Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale College is a private liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, a town 10 to 35 miles from a city, with 1,573 undergraduates. Social sciences and English are its signature fields: together they make up 31% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times their share across the colleges we cover. 90% of students finish within six years.
Hillsdale College admitted 571 of 2,773 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (20.6%).
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Hillsdale College is known for
Measured by the 366 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
19.9%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
English
11.2%
of its bachelor's degrees: about six times the 1.8% share across the colleges we cover.
- English Language and Literature4111.2% of degrees
- Economics3710.1% of degrees
- Political Science and Government369.8% of degrees
- History369.8% of degrees
- Biology277.4% of degrees
- Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology246.6% of degrees
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Town, 10–35 miles from a city
Hillsdale, MI
Undergraduates
1,573
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Baccalaureate college, arts and sciences focus
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
8 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
0%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Hillsdale College
Two things Hillsdale College published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
The admit rate fell from 36% to 21% between fall 2018 and fall 2023.
Both ends are measured rates for classes that have already enrolled: a rate that moved, not a forecast. The fall 2023 figure is the one at the top of this page.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2018 to fall 2023
22% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 29% sent an ACT. Hillsdale College files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
20.6%
571 admitted of 2,773 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 670–760Math 670–750
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
30–33
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
22%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
29%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Hillsdale College?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What Hillsdale College costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $33,189.
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
90%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
97%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Between fall 2018 and fall 2023 the admit rate fell from 36% to 21%.
What Hillsdale College says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Essays on this application
3 essay prompts on the application: you would write all 3.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Michigan
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor16.4%
- Spring Arbor University37.3%
- University of Michigan-Dearborn58.6%
- Alma College65.7%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
