Congratulations on being awarded the Benjamin Rush Scholarship on the recommendation of the Department of Music Faculty, which is awarded to the top first-year applicants to Dickinson in recognition of superior academic achievement and leadership in high school. It is named for the founder of Dickinson College, Benjamin Rush, perhaps the best known and respected American physician of his time. Rush was a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and was also a civic leader and a political activist. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, served as a member of the Continental Congress and for 14 years served as the treasurer of the U.S. Mint—a true renaissance man for his time.
The Benjamin Rush Scholarship is worth $15,000 per year toward tuition and is renewable for three additional years of full-time study, for a total of eight semesters and $60,000, in residence at Dickinson or in a Dickinson study-abroad program. We are also pleased to offer you a waiver of your performance-studies fees, a value of up to $1,500 per year, or $6,000 over four years, in addition to the Benjamin Rush Scholarship.
Your scholarship will be renewed each year based on your continued enrollment and the maintenance of at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. You must commit to meritorious membership in a faculty-led music department ensemble and enroll in performance studies and/or academic courses in music each semester of on-campus enrollment, though you may or may not major in music. We look forward to providing you with a music-faculty advisor who will work with you over the summer to help design your particular path and provide you with detailed information about your academic and musical options.
We believe that as a Benjamin Rush Scholar, you will be among our most successful students and alumni.
Contact the admissions office with any questions.
Note that the awarding of this particular scholarship is indicated in the acceptance letter with the note that the scholarship is awarded "on the recommendation of the Department of Music faculty."