Dartmouth Supplemental Essays 2026-27: All Nine Prompts

Dartmouth Supplemental Essays 2026-27: All Nine Prompts

Dartmouth requires three supplemental answers: a 100-word "why Dartmouth," one 250-word answer from two options, and one 250-word answer from six options. What matters most is choosing well. The two 250-word answers should show two different sides of you, and neither should repeat your Common App essay.

Dartmouth's FAQ puts the goal plainly: your essays "should help us understand those intangibles that can't easily be reflected in a resume. … Your writing lets us get to know you and we read every word. Help us envision what you'll bring to Dartmouth." That last sentence is a good test for all three answers.

The 2026-27 prompts

Verbatim from Dartmouth's writing supplement page, headed "Writing supplement prompts included in Dartmouth's application for admission to the Class of 2031" and marked "Updated July 22, 2026" (checked September 24, 2026). The Class of 2031 enters in fall 2027, so these are the 2026-27 prompts. All three answers are required of every applicant.

1. Required, 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?"

2. Required, choose one, 250 words or fewer:

• 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."
• B. "'Be yourself,' Oscar Wilde advised. 'Everyone else is taken.' Introduce yourself."

3. Required, choose one, 250 words or fewer:

• A. "What excites you?"
• 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?"
• 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?"
• 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?"
• E. "Celebrate your nerdy side."
• 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?"

QuestBridge Finalists complete the same writing supplement through Dartmouth's applicant portal after their application is forwarded.

What each prompt is testing

Prompt 1: why Dartmouth in 100 words

Answering this well in 100 words is the hardest part of the set. The prompt asks about any combination of "academic program, community, and/or campus environment," and then asks a second question: "How is Dartmouth a good fit for you?" At this length you cannot do both halves with a list. A strong answer picks one or two features, links each to something already true about you, and stops. Mentioning the D-Plan, the outdoors, or the size of the college without connecting it to yourself is only half an answer. If a sentence would be just as true about any rural college, cut it.

Prompt 2A: "Let your life speak"

This prompt is about where you come from. "The environment in which you were raised" can mean a place, a household, a language, a set of responsibilities, or a community. The second half, "the impact it has had on the person you are today," is what you're actually being asked. A description of your town with no effect on you answers only half the prompt. It is closely related to the diversity and perspective supplement, and the same rule applies: the reader learns about your background through you, not through a history of it.

Prompt 2B: "Introduce yourself"

This is the most open prompt in the set, so it gives you the least help. The Wilde quote invites personality, and Dartmouth's FAQ asks for "Your sense of humor, your passion, your intellectual curiosity, your self-awareness, or social awareness." The mistake is writing a résumé in paragraph form. One strong format: a single specific habit, object, or routine that reveals several traits without naming them. Choose 2B over 2A only if your background is not what you most want Dartmouth to know, or if your personal essay already covers it.

Prompt 3A and 3E: what excites you, and your nerdy side

These are two versions of an intellectual-curiosity question. 3E wants enthusiasm and detail: the obscure fact, the rabbit hole, the thing you explain too long at dinner. 3A is broader and can be about anything, but three words leave you to supply the stakes. Neither is a why-major essay, though academic interests fit well. The trap is choosing a respectable topic instead of one you actually love. In the Admission Beat episode featured on Dartmouth's writing supplement page, host Lee Coffin encourages students to ask themselves one question: "Who do I want the admission officer to meet?"

Prompt 3B: impact

The Huerta prompt asks three questions: "Why? How?" and whether you are "already making" an impact or "hope to." Present-tense evidence helps. Scale does not matter. A modest, specific impact you explain well is stronger than a large one you only assert. This prompt is related to the community supplemental essay, so avoid simply listing service hours.

Prompt 3C: reading

Name the book. The prompt asks "What did you read," and then how it "alter[ed] the way you understand yourself and others." Summarizing the plot uses up words without answering either question. The strong version goes quickly to one moment in the book and one change in you.

Prompt 3D: difficult conversations

The Goodall prompt ends with "How did you find common ground?" That assumes you did. An honest answer can include partial common ground, but it has to show the listening. The trap is a story where you were right and the other person came around. Readers can tell when the other side of the argument is a straw man.

