FAQ
Contact us at any time via email at precollege@dartmouth.edu.
Dartmouth’s undergraduate admissions process is separate and independent from Dartmouth Precollege programs. Participation in Dartmouth Precollege programs does not affect your admissibility for Dartmouth Undergraduate Admissions. For information regarding Dartmouth Undergraduate Admissions, please visit admissions.dartmouth.edu
If you choose to include your Dartmouth Precollege experience in any college application, we encourage you to consider reflecting on your experience with Dartmouth Precollege, and how you felt you learned, grew, and developed your talents and curiosity during your time with us.
Applicants from families of Dartmouth alums do not receive any preferential treatment in the application process.
Application FAQ
Dartmouth Precollege partners with Summer Discovery, an expert in precollege summer programs. Summer Discovery manages the application process, program enrollment and payments, as well as the residential components of the program.
The Dartmouth application (managed by Summer Discovery) is currently live for a limited number of Academies (intensive programs like Summer Scholars), which are subject to change ahead of the official December launch date. Applicants are welcome to apply early to secure additional savings and, if admitted, will have the option to update their selection once all Dartmouth offerings are finalized in December, provided they meet the admissions eligibility requirements for their updated selection.
The November 19 course registration date does not apply to Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars applicants, as Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars offers Academies only. You can read more about the differences between Courses and Academies here.
For technical issues with the application, including trouble logging in or creating new login credentials, contact info@summerdiscovery.com
Applicants should only apply for courses they are interested in attending. The number of courses listed on your application has no bearing on admission. However, if applying during the rolling period (if there is one), when the number of available seats in courses fluctuates, we recommend that applicants list more than one course; having alternatives in the event a course you selected closes between the time you apply and when review of your application begins will streamline the review of your application.
Send an email to info@summerdiscovery.com to request a waiver for the application fee. Be sure to include the student applicant’s (1) full name and (2) email address used to log into the application system in the body of the request.
For most parts of the application, the applicant cannot edit after submission but the admissions team may be able to do so (examples include updating current courses taken, midterm grades, or test scores). Be sure to carefully review your application before submitting, to be sure you have answered all questions required and all uploaded documents are legible. Contact info@summerdiscovery.com if you have any additional questions.
Dartmouth Precollege programs are in the process of partnering with community-based organizations (CBOs) to support students, both domestic and international, who face financial barriers. Please continue to check the website for updates regarding financial aid opportunities. We also suggest you check with your school counselors and local organizations in your area, and if you or a family member are an active participant with a CBO currently, see if they have financial aid available to apply towards the cost of precollege summer programs.
Additionally, you can email our partner, Summer Discovery, at info@summerdiscovery.com to confirm all financial aid organizations with which they are partnered. Scholarship opportunities may be available through Summer Discovery’s partner organizations, including Jeter’s Leaders, Minds Matter, Noble Network, and Joyce Ivy Foundation. Scholarships are limited and may be specific to students’ location, age, school, and test scores. We encourage you to contact your school counselor and community for academic fundraising and additional scholarship and grant opportunities available in your area. If needed, Summer Discovery can provide paperwork detailing the academic value of the Dartmouth Precollege programs. Summer Discovery also suggests visiting Fund My Travel, an online fundraising website.
Academics FAQ
No. Applicants are only reviewed for the courses and sessions listed on their original application, and are admitted to specific courses based on interest and academic fit. Given the intensive nature of our programs, missing just one day of a class is equivalent to missing several weeks of a regular semester course.
Our instructors are mostly Dartmouth affiliates – meaning tenured faculty, staff, teaching faculty, alumni, emeritus faculty, postdoctoral scholars, advanced PhD students, or lecturers and senior lecturers who teach Dartmouth undergraduate and graduate students during the academic year – selected for their expertise in their field as well as their experience with and interest in teaching precollege students. Our instructors design custom courses that provide a deep dive into their area of expertise and reflect current academic research and scholarly trends.
Students are usually not required to do any reading or fulfill course assignments prior to the start of the program. Most students will receive a syllabus from their instructor when the course begins. However, students might receive an invitation to their course’s Canvas site before the program begins, if the instructor uses Canvas as their course learning platform, or to optional reading before the course begins. Instructors may also reach out in advance to learn more about you as they finalize their course plans. If students have questions about their instructors, contact Summer.Scholars@Dartmouth.edu
Summer Scholars courses are not for credit. The non-credit structure allows students to challenge themselves academically without worrying about grades. Students who successfully complete a course will be provided with a certificate of completion.
