Universal Need-Blind Policy

12 January 2022

I am excited to share the news that Dartmouth College has expanded its longstanding need-blind admissions policy to include all international citizens. For any international applicant for whom affordability is an essential factor of a U.S. college search, our adoption of universal need-blind admissions means financial need will never limit access to a Dartmouth education. This more inclusive admissions policy is effective immediately and applies to all applicants for Dartmouth's Class of 2026 – including Early Decision candidates who were read and selected via a need-blind process last month as this policy change was anticipated.

Our new admissions policy was made possible by a $40 million anonymous gift to expand global access at the College. The historic donation—the single largest scholarship gift in Dartmouth's 253-year history—capped a $90 million, multi-year fundraising goal to offer need-blind admissions to all non-U.S. citizens. This significant enhancement of our holistic admissions policy underscores our dedication to creating a globally-minded teaching and research community of students and faculty drawn from around the world. In doing so, Dartmouth becomes the sixth college or university in the United States with universal need-blind admissions paired with a commitment to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. It is a dramatic institutional commitment to access and equity for all students, regardless of citizenship.

In addition to this change in the College's admissions practices, Dartmouth recently announced two financial aid policies that also improve access to a Dartmouth education for all students. The first is the removal of a parent contribution for students from families with $65,000 USD or less in income and typical assets. The second: the guarantee of a full-tuition scholarship without loans for all students from families with incomes and typical assets of $125,000 USD or less. Both financial aid initiatives were adopted during the last few months and apply to all accepted candidates regardless of citizenship.

We are living in the most international moment in human history. Students who are applying to and enrolling at Dartmouth today will have lives and careers that stretch to the 2070s and beyond, and our new admissions policy celebrates that global reality. International citizens are full and equal members of our applicant pool and, ultimately, our student body.

It has been a career highlight as well as a personal honor to help frame this initiative at Dartmouth and to see its implementation today.

Lee A. Coffin
Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid