Prospective Dickinson student needs to know more!!!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dickinson College
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<p>D is a freshman at Dickinson, and absolutely adores it. She had relatively high end stats for Dickinson, and got a pretty good merit scholarship. She turned down a few more highly ranked schools because she thought Dickinson was a a very friendly place when she visited, she liked the classes she attended the two times she went to campus (and they are relatively strong in her major), and they have some flexibility in study abroad programs that she was seeking.</p>

<p>She lives in a double in a dorm with about 200 kids in it. Roommate is a very good fit with her, and she has posted several pictures of groups of friends playing board games, eating birthday cake together, etc. Most of the people who lived in the dorm watched the political conventions (both flavors) in the main common room over the past two weeks together, and apparently all were civil :-) Her room is perfectly adequate, I thought the dorm was pretty nice compared to my college dorm. She has joined a few campus groups (a political group, swing dance club, and outing club). She said the RAs in the dorms are keeping pretty close tabs on them (she thinks they are trying to keep the frosh from getting into partying habits). That is not an issue for her, she was kind of worried that everyone around her might be into partying and she would be the odd one out, but this is definitely not the case. She does live in one of the learning community dorms (but it is not the substance free dorm). She has an invite home from a dorm friend for the long weekend in October, since we live in MN.</p>

<p>Classes are going well. Only down side is that she was unable to get into a lab science at all this fall (she is a poli sci major, but wanted to get started on that part of her requirements). She had 4 or 5 different classes she was interested in (soft sciences, like Astronomy, Geology, Environmental Science, etc.), and all sections were full. But she really likes all of her classes and her professors (she did use ratemyprofessor.com to pick them).</p>

<p>Generally she says her study and time management skills are better than most of her new friends (but she is especially strong in that area, I think). First graded assignments are coming back and her grades are good so far.</p>

<p>The town is small, and she isn't too happy about having to pay $5 to take the shuttle to Harrisburg (and maybe around Carilisle? am not sure about where all the shuttle goes...). But so far this isn't a big deal, there is a lot going on around campus.</p>

<p>Oh, no printer in the dorms, they have to go to the library to pick up their printouts. So bring a printer, it is worth it.</p>

<p>She has phoned me every day (not kidding, sometimes more than once) since she got there, but it is mostly to share her excitement or talk about stuff in the news, etc. So I feel like I have a pretty good picture of what is going on, and life is good. I had a few concerns before she went, but they have pretty much dissolved, and I am very glad at this point we didn't spend the extra $$ to send her to one of her other choices.</p>

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<p>Oh, and she hasn't gone to any sporting events yet, but plans to go at least to a football game because her dorm friends are going. She was a varsity athlete in high school, but at a small school where there weren't many fans except parents. So it is kind of a foreign idea to her to go to sporting events. So she may not be doing much of that, but it doesn't mean others won't.</p>

<p>One other note about Carlisle, it has the biggest traffic jams of any city between New York and Chicago (not kidding! not sure if this is due to the car shows that are frequent in town, or what). Since D doesn't have a car, no issue for her. But plan extra time to get across town when you visit.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the update on your daughter. Dickinson is very much the kind of campus experience my son is seeking and he is seriously considering an ED application; I think the only thing holding him back is having the fun (?) of making a choice (likely to be Dickinson) in the spring. I'm not sure he understands how competitive it actually is to get in and that he might not get that choice....</p>

<p>He has a few more weeks to decide.</p>

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<p>My D applied in the EA round that comes after ED. So she still had the "fun", but it gave her an early admission in hand. But her stats were pretty comfortable for Dickinson (she was in the top 25% for SAT reading and at about the 50% point for SAT math), and she got a very good vibe from her interview (which she did in our home town, not on campus). She had shown strong interest by visiting campus (attending a class, etc.), going to a presentation in our town (in Minnesota), and signing up for an off campus interview, so that may have helped. And she had good extracurriculars (captain of a sports team -- but not playing in college, Girl Scout Gold Award, and about a zillion other things). A-/B+ student at a competitive college prep independent school. Geographic diversity may not have hurt, either. But honestly, the fact that Dickinson was not her first choice last fall is what kept her from applying ED. Now I think it is a great choice for her, and she is probably happier than she would have been at the one that got away...</p>

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<p>INT, what made your D choose Dickinson? We are also from Minnesota (except for the last 3 years) originally. We now live in Penn, about two hours from Dickinson (counting the terrible traffic jams in that tiny town), but were considering sending our D to college in Minny where she grew up. Maybe Carleton, Macalester, or St. Olaf, but we're leary about her being that far away from home (she is too). What was it besides the merit scholarship? What made Dickinson stand out over other schools?</p>

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<p>Sorry I took a few days to reply; have been tied up over on the Parents Cafe political forum, it is addicting :) Here is a core dump of the reasons D picked Dickinson (besides the merit money, which definitely did make a difference):</p>

