Navigating Financial Aid at Dartmouth College: Understanding Need-Based Scholarships

Dartmouth College distinguishes itself by its commitment to providing access to education for talented students, irrespective of their financial backgrounds. As an Ivy League institution, Dartmouth exclusively offers need-based financial aid, foregoing merit-based, athletic, or special talent scholarships for undergraduates. This article delves into the specifics of Dartmouth's financial aid program, elucidating how the college determines financial need and the types of aid available to students.

Dartmouth's Commitment to Meeting Financial Need

Dartmouth College pledges to meet 100% of each student's demonstrated financial need for all four years of their undergraduate studies. This commitment ensures that financial constraints do not hinder deserving students from pursuing a Dartmouth education.

Determining Financial Need: A Holistic Approach

Dartmouth employs a comprehensive approach to assess a family's ability to contribute to the cost of education. The formula used is:

Cost of Education − Family Contribution = "Need"

Understanding the Cost of Education

The cost of education encompasses both direct and indirect expenses.

Direct expenses: These include tuition, fees, food, and housing-the costs directly billed by the college. Full-time students pay tuition in four equal installments, due before the start of each term, including off-campus terms for research or internships.
Indirect expenses: These are costs not billed by the college but are essential for a student's education, such as travel, books, supplies, and laundry. Dartmouth considers an average amount for these expenses when determining aid eligibility, even though students do not receive a direct bill for them.

Defining Family Contribution

The family contribution comprises both a parent and a student contribution.

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Parent Contribution: Dartmouth considers income and assets, including savings, investments, real estate, and businesses, to determine the parent contribution. The college also takes into account family size, the number of siblings in college, and any extraordinary expenses such as high medical or dental costs, required private school expenses, or other unusual financial burdens. For undergraduate financial aid applicants with total parent incomes under $125,000 a year with typical assets, Dartmouth offers a zero parent contribution initiative.
Student Contribution: Students receiving financial aid are expected to contribute a minimum amount annually, typically ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 per year. This contribution is expected to come from leave term earnings and a percentage of their assets. Dartmouth expects a student contribution from summer earnings (or leave-term earnings in subsequent years), which is re-evaluated each year. In addition to the summer earnings requirement, students are expected to contribute annually, 20% of their reported assets (cash, savings, checking, investments, and real estate).

Components of a Financial Aid Offer

Dartmouth meets the demonstrated financial need with a combination of work and scholarships. A financial aid offer typically includes:

Scholarships or Grants: Dartmouth Scholarships are need-based and do not require repayment. Amounts can vary from $1,000 to over $80,000, depending on the expected family contribution. Many Dartmouth students are paired with one or more of the over 950 endowed scholarship funds. These pairings do not represent additional aid but indicate that the aid already awarded will come from a specific endowed fund. All students receiving aid complete an additional survey to assist with making these pairings, but no separate application is required for any specific opportunity. Any student can opt out of this program if that is their preference. Most students receiving these scholarships are asked to answer some additional questions about their Dartmouth experience and write their donor a note of thanks annually.
Student Employment: Nearly all financial aid awards include employment eligibility. Students can work on campus to earn money to help cover their indirect costs. A typical financial aid offer for a family with a zero EPC (expected parent contribution) will include student employment of $2,450; any Federal and state grants the student may be eligible to receive and Dartmouth scholarship assistance.
Loans: While Dartmouth's financial aid covers 100% of the demonstrated need of all its students and does not include loans in the initial financial aid offers to undergraduate students, students may choose to take a loan to help off-set their costs. Loans are available for parents to cover the cost of the family contribution. This type of loan is available from private banks. Your ability to obtain private funding is largely based on your credit-worthiness and current indebtedness.

External Scholarships and Resources

Dartmouth students have access to resources that make all kinds of experiences possible and ensure that every student can take advantage of the diverse opportunities Dartmouth has to offer. While Dartmouth's financial aid covers 100% of the demonstrated need of all its students, the opportunity for funding doesn't stop there. All outside scholarships, including tuition benefits, must be reported to the financial aid office. This includes scholarships or resources that are made payable to the student. Outside scholarships may be used to reduce or replace the student's work expectation and leave term earnings, as well as any health insurance cost that is not already covered by Dartmouth. First year students may also use outside scholarship to cover the allowable cost of a computer. Outside resources that exceed these amounts will reduce Dartmouth Scholarship dollar for dollar. Dartmouth regards veterans' benefits as outside scholarships that you have earned and they will be used to reduce your own expenses.

Federal and State Aid Programs

For U.S. citizens or permanent residents, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required to apply for Federal Financial Aid.

Federal Pell Grants: The federal government provides Pell Grants to students who qualify based on financial need, as determined by their FAFSA.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG): These grants are awarded by Dartmouth to the most needy students.
State Grants: Some states offer need-based grants for undergraduate students, which may be used at Dartmouth. State grants may be included in your overall grant eligibility, but are not counted until they are received from the state, at which time they will reduce Dartmouth scholarship, dollar-for-dollar.

