On Dec. 15, the College accepted 606 students to the Class of 2028 from an all-time high pool of 3,550 applicants — an 18% jump in applicants from last year, according to a Dartmouth News article. The acceptance rate for early decision applicants was 17%, which marks a record low for the College and a 2% decrease from last year.
In addition, 74 students were matched with Dartmouth through QuestBridge, a nonprofit that pairs high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with top colleges and universities, bringing the total number of accepted members of the Class of 2028 to 680. The number of students admitted through QuestBridge this year broke last year’s all-time record of 47 students.
“It was unquestionably the best ED pool I have seen in my eight years at Dartmouth,” Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Lee Coffin stated in the press release.
All QuestBridge students admitted are eligible for a federal Pell Grant, contributing to 22% of incoming students who are eligible for a financial aid package that requires no parent contribution. Additionally, a record 22% of students will be the first generation in their families to attend college.
“That is a strong indication of the socioeconomic diversity that populates the early cohorts,” Coffin said, according to the press release.
This is the first application cycle following the Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that struck down race-based considerations in college admissions. Due to this ruling, the College’s press release noted that College admissions officers did not have “access to race and ethnicity data.” Additionally, racial demographics will not be tracked or reported “during the active selection process.” However, the press release added that Dartmouth added a a new essay question to its application where applicants were prompted to provide information about their personal backgrounds, experiences or perspectives.
Accepted students to the Class of 2028 hail from 47 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 47 nations across the globe — a slight increase from 44 countries last year. Dartmouth did not report how many members of the Class of 2028 are the children of Dartmouth alumni, or legacies, which represents a break from recent years. Last year, 14% of admitted students via early decision were legacies.
