Hillsdale College: Reputation, Academics, and Influence
Hillsdale College, a private, independent, nonsectarian Christian liberal arts college located in Hillsdale, Michigan, has cultivated a distinct reputation over its long history. Founded in 1844 by abolitionist Free Will Baptists, the college has become known for its commitment to a classical liberal arts education, its principled refusal of government funding, and its growing influence in conservative politics and education reform.
Academic Excellence and Rankings
Hillsdale College consistently receives recognition for its academic quality. The Princeton Review has repeatedly named Hillsdale among the top institutions of higher education in the country, including in the Midwest. These rankings are based on student surveys, reflecting the experiences and perspectives of those who attend the college.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Hillsdale College as #50 in National Liberal Arts Colleges in its 2025 edition. The college also boasts a #21 ranking in Lowest Acceptance Rates, highlighting its selectivity.
Forbes has also recognized Hillsdale as one of the top universities in the country. In its rankings, Forbes emphasized the College’s historic commitment to equality in education, noting that Hillsdale was America’s first institution of higher learning to forbid discrimination based on race, religion, or gender.
Provost Christopher VanOrman emphasizes the college’s commitment to fostering a lively and rigorous academic culture that develops the minds and improves the hearts of its students. He notes that the excellence and happiness that mark the campus are a natural product of this culture.
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Curriculum and Educational Philosophy
Hillsdale College offers a traditional, classical, liberal arts education with a rigorous core curriculum led by a dedicated teaching faculty. The college's curriculum emphasizes:
- A devotion to the Western canon
- An emphasis on primary sources over academic theory
- A focus on equipping students to be able, virtuous citizens
Every Hillsdale College student is required to complete a structured core of courses in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Core courses include the Constitution, Great Books in the Western and British/American Traditions, Classical Logic and Rhetoric, Western Philosophical Tradition, and Western Theological Tradition. To graduate, students must complete a minimum of 124 hours of course work and fulfill the requirements of at least one major field. The B.A. program includes a foreign language proficiency requirement.
Hillsdale awards Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in a variety of fields, including accounting, applied mathematics, art, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, classics, economics, English, exercise science, financial management, French, German, Greek, history, Latin, marketing/management, mathematics, music, philosophy, physical education, physics, politics, psychology, religion, rhetoric and public address, Spanish, sport management, sport psychology, and theater. Interdisciplinary majors are available in American studies, international studies in business and foreign language, political economy, and sociology and social thought. Preprofessional programs are offered in allied health sciences, dentistry, education, engineering, journalism, law, medicine and osteopathy, military history and grand strategy, theology, and veterinary medicine.
The college takes pride in its status as a "small, Christian, classical liberal arts college," challenging its students to become confident and independent individuals. Students study a core curriculum focused on "literature, philosophy, theology, history, the fine arts, and the natural sciences" that establishes "a common baseline for all." This sense of community drives "non-sectarian" classrooms where "open-minded and respectful discourse is promoted and encouraged." Teachers are not only scholarly and professional but also care about their students and participate in the discussions without stamping down student ideas.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Hillsdale College has a selective admissions process. A formal application includes a completed application form, an official transcript of high school grades (and post-secondary grades, if available), a thoughtful essay and short answer responses, two academic letters of recommendation, and a resume of extracurricular activities, volunteerism, leadership, and work experience. An interview is recommended, but not required. Standardized test scores from the American College Test (ACT), Classic Learning Test (CLT), or Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are optional.
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The undergraduate enrollment for Fall 2021 was 1,515-51 percent men and 49 percent women-from 49 states and 14 foreign countries. The freshman class entering in Fall 2021 had an average GPA of 3.93, ACT of 32, and SAT of 1420. All Hillsdale students sign an Honor Code encouraging self-government and committing them to honesty, duty, and respect.
Hillsdale College has a principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. Because Hillsdale diversifies its revenue sources and rejects government funding, it can offer the course of study that it believes to be best for its students. The College is proof that education does not need to be subsidized by the government to succeed.
Academic scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis, regardless of financial need. The application for admission also serves as the application for merit-based aid. Athletic scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis in men's baseball, football, and golf; men's and women's basketball, tennis, track, and cross-country; and women's swimming, softball, and volleyball. The art, music, and theatre departments also award a select number of scholarships based on strength of portfolio/audition. To apply for aid on the basis of financial need, students are required to file Hillsdale's Confidential Family Financial Statement (CFFS). Because Hillsdale does not accept government funds, either directly for its operations or indirectly in the form of student aid, the FAFSA is not applicable; government funds are replaced with private dollars.
