Dartmouth's Testing Guidelines

Standardized testing is a required element of Dartmouth's undergraduate application.

Holistic Admissions

Dartmouth practices holistic admissions, a concept grounded in the idea that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Standardized testing, in conjunction with your secondary school report and recommendations, helps us better understand your academic preparation. Contextualized testing will be one factor—but never the primary factor—among the many quantitative and qualitative elements of your application. As always, the whole person counts, as do the environmental factors each person navigates. 

For students attending high school in the United States

Students who attend(ed) high school within the United States must submit results of either the SAT or ACT. Dartmouth has no institutional preference for either test. Scores from multiple administrations of the SAT or the ACT will automatically be superscored, meaning we will consider the highest result on individual sections of either exam regardless of the test date or testing format.

For students attending high school outside of the United States

Students who attend(ed) high school outside of the United States may fulfill Dartmouth's standardized testing requirement in one of five ways:

1. Results of either the SAT or ACT

• Submit scores from the SAT or ACT exam. Scores from multiple administrations of the SAT or the ACT will automatically be superscored.
• You may submit official scores through the testing agency or self-report your scores. Enrolling students who self-reported their scores will be required to submit official scores prior to enrolling.

2. Results of three Advanced Placement (AP) examinations

• Submit scores from three different AP exams.
• You may submit official scores through the College Board or self-report your scores. Enrolling students who self-reported their scores will be required to submit official scores prior to enrolling.
• Applicants are encouraged to submit scores across multiple subject areas, with at least one math or science exam and at least one history, social science, or English exam.

3. Predicted or final exam results from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP)

• Submit final or predicted scores for IB Diploma Program courses using the 1-7 scale.
• Schools that offer predictions for the Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) should include those in their submission.
• Predictions must be submitted by a school official and cannot be self-reported by an applicant.
• Final scores must be submitted through the IBO score reporting system prior to enrollment.

4. Predicted or final exam results from British A-Levels

• Submit final or predicted scores for A-Level exams from Cambridge, Pearson, or UK-based A-Level providers.
• Predictions must be submitted by a school official and cannot be self-reported by an applicant.
• Final scores must be submitted prior to enrollment and must be official certificates from the testing agency.
• Applicants are encouraged to submit at least three A-Level exams.

5. Final results from an equivalent standardized national exam

• Submit scores from an exam that is standardized across a country or region. School-based exams will not satisfy the testing requirement.
• Examples of exams which satisfy the testing requirement include but are not limited to: WASSCE exams, CAPE exams, French Baccalaureate, CBSE, ICSE, or KCSE.
• Submit final official exam scores. Predicted national exam scores will not satisfy the testing requirement.

The distinction between students attending a school in the U.S. or outside the U.S. acknowledges the disparate access to American standardized testing—as well as the lack of familiarity with such testing—in different parts of the world.

English Language Proficiency

If your first language is not English and your secondary school curriculum has not been delivered in English for at least two years, we require you to submit an English proficiency exam score. For more information, visit our FAQ on this topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I/How do I Submit Self-Reported Test Scores?

If I take the SAT or ACT multiple times, which results does Dartmouth consider?

Is the ACT Writing Portion Required?

Can I use Score Choice for the SAT?

Are there minimum test scores required for admission to Dartmouth?

When is the latest I can take the SAT or ACT and have it be considered with my application?

How heavily is testing considered in an application?

I have attended multiple high schools, both in and outside of the United States. How does that impact my required testing?

Interpreting Testing: Your Scores May Be Stronger Than You Think

On the Admissions Beat podcast, veteran dean of admissions Lee Coffin from Dartmouth College and a range of guests provide high school students and parents, as well as their counselors and other mentors, with "news you can use" at each step on the pathway to college. In the following episode, he and his guests, Dartmouth professors Bruce Sacerdote and Michelle Tine, whose research helped inform Dartmouth's recent decision to reinstate admissions testing requirements, and Jacques Steinberg, co-author of "The College Conversation," an admissions guide for parents, talk through some frequently asked questions about testing: What constitutes a strong SAT or ACT score? What do admissions officers mean when they say they consider scores in context? If a college is test-optional, should you submit your scores, or if it requires testing, are your scores strong enough to apply?

Informed by new research, Dartmouth reactivated the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission beginning with applicants to the Class of 2029. Read more about the reactivation.