I’ve heard there’s big athlete vs non-athlete divide but that’s probably true at lots of small schools.

Carlisle is a cute town with indy shops and cafes. Campus is right there. That's a real plus

My school was at about 3600 students when I attended. We had one dining hall, a food court in the student center (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and a couple other options)…and that was it. Doesn’t surprise me that a school with @2k students doesn’t have a ton of dining options

Nope. Dickinson never was in trouble. It’s doing great! It is a hidden gem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

Literally every school has fringe students.

Sure, but that piece came out in the student newspaper (and received national attention) right about the same time prospective students were receiving acceptances for fall 2019. How many "white boys" want to go to a school where the student newspaper is giving the impression you shouldn't even be allowed to talk? And the administration is supportive of that?
If you were the parent of a "white boy" would you be willing to spend hundreds of thousands to send him to a school like that?

Thank you for sharing.

It may seem petty to some, but Dickinson College has only one dining hall according to a prior poster from a couple of months ago. This can be a bit stifling in a small college community. I attended an LAC of similar size and the second dining hall created a totally different social atmosphere that helped make the LAC seem a bit different than boarding school. Yes, I realize that this seems to be a trivial point, but having a second dining option really makes a difference.

oh no. That’s not it at all. They have two dining room options. they have the big dining hall of course. But, there is also a smaller more intimate snack bar type restaurant. The dining hall experience was excellent. this is what brought a great sense of community. The chef literally would win awards for the best college food. very high end. All holidays and special events were catered to the hilt! I tried my first shark, octopus, cavier, and multiple cheeses there. They decorated and themed ‘ over the top ‘
Halloween and other special holidays. Some of the best Dickinson memories are there. They also hold smaller immersive foreign language dinner events weekly in the side rooms. Held a common donut hour and professors would also join in for lunch from time to time. So, please don’t let the dining hall hold you back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

Literally every school has fringe students.

Sure, but that piece came out in the student newspaper (and received national attention) right about the same time prospective students were receiving acceptances for fall 2019. How many "white boys" want to go to a school where the student newspaper is giving the impression you shouldn't even be allowed to talk? And the administration is supportive of that?
If you were the parent of a "white boy" would you be willing to spend hundreds of thousands to send him to a school like that?

Are you really that fragile? It was one person stating their perception and opinion. Dickinson is still pretty white, and as the parent of a "white boy", I'm certain he's capable of handling differing viewpoints and learning from them, even if those viewpoints come across as obnoxious and strident.

Well, what is your explanation for why enrollment declined from 2018-2019?

They were very overenrolled in 2018 - more freshman accepted than expected. Caused housing issues. They had to accept fewer students the following year.

Toured Dickinson twice and loved it. DC is in with $25k merit. Now wondering if it’s so small that they might outgrow it quickly.

We were at Dickinson recently and really liked it. The dining hall is a little dumpy looking but I believe our guide says it’s being rebuilt soon. He said post Covid there has been some issues with long waits because of staffing issues. Overall though, nice school and nice little campus directly adjacent to town.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

The 2018-2019 at most schools is largely due to less kids. 2018 entry are new millennium kiddos. My 2018 HS grad was the largest class in their ES/MS/HS ever (as in 30+ extra kids in ES vs any other year around it most classes were 90 theirs was 140 students). Similar trend all the way thru HS, including living in 2 different coasts during this time (so 2 different school districts).

My 2018 HS grad's university had a similar drop and had been planning for a decline starting with 2019 entry for years before. Then covid hit and made things even worse.

Dickinson is fine

As is Gettysburg, f&m, and Lafayette

If these schools go down, it means everything outside of t30 has imploded

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

Literally every school has fringe students.

Sure, but that piece came out in the student newspaper (and received national attention) right about the same time prospective students were receiving acceptances for fall 2019. How many "white boys" want to go to a school where the student newspaper is giving the impression you shouldn't even be allowed to talk? And the administration is supportive of that?
If you were the parent of a "white boy" would you be willing to spend hundreds of thousands to send him to a school like that?

Are you really that fragile? It was one person stating their perception and opinion. Dickinson is still pretty white, and as the parent of a "white boy", I'm certain he's capable of handling differing viewpoints and learning from them, even if those viewpoints come across as obnoxious and strident.

Well, what is your explanation for why enrollment declined from 2018-2019?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

Fall 2020 was covid shut down. Enrollment fell everywhere. I'm not sure what your point is.

Not based on nothing. It was in an old thread too.
https://thedickinsonian.com/news/2019/09/12/three-quad-dorms-offline/

Anonymous wrote:When we visited two years ago it seemed like Dickinson was in a precarious position with three big freshman dorms closed and freshman orientation week discontinued. My DD liked it but we were concerned it was in decline and/or in financial trouble. We thought maybe it was just COVID related but heard rumblings otherwise.
Any newer info?

Dickinson is not in trouble. Why would you think it's okay to start a false rumor?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

Literally every school has fringe students.

Sure, but that piece came out in the student newspaper (and received national attention) right about the same time prospective students were receiving acceptances for fall 2019. How many "white boys" want to go to a school where the student newspaper is giving the impression you shouldn't even be allowed to talk? And the administration is supportive of that?
If you were the parent of a "white boy" would you be willing to spend hundreds of thousands to send him to a school like that?

Are you really that fragile? It was one person stating their perception and opinion. Dickinson is still pretty white, and as the parent of a "white boy", I'm certain he's capable of handling differing viewpoints and learning from them, even if those viewpoints come across as obnoxious and strident.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre-covid Dickinson had falling enrollment:

2018: 2399
2019: 2133
2020: 1932
2021: 2173
2022: 2125

(https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20084/institutional_research/189/enrollment_data)

The falling enrollment between 2018 and 2019 could possibly be attributed to their "Should white boys still be allowed to talk?" guest piece in the school newspaper in February 2019. I know I would never pay for my kids to go there, specifically because of that.

Literally every school has fringe students.

Sure, but that piece came out in the student newspaper (and received national attention) right about the same time prospective students were receiving acceptances for fall 2019. How many "white boys" want to go to a school where the student newspaper is giving the impression you shouldn't even be allowed to talk? And the administration is supportive of that?
If you were the parent of a "white boy" would you be willing to spend hundreds of thousands to send him to a school like that?

Thank you for sharing.

It may seem petty to some, but Dickinson College has only one dining hall according to a prior poster from a couple of months ago. This can be a bit stifling in a small college community. I attended an LAC of similar size and the second dining hall created a totally different social atmosphere that helped make the LAC seem a bit different than boarding school. Yes, I realize that this seems to be a trivial point, but having a second dining option really makes a difference.

Yes! When we visited, the tour guide commented that in the dining hall people tend to sit with their activity groups which took up different sections of the room. She did not intend this as a negative but it sounded too much like high school to me.

We saw this ourselves there, and it turned me off. But I don’t see how 2 dining halls would change it.