Summer Discovery Dartmouth

Dartmouth takes rising 9th to 12th graders who are 14 to 18 during the program, have finished 8th grade and haven't yet graduated, and that includes U.S., international and homeschooled students. Fourteen-year-olds can take only the three Meriden Valley courses, Business Foundations, Introduction to Engineering and Foundations in Medicine, which need no prior experience.

Several Hanover courses do expect a background in the subject. Research and Lab Work in Medicine, The Genetic Basis of Human Disease and Comparative Anatomy & Physiology ask for biology plus medicine experience, Engineering: Design and Prototyping asks for engineering experience, and the Spanish course needs Spanish II. For most of these, Dartmouth accepts a related class, club, extracurricular or earlier precollege course as the experience.

The application asks for your course choices, short answers about your interests and a grade report or transcript. International students also show English proficiency through test scores, a transcript from an English-taught international school or a video interview. Dartmouth admits students to specific courses based on interest and academic fit, and children of alumni get no preference.

On the Hanover campus, class runs from 9:00 a.m. to noon and again from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., so you spend about five hours a day with the same instructor on the same course. Breakfast starts at 7:00, lunch fills most of the midday break, and there are clubs from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and evening activities from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., which commuters can join too. Curfew is set at orientation.

Weekends are lighter. Residential students go on a staff-led field trip on Saturday, which might be a baseball game or museums in Boston, and Sunday is for assignments, exploring Hanover or hiking part of the Appalachian Trail. At Kimball Union Academy the class hours are the same, with an afternoon activity from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., evening activities until 9:00 and lights out at 10:00.

A few courses leave campus for part of the session. The Leadership Institute, Creative Writing in the Great Outdoors and The Psychology of Happiness hold their final four days of classes at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, a rustic Dartmouth lodge with shared bunkhouses and no wifi or cell service, while two Session 4 courses spend a weekend at the AMC Highland Center in the White Mountains.

You leave with a Dartmouth-branded certificate of completion and a short evaluation from your instructor, and Summer Discovery adds a letter of recognition for the coursework. The certificate isn't emailed until all the summer sessions have finished, usually around August or September, so Session 1 students wait the longest. Several courses also leave you with work you can show, such as the lab records and team presentation from Research and Lab Work in Medicine or the portfolio of revised writing from Creative Writing in the Great Outdoors.

The courses carry no college credit and no grades. Dartmouth says its undergraduate admissions are separate and that taking part doesn't affect your chances of admission there, although it suggests reflecting on what you learned if you mention the program in a college application. The clearest next step is within the program itself: finishing Business Foundations, Introduction to Engineering or Foundations in Medicine makes you eligible for advanced courses on the Hanover campus in a later summer.

For summer 2027, Dartmouth lists residential tuition from $8,299 and commuter tuition from $4,999 for a two-week course in either Hanover or the Meriden Valley, and the Leadership Institute from $9,299, with no commuter option. These are starting prices, and Dartmouth says the exact figure depends on the course, whether you live in and when you apply.

Residential tuition covers classes, housing, three meals a day on campus, afternoon, evening and weekend activities and excursions, linens and laundry. On top of that you'll pay the $100 application fee, which is never refunded, plus flights, spending money and any supplement a course charges. International students pay a registration fee of $379 if residential or $239 if commuting, which covers U.S. medical insurance and, for residential students, airport transfers. Paying by credit card adds 3.5%, while an e-check from a U.S. bank costs nothing extra.

A $1,900 deposit holds your place if you enroll before 31 January 2027, rising to $2,500 for enrollments from 1 February. If you enroll from 1 April, the deposit is $3,500 and the full fee is due straight away, while everyone else pays the balance by 1 April 2027. Dartmouth offers no financial aid for its on-campus programs, which it says are self-funded and priced at full cost, although you can ask Summer Discovery to waive the $100 application fee. Cancellation charges climb quickly:

Students are closely supervised, with live-in staff, a nurse and clear limits on where they can go. In the Meriden Valley, residential staff live in the dorms at one staff member for every eight students, and Summer Discovery's published ratio for its high school programs is 10 students per staff member. Dartmouth places a camp nurse with the program, living in one of the residences, and staff drive students to medical care when needed.

Residence halls open only with a campus ID or code, guests aren't allowed inside, and boys and girls live on separate floors or in separate buildings. Outside class you can move around a designated Home Area of campus and parts of downtown Hanover, but leaving it or using athletic facilities needs a staff member, or a parent checking you out with 24 hours' notice. At Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, bunkhouse alcoves are separated by gender and supervised round the clock, and staff keep emergency connectivity even though students have none.

Summer Discovery's enrollment terms also require families to disclose medical and psychological conditions in writing, including counseling or behavior modification medication in the past 24 months, and not doing so can lead to dismissal. A student sent home for breaking the rules gets no refund, and the family pays for the trip home.

Dartmouth explains the process on its how to apply page, and the application itself is hosted by Summer Discovery.

1. 1

   Choose your course and session

   You take one course per session and Dartmouth reviews you only for the courses and sessions you list, so if you apply in the rolling round after 1 May, list alternatives in case a course fills.

2. 2

   Submit by a round deadline

   Send your transcript, short answers and the $100 fee by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 15 December 2026 (Early/Priority), 27 January 2027 (Regular) or 23 March 2027 (Extended).

3. 3

   Hear back and pay the deposit

   Decisions come within two weeks, and you then have 10 days to accept and pay the deposit.

4. 4

   Pay the balance

   The rest of the tuition is invoiced by email and due on 1 April 2027.

5. 5

   Apply late if space remains

   After 1 May 2027, applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with a decision within a week, and the full fee is due when you enroll.