We at Ivy Coach pride ourselves on being known as “The Dartmouth Whisperer.” We understand what makes the admission officers at this Ivy League school tick, and we’re in the business of presenting our students in such a way as to make them irresistible on their applications. But there are certain things that are more or less prerequisites to be truly considered for admission by Dartmouth. And perhaps the most important of these requirements is a strong GPA.

But surely not every Dartmouth admit graduated high school with a perfect 4.0, right? We’ll review the data so you can come away with a clear picture of the academic chops necessary to secure admission to this famed College on the Hill.

What is a Good GPA To Get into Dartmouth College?

Before we look at GPA, let’s review the Dartmouth acceptance rate. For admission to the Class of 2030, 5.80% wound up with acceptance letters. For admission to the Class of 2029, 6.02% of those who applied ended up earning admission. For the Class of 2028, this figure stood at an impressive 5.40%. And the year before that, for the Class of 2027, 6.23% earned admission.

GPA Percentage of Dartmouth College Class of 2029

The following is the class rank breakdown of Dartmouth’s Class of 2029 members, as reported in the 2025-26 Common Data Set. Unfortunately, the university hasn’t reported any GPA data for recently admitted cohorts, so the class rank data below is the closest to gauging the GPA requirements to earn admission to Dartmouth.

Assessment	Percent in Dartmouth Class of 2029
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	96%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	99%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	100%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	0%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted high school class rank:	44.0%

GPA Percentage of Dartmouth College Class of 2028

The following is the class rank breakdown of the members of Dartmouth’s Class of 2028:

Assessment	Percent in Dartmouth Class of 2028
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	93%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	99%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	100%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	0%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted high school class rank:	44.0%

GPA Percentage of Dartmouth College Class of 2027

The following is the class rank breakdown of the members of Dartmouth’s Class of 2027:

Assessment	Percent in Dartmouth Class of 2027
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	93.5%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	98.4%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	99.4%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	0.6%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted high school class rank:	51.0%

GPA Percentage of Dartmouth College Class of 2026

The following is the class rank breakdown of the members of Dartmouth’s Class of 2026:

Assessment	Percent in Dartmouth Class of 2026
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	94.5%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	98.3%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	99.8%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	0.2%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted high school class rank:	48.0%

Further Context on GPAs of Dartmouth Students

For all of the recent admission cycles at Dartmouth, the cohort of admitted students has nearly exclusively been drawn from a pool of the top students in the world, with well over 90% of admits graduating from their respective high schools in the top tenth of their classes.

But considering the sheer number of students with great grades and 4.0s who apply to Dartmouth and don’t earn admission each year, it’s worth considering what other qualities are brought to the table by those who wind up with acceptance letters. Dartmouth takes a holistic approach to admission that weighs plenty of other factors besides academic performance. In fact, they’d probably be the first to remind us that great grades and dull students are often correlated! In other words, great grades are more or less a requirement for Dartmouth admission, but they should be present alongside other compelling qualities.

Can I Get into Dartmouth College with a Low GPA?

Despite our reminder that grades aren’t everything, in all likelihood, very few students are getting into Dartmouth with lackluster grades. Those who do manage to do the impossible likely have special statuses that give them a leg up, such as being recruited athletes, the children of major donors (A.K.A. development cases), or the children of Dartmouth alumni (A.K.A. legacies). 

How Ivy Coach Can Help Your Child’s Chances at Dartmouth

Daniel Webster, renowned Dartmouth alum and Secretary of State, is famed to have said, “It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college, and yet there are those who love it.” If your child is one of “those who love it,” and can’t imagine attending college anywhere else, then you’re in need of an Ivy Coach Strategy Session. Led by Ivy Coach’s Ben Schwartz, a former Dartmouth admissions officer, this crash course in presenting a competitive application will leave you with a clear strategy for optimizing your child’s odds of admission to Dartmouth and all other elite schools that we deem are within reach.

To learn more about Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.