Due in part to new outreach efforts by the admissions team, Dickinson College received a record number of applications for the class of 2022. Compared to last year, international applications increased by 11.3 percent while applications from domestic students of color are up 6.1 percent.

Dean of Admissions Catherine Davenport said in an e-mail that the record was in part broken because “Our Enrollment team – admissions, financial aid and athletics – has been focused on maintaining our presence and visibility in New England and the Mid-Atlantic while enhancing our presence in other states and countries.”

The college received 6,222 applications according to an article by Lauren Davidson published on the Dickinson college website. The article, entitled “In High Demand,” claimed that the college received applications from 49 out of 50 states and 93 different countries.

Davenport stated that the only state absent is South Dakota. She also stated that there are increases in the number of applications from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. The applicant pool for the class of 2022 is 21 percent international and 27 percent of applicants are “domestic students of color.”

Davenport explained that the admissions office has staff in different regions of the country “who have a visible Dickinson presence. … We have done more high school visits, college fairs, off-campus counselor breakfasts and off-campus interviews both domestically and internationally.”

The college held a “Discover Dickinson Day” on Monday, Feb. 19, to help prospective students get a better feel for the college. 132 prospective students attended the event according to Davenport.

Tristan Caffrey from Branchville N.J., said he was considering Dickinson in part because it is a small liberal arts school, but also “I’m a junior so I’m really just kinda looking at all the colleges I can right now, but especially Dickinson because they have a good archaeology program.”

Garrett Murphy of Greenwich Conn. said “One of my friends goes here and he really likes it. It’s a nice private school.” He also explained that he admires the “good academics” and how students can “see their futures” at Dickinson. “I’ve been more focusing on bigger schools, but this really interests me,” he added.

Olivia Gabriel from New York said, “I heard a lot of good things about Dickinson, from students who attend my high school, and I wanted to check it out because I was in the area.” Gabriel explained that her visit to Dickinson was part of a tour of many eastern Pennsylvania liberal arts colleges, including Franklin & Marshall College and Haverford College, amongst others.

Several prospective students were visiting due to cross country recruitments. Dylan Adderan of Lebanon N.J. “I got recruited by the [track] coach, so I thought I’d just come take a look [and] see what it’s like.”

Nathan Bowers from Endicott N.Y. said, “[Dickinson] has options for different academic things, like for science; that’s what I’m here for. And I was approached for the cross-country program. I just wanted to come by and check it out because I thought it might be a good fit.”

Ben Stickler of Lancaster Pa. said, “It looks like a really nice school, and…the [track] coach was talking to me, so I came today to check it out”

Student tour guides expressed optimism about the event. Benjamin Fleming ’19 explained, “I think the program went very well. There were a lot of great prospective students that I met that I believe would be great fits at Dickinson. But that’s also the difficulty of days like today, finding the right way to tailor the tour to such a large group that allows you to maximize the appeal the campus in a realistic and genuine way.”

Justine Hayward ’18 said, “The tour consisted of mostly prospective high school juniors.

Although, the day was cold and damp it was an enjoyable tour with prospective students.”

Davenport said the college is still reviewing regular decision applications, which will not be released until March. However, “Our Admissions and Financial Aid staffs have a detailed processing calendar, which allows us to stay on track with reviewing applications, completing files and releasing decisions on time.”

The college is holding an “Accepted Student Preview Day” on Thursday, Feb. 22, to allow students who have already been accepted to further explore the college.