How did Dartmouth College rank in this year’s all-important US News & World Report college ranking? Dartmouth tied for 13th in the 2026 US News & World Report rankings, the same position it held in the 2025 rankings. It shares the spot this year with Brown University. On the more specific rankings, Dartmouth climbed to third place for best undergraduate teaching and 9th place for best value schools (which evaluates academic quality relative to the average discount price paid by full-time undergraduates after receiving need-based grants).

As Dartmouth alumnus Daniel Webster said before the United States Supreme Court during proceedings for the landmark Dartmouth College v. Woodward case, “It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it!” While Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivy League colleges, its sterling reputation for undergraduate teaching precedes it, and the US News rankings accurately reflect this strength. What’s more, Dartmouth is among the nation’s friendliest universities to veterans of America’s military. Indeed, we at Ivy Coach have been praising Dartmouth for its support of America’s troops for many years.

Why Rankings Matter in College Admissions

Ivy Coach was cited in a piece in America’s oldest college newspaper, The Dartmouth. The piece analyzed Dartmouth’s US News & World Report rankings and offered insight into the importance of this publication’s ranking to students. As Rachel Pakianathan writes in the piece entitled “Dartmouth once again places 11th in US News and World Report rankings”: 

“Founder of admissions consulting firm Ivy Coach Bev Taylor said that she believes the methodology used by U.S. News is flawed and that its rankings are susceptible to manipulation by colleges. She added that she encourages her clients to visit colleges rather than focus on rankings, but explained that for international students, U.S. News rankings are one of the few accessible sources of information comparing colleges and are consequently a popular resource. ’No matter what we say to students, mostly international students, they just consider U.S. News rankings their Bible,’ Taylor said. [Vice provost for enrollment Lee] Coffin agreed with this observation and said that international students are more reliant on rankings because they are less familiar with the details of the colleges.”

Why Dartmouth Should Be Proud of Its Ranking for Veterans

As Pakianathan writes in the piece in The Dartmouth, “Taylor said that her college consulting practice often recommends Dartmouth as a favorable institution to veterans.” We sure do! One of Dartmouth’s esteemed former presidents, the late James Wright, was a United States Marine, and he helped write the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, which is the legislation that has allowed for so many of America’s veterans to attend many colleges at no charge. Dartmouth, a Yellow Ribbon school along with many others, subsidizes the cost of any tuition for veterans that is not covered by the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill.

But beyond being a Yellow Ribbon school, beyond offering programs uniquely catered to making veterans feel at home in Hanover, beyond not segregating veterans into a separate school (yes, you can read that as a criticism of some schools, like Columbia University, though those schools often admit many veterans which they should be very proud of!), we’ve found that Dartmouth’s admissions office just loves America’s veterans in a way that many other of America’s institutions don’t express. Indeed, we’ve worked with veterans who’ve been admitted to Dartmouth in the transfer admission round who did not earn admission to less prestigious institutions. And we think that says a whole lot about Dartmouth College!

Pro Bono College Admissions Counseling for U.S. Military Veterans

If you’re a veteran of America’s military, read about Ivy Coach’s pro bono college admissions services. If interested in our assistance, do fill out our complimentary consultation form by clicking on our orange button to set up a consultation. We’ll be in touch shortly thereafter with an outline of our services, led by Ben Schwartz, a former Dartmouth College admissions officer.