The Admissions Department expects admission rates for the fall class of freshman to be similar to last year’s rate of 23%, according to Senior Director of Admissions Zachary Miller.
“Last year, we saw a pretty massive increase from the year before in applications to the college,” Miller said. “We’re seeing a fairly consistent trend with that, which means a lot of applications for not a lot of spots.”
College Decision Day for high school seniors is May 1, so Miller said it is too soon to announce the size of the class of 2026. Last year, the yield rate — the percentage of admitted students who chose to enroll — was considerably higher than in past years, leading to the biggest freshman class in college history.
“We get a lot of students who say they’re coming in those final two to three weeks before May 1,” Miller said. “It could go a number of different ways, but we’re working on financial aid packages with students and recruiting the top ones. We will have a great class for sure.”
The college has no plans to grow enrollment or have an increased number of students in the 2026 class, Miller said, but there continues to be strong interest in the college.
“We have had an awesome pool of applicants for this fall, and we can’t wait to welcome our new freshmen to campus in August,” admissions counselor Reagan Dugan said.
Miller said the college has seen a significant increase in the amount of prospective student visits to campus.
“We are seeing our visit registrations filled to capacity for visit days and for individual visits,” he said. “There’s high interest in visiting campus and we’ve been able to welcome a ton of students this year, which has been a blessing. We appreciate the opportunity to show them Hillsdale, and I know that when they get a good sense of what Hillsdale is. They can make the best decision about whether or not it’s the right fit for their college.”
Miller attributed the large interest in the college in its commitment to its founding ideals.
“Hillsdale is being true to its mission and remaining true to its principles and students are attracted to that,” he said. “They yearn for a strong classical liberal arts education. Also, the national outreach of what Hillsdale does across the country spreads the news about Hillsdale to more families.”
Moira Forrester, a senior at the Geneva School, a classical Christian school in Orlando, Florida, said she looks forward to joining the class of 2026 in the fall. She is excited to attend the college like her father, Scott Forrester, and sister, sophomore Kiri Forrester.
“I heard about Hillsdale from my dad when I was a kid, and so I practically grew up hearing all about it,” Forrester said. “Of course, my decision couldn’t be purely based on stories, so when Kiri started visiting colleges in 2019 and 2020, I tagged along. Hillsdale started to stand out to me as what you might call a ‘diamond in the rough’ from other colleges, and when I really felt assured was at Kiri’s convocation.”
Forrester said she looks forward to many aspects of the Hillsdale experience, including having a roommate.
“I feel nothing but excitement about coming to Hillsdale,” she said. “The people, the education, the weather, and the overall culture of the school is just amazing, and I’m so glad to be going into it knowing some people at the campus already. I look forward to all the new faces, new things I learn, and new memories.”
Miller said he expects the incoming freshman to stand out in the classroom.
“We go through a pretty painstaking process to try and interview or meet with as many of those students as possible,” he said. “They’re going to be great classmates. They’re going to be great students to teach in the classroom, and they’re going to contribute in meaningful ways to the campus.”