<ul>
<li><p>When she visited a class on campus (Poli Sci, her intended major), the students were friendly and chatted with her before class. She went to classes at 14 different colleges during her search, and this is the ONLY one where someone struck up a conversation with her while they waited for the class to start. She is outgoing and friendly, and she liked that. She also really liked the professor, and found the class material engaging (at one other college she visited, the students had been assigned to read a Newsweek article for class; she happened to have read the article, but many of the other students had not -- she just felt like that school would be a waste of her time). She thought the students in the class were smart and asked good questions, and were very engaged. She looked over the course selection, and found a lot of courses that would be interesting. The grad requirements also did not seem too steep (compared to one of her other top choices, Mount Holyoke, where the requirements seemed over the top). She is also interested in International Relations, and Dickinson seems to be pretty strong in both Poli Sci and IR.</p></li>
<li><p>It was raining (pouring!) the day we visited campus the first time. But she still just really liked the vibe. The students she talked to in admissions prior to her tour were interesting and seemed smart. She liked the campus (it is quite pretty - especially the library at night!). She talked to a coach (in a sport, for a variety of reasons, she ended up not playing) and he was a SUPER nice guy. She would have happily played for him if things had worked out that way. Oh, and she likes Pennsylvania, it is scenic. We do have relatives in Gettysburg, but she does not know them well.</p></li>
<li><p>We visited the study abroad office; D is interested in studying in a country where very few colleges run programs (Finland). We got in the habit of just stopping by the office on each campus we visited, since it turns out that it is much easier at some colleges than others to "go off the beaten" path for study abroad. Dickinson's study abroad is extremely strong (every college claims this, but Dickinson clearly is stronger than most we talked to). They were able to readily talk about some options for Finland. She is also interested in a Washington semester, and they have a program that appeals to her (the semester at American University that many other colleges offer didn't really appeal to her; that is where the class was assigned the Newsweek article...).</p></li>
<li><p>Good food when we ate in the cafeteria (killer coconut cake :D )</p></li>
<li><p>D is possibly interested in law school after college. She felt like she would really enjoy Dickinson, get a good education in her intended major, not overpay ($15K of merit money per year), and maybe be able to get good enough grades to give her a boost in law school admission. So far, so good on all fronts. Her other acceptances: Mount Holyoke, Bates, U of Wisconsin. Waitlisted at Carleton and Michigan.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding the Minnesota schools, she felt like she wanted to get out of the midwest. She is also considering the foreign service, and figured that she at least ought to get out of the state for college if she is serious about traveling the world for her career. I would say that Dickinson is comparable to St. Olaf, but with less of the Lutheran & musical vibe (and a bit more of an international flavor). Carleton - D was waitlisted there, might have gone if she had gotten in; it is definitely a tier above Dickinson academically. Macalaster - we used to live 5 blocks from the campus, D said "if it were 600 miles away I would be very interested".</p></li>
</ul>

<p>So that is a lot of info... hope it helps.</p>

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<p>Wow, thanks INTparent for such a thorough response. I agree with the comparison to St. Olaf. My D will probably apply EA but not ED. The financial aid thing scares us. We also thought the dorms at Dickinson were the best we've looked at. They were spacious, and the only air-conditioned freshman dorms we've ever seen! </p>

<p>My D has already applied to Ursinus College and Penn State U. Ursinus was one of those 'Priority' low doc apps. the school sent her. Penn State is rolling admissions. </p>

<p>My D is also considering Swarthmore, Oberlin, Amherst, Cornell, Brown and Lehigh. I think all are in reach if she does well on the ACT this month. On practice tests, she's coming in much higher than on the SAT. She did not do well on the actual SAT last year as a junior and does not want to repeat it, but she probably did well enough for the two schools she's already applied. She's top 10% and a URM (she's biracial), but we're in an awkward income bracket. I don't make enough to pay the full freight or even three-quarters because I have another D already in college. But I earn too much (I think) for traditional non-loan need-based aid (close to 190K this year). I'm also not as young as most parents and am trying to save for retirement (my wife stays home with our youngest who has special needs so she can't help income-wise). </p>

<p>Dickinson looks like a good place for my D, but it will depend almost entirely on non-loan financials. </p>

<p>Sometimes I wish my D could kill the ACTs and apply to Harvard or Yale. If you make less than 200K at Yale you don't have to pay more than 10% of your income for tuition. That's to give middle class people like us a chance at an elite education. A lot of the top schools seem filled with rich kids and poor kids, but not very made in-between like us. </p>

<p>Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Perhaps my D will get to meet your D at Dickinson next fall.</p>

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<p>Good luck, Plainsman. My D did apply EA. She also definitely showed interest; she did a campus visit that included more than just a tour/info session. We didn't have a full day there, so she didn't do an interview at that time. But when they came to our city a couple of months later she interviewed then. I think that helped. She also said after she came out of the interview that she was very much herself in the interview (charming, but sometimes a little dorky); she said, "If they didn't like me after that interview, then they don't want me at their college" - - meaning that she felt like she had shown her true personality, take it or leave it. </p>

