HANOVER — Dartmouth College has accepted 1,687 students for its class of 2030, the school announced recently through its newsroom.
The admitted students retain the selectivity that Dartmouth has carefully cultivated. They were chosen from 28,863 applicants. That’s 2.2% more than the previous year.
The number of applicants has increased by 35% over the past six years.
Dartmouth released few details about the racial and economic makeup of the admitted students, and a spokesperson declined to answer further questions, including about how many students applied and were admitted via early decision, which tends to favor wealthier students. Early decision applications are due Nov. 1. Successful applicants are notified in December and acceptance is an implicit contract to attend. Other highly selective schools have an early decision option.
“The socioeconomic profile of the accepted class represents Dartmouth’s ongoing commitment to affordability and socioeconomic diversity,” Dino Koff, assistant vice president and executive director of financial aid, told Dartmouth News. “For undergraduate students supported by financial aid, a Dartmouth education is more affordable today versus 10 years ago due to greater financial aid support.”
Last fall, Dartmouth announced that it had admitted the first members of the class of 2030 via early decision, but included no numbers of applicants and admittees.
In declining to release those numbers, Dartmouth News wrote, “Dartmouth is joining several of its peer institutions, which are seeking to lower at least some of the stress of applying to Ivy and other highly selective institutions.”
Overall, around 27% of admitted students come from families with a total annual income below $175,000 with typical assets, which qualifies them for free tuition.
Dartmouth also offers families earning less than $125,000 a year with typical assets a “zero parent contribution” option that guarantees no loans.
The total cost to attend Dartmouth next year includes $71,697 for tuition, $2,426 in fees, $13,032 for housing and $8,746 for meals, plus an estimated $3,046 for books, supplies and miscellaneous expenses.
That totals $98,946 for 2026-27.
The Dartmouth News story does not make clear what percentage of the college’s 4,500 undergraduates receive financial aid.
An estimated 55% of Dartmouth first-year students received need-based financial aid in fall 2023, U.S. News and World Report said in its annual college and university rankings for that year. That would mean that roughly 45% of Dartmouth students pay the full sticker price.
Dartmouth has offered $53.2 million in need-based scholarships to the accepted class, with an average scholarship of more than $74,000.
The acceptance rate for the class of 2030 is 5.8%, which makes this the sixth straight year in which Dartmouth has had an acceptance rate of 6% or less.
In declining to answer emailed questions about the makeup of the admitted class, spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote: “We do not release more detailed admissions data until the new class matriculates each fall.”
The breakdown of the 1,205 students who enrolled last fall that Dartmouth released on its website says that 15% are the first generation to attend college and 11% are legacy students, who had a family member attend Dartmouth.
It also noted that 41% of admitted students are “U.S. citizens and permanent residents of color.”
As recently as 2024, the college has provided a more thorough accounting of the racial backgrounds of its new students.
The U.S. Supreme Court and the Trump administration have cracked down on the use of race in college admissions, calling instead for “viewpoint diversity.” Dartmouth’s announcement follows suit.
“In response to the ‘Why Dartmouth?’ prompt on the College’s application, one-in-three admitted students cited a desire to be a part of a Dartmouth culture that values dialogue and free expression,” Dartmouth News reported.
