I'm a mostly A student, but I got a C in math in 10th grade. Am I doomed?

No, you are not doomed. The errant C on a student's transcript, in and of itself, does not preclude admission (and even if it did, you would not be doomed; "doom" is a pretty strong word).

In any case, we read each student's transcript and school profile closely to determine to what extent the student has challenged him/herself given what is available and what his/her interests are. Then we look closely at how the student has performed in each subject. In the case you describe, we will seek to understand what contributed to the C grade and to see how your performance has progressed since you received this grade. These two latter points are critical to the role that this grade will play in your overall evaluation. Each year, we admit quite a few students who do not have straight A grades. As you will glean from other posts in our blogs, it is our holistic understanding of the candidacy and how it fits within the context of our applicant pool as a whole that determines the outcome. One grade in one class is but one piece that will contribute to this holistic understanding.

Can varsity athletes study abroad?

Absolutely! Our Academic Skills Center addresses this issue on their website, and they even have a page that provides sample D-plans for student athletes depending on your season of competition.

Can I arrange for an ASL interpreter when I visit?

Yes. We will provide an interpreter. You can learn more here.

If I submit my ACT scores, do I also need to submit SAT Subject Test scores?

Yes.

We need either:

ACT with writing AND 2 different SAT Subject Test scores

OR

SAT with writing AND 2 different SAT Subject Test scores

Can I use Score Choice for the SAT I?

Yes- Dartmouth permits the use of Score Choice. However, we encourage students to send us ALL of their scores.

Sending all scores is advantageous for many students because we will take the highest composite scores between exam sittings. For example, of a student's highest scores on the SAT math, critical reading and writing sections are spread out between multiple sittings, we will officially record the composite of those scores. However, if this particular student only sends in one sitting of the exam, we will not be able to composite score.

In some cases, we may also look at the SAT I exam in terms of a student's improvement over time. Don't worry if your score from your freshman or sophomore year is lower than your most recent score- this is to be expected! Seeing a higher score on a more recent sitting of the exam only tells us that you have grown since the last time you sat for the SAT. Keep in mind that if we only have one score on file, we will not have a basis for comparison.

Our full policy with regard to testing and details on when to request scores from the College Board can be found here.

Can I eat in a dining hall during my visit?

Yes, please do! My suggestion is don't eat at just one. Dartmouth offers terrific dining options and I think it makes sense for visitors to get a sense of what's available while they're here. You can learn more about dining at Dartmouth here.

Is it ok if my peer evaluation is typed?

Yes! Please do ask your peer to type her/his recommendation. It is far easier for us to read your peer evaluation when it is typed.

Do you accept iELTS (in lieu of TOEFL)?

Yes. You may submit either iELTS or TOEFL scores. (We require students who attend schools where English is not the primary language of instruction to submit scores from either TOEFL or iELTS to help us assess their English language skills. If you are a non-native English speaker BUT you attend an English-language high school, you are not required to take either of these tests, however oftentimes it still is helpful to receive these scores.)

Do I need to send in AP Exam scores with my application for admission?

If you are enrolled in AP classes, we encourage you take the AP exams for those classes.

If you have AP scores, we strongly encourage you to submit those scores to us by reporting them under the "Tests" section of the Common Application. Students who enroll can be granted course credit or placement based on AP scores.

If I apply under Dartmouth's Early Decision program, can I apply to other schools under non-binding Early Action?

Depends on the fine print of the Early program at other schools.

If the OTHER school allows you to apply to a binding Early Decision program (Dartmouth uses binding Early Decision) in addition to applying Early at their institution, then yes. The most common example where this is NOT allowed is Single-Choice Early Action, where you can only apply to one school early (though you are not required to enroll at the school if admitted). Remember, under Dartmouth's binding Early Decision program, if you are admitted early you are required to attend (though if you are deferred in early and admitted during the regular process you are no longer bound by the early decision agreement).

Read the fine print of each Early program agreement carefully.

I am an international transfer applicant who currently attends a university in the US. My TOEFL score has expired. Do I need to take the exam again?

No- if you are already attending a college or university in the US, you do not need to take the TOEFL again. We will be looking at your essay, grades and coursework to determine your proficiency in the English language.

Does the Admissions Office consider the French and French with Listening SAT Subject Tests as two different exams?

While submitting scores for the French and French with Listening SAT Subject Tests would technically meet our SAT Subject Test requirement, I would strongly suggest that you not take only these two exams since they are so similar. (The same applies to the other languages for which there are two exams). It is totally fine to take both the Math I and Math II exams, or language exams in which you are a native speaker, but we generally discourage applicants from submitting two scores from the same language unless they're also submitting scores from other exams.

I go to an international school where my classes are taught in Spanish. Can you read recommendations written in Spanish?

We recognize that many of our international students attend schools where English is not spoken in the classroom. If your teacher, guidance counselor, or peer writes your recommendation in a foreign language, we will ask that those recommendations be translated before they are submitted with your application.

Typically, if there is an English teacher at your school, we will ask that you have your English teacher or other English-proficient school official translate those application pieces. If you do not have access to English-speaking faculty, then you can ask a community member or relative to translate the documents. For ALL translated documents, however, we will ask that the translator sign and date the documents, so that we know they have been translated.

We also reserve the right to check for accuracy in these translations. We verify translations in various ways once the documents have been submitted.

I graduated from high school ten years ago. Can I still apply?

Yes! While most Dartmouth students enroll directly after high school, a number of students at the College have spent anywhere from a year to several decades or more out of school before attending. The experiences they're able to share and the perspectives they bring add to the diversity of our community.

I'm a soccer player. Should I send you my athletic "highlights" video?

We recognize that many student-athletes are interested in pursuing their sport in college. We also recognize that many student-athletes might be seeking different levels of athletic competition (varsity, club, intramural, leisure, etc.) Luckily for us, we offer many different athletic opportunities for ALL students.

Having that said, if you are a student-athlete with a keen interest in a particular sport, we encourage you to contact the coach at Dartmouth directly. The Dartmouth Admissions office does not accept "Athletic Supplements" from the Common Application, and we also do not review videos or athletic portfolios. Instead, we rely on our coaches to communicate with you about their specific teams and programs.
You can find out more about the Dartmouth athletic programs here:
http://www.dartmouthsports.com/

If you are a student-athlete but you are not interested in pursuing your sport in college, you can still tell us about your athletic involvement in the "Extracurriculars" section of the Common Application. We value all extracurriculars from Dance to Slam Poetry to Lacrosse, and we'll certainly be interested in seeing which activities bring out your passion.

Do I have to have an interview if I don't want to?

No. Dartmouth encourages applicants to have an interview if they have the opportunity to do so, and you can find out more about this here. On the other hand, if you are invited to interview and you would prefer not to, that is perfectly fine.