Hillsdale College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students.

✅ Best for

Strong academic profile (SAT 1340–1510 · ACT 30–33 middle 50% + typically a 3.9+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Students drawn to Social Sciences or Biological & Biomedical Sciences (the two biggest majors)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1340, or ACT below 30, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Total enrollment

1,573

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$33,189

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$33,189

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

20.6%

Highly selective

SAT middle 50%

1340–1510

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

30–33

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

4-year completion

90%

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Hillsdale College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Hillsdale College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Social Sciences

70 degrees · 29.7%

Typical career outcomes

Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k

Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences

51 degrees · 21.6%

Typical career outcomes

Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k

Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

3. Business, Management, & Marketing

44 degrees · 18.6%

Typical career outcomes

Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k

Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.

4. English Language & Literature

39 degrees · 16.5%

Typical career outcomes

Technical Writer $80k Editor $75k Writer / Author $74k Public Relations Specialist $67k

Writing-heavy roles. Variance is huge — corporate technical writers pay 2× journalists.

5. History

32 degrees · 13.6%

Typical career outcomes

Historian (post-grad) $73k Archivist / Curator $61k Secondary School Teacher $65k Lawyer (post-JD) $146k

Historians are rare; most grads go into adjacent fields — teaching, law, museum/archival, policy.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Hillsdale College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

Alternatives to Hillsdale College

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options

These similar-selectivity schools have published auto-merit grids that Hillsdale College doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

University of Alabama in Huntsville

AL · Public

39 auto-merit scholarships on file

The University of Alabama

AL · Public

23 auto-merit scholarships on file

Mississippi State University

MS · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file

University of Alabama at Birmingham

AL · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file