How to Apply to Mathematics at Dartmouth College: You Apply to the College and Declare a Major in Sophomore Year, the Department Offers Pure, Applied and Standard Tracks Plus a Mathematical Data Science Major, with Admission Routes and Prerequisites for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At Dartmouth College you apply to the College, not to a major; the admissions office says students need not declare a major until sophomore year. Mathematics is taught by the Department of Mathematics in Kemeny Hall. The admissions majors list shows Mathematics and Mathematical Data Science as majors, with a Statistics minor and minors such as Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Finance, Mathematical Logic and Mathematical Physics. Here is what the official pages say for fall 2027 entry, for US domestic applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer applicants. Computer science, economics and engineering are separate majors and are not covered here.

1. Tracks and how you get into the major

• The mathematics major and its tracks (department’s “Options and Requirements” page, marked last modified in 2019): a pure mathematics track for students who may go on to graduate study in pure mathematics or want a theoretical introduction to the major fields; an applied mathematics track for students who may pursue graduate study in applied mathematics or another science, or want an introduction emphasizing applications; and a standard track for students who want freedom to build a coherent major around their own interests, with required courses “not specifically geared towards graduate school in mathematics.” The department also says certification as a public school mathematics teacher is available through a partnership with the Education Department, which you should contact for course requirements.
• Mathematical Data Science major: the department lists it beside the mathematics major, with a data-intensive research project as its culminating experience; the advisor to this major also advises statistics minors (department’s advisors page). Prerequisites and requirements are in the college’s Organization, Regulations and Courses (ORC) catalog, which is hosted by a third party and which I did not read; see the official site.
• How admission and declaring work: the pages I read do not say whether you choose a major when you apply or whether mathematics has a quota; this is not published there. The admissions majors page says only that students need not declare until sophomore year. The department’s major page does not state declaration criteria such as a GPA or grades in specific courses; this is not published there, so ask the advisor to math majors.
• Moving into the major from another one: the pages I read do not describe a separate procedure; this is not published there.
• Size of the major (department’s “Information for Majors,” modified June 2025): in general eight mathematics or computer science courses beyond prerequisites, at least six of them mathematics and at least four taken at Dartmouth, plus the college’s culminating experience requirement. The options page says the prerequisites for all tracks are essentially the same, three terms of calculus and a linear algebra course, and that the major requires an abstract algebra course, an analysis course and six other courses generally numbered 20 or above, of which one or two may be computer science. The department encourages students to take MATH 22/MATH 24 (its placement page calls Math 22 linear algebra) as soon as feasible, since many upper-division courses assume it.
• Other ways to study: the department says students with specialized interests often arrange independent reading courses, and that small seminars and independent research with a faculty member are available.

2. Prerequisites, placement and first-year courses

• High school: the admissions and department pages I read state no specific high school math requirement (precalculus, calculus); this is not published there.
• Every entering student gets a math placement (department’s placement system page), whether or not they plan to take math. Every student receives a default placement based on standardized exams already taken, and AP, IB Higher Level and British A-level scores reported to Dartmouth affect it. The default placements are shown as images, and the pages I read have no text version of the score mapping, so see the official site.
• Dartmouth’s own placement and credit exams: there are seven online exams, each of which can be taken only once: four calculus exams (covering Math 1, 3, 8 and multivariable calculus) and exams in linear algebra, differential equations and number theory. They open on August 1 for matriculated students (an email in summer gives details), and must be taken by Wednesday noon, two days before enrollment, in the week before fall classes begin to guarantee correct placement. You may still take them until the end of fall term; the due date is November 30. The department says you can never lose your current placement by doing poorly on a local exam.
• The core calculus sequence: Math 1 (no calculus background), Math 3 (strong precalculus or some calculus, roughly AB level), Math 8 (passed AB but not BC; single and several variables) and Math 13 (vector-valued functions), with Math 9 and 11 as variants. Passing the Math 8 exam earns credit for Math 3 and 8 and placement into Math 9 or 11; the multivariable exam earns credit for Math 13.
• Does placement credit count toward graduation? The department says these credits appear on the transcript but do not count toward distributive requirements and do not reduce the number of courses required for graduation; they let you take courses that have them as prerequisites.
• Math courses taken elsewhere: the department says it does not accept transfer credit from before matriculation; the only way to obtain credit is to pass a local placement exam, and for more advanced courses with no exam you contact the first-year advisor for an assessment. The admissions office adds that for entering first-years, courses from other four-year universities may be considered for up to four credits case by case, and online or community college courses are generally not transferable.
• Honors program: students who meet the college’s honors admission requirements and want to do independent work are strongly encouraged to join; successful students graduate with Honors or High Honors in mathematics, and High Honors requires a written thesis. The detailed requirements are in the ORC section on the honors program, which I did not read.
• Competitions: the pages I read do not say how AMC, USAMO, IMO or similar results are viewed in admission; this is not published there.