ROTC Scholarships

ROTC Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis.

Specific Scholarship Programs

Dartmouth College offers several specific scholarship programs with particular requirements:

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The Admissions Award is granted for a total of four years (eight semesters) as long as the student maintains full-time status (12 day credits each semester), earns 24 day credits per academic year and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The Chancellor’s Scholarship is granted for a total of four years (eight semesters) as long as the student maintains full-time status (12 day credits each semester), earns 24 day credits per academic year and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The Dean’s Scholarship is granted for a total of four years (eight semesters) as long as the student maintains full-time status (12 day credits each semester), earns 24 day credits per academic year and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
Be exceptionally well-qualified students who are residents of Massachusetts and who have shown outstanding academic achievement and potential. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The scholarship is valid for a total of three years (six semesters) as long as student remains full time (12 day credits) each semester and maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The scholarship is valid for a total of three years (six semesters) as long as student remains full time (12 day credits) each semester and maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The scholarship is valid for a total of three years (six semesters) as long as student remains full time (12 day credits) each semester and maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The scholarship is valid for a total of three years (six semesters) as long as student remains full time (12 day credits) each semester and maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.
The UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship (CCAS) guarantees students in the top 10% of their community college graduating class admission to the University of Massachusetts and a minimum $2,500 per semester ($5,000 annually) for a total of at least $10,000 for the students’ final two years of college. CCAS nominees can apply for free by using either a campus-specific Mass Transfer application or using fee waiver code CCAS25 on the UMassD application. The scholarship is valid for a total of two years (four semesters) as long as you remain full time (12 day credits) each semester and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Online & Continuing Education courses and charges are not covered by this program.

Specific Policies

Dartmouth College has specific policies related to outside funding, health insurance, travel allowance, and student contribution that are important to understand when navigating financial aid.

Policy on Outside Funding: Students may use outside scholarship funds to reduce or replace the employment component of their financial aid offer, as well as the summer work contribution. Dartmouth Scholarship is reduced as a last resort.
Policy on Health Insurance: Dartmouth College requires all active students, including students not taking classes or on a leave-term, to have health insurance meeting specified standards of coverage through either the Dartmouth Student Group Health Plan (DSGHP) or a comparable policy through their parent's employer. During the summer months, students may complete the waiver process if the student is covered under a comparable health plan. If the waiver is not received, the student will automatically be enrolled, and the cost of the insurance will be charged to the student's account. QuestBridge Match students will receive a scholarship for the full cost ($4,556) of the Dartmouth Student Group Health Plan.
Policy on Travel Allowance: A travel allowance will be included in your cost of attendance. This travel allowance is an indirect cost that will not appear on your student bill. Travel allowance is determined by state of residence. Students and families must arrange and pay for all travel to and from Dartmouth College.
Policy on Student Contribution: A typical financial aid offer for a family with a zero EPC (expected parent contribution) will include student employment of $2,450; any Federal and state grants the student may be eligible to receive and Dartmouth scholarship assistance. Dartmouth expects a student contribution from summer earnings (or leave-term earnings in subsequent years), currently $1,000. Dartmouth's summer/leave-term earnings contribution is re-evaluated each year. In addition to the summer earnings requirement, students are expected to contribute annually, 20% of their reported assets (cash, savings, checking, investments, and real estate).

Maintaining Financial Aid

Students must reapply for aid each year by submitting the FAFSA. The student's standard earnings contribution increases moderately in the renewal years.

Financial Aid for Graduate Programs

Scholarship awards for Dartmouth's Master of Health Administration degree program are made possible through the generosity of alumni, corporations, and nonprofit foundations. Federal financial aid to graduate students is available through the Federal Direct Loan program and the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program.

Veteran's Benefits

Dartmouth regards veterans' benefits as outside scholarships that you have earned and they will be used to reduce your own expenses. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Yellow Ribbon Program (YRP) is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. The program allows institutions to enter into a voluntary agreement with the VA to fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the VA cap at private institutions for individuals eligible for the 100 percent payment tier. The institution can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses and VA will match the same amount as the institution. The Dartmouth MHA participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program (YRP) without limitation on the number of veterans enrolled and at the full 50 percent funding level.

QuestBridge Match Program

Dartmouth seeks the most academically promising students, inclusive of families with significant financial disadvantage, and anticipates that many QuestBridge Match admission candidates will qualify for an Expected Parent Contribution (EPC) of zero and this will remain so throughout a student's four years of College study. QuestBridge Match students will have a $0 parent contribution and $0 loans for all four years. All QuestBridge Match students will receive a scholarship to cover the cost of a basic computer package up to $1,700.

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