Hillsdale College

Hillsdale, MI · Private

Official website

Navora's full analysis of Hillsdale College — where an applicant's profile stands against the published cohort, requirements tracking, essays and deadlines — is free with an account.

See the full analysis — free

Admission rate

Hillsdale College admitted 20.7% of applicants university-wide (659 of 3,181).

CohortAdmit rateAdmittedApplicants
University-wide20.7%6593,181
Early Decision (binding)42.3%120284
Men20.6%3141,525
Women20.8%3451,655

Early Decision applicants were admitted at 42.3%, vs 20.7% overall — ED is a binding commitment.

Of 659 admitted students, 366 enrolled (55.5% yield).

Hillsdale College U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C1–C2 · 2023Published cohort admit rates — context, not an applicant-specific probability.

Test scores and GPA of admitted students

SAT (mid-50%)
1320–1490
ACT (mid-50%)
29–32
GPA (mid-50%, 4.0 scale)
3.254.00

Testing policy: Required

Hillsdale College U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C9–C12 · 2023Published admit stats reflect the entire incoming class unless explicitly labeled international-only.

Cost and financial aid

Published cost of attendance: $42,958/yr.

Out-of-state tuition$27,090
Fees, housing, food, books & other$15,868
Sticker cost of attendance$42,958/yr

US applicants

Need- and merit-based aid available.

  • Hillsdale President's ScholarshipUp to $20,000 per year (Merit)
  • Presidential Scholarship$20,000 per year (Presidential)
  • Dean's Scholarship$15,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale College Merit ScholarshipUp to $15,000 per year (Merit)
  • Achievement Award$10,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale Dean's ScholarshipUp to $10,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale College GrantVaries (up to full demonstrated need) (Need Based)
  • Hillsdale GrantVaries (Need Based)
  • Hillsdale Trustee ScholarshipFull tuition (Full Tuition)
  • Trustee ScholarshipFull tuition (Full Tuition)

International applicants

Meets full demonstrated need for internationals.

  • Hillsdale President's ScholarshipUp to $20,000 per year (Merit)
  • Presidential Scholarship$20,000 per year (Presidential)
  • Dean's Scholarship$15,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale College Merit ScholarshipUp to $15,000 per year (Merit)
  • Achievement Award$10,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale Dean's ScholarshipUp to $10,000 per year (Merit)
  • Hillsdale College GrantVaries (up to full demonstrated need) (Need Based)
  • Hillsdale GrantVaries (Need Based)
  • Hillsdale Trustee ScholarshipFull tuition (Full Tuition)
  • Trustee ScholarshipFull tuition (Full Tuition)

Hillsdale College U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections G–H · 2023

Application requirements

US applicants

  • Official High School Transcripts
  • Two Academic Letters of Recommendation
  • Essay and Short Answers
  • Official ACT, CLT, or SAT Scores (optional)
  • Résumé
  • Admissions Interview (recommended)

International applicants

  • Official High School Transcripts
  • Two Academic Letters of Recommendation
  • Essay and Short Answers
  • Official ACT, CLT, or SAT Scores (optional)
  • Résumé
  • Admissions Interview (recommended)
  • English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL)
  • GPA credential conversion
  • Predicted Class XII marksheet
  • Financial documentation (I-20)

Hillsdale College · Application requirements (official admissions pages) · 2025

Essay prompts

Hillsdale College requires no supplemental essays.

Prompts from the Common App member feed · verified Jul 3, 2026

Graduate outcomes

Graduation rate
89.7%
Within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
91%
Return for year two · CDS Section B

Hillsdale College · U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2023 release) · 2023Earnings and debt figures are federal data for aid-receiving graduates — cohort outcomes, not a guarantee for any individual student.

Published rankings

  • U.S. News Liberal Arts: #50

Deadlines

  • 2026-11-01Early ActionNon-binding early round
  • 2026-11-01Early DecisionBinding early round
  • 2027-04-01Regular DecisionStandard deadline

Hillsdale College U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C21–C22 · 2023

Academics and campus

Largest degree fields: Social sciences (23%), Business & marketing (14%), English (11%).

Student–faculty ratio: 9:1 · 79% of class sections have under 20 students.

Hillsdale College U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections E, F, I · 2023Published institutional figures for the reporting year — descriptive of the current student body, not a prediction about your experience.

Similar colleges