Dartmouth
Dartmouth International Admissions
Dartmouth College just announced today that on the one hand, they are creating new programs to “expand their outreach efforts to target international students,” but at the same time are cutting back on international travel due to budget cutbacks.
Maria Laskaris, the director of admissions states, “I think it’s important that we build a community here that includes a strong cross-section of international students to bring the world to Dartmouth. The perspective international students have in the classroom and in the dorms and the extracurricular activities, I think, enriches the experience for everybody.”
Given Dartmouth’s numerous off campus study programs and international outlook, increasing the number of international students makes sense, but where do you draw the line? Sure, many would argue that international students give a lot of bang for the buck on real diversity and I would agree. But for every international student who comes to Dartmouth, the admissions odds go down for American students and with the current admissions scene, that can be discouraging to aspiring Dartmouth applicants.
For the class of 2011, international students comprise a record 9 percent of the class. Most Ivies cap the number of international students at 7-15%, no more and the odds for international applicants are generally lower than the odds for American students given how many students apply from so many different foreign countries. What percentage of international students is ideal? Hard to say given so many other priorities. Is it fair that international students compose only a tenth of the class while recruited athletes compose nearly 20% of the entering class? How much diversity do recruited athletes bring to campus versus a brilliant student from Norway? Or a minority student from Harlem? None of these are easy questions – what do you think?
More Early Decision Details
Most college early deadlines are coming up soon: November 1, although a few are still November 15 — you have to check. Don’t worry though — as long as you POSTMARK your application by November 1, it will not be late. BUT, do check each school as University of Michigan, for instance, changed its policy and requires applications to ARRIVE BY their due date rather than be POSTMARKED. It takes admissions officers a good 1-2 weeks to open and assemble applications. They encourage kids to apply before the deadline so they have some files to start with. If everyone sent everything in November 1, it’s possible they wouldn’t finish reading them. For those schools that offer alumni interviews, it’s actually better to mail in your application by October 15th to maximize your chance of getting an alumni interview on time.
ACT Testing
After the transcript, colleges give most weight to test scores. At schools like Dartmouth and Columbia, the average verbal SAT score is about 730, and the average math is 735. That’s typical at all the top schools although, Cornell and Brown can be a bit lower, Harvard, Yale, Princeton a bit higher. Clearly in order to get into this top category of schools, you MUST have strong test scores. Typically on SAT Subject Tests, most students aiming for top colleges earn over 740 on three SAT II tests. All the unhooked students we have worked with who have gotten into Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale have tended to have 740 and up critical reading, 730 and up in math and 730 and up in writing.
Some schools, however, will accept the ACT in lieu of SAT Subject Tests.
Ivy League Admissions Statistics
Our exclusive data on the Class of 2014 Ivy League Admissions statistics, now updated for Early Action and Early Admissions for the class entering 2010. See exactly how many students applied and how many were accepted to different schools.
Learn More...
Blog Topics
Find college application and testing help by browsing our stories by topic:
- Academic Index
- ACT
- Colleges
- Essays
- Home Page Items
- Insider Tips
- Ivy Admissions
- SAT
- Standardized Testing
Academic Index Calculator
Since the 1950's, Ivy League schools have used the Academic Index, a ranking formula, to evaluate students. Find out how you rank according to the Academic Index.
Learn More...
Become an Affiliate
You can become an affiliate and sell our Application Boot Camp™ products and services.
Learn More...