Recruitment News

Expanding Our Depth and Breadth

by Stephanie Balmer, Vice President for Enrollment and Communications and Dean of Admissions

January 2, 2010

Sixteen months ago I joined the Dickinson community with a deep commitment to further strengthen the college’s admissions program and its position among the nation’s most selective colleges. In that time, I have learned that Dickinsonians lead vibrant lives of intellectual, global and community engagement. Our challenge is to broaden our reach and ensure that even more prospective students and their families consider and choose a Dickinson education.

For the fourth consecutive year, we received more than 5,000 applications for admission for this fall’s incoming class—nearly nine applications were received for every spot in the class of 2013. This is an accomplishment to celebrate. The 2009 admissions cycle, occurring in such a fragile economic time, was the most challenging in recent memory.

Moving ahead, it is essential for us to expand the depth and breadth of our first-year applicant pool. This is a necessity, although the current economic situation does not support application growth: Many families consider the price of a highly selective liberal-arts college a barrier.

Nationally, several highly selective liberal-arts colleges experienced double-digit declines in their applicant pools in 2008-09, while the flagship public and highly selective research universities enjoyed increases, forcing many to question the future of liberal-arts colleges in this consumer-centric environment.

Although we continue to enjoy admissions success, Dickinson’s set of competitor schools has changed significantly over the last 10 years. In 1999, eight of our top overlap schools were in Pennsylvania, while in 2009 just three were. Our admissions overlap schools are national in stature and include highly selective liberal-arts colleges and universities, such as George Washington University and Kenyon and Hamilton colleges.

Selectivity remains a critical indicator of brand strength as data confirms that the more selective the college, as evidenced by acceptance rate, the greater the perceived prestige. Given the economy and resulting pressure on liberal-arts colleges, creating, identifying and conveying our distinctive assets will be Dickinson’s greatest challenge and opportunity as we build and shape future entering classes.
While Dickinson’s market position and its value proposition—our articulation of our distinctiveness—will influence an applicant’s decision to apply and enroll, the current environment suggests that “fit” will become less important for a percentage of our pool and price will become the driver. Our energy and resources must be leveraged to provide families clear reasons to invest in a Dickinson education.

In addition to significant investments in financial aid, we’re introducing programs that will enable students for whom Dickinson may not have been possible immediately after high school to attend our highly selective liberal-arts college. These new models include our community-college partnership program, the Dickinson College Public Service Fellowship (rewarding students committed to public service before enrollment with a $10,000 tuition credit for each year of service), and participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program (a national program providing institutional and federal funding to military veterans).

All of these new initiatives provide an alternative entry to Dickinson. The economic climate and the demographic shift in our traditional primary markets have contributed to our ongoing work on these new affordability models.

The next several years will see the continuing weakening of admit rates, an increase in financial-aid budgets and a decline in the number of high-school graduates moving on to four-year colleges and universities.

We’ll be challenged to articulate our distinctiveness in an environment of cost reduction, family financial stress and rising competition with our peers. Given the competitive climate, we will need our alumni and parents to be more active than ever. It will take the collaboration of the entire Dickinson community to strengthen the brand and reputation of the college.

How can you help? First, learn what’s happening at Dickinson and share the good news with colleagues, influencers and opinion leaders. Visit our new Web site at www.dickinson.edu and read how Dickinson continues to be recognized among national liberal-arts colleges for its distinctive, innovative programs and its athletic prowess in the competitive Centennial Conference.

The strength and power of the Dickinson network is especially important in these economic times, which means alumni and parent advocacy will be essential to attracting talented and motivated students. Mentoring students and alumni, sponsoring student experiences and making important professional connections will sustain Dickinson’s strong reputation.