TL;DR: Dartmouth has withheld its Early Decision application, admit, and rate figures for two consecutive cycles, so the last verified Dartmouth ED acceptance rate is 17.1% for the Class of 2029 – 606 students admitted from a record 3,550 applications, disclosed retrospectively through the Common Data Set (Dartmouth Common Data Set and The Dartmouth, December 2025). The Class of 2028 ran 19.2%, and Regular Decision has held near 3.8%, putting the binding round at roughly a 4.5x advantage. For the Class of 2030 Dartmouth published a profile instead of a rate: 98% of ranked admits in the top tenth of their class, 93% with scores in the top quarter of their school, and about 20% from low-income backgrounds. To decide whether a binding Dartmouth application is the right move, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
Dartmouth Early Decision Acceptance Rate: The Verified Trend
Dartmouth stopped announcing early numbers on decision day, but it still files a Common Data Set – so the figures arrive roughly a year late rather than not at all. Here is the trend with the disclosure gaps left visible.
| Class | ED applications | ED admits | ED rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2025 | – | – | 25.1% | Start of a four-cycle compression |
| Class of 2028 | 3,551 | 681 | 19.2% | Last cycle announced on decision day |
| Class of 2029 | 3,550 | 606 | 17.1% | Withheld at release; verified later via Common Data Set |
| Class of 2030 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | Second consecutive withheld cycle; profile data only |
The direction is unambiguous even with the gaps: admits held between 560 and 681 while the pool grew 35% over four cycles, compressing the Dartmouth early decision acceptance rate from the mid-20s to the high teens. The same figures anchor the Dartmouth row of our Early Decision acceptance rates master table, and the full Dartmouth acceptance rate breakdown covers the overall picture.
The Withholding Policy, In Dartmouth’s Own Words
Dartmouth is unusual among the withholding schools in one respect: it explained itself. Dean of undergraduate admissions Kathryn Bezella said the College declines to release mid-cycle statistics because a talented student might see the numbers and opt out of Regular Decision, prematurely deciding the odds are against them – a rationale tied to the university’s broader student-wellness emphasis. Families can take the explanation at face value and still note what it means in practice: applicants are asked to sign a binding commitment against a number the College will only confirm a year later through the Common Data Set. That is precisely the pattern our College Admissions Transparency Index grades across 50 universities, and Dartmouth’s retrospective CDS disclosure is the reason the verified rows above exist at all.
What Dartmouth Did Publish for the Class of 2030
In place of a rate, Dartmouth released a profile. Among early admits to the Class of 2030: 98% of those with a reported class rank stand in the top tenth, and 93% submitted SAT or ACT scores in the top quarter of test-takers at their own high school – a framing that reflects Dartmouth’s in-context reading of rigor. About 20% come from low-income backgrounds, with more than $22 million in need-based scholarships already awarded at a preliminary average near $73,000 per year, against a target class of 1,175. Dartmouth also disclosed that 11% of the prior early cohort were legacy applicants – a figure most peers withhold. Remember that Dartmouth was the first Ivy to reinstate mandatory testing, a move our Ivy League SAT requirements timeline tracks, so the entire early pool now arrives with scores the applicants believe are competitive.
ED vs Regular Decision at Dartmouth
The last fully verified comparison puts early at 17.1% against a Regular Decision rate near 3.8% – roughly a 4.5x differential, among the widest in the Ivy League. The usual caveats apply with extra force at Dartmouth: recruited athletes, legacy applicants and other institutional priorities concentrate in the binding round, so the unhooked applicant’s effective edge is real but smaller than the headline multiplier. What the profile data confirms is that the early bar is not lower – it is the same bar, cleared in a much smaller room. Our ED versus RD advantage calculator translates the differential into personal odds.
Should You Apply Early Decision to Dartmouth
Dartmouth runs a single binding ED round: applications close November 1, decisions arrive in mid-December – December 15 for the Class of 2030 – and there is no ED II. Historically Dartmouth defers and denies early applicants in roughly equal shares, and a deferral rolls into a regular pool running under 4%, so the early file must be finished and genuinely first-choice, not exploratory. The strategic case rests on the verified structure rather than this cycle’s unknown rate: a durable multi-x differential, a mandatory-testing pool that rewards strong scores in context, and an aid program generous enough that the binding objection softens for many families. If a December deferral does come, our guide to what to do after an Early Decision deferral covers the path, and notification dates keeps the calendar straight.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Dartmouth Early Decision Acceptance Rate
The last verified figure is 17.1% for the Class of 2029, with 606 students admitted from a record 3,550 applications, confirmed through the Common Data Set. Dartmouth has withheld the Class of 2030 early numbers.
Dartmouth says releasing mid-cycle statistics might discourage talented students from applying in Regular Decision. The College has withheld early numbers for two consecutive cycles but continues to disclose them retrospectively through the Common Data Set.
Roughly 4.5 times in the last verified cycle – 17.1% early against about 3.8% in Regular Decision. Part of that gap reflects recruited athletes and legacy applicants concentrated in the early pool.
No. Dartmouth runs a single binding ED round with a November 1 deadline and mid-December decisions. Students denied in December cannot reapply that cycle, and deferred students move into the Regular Decision pool.
A profile instead of a rate: 98% of ranked admits in the top tenth of their class, 93% with test scores in the top quarter of their school, about 20% from low-income backgrounds, and more than $22 million in need-based scholarships at a preliminary average near $73,000 per year.
Yes. Dartmouth was the first Ivy to reinstate mandatory standardized testing, and the requirement applies to Early Decision the same as Regular Decision. Scores are read in the context of each student and their own high school.
Historically Dartmouth has deferred and denied early applicants in roughly equal shares, lumping the two together in its released data. A deferral moves the file into a Regular Decision pool that has run under 4%.
Mid-December. Dartmouth released Early Decision results for the Class of 2030 on December 15, 2025, and Regular Decision results follow in late March with deferred applicants hearing by April 1.
Sources: The Dartmouth, Dartmouth Undergraduate Admissions, Forbes, Common App, NCES College Navigator.
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