Dartmouth College
Private Research University in Hanover, NH. Six-year graduation rate 96%. Median 10-year earnings $97,434.
Ten-year median earnings of $97,434 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 96% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $17,500 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 96% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 5% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
Dartmouth College admits just 5% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. 31,656 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 69% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 740–780 | 597 (51%) |
| SAT Math | 760–790 | |
| ACT Composite | 33–35 | 259 (22%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Dartmouth College →Academics
96% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 98% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. At 7:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. 4,447 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,367 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,322 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $41 at $0–30k versus $52,036 at $110k+. 50% of students receive grant aid, averaging $63,260 — common but not automatic. Only 12% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,206 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $41 |
| $30–48k | $489 |
| $48–75k | $2,695 |
| $75–110k | $8,534 |
| $110k+ | $52,036 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 535 of these 4,367 students, totalling $3,153,045 — an average of $5,894 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Grafton County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)