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Community College Partnerships

Howard Community College (HCC)

Dickinson College and Howard Community College (HCC) have entered into this collaborative relationship to facilitate the transfer of full-time students from the Rouse Scholars and Schoenbrodt Honors programs into a full-time baccalaureate program at Dickinson. This collaborative partnership will enable program graduates to complete a baccalaureate of arts or baccalaureate of sciences degree at Dickinson in two years. To be eligible to participate in this partner­ship, Rouse Scholars and Schoenbrodt Honors students should apply to Dickinson at the beginning of the semester in which their transfer associate degree will be completed. Subsequently, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and graduate from HCC with a transfer associate degree.

ADMISSION AND TRANSITION TO DICKINSON COLLEGE

Qualified students who meet the Rouse Scholars or Schoenbrodt Honors program requirements, have earned an associate degree and are admitted to Dickinson will be granted junior (fifth-semester) status. For a course-by-course articulation for all program general-education courses, in addition to electives and courses related specifically to a student’s major, visit the Graduation Requirements page.

  • Beginning in a student’s first semester (first 15 credits) in the Rouse Scholars or Schoenbrodt Honors program, an admissions counselor and/or academic advisor from Dickinson will visit HCC to meet with interested students at least once a semester. Along with HCC staff, they will review curricular choices that will maximize transferable credits to Dickinson. These meetings will ensure that interested students pursue courses that will transfer to Dickinson and enable the student to graduate with a bach­elor’s degree after two years of full-time study at Dickinson.
  • During the fall semester, interested students from the Rouse Scholars and Schoenbrodt Honors programs will visit Dickinson’s campus as a group, attend classes of interest and meet with faculty and staff to discuss their academic interests and their progress toward transfer. 
  • Admission applications will be due by March 1, and candidates will be notified of admission, financial-aid and scholarship decisions by April 1. Candidates must notify Dickinson of their intention to accept or decline the offer by May 1. (For students receiving their associate degree in December, an Oct. 1 application deadline and a Nov. 1 notification date are required.) 
  • The application fee will be waived for students with a 3.25 GPA or higher applying under this partnership. 
  • Dickinson will conduct an orientation session for new transfer students. It also will arrange for all Rouse Scholars and Schoenbrodt Honors students admitted under this agreement to form a cohort with honors transfers from other partner community colleges. This cohort will be guided by a staff mentor during the first transitional semester at Dickinson. 

FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Beginning in the spring of 2020, transfer students admitted through the CCPI will be considered for the following scholarships:

  • Benjamin Rush Scholarship ($15,000 per year)
  • John Dickinson Scholarship ($20,000 per year) 
  • Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship ($25,000 per year)

All students admitted under this partnership, including those awarded the academic scholarships above, will be eligible for need-based grants, loans and work-study programs to meet their full demonstrated financial need according to the PROFILE service of the College Board (need-based applicants also must file the FAFSA and submit copies of tax returns). Academic-scholarship recipients who also demonstrate financial need according to the college’s aid policies will hold the scholarship as a part of their need-based financial-aid package.

Each student admitted under this partnership who qualifies for academic and/or need-based aid will be eligible for up to four semesters of financial aid and scholarships for full-time study. This may include one semester in a Dickinson-run or Dickinson-partner study-abroad program. In addition, financial aid will be provided on the basis of need for a short-term January or summer-abroad program should the student qualify for one of these programs.

TO BE CONSIDERED

  • After the completion of 12-15 credits, discuss your intentions with the director of your honors program.
  • After meeting with the honors program director, plan a meeting with the director of transfer services at HCC to discuss your options and to arrange a time to meet with a Dickinson representative.
  • Contact Tara Vasold Fischer '02 (fischert@dickinson.edu), Associate Dean of Academic Advising & College Dean, to let her know of your interest.
  • After the completion of 30-45 credits, but before graduation, visit the Transfer Students website for transfer information, admission and aid applications and general directions.
  • Submit the admission and financial aid applications by the required deadlines and complete your coursework for the associate degree at HCC. 

INTO THE FUTURE

Dickinson’s cross-disciplinary approach has led to strengths in international education, the natural and mathematical sciences, environmental studies, the arts and pre-professional preparation. The curriculum has been enriched further by first-year seminars, internships and cooperative student-faculty research and publish­ing. To enhance its science programs, Dickinson completed the second phase of the Rector Science Complex, which houses chemistry, molecular biology & biochemistry and neuroscience. The addition is connected to the first phase, home to physics, math and computer science. 

Proud of its heritage and true to the vision of its founders, Dickinson College remains committed to its historic mission: to prepare young people, by means of a useful and progressive education in the liberal arts and sciences, for engaged lives of citizenship and leadership in the service of society. Dickinson faculty and staff look forward to working with the HCC Rouse Scholars and Schoenbrodt Honors programs to create an even more dynamic academic experience for all of our students.