3. Rounds, deadlines and materials

• Two rounds (admissions “Apply” page; the page prints no year, so check it applies to fall 2027 entry): Early Decision (binding) is due November 1, with notification in mid-December and an intent-to-enroll deadline in late December; Regular Decision is due January 1, with notification in late March or early April and a May 1 reply deadline. The QuestBridge section of the same page says the Regular Decision deadline is January 2; the two statements differ, so check the application site. Financial aid materials are due November 1 for Early Decision and February 1 for Regular Decision.
• Platform: all first-year applicants use the Common App and add Dartmouth under “My Colleges.”
• Essays: the Common App personal statement plus Dartmouth’s Writing Supplement: the page says applicants write brief responses to three supplemental prompts, one asking what aspects of the academic program, community or campus environment attract you and why Dartmouth is a good fit, with the others drawn from a list of options (A, B, D, F and so on); check the Common App for the exact number. The supplement page refers to the Class of 2031; check which entry year that corresponds to.
• Recommendations: two teacher evaluations from instructors of academic courses, plus a school counselor recommendation; a peer recommendation is also recommended. The pages I read do not require a math teacher’s letter, although the department’s Byrne Scholars page says “we encourage students to include a recommendation from a math teacher/advisor.”
• Testing: SAT or ACT scores are required; Dartmouth reactivated the requirement beginning with applicants to the Class of 2029. US-school students must submit the SAT or ACT, with multiple sittings automatically superscored. Students at schools outside the US have five options, listed in section 5.
• Interview: interviews are not required of any first-year applicant; alumni may contact some applicants after they apply, not everyone is offered one, and not having an interview is not a disadvantage.
• Fee: the first-year application fee is $85, paid online through the Common App and non-refundable; a fee waiver is available in cases of financial hardship and does not disadvantage your candidacy.
• Other: a mid-year report (January to February), the final secondary school report in June, and an optional art portfolio.

4. US domestic applicants

• Students at US schools must submit the SAT or ACT, with no institutional preference between them.
• The cost page gives one set of figures with no resident and nonresident distinction. The pages I read describe no priority or guaranteed admission for in-state applicants; this is not published there.
• Aid: the admissions pages say the college meets 100% of demonstrated need, and the cost page states an average scholarship offer of $78,590 for the Class of 2030. A January 2022 letter from the dean (reproduced on the need-blind policy page and quoted below for international readers) also describes a full-tuition scholarship without loans for families with incomes and typical assets of $125,000 or less and no parent contribution at $65,000 or less; the letter is dated, so check the current rules.
• Department scholarship: the department describes the Jack Byrne Scholars program, which names eight first-years per class; every applicant is considered with no separate application, and scholars receive a $10,000 enrichment grant for each leave term (up to three terms, $30,000 in all), with all students eligible regardless of need. The page is older, so check current terms.

5. International applicants (including those from China)

• How to apply: international applicants use the same Common App and are reviewed holistically in the same way; the committee reads your record within your school’s curriculum and grading system.
• The five testing options (students at schools outside the US satisfy one): (1) SAT or ACT scores; (2) three different AP exams, ideally across subject areas with at least one math or science and one history, social science or English exam; (3) predicted or final IB Diploma results on the 1–7 scale, with predictions submitted by a school official; (4) predicted or final British A-Level results, ideally at least three exams; (5) final results from a standardized national exam that is uniform across a country or region (school-based exams do not count; examples listed include WASSCE, CAPE, the French Baccalaureate, CBSE, ICSE and KCSE; predicted national exam results do not count, and if results arrive after February you must choose another option).
• English: if English is not your first language and your curriculum has not been delivered in English for at least two years, you must submit a TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or Cambridge English score. Dartmouth states no minimum scores, but most successful applicants score above 7 on IELTS, above 135 on Duolingo and above 185 on Cambridge English; for TOEFL taken before January 21, 2026 most successful applicants score above 100, and for TOEFL taken on or after that date 5 or above. TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator are accepted; MyBest scores and TOEFL Essentials are not. An InitialView interview is not required, but results are welcome.
• Funds and aid: Dartmouth is need-blind for all applicants including international citizens and meets 100% of demonstrated need of every admitted student regardless of citizenship; a January 2022 letter from the dean of admissions states that this followed a $40 million anonymous gift and that the full-tuition scholarship for families with $125,000 or less in income and typical assets and the parent-contribution removal for $65,000 or less apply regardless of citizenship (the letter is dated, so check current rules). After admission, visa matters are handled by the Office of Visa and Immigration Services.
• Credential evaluation: the pages I read do not describe any required third-party evaluation; this is not published there.

