Dartmouth College Admission – Case Study

The Challenge

David was a politically inclined student who wanted to study political science at a top-tier university. He had strong academic credentials and genuine intellectual interests, but like many students, he was struggling to differentiate himself in a highly competitive applicant pool.

His initial application concept was too broad: “I want to study political science and make a difference.” This is something hundreds of strong applicants say. The challenge was to help David find the specific, distinctive angle that would make his application memorable.

The Morganelli Method in Action

In our initial consultation, we discovered that David had a deep interest in congressional redistricting and its effects on electoral representation. This was a specific, academically substantive, and genuinely compelling area of focus that we could build an entire application narrative around.

Working with David over several months, we helped him:

• Develop a focused research paper on the mathematics of fair district drawing

• Reach out to a political science professor at a local university for mentorship

• Write op-eds about redistricting reform for a state-level political publication

• Testify at a local city council hearing about redistricting in his community

• Create an infographic visualization of gerrymandering effects that was shared widely

• Frame his entire extracurricular profile around civic engagement and political inquiry

David's personal statement centered on a specific moment when he realized that the way congressional districts were drawn in his state had a direct, measurable effect on his community's political representation. It was specific, personal, and tied to a genuine intellectual interest — exactly what Ivy League admissions officers look for.

The Result

David was admitted to four top-tier institutions: Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Duke University, and Brown University. He chose Dartmouth, where he is studying government and has continued his research on redistricting reform.