has officially released its writing supplement for students applying to the Class of 2031. For the 2026–2027 application cycle, applicants complete three responses: one required 100-word “Why Dartmouth” essay, one 250-word essay selected from two introductory prompts, and one 250-word essay selected from six additional prompts.
The supplement is brief, but it asks applicants to accomplish several different things. Dartmouth wants to understand why its particular academic and residential community appeals to you, how your environment or personality has shaped you, and what excites, motivates, or distinguishes you.
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?
250 words or fewer
Option 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.
Option B
“Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.
250 words or fewer
Option A
What excites you?
Option B
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?
Option 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?
Option 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?
Option E
Celebrate your nerdy side.
Option F
“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?
Dartmouth’s three responses should work together. The first establishes why Dartmouth is a strong match. The other two should reveal dimensions of your background, personality, interests, values, or relationships that are not already obvious elsewhere in the application.
Before choosing prompts, review your personal statement and activities list. Identify what the admissions committee will already know, then use the Dartmouth supplement to fill the most meaningful gaps. Three individually strong essays can still feel repetitive if they all focus on the same activity or quality.
At only 100 words, this response requires unusually careful selection. You cannot explain every reason Dartmouth appeals to you. Choose two or three connected features that reflect a clear vision of the education and community you want.
A strong “Why Dartmouth” response should reveal something about you as well as the college. Before researching programs, decide what you are looking for. Do you want to connect two academic fields, learn through close faculty mentorship, conduct field-based research, join a highly residential community, or use Dartmouth’s flexible calendar to pursue sustained work beyond campus?
Once you identify those priorities, find the Dartmouth opportunities that genuinely support them. This creates a clear relationship between your goals and the institution rather than a list of attractive offerings.
Specificity matters, but naming resources is not enough. A course, professor, research center, student organization, or feature of the D-Plan becomes persuasive only when you explain how you would engage with it.
Across the three responses, Dartmouth is looking for fit, self-awareness, intellectual and personal energy, and the capacity to contribute to a close residential community. The essays help the committee imagine how you might participate in classrooms, residence halls, organizations, research, traditions, and relationships on campus.
The strongest supplements balance coherence with range. Your answers should feel consistent with one another, but each should add something new. A student might use the first response to establish academic and institutional fit, the second to explain a formative environment, and the third to reveal an unexpected enthusiasm.
Dartmouth does not require every response to be solemn or accomplishment-driven. Warmth, humor, curiosity, and small personal details can be valuable when they are natural and purposeful.
Dartmouth’s 2026–2027 supplement is compact but revealing. The 100-word response should establish a credible connection between your priorities and Dartmouth. The two 250-word responses should then deepen the application by showing where you come from, how you think, what energizes you, or what you may contribute.
Choose prompts based on the application as a whole. Be specific, preserve your natural voice, and use each answer to introduce a dimension the admissions committee would not otherwise see.
Selective Admissions provides personalized application strategy and essay guidance for students applying to Dartmouth and other highly selective universities. Contact Selective Admissions to learn more.
Dartmouth has officially released its writing supplement for students applying to the Class of 2031. For the 2026–2027 application cycle, applicants complete three responses: one required 100-word “Why Dartmouth” essay, one 250-word essay selected from two introductory prompts, and one 250-word essay selected from six additional prompts.
The supplement is brief, but it asks applicants to accomplish several different things. Dartmouth wants to understand why its particular academic and residential community appeals to you, how your environment or personality has shaped you, and what excites, motivates, or distinguishes you.
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?
250 words or fewer
Option 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.
Option B
“Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.
250 words or fewer
Option A
What excites you?
Option B
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?
Option 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?
Option 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?
Option E
Celebrate your nerdy side.
Option F
“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?
Dartmouth’s three responses should work together. The first establishes why Dartmouth is a strong match. The other two should reveal dimensions of your background, personality, interests, values, or relationships that are not already obvious elsewhere in the application.
Before choosing prompts, review your personal statement and activities list. Identify what the admissions committee will already know, then use the Dartmouth supplement to fill the most meaningful gaps. Three individually strong essays can still feel repetitive if they all focus on the same activity or quality.
At only 100 words, this response requires unusually careful selection. You cannot explain every reason Dartmouth appeals to you. Choose two or three connected features that reflect a clear vision of the education and community you want.
A strong “Why Dartmouth” response should reveal something about you as well as the college. Before researching programs, decide what you are looking for. Do you want to connect two academic fields, learn through close faculty mentorship, conduct field-based research, join a highly residential community, or use Dartmouth’s flexible calendar to pursue sustained work beyond campus?
Once you identify those priorities, find the Dartmouth opportunities that genuinely support them. This creates a clear relationship between your goals and the institution rather than a list of attractive offerings.
Specificity matters, but naming resources is not enough. A course, professor, research center, student organization, or feature of the D-Plan becomes persuasive only when you explain how you would engage with it.
Across the three responses, Dartmouth is looking for fit, self-awareness, intellectual and personal energy, and the capacity to contribute to a close residential community. The essays help the committee imagine how you might participate in classrooms, residence halls, organizations, research, traditions, and relationships on campus.
The strongest supplements balance coherence with range. Your answers should feel consistent with one another, but each should add something new. A student might use the first response to establish academic and institutional fit, the second to explain a formative environment, and the third to reveal an unexpected enthusiasm.
Dartmouth does not require every response to be solemn or accomplishment-driven. Warmth, humor, curiosity, and small personal details can be valuable when they are natural and purposeful.
Dartmouth’s 2026–2027 supplement is compact but revealing. The 100-word response should establish a credible connection between your priorities and Dartmouth. The two 250-word responses should then deepen the application by showing where you come from, how you think, what energizes you, or what you may contribute.
Choose prompts based on the application as a whole. Be specific, preserve your natural voice, and use each answer to introduce a dimension the admissions committee would not otherwise see.
Selective Admissions provides personalized application strategy and essay guidance for students applying to Dartmouth and other highly selective universities. Contact Selective Admissions to learn more.
Former Admissions Officer, Harvard University
Former Assistant Dean, Stanford University
I’m a college admissions counselor and the founder of Selective Admissions. I help students navigate the college application process and position themselves as competitive applicants to top universities.
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