Dickinson College

Dickinson College is a private institution that was founded in 1783. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,125 (fall 2022), its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 144 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Dickinson College's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #46. Its tuition and fees are $63,450.

Only a few days after the Revolutionary War came to a close, Dickinson College was chartered in Carlisle, Pa. Today, Dickinson students have more than 130 student clubs and organizations to choose from, including about a dozen fraternities and sororities. About a quarter of all students join a Greek organization. The Dickinson Red Devils compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference, and the school has a particularly competitive rivalry with Franklin and Marshall College in nearby Lancaster, Pa. Intramural sports, like sand volleyball and badminton, are a popular draw for students, too. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and some seniors must live on campus, though housing options differ by class standing. First-year students are assigned to dormitories; sophomores and juniors live in suites; and seniors can either move into campus apartments or apply to move off campus. Freshmen also have the option to register for a learning community, a group of students with a similar interest who live and take at least two of the same classes together.

The campus town of Carlisle is a historic community of 20,000 residents. To get around town, students may rent from a small fleet of college-owned, red bicycles. The campus is 25 miles away from the state’s capital, Harrisburg; 95 miles from Baltimore; and 125 miles from Philadelphia. For a semester or a year away from Carlisle, students can choose from more than 40 study abroad programs, many of which are led by Dickinson faculty.

The Dickinson School of Law is affiliated with Penn State University and moved to University Park, Pa., but Dickinson undergraduates can benefit from the professional institution. Students can take an accelerated track toward earning a law degree, completing three years at Dickinson College and three years at the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State. Other joint master’s degree programs include an accelerated Bachelor of Science degree from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, a 13.5 month program following three years at Dickinson College, and a guaranteed scholarship of at least $10,000 to any Dickinson student admitted to the highly ranked William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester. Distinguished graduates of Dickinson College include U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, Pa., and New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Haigh.