Participants will be in class with their instructor starting at approx. 9 a.m. daily; this schedule changes slightly between MWF and TuTh class days, based on the normal Dartmouth class schedule. After a break for lunch, participants return to the classroom for the afternoon instructional period, during which time they work on assignments and projects under the supervision of their instructor and potentially other staff, such as course assistants. After the class day is over at approximately 4:15pm, participants will join co-curricular workshops or activities from 4:30 to 5 p.m. After dinner, participants may spend the early evenings working on assignments, joining an activity arranged by residential staff, or just hanging out with new friends. Curfew, at which time all participants must be in the program residence, will be defined at the program orientation.
Given the intensive structure of our program, students are enrolled in only one course per session. However, students can apply for and participate in more than one session.
Participants are expected to attend all classes. In the event a participant becomes ill or is injured, the Summer Scholars and Summer Discovery staff will work with the participant and course instructor to identify alternative ways for the participant to stay engaged, if possible.
Participants who need to request academic or housing accommodations such as notetaking assistance or a dorm room closer to the entrance should contact the Summer Discovery team as soon as possible after you have confirmed you are attending to discuss your needs. Once we have more details about your accommodation request(s), we will facilitate additional conversations as needed with the ADA Coordinator at Dartmouth.
Dartmouth is committed to diversity and access and works under the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to achieve this. Please bear in mind that whatever accommodations you may have at your current school may not automatically transfer to the DSS setting (and any DSS accommodations may not be the same as those provided if you later attend Dartmouth as an undergraduate). As we build your access plan, we may request documentation to support the request. Assuming the documentation is current and complete, the process may take several weeks, so do not wait until you arrive to request accommodations.
Campus Life FAQ
For more details on campus safety, visit Summer Discovery's Safety and Security principles.
Approved parents or guardians of Summer Scholars participants can request to check participants out of the program in the evenings or on weekends, times that do not impact class attendance. These short-term release requests should be submitted at least 24 hours before the desired check-out time, so that the requests can be coordinated by program staff in a timely manner. However, we recommend that families check with participants to be sure that checking them out of the program does not mean the participant misses an excursion or activity they wish to attend.
No. Other programs may use the residence hall before and after our programs are held. Summer Scholars students are expected to move in on arrival day and leave on the designated departure day. If you need additional accommodations before or after the official start and end dates of your program, you will need to make your own arrangements.
Enrolled participants will submit a personal profile in the spring. This profile provides information about your likes and dislikes, personality traits, interests, and sleeping habits. As most participants come alone, we use this information to match you with a roommate(s) with similar interests and age. Attending with a friend? All roommate requests must be noted on your personal profile. Only mutual requests will be honored.
For Summer 2025, our two-week courses offer a commuter option. A commuter option is not available for the Leadership Institute course. See the Costs & Aid page for more information about the cost of the commuter option.
Learn more about the program fee for a commuter option
All campus residence halls require a campus ID or code to access, and access is restricted to building residents and staff. Guests are not allowed in the residence halls. If participants wish to spend free time with guests or participants in other programs, they must do so outside of the residence. In the event the program residence is shared with another program, Summer Scholars participants are not allowed on floors of the building assigned to other programs, and participants from those programs may not visit our floors. However, common areas of the building on the main floor can be used by any resident of the building.
All participants are required to provide medical information and permission from their parent or guardian for program staff to facilitate medical care in the event of illness or injury. A camp nurse is staffed to the program and lives in one of the program residences. Program staff will stay in close contact with family as care is arranged. For students whose families live locally, they may be checked out of the program so that the family can arrange care. For those not from the local area, program staff will provide transportation to medical facilities as needed.
Participants are not able to go into athletic facilities or go outside of the designated Home Area on their own; they may do so only if accompanied by a member of the program staff or if they are checked out of the program by an approved parent or guardian. More details about unstructured time will be provided upon admission to the program.
The Home Area is a designated area where participants are allowed to visit when not in classes; this area includes both campus locations and parts of Downtown Hanover. More information and a map of the area is provided to enrolled students and reviewed during the program Orientation session at the start of the program.
No.
Yes, the residence hall has free washers and dryers on the first floor of the building. These facilities are shared by all residents of the building. Residential staff will lead a laundry tutorial on request for those who need guidance, and laundry soap will be provided by the program.