Seventeen transfer students joined the college this semester, up from 14 last year, according to the Hillsdale College admissions office.
The new group enters with an average GPA of 3.81 and an acceptance rate of close to 18%. It includes 11 men and 6 women from 12 states.
“When students apply as transfer students here, there’s no separate applicant pool,” Senior Director of Admissions Zach Miller said. “They’re competing along with all the other students for either the fall or the spring semester.”
The number of spring transfer students largely depends on how many beds are available, according to Miller.
“There has been a steady increase of spring transfers over the last few years since COVID-19,” Ben Strickland, assistant director of admissions, said. “Most of the spring transfers I’ve talked to over the years are because of dissatisfaction with their current experiences at other colleges and are seeking a more serious and rigorous curriculum and experience.”
Sophomore and spring transfer student Erin Freidenfeld said the transition to campus has been easier than she thought it would be. She said students from her hometown of Austin, Texas, have helped her adjust.
“Having friends already on campus has helped me significantly,” Freidenfeld said. “Something as simple as seeing a familiar face across Saga during lunch hour makes me feel much more at ease and ready to tackle all the challenges of being a new student.”
According to Freidenfeld, a transfer from Furman University in South Carolina, the weather has been one of the biggest adjustments.
“I’ve been warned I will definitely get sick of it, but for right now I’m enjoying my bubble of optimism and appreciating how pretty the snow is,” Freidenfeld said. “The only annoying thing so far is that it takes longer to get ready in the morning. You have to put on so many layers and that takes time.”
Miller said many of the spring transfer students come from non-traditional education backgrounds. Some of them may also be trying to get into Hillsdale a second time as admissions rates drop each year.
“We’ve had students who maybe have not made it into Hillsdale in their initial go-around out of high school and maybe it’s because of academic reasons,” Miller said. “What they do is they go elsewhere for a year and establish a strong academic record at another university. We love those stories where we get to reward students for really persisting.”
According to Miller, Hillsdale’s curriculum is one of the key reasons someone might transfer.
“There are not a lot of options for students who are looking for something like Hillsdale, so the spring transfer route allows for students who maybe went to another college and aren’t happy with that choice,” Miller said. “We’re one of fewer and fewer colleges who are providing a classical liberal arts education consistent with Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman virtues.”