6. Applicants from China

• The admissions pages I read give no separate requirements for applicants from China; this is not published there.
• Whether the Gaokao is used: the national exams listed as examples in option 5 do not include the Gaokao, and the pages do not say whether it can be used; this is not published there, so ask the admissions office. Students from China can use the SAT/ACT, three AP exams, IB or A-Levels.
• Chinese high school transcripts and huikao records: the pages give only the general rule that your record is read within your school’s curriculum and grading system and do not mention the huikao.
• English, funds and aid are covered above.

7. Transfer applicants

• Who counts as a transfer applicant: anyone who has completed high school and matriculated at a college, even for a term or less; college courses counted toward high school graduation make you a first-year applicant. People who have earned a bachelor’s degree are not eligible. An international student already enrolled at a university at home may apply as a transfer or first-year, but credits earned at the home university do not transfer if you choose first-year.
• Timeline: the transfer deadline is March 1, with notification in mid-May and an intent-to-enroll deadline in late May; the 2027 transfer application opens in January 2027. Financial aid materials are also due March 1.
• Materials: the transfer application with essays, the final secondary school report, a college report with college transcript (updated in May or June with final grades), two evaluations from college instructors and standardized test results; the transfer application fee is $90. Interviews are not available to transfer applicants, and college course syllabi are strongly recommended.
• Testing: transfers also submit standardized test results, but you can request a waiver if you did not test for first-year admission, your scores are more than five years old, or testing would be a hardship.
• Mathematics requirements for transfers (GPA, calculus and linear algebra courses): the pages I read do not state them; this is not published there, so ask the advisor to math majors.
• Credit transfer: admitted students submit a year-end college transcript and syllabi for all college courses for review by the Registrar and the academic departments. The pages I read do not list transfer-credit rules item by item; see the Registrar’s pages.

8. Costs, research and career information

• 2026-27 cost of attendance (admissions cost page): tuition $71,697, fees $2,426, housing $13,032, food $8,746; estimated indirect costs of $1,005 for books, supplies and equipment and $2,040 miscellaneous; total $98,946 (first-years include $519 in orientation fees). Health insurance is extra at $5,216 (students on need-based aid receive at least half the plan cost in additional scholarship if purchased); the basic computer package is $1,700; at least $250 for travel is built into the budget.
• Research: the department lists SHUR (a group summer research project combining mathematics and computer science), independent research with faculty in several areas, and a Directed Reading Program (whose page I did not read).
• Careers: the department’s career page lists the college’s Center for Career Design, the American Mathematical Society, SIAM, the Society of Actuaries and Bureau of Labor Statistics outlooks; it prints no employment rate or salary figures, which are not published there.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• Apply through the Common App: Early Decision November 1, Regular Decision January 1 (another page says January 2; check); SAT or ACT required; two teacher evaluations plus a counselor recommendation; $85 fee or a fee waiver
• After enrolling, take the math placement and credit exams, start in the core calculus sequence, and declare a major in sophomore year

International applicants (including those from China):

• Meet the testing requirement through the SAT/ACT, three AP exams, IB, A-Levels or a national exam; submit an English score if English is not your first language and instruction in English was under two years (no minimum score)
• Admission is need-blind and the college meets full demonstrated need; ask admissions whether the Gaokao is used

Transfer applicants:

• Apply by March 1 with two college instructor evaluations; a testing waiver is possible; the 2027 transfer application opens in January 2027
• The mathematics department’s transfer course expectations are not published; ask the advisor to math majors

Sources: Dartmouth College, Mathematics: undergraduate; Mathematics: information for majors; Mathematics: options and requirements; Mathematics: advisors to majors; Mathematics: honors program; Mathematics: placement and credit; Mathematics: placement FAQ; Mathematics: core calculus courses; Mathematics: undergraduate research; Mathematics: Byrne Scholars; Mathematics: careers; Admissions: apply; Testing policy; English proficiency; Universal need-blind policy; Cost of attendance; Majors and minors; Application fee; Writing supplement; International students; International financial aid; Curriculum and grading systems; Eligibility guidelines; Transfer; Testing for transfers; Alumni interview; Teacher evaluation. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 rates). Check Dartmouth for the latest details.