<p>Does anyone know about how Dickinson allots academic scholarship and financial aid? what are the top scholarships? what monetary value do they cover?</p>
<p>John Dickinson scholarship: $20,000 - for 4 years
Benjamin Rush scholarship: $15,000- for 4 years
[Dickinson</a> College - Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.dickinson.edu/admissions/financial-planning/Scholarships/]Dickinson”>Scholarships | Scholarships | Dickinson College)</p>
<p>All information of this type is on college websites. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call the college and ask them. First hand information will always be the most accurate. I called many colleges with questions and always found them more than willing to answer anything and everything.</p>
<p>Dickinson gives more than $31 million in need-based aid, compared to $3.8 million in merit-based aid.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dickinson.edu/uploadedFiles/about/offices/institutional-research/Institutional_Research/cds%20fall%202009%20new%20March%202010%20file.pdf[/url]”>http://www.dickinson.edu/uploadedFiles/about/offices/institutional-research/Institutional_Research/cds%20fall%202009%20new%20March%202010%20file.pdf</a></p>
<p>I should also tell you that you have a better chance of getting ample aid if you apply early (Early action, decision etc).</p>
<p>There is also a John Montgomery scholarship for $10,000 a year. You do not have to apply for need based aid to get the merit aid scholarships; D did not fill out the FAFSA freshman year, and got a Benjamin Rush scholarship (mom does happy dance!). Don’t be too put off by the criteria they published for each scholarship, either, they do bend them sometimes.</p>
<p>I received the Dickinson Grant which is around $26,000 per year.</p>
<p>My daughter received a very generous Dickinson Grant and will probably be attending this fall.</p>
<p>I received the John Montgomery scholarship with no grant money. I filed a request for review due to certain financial circumstances and they awarded me an additional ~7,000 in grant money. If you aren’t awarded enough for your financial situation and Dickinson is your absolute first choice, I suggest filing a request for them to review your financial situation again. They were very helpful and I’m now a part of the Class of 2014. :)</p>
<p>Hi I’m totally new to this college stuff …my child is considering applying to Dickinson ED but it is a reach school. I’m a little confused about how applying and getting financial aid works. Since it is a reach school will asking for aid hurt her chances? Would she be better off not asking? Is there a way to get it without hurting your chances of ED acceptance ?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer for this at Dickinson… this forum isn’t super active, so you might post the question more generically on the financial aid forum. Although I am sure it has been answered many times over there already if you look around. Here are a few general things I would consider if I were you:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>You do want to apply to schools that are known for good financial aid. Review the thread on Merit Aid for sure.</p></li>
<li><p>Your kid has a lot better chance of getting financial aid that does not need to be paid back if their statistics fall in the top 1/4 or so of the college’s admission statistics. So if the college is a reach, odds of merit aid (even from schools that are pretty generous with it, like Dickinson) are limited.</p></li>
<li><p>Be sure your kid applies to several schools so you can compare aid packages.</p></li>
<li><p>The problem with applying early decision is that then your kid is bound to attend if they are accepted. This limits your ability to compare financial aid packages across schools.</p></li>
<li><p>Use online calculators to figure out your kid’s EFC. If your EFC is lower than the annual cost of attending, apply for aid at a given school. If not, I would not bother. I do think colleges are running a business, and a full pay kid is worth something to them. But if your EFC shows you are eligible for aid, then I would apply for it.</p></li>
</ul>