Hope College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

Solid academic profile (SAT 1090–1310 · ACT 26–31 middle 50% + typically a 3.7+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Education (the two biggest majors)
Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1090, or ACT below 26, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

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

3,288

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$41,970

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$41,970

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

Admit rate

75.9%

Accessible

SAT middle 50%

1090–1310

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

26–31

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$58,427

median, after entry

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).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$49,727

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$58,427

4-year completion

80%

Median debt (completers)

$26,800

Cost of attendance

$55,646

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

16%

💰 True ROI

5.4× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$108,728

$27,182/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$113,856

vs sticker $222,584

10-yr earnings total

$584,270

$58,427/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

1.9 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Hope College, the average net price is $27,182/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$17,606/yr

Family income $30-48k

$16,590/yr

Family income $48-75k

$18,206/yr

Family income $75-110k

$25,017/yr

Family income $110k+

$32,754/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Hope College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Hope College →

Opens on Hope College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Hope College

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing

149 degrees · 38.7%

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.

2. Education

71 degrees · 18.4%

Typical career outcomes

Elementary School Teacher $64k Secondary School Teacher $65k School Principal $101k Special Education Teacher $66k

Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.

3. Psychology

62 degrees · 16.1%

Typical career outcomes

HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k

Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences

52 degrees · 13.5%

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.

5. Communication, Journalism, & Related

51 degrees · 13.2%

Typical career outcomes

Public Relations Specialist $67k Marketing Manager $158k Writer / Editor $75k Reporter / Journalist $58k

Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.

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.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Hope College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Computer and Information Sciences, General.	Bachelor's Degree	13	$61,325	$92,116
Accounting and Related Services.	Bachelor's Degree	15	$61,120	$86,253
Engineering, General.	Bachelor's Degree	52	$67,410	$82,513
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	Bachelor's Degree	49	$72,146	$75,738
Business Administration, Management and Operations.	Bachelor's Degree	120	$45,590	$65,755
Political Science and Government.	Bachelor's Degree	22	$32,389	$62,936
Communication and Media Studies.	Bachelor's Degree	39	$38,956	$55,166
Biology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	40	$35,430	$54,538
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness.	Bachelor's Degree	44	$25,862	$53,340
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.	Bachelor's Degree	13	$35,992	$53,328

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Hope College

CS degrees (annual)

16

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Hope 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.