With the class of 2020 being the smartest incoming class in Hillsdale College’s history and raising the average ACT score to 30, the culture of academia at Hillsdale is stronger than ever before. The freshmen will soon realize, C’s here not only get degrees but they get handed out more freely than pocket constitutions.
College, however, is not just about the hours spent on homework and the grade earned on papers. Campus Rec, Student Activities Board, and the overzealous kid on your hall host an array of weekly and monthly events to break up the monotony of studying. These events—milked for all they are worth on social media and by my mom who thinks I should “get out more”—are the perfect way to remind students that college is not all textbooks and tests; it is about getting out there to find your spouse.
College—though an important step towards becoming a learned, well-adjusted, employed adult— is about more than just classroom learning, it is also about finding someone to share your life with before you are learned, well-adjusted, or employed.
Admittedly, the academic environment at a university is crucial. The prospect of attending an institution ranked by the Princeton Review as one of the top in the nation was much like the men on campus: too attractive to pass up. A college without an academic challenge is one without men smart enough to rely on financially from age 21 on.
When I first visited Hillsdale I knew it was for me. The academic rigor caught my attention and the array of conservative, Christian man candy caught my eye.
Just imagine my excitement when I realized that every Thursday my walk home at night would be punctuated by the scent of grilled meat and subtle body odor as I walked past hordes of shirtless Galloway men.
And don’t even get me started on the men of Simpson. At any moment they are ready with rings in their pockets and bends in their knees to propose without hesitation. Though, strength rejoices in the challenge and when it comes to challenges…Simpson boys aren’t much of one.
So, in typical Hillsdale fashion I choose the more difficult route. When ignoring the Simpsonites—a group as wedding-minded as the audience of NBC’s “The Bachelor”—finding a husband on this campus is more difficult than getting an A in a Jackson class. I would know because I have yet to do either. But thankfully there is a perfect system for keeping up that GPA while getting your MRS: Hillsdating.
Not only is it successful in starting marriages, but in keeping them strong as well.
Nothing emulates the trials and triumphs of post-collegiate married life like going on a date in a dining hall with meal swipes paid for by your parents.
Hillsdating allows students to keep up with their studies while also reminding them why we’re all here: to avoid the organized dance to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” at other Hillsdale weddings.
Hillsdale is not all about the classes we take; it is about the inevitable marriages that come along with graduation as well. That is why I’m pursuing my bachelor’s in finance, that way I know how to handle joint income before even being financially independent.
Lest we forget: college is meant to be difficult and classes are important, but they are not everything. A college education will not support your livelihood and enable you to find financial success and stability: a husband will.