Hillsdale Academy’s total ACT average this year was 29.1, more than eight points higher than the national average and more than nine points higher than the Michigan high school average.
Students at the academy have been admitted to schools such as Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford University, and the University of Notre Dame, in addition to Hillsdale College and the University of Michigan.
“Our upper school students take four years of the sciences, mathematics, Latin, history, and literature,” Academy Headmaster Ken Calvert said. “These classes are nonnegotiable, so that we can be sure that every student graduates with a solid foundation of knowledge.”
Deanna Ducher is the college counselor at the academy and teaches upper-level civics and economics in American history. She has been the counselor to past senior classes, seeing two students off to Princeton, one to Harvard, and many more to Hillsdale and Michigan.
“Hillsdale Academy students are different, because they get the habits of learning very quickly,” Ducher said. “Yes, they need to be taught, but they manage the high expectation of homework found at the school.”
Ducher said many colleges find the primary source document focus of the academy attractive, something she focuses on in her own class and not lost on teachers of other subjects. This allows the students to understand events in history in their historical context.
“I would say that, often, students are as strong in college as they were in high school,” Ducher said.
Anna Saewert, the college’s admissions counselor for eastern Michigan, agreed with Ducher on why academy students are attractive to colleges.
“Overall, academy students who attend Hillsdale College have a unique opportunity to continue more deeply the growth they have begun through the school’s rigorous curriculum, which values the classical and biblical virtues, critical thought, and importance of community, as the college does,” Saewert said.
Saewert also explained how the traditional documents and Western tradition of study within the academy make them perfect for Hillsdale College, as it prepares them for the similar course load offered at the college. Academy students are often highly involved in clubs and extracurriculars at the college, including music, theatre, and athletics.
“They balance active extracurricular schedules with their difficult course load, and they create sports teams, music groups, and productions as a tight-knit community,” Saewert said.
Students graduating from the academy and secondary school are employed in many fields, such as education, law, and medical practice.
“We do not believe that good test scores make one human,” Calvert said. “Humanity comes in understanding that God has given us reason and that God has called us to seek Him and that which is good. Out of this philosophy come graduates who are sought after by some of the best colleges and universities in the nation — Hillsdale foremost among them.”