Prompt 3F: difference

Like 2A, this invites identity writing, but it is about "difference" and how you "embraced it." If you choose 2A, avoid 3F unless the two answers cover clearly different ground. Otherwise Dartmouth reads the same story twice.

Constructed example (Prompt 1, 100 words)

Constructed example, written for this guide, not a real applicant's essay. At 93 words, it shows two features, each linked to the applicant, and a fit claim with evidence.

My summer job was clearing trail for the county parks crew, and the best conversations happened on the drive out, when a retired geologist explained every road cut. I want college to feel like that drive: learning that spills out of a classroom into the place itself. I plan to study earth and planetary sciences, and because the D-Plan runs year-round, I could take an off-term for a field job without choosing between work and study. I'm good at being cold, early, and useful. I would like to be all three in Hanover.

Annotation: Each Dartmouth feature is tied to something the applicant already does, so the fit claim at the end has evidence. The last two sentences show personality in about twenty words, which a 100-word answer rarely has space for.

How to choose your two 250-word prompts

Treat Prompts 2 and 3 as one decision. Start with your personal essay and ask what it already covers.

• Personal essay is about your background: choose 2B (introduce yourself), then 3A, 3C, or 3E.
• Personal essay is about an activity or achievement: choose 2A, then a 3 that is not about impact, such as 3C, 3D, or 3E.
• You want to write about identity: use 2A or 3F, not both.

Any pairing works if the two answers show two sides of you that don't overlap.

Reuse map

• From the Common App essay: do not tell the same story again in 2A or 3F. Choose the Dartmouth prompt that covers what the personal essay leaves out.
• From other schools: a background essay written for Vanderbilt's Crescere aude prompt (see the Vanderbilt guide) can supply material for 2A, but remove Vanderbilt's future-contribution clause. Dartmouth's 2A asks about impact so far. Tufts' 150-word question about how you engaged with the college (Tufts guide) is a close cousin of Prompt 1, but Dartmouth gives you only 100 words and asks about fit rather than your search.
• Must be Dartmouth-specific: all of Prompt 1. The what-each-type-asks guide explains why "why us" answers can't be reused across schools.

Checklist before you submit

• Prompt 1 is 100 words or fewer and answers both "what attracts you" and "how is Dartmouth a good fit."
• Your 2 and 3 choices show different sides of you, and neither repeats your personal essay.
• 3B answers "Why? How?"; 3C names the book; 3D shows the common ground.
• Each 250-word answer is 250 words or fewer.
• You have asked someone for the peer recommendation, which Dartmouth calls "strongly encouraged." It is not an essay, but it helps show the qualities your answers describe.
• No other college's name appears anywhere.

When the drafts are done, paste each Dartmouth prompt above its answer and run it through GradPilot's free review against the diversity and perspective supplement rubric for 2A, 2B, or 3F. The community and why-major rubrics work for the other options. The review checks whether you answered every clause and gives qualitative feedback. It does not predict admission, and it does not write or edit your essays. The college essay review page explains what is covered.

FAQ

How many supplemental essays does Dartmouth require for 2026-27?

Three, and all are required: a 100-word "why Dartmouth," one 250-word answer from Prompt 2 (two options), and one 250-word answer from Prompt 3 (six options). There are no optional essays.

When are Dartmouth's deadlines?

Early Decision, which is binding, is due November 1. Dartmouth's Regular Decision timeline lists January 1 for the application and fee, though one QuestBridge section on the same page says January 2. Plan for January 1. See early decision vs. early action if you are deciding between plans.

Is the peer recommendation required?

No. Dartmouth describes it as "strongly encouraged" and accepts it after the application deadline, ideally "within ten days." A peer can be a teammate, sibling, cousin, co-worker, or classmate, but not someone in a supervisory role.

Can I use the same topic for Prompt 2A and 3F?

You can, but it usually wastes an answer. Both ask about identity and background. If you choose both, make sure they tell different stories.

Sources

• Dartmouth: writing supplement prompts, Class of 2031 (updated July 22, 2026)
• Dartmouth: what should I write my essays about?
• Dartmouth: how do I impress Dartmouth with my essays?
• Dartmouth: peer recommendation
• Dartmouth: apply, dates and deadlines