Twelve students joined Hillsdale College for the spring semester, a number slightly lower than previous years, Admissions Counselor Ben Strickland said.

“We’re restricted by the number of beds that we have and the space that we have,” Strickland said.

While the number of transfer students usually is in the high teens, the acceptance rate remained at around 15%, consistent with previous years.

“As the fall term applicant pool has gotten more competitive, so has the spring term applicant pool,” Senior Director of Admissions Zachary Miller said.

Miller said he has seen some increase in the number of applicants who previously applied to Hillsdale and were either accepted and decided not to attend or denied.

While the number of students accepted is lower than one may expect, Strickland said spring admissions are different than general fall acceptance.

“We’re basically admitting people who were almost definitely going to come rather than someone who might come if they get enough scholarship,” Strickland said.

The students represent 10 different states from across the country: Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. 

“Our new students are really completely spread across the entire United States,” Strickland said.

Transfer student and sophomore Luca Vitale said he decided to attend Hillsdale because of the classical curriculum and various opportunities on campus.

While the acceptance rates continue to remain low, interest in Hillsdale continues to increase. Miller said over the last two to three years, interest in both the fall and spring semesters have grown.

“It’s a lot of factors, but probably the thing that’s driving it the most is the fact that Hillsdale remains true to what it is in providing students with a great classical liberal arts education,” Miller said. “I think that’s something that’s becoming more and more of a rarity today across the country.”

Strickland agreed that Hillsdale presents consistent education for students, which, according to him, other schools struggled with during the pandemic. Strickland said schools have changed since students committed to a college.

“A lot of people found out that the place that they applied to and were at changed over their four years,” Strickland said.

Whatever the case may be, Strickland said Hillsdale remained true to its purpose and mission during the pandemic.

“I think we just have a greater, deeper, and stronger foundation that we are really proud of and that we hold to; whereas, other places are sort of letting the current thoughts and times kind of judge their decisions,” Strickland said.