Dickinson Breaks Admissions Record

Based on completed applications, including an essay and application fee

February 8, 2011

Prospective students walk across the John Dickinson campus.

Demand for a Dickinson College education is at an all-time high. A record-breaking 6,019 applications have been submitted for the Class of 2015, a 22% increase from this date last year and a nearly 100 percent increase since 1998.

Dickinson is among a group of 30 elite liberal-arts colleges to surpass 5,000 applications―fortifying its place among the most prestigious and sought after in the nation. Other institutions include Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin and Williams colleges.

“Many colleges are bolstering their admissions figures by counting partially completed applications. Dickinson's record-breaking number is based on complete applications, including an essay and application fee,” said Dickinson College President William G. Durden ’71.

Students requesting admission through one of Dickinson's Early Decision programs also increased, rising 11.5% percent from 2010. Applicants for the Class of 2015 hail from 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Along with increased applications came a 29 percent increase in students of color and an 11 percent increase in international students representing 87 foreign countries. Academic quality indicators are up as well. For submitting students, there was an 11-point increase in the average SAT score.

Stephanie Balmer, vice president for enrollment & communications and dean of admissions, commented that this was another remarkable year for the college. Last year Dickinson broke another record when it enrolled the Class of 2014, the largest in its history, with 658 students representing 34 states and territories and 50 countries.

“Student demand for Dickinson is very strong as evidenced by the significant  gains in our applicant pool including an increase in the number of students who understand and desire the explicit mission of the college—a useful liberal arts education,” said Balmer. She emphasized that the large, academically very strong pool for the incoming class was achieved even in the current, fiercely competitive admissions climate.