Campus Life and Activities
Students are housed in single-sex dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, and off-campus houses. Each College residence hall is supervised by a resident director and resident advisers. Four national fraternities, three national sororities, a newspaper and radio station, and more than 100 other social, academic, spiritual, and service organizations provide Hillsdale students with diverse cocurricular opportunities. A resident drama troupe and dance company, a concert choir and chamber chorale, a jazz program, instrumental chamber ensembles, and a symphony orchestra and band constitute the College's performing arts organizations.
Students at Hillsdale are “friendly and welcoming; you can have an engaging conversation with someone you’ve never met before in the cafeteria without feeling nervous to do so.” It’s a “very politically conservative school” where “most students on campus go to church weekly and participate in Bible studies. Students deeply value discussion and debate, finding that “disagreement…is a reason to improve a friendship, not to disintegrate it.” This makes for a supportive, familiar group of peers who say, “I feel challenged to think deeply and aspire to ever improve myself in order to reach my fullest potential, but I also feel supported and encouraged when I fall short.” As one student explains it: “I can’t go anywhere on campus without seeing someone I know, whether they’re from my dorm, a class or club we’re both in, or we just met in the cafeteria one day through a mutual friend.
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The average Hillsdalian is likely to “spend their mornings and afternoons going to and from classes and studying in between, as well as getting hours in their on-campus jobs.” Outside of class, “thrifting and antique shopping around campus [are] popular…as well as going to local coffee shops and watching basketball and baseball games on campus.” Students enjoy spending “a lot of time in the Student Union, playing ping pong, pool, and talking with each other,” which carries over to the dining hall, a major location for socializing. “Students are very conscious of keeping their mealtime free to see their friends, and there is a vibrant culture of scheduling conversations and catch-up time over a meal in the dining hall.” Other noted activities include various clubor intramural sports; a series of rotating, weekly events; clubs ranging from “swing dancing and sword fighting” to “religious associations and reading”; and Greek life, which includes a music-focused fraternity.
Financial Health
Hillsdale College received a perfect A+ rating from Forbes in its recent College Financial Health Grades. This is the second year in a row that Hillsdale College has received a perfect, 4.50 “Financial GPA.” Of the 921 colleges in the United States ranked by Forbes, 38 schools received a 4.50 Financial GPA. The Forbes report analyzed records for 921 private colleges throughout the United States with an enrollment of 500 students or more. The rankings were drawn from the National Center for Education Statistics database, which focused on endowment assets, liquidity of assets, tuition revenue as percentage of total revenue, return on assets, admissions yield, freshman grant aid, instruction expenses, and overall operational soundness.
Influence and Outreach
Hillsdale College has vastly expanded its influence, partly through its ties to Republican politics. The college has had a presence in Washington, D.C., for fifty years, and in 2010 it opened a second campus there, largely for graduate students, in a row of town houses across from the Heritage Foundation. In recent years, speakers at Hillsdale events have included Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett. Alumni have gone on to serve in powerful government positions.
The school welcomes conservative provocateurs to speak at events, publishing some of the talks in Imprimis, a monthly digest of speeches with a circulation of more than 6.9 million. In 2021, Hillsdale tapped two of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration to help launch the Academy for Science and Freedom, “to combat the recent and widespread abuses of individual and academic freedom made in the name of science.”
Hillsdale has ventured outside of higher education, helping to launch K-12 charter schools nationwide. Arnn has set an ambitious mission for this project, one that suggests Hillsdale is only getting started in its fight to reclaim American education: “We’re going to try to find a way to teach anyone who wants us to help them learn.”
One way the school reaches conservatives is by offering a trove of free online courses, in which more than three million people have enrolled.
Hillsdale in D.C.
Hillsdale in D.C. is an extension of the teaching mission of Hillsdale College to Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to teach the Constitution and the principles that give it meaning. After several decades of maintaining a semester program in Washington D.C., Hillsdale established a permanent presence with the establishment of the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship on Massachusetts Avenue. The facility was dedicated on Constitution Day 2010.
Graduate Programs
As of 2022, the college offers three graduate programs: the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, offering both an M.A. and a Ph.D. program in Politics; the Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government, based in Washington, D.C., and offering an M.A. in Government; and the Graduate School of Classical Education, offering an M.A.
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