Dickinson is a community of students, faculty and staff where ideas matter. While application essays, as a way to discover how you think, are an important part of the admission process, our personal interaction with you is critical to the college selection. As an alternative to the standard admission interview, Dickinson offers prospective students the opportunity to participate in Forum.

Forum is an invitation to engage with other interested prospective students and a facilitator in meaningful dialogue prompted by a set of questions. As a leading college in the United States dedicated to identifying and educating citizens and leaders for the 21st century, the Forum experience provides you the opportunity to demonstrate and not merely to explain how you interact in, and contribute to, a group environment. It is not necessary to prepare for a Forum ahead of time — there is nothing to memorize. Just bring yourself. We do, however, expect you to contribute to the group conversation and to participate in a way that reflects who you want to be in college.

The outcome from Forum is a highly engaging and,we hope, thought-provoking experience that will show you Dickinson’s brand of liberal education. A member of the admissions staff will be on hand during Forum to note your participation, your style of response and inquiry and your interaction with others. These observations will carry the same weight in our admissions review process as our evaluative interview.

If you feel a little uncomfortable as you consider participating, that's OK, because our aim at Dickinson College is that exactly — to help you take risks, to make you a little uncomfortable, to promote deep learning, and to encourage you to speak out on issues that matter to you!