<p>You might want to know that she got what I guess might be called a "likely merit aid" letter. They wrote after her interview and said that she was the type of student who would be a good candidate for their merit aid awards. I wasn't sure they would come through, but they did. In fact, she got a higher award than their published qualifications for it led me to expect (she was slightly under the stated qualifications for grades/SATs, but had very good ECs -- sports team captain, Girl Scout Gold Award, and top 5 finishes two years in a row in state speech competitions).</p>

<p>I must say, given the current financial climate, I am especially glad she picked Dickinson and not one her "financial reaches" - - the other liberal arts schools that did not offer merit aid.</p>

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<p>FYI, my D got a "likely" merit aid letter too, but nothing came through in the end. She did get merit aid from another school, but we allowed her to make her own choice on where to attend independent of that (we have saved for college for her for a long time!!) and are very pleased with Dickinson. Macalester was a school she got into, but she didn't like the feel of the campus. In PA, she got into Gettysburg and F&M as well. Her other choices were Ohio and New England.</p>

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<p>Wow, you folks are lucky. My D didn't get one of those likely merit aid letters. That's disappointing. Oh well. I don't know how I'm going to afford this. The stock market is way down. I had hopes of paying for it that way, but not anymore. It's all under water. We're dead set against loans. Personally, my only hope is that Obama and Biden get in there, impose some curbs on the Wall Street cowboys, and hope the market turns around significantly by next April.</p>

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<p>anybody here knows about the academic aspect of Dickinson college? I need some insights view about things like what are the strengths or weaknesses of Dickinson?? Specifically, about the Economics major</p>

<p>thank you guys in advance</p>

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<p>My son is looking at these three schools in addition to F&M and Lafeyette. Did anyone have the same list and can you give us a sense of them? We live in CA and coming out to visit next week. Big, big reach school is Lehigh. He is also a golfer so that is a factor.</p>

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<p>dffmom, what does your son want to study? I live in PA and am familiar with the schools on your list. They are all solid LACs, but with slightly different academic strengths and school cultures. However, I have no information about the relative strength of their golf programs. Bucknell and Susquehanna might also be worth a visit if you have time.</p>

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<p>he is looking at business and history. We have the differences in the golf programs covered but every LAC has their own “personality” and it is helpful to hear from those with an educated op.</p>

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<p>All four of these colleges are highly respected and should provide a good college experience for your son. For business and history, would expect that they would provide a similarly strong focus but I do not know individual teachers specifics about those programs. Some of these schools have dropped their elementary education certification programs due to the ever-changing Pennsylvania Department of Education requirements, but that should not be an issue for you. I’d say location may be the most distinguishing factor. Although all small towns, there is a big difference between Carlisle, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Easton, and Allentown, and also their proximity to various larger cities. I always thought of Lafayette as particularly strong for engineering and science. Gettysburg has a good music department and a reputation for being a bit more preppy. Muhlenberg has a very strong theater department. Proobably this is of no help to you, but I really do not think he would go wrong with any of these schools, so it comes down to personal preference and whether he can envision himself living there for four years, or not.</p>

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<p>My son is going to go to Dickinson and will be on the golf team. He was impressed with the coach, met the members of the team and attended three classes on an overnight. He also looked at Lafayette, Gettysburg and just wasn’t interested in Franklin & Marshall. I also have a niece that just graduated from Lafayette. Candidly, each school has their strong points and anyone that tells you that they are significantly different is crazy. So, it gets down to your son getting a feel for each school. </p>

<p>Oh, and my son was impressed with the international focus at Dickinson and likes their International Business major. I’ve heard good things about Lehigh but we did not visit the school.</p>

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<p>Kinda random and going back to the restaurants topic: does Carlisle have a sushi bar/restaurant? I know they recently put one on the campus. Anyone know how that is?</p>

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<p>Anyone have current info or experiences to share about academics, social life, food, theater or dance?</p>

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@BaileyDanielle‌ not sure about on campus, but there is one within walking distance in town. It’s called Mt. Fuji.

@1bie792‌ One this of interest might be the events the college is throwing. This Friday is “Queer Prom”, put on by Landis House and the LGBT society. There is also a rapper group coming to preform ($cy??), but I’ve also been to see David Cook at Dickinson. There is a Passover Dinner being thrown by the religious offices, and recently there were free coffee specialty drinks being made by Italian exchange students at the Biblio CafĂ© in the library. Soon there will be a vote on the implementation of more gender neutral bathrooms on campus.
Kids hate the cafeteria food, and one of the popular complaints is of time spent on the toilet. Carlisle has a good amount of restaurants. There is a high amount of local and organic food available, which is great.
Central PA Youth Ballet (CPYB) is located in Carlisle, and it is actually a very famously good dance school. There are ballerinas all over town, but its not really for Dson students, too much of a time commitment.
There is a movie theatre near the Walmart, and the Carlisle Theatre is in town. The Carlisle Theatre plays old movies and puts on plays & musicals.

get the yik yak app and search for Dickinson.

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Wonder why this thread is still pinned? It is ancient! Can anyone give an update for 2016? My D has been accepted. I know once upon a time it was very preppy, but she understands that isn’t the case any more. Anyone have some nice updates on life at D’son these days and campus vibe?