About 5% of Hillsdale graduates over the last seven years have gone to medical school, according to Christopher Hamilton, professor of chemistry and the college’s pre-med program adviser.
“Most students who do not receive acceptance in the first round are able to enrich their application and are admitted to medical school the following year — meaning 96% of applicants in the past 10 years have been admitted to a U.S. medical school,” Hamilton said.
According to Hamilton, Hillsdale students have been accepted to medical schools including Tufts University, Western Michigan University, and Michigan State University, and the college’s 2024 MCAT average of 509.3 exceeded the national average of 500.6. Of graduates in the classes of 2022–2024, 94% of first-time medical school applicants were accepted, he said.
Hillsdale’s pre-med program allows students to combine any major with the coursework required for medical school while receiving a liberal arts education, Hamilton said, adding that some students major in non-STEM fields such as psychology, English, or Spanish. The program also includes a full-year anatomy and physiology course with cadaver dissections, which provides hands-on experience that is uncommon for many undergraduate students.
“I really enjoy the pre-med track. It’s flexible, and the professors I’ve taken have been excellent,” said junior Michael Collier, a philosophy major on the pre-med track. “Having a cadaver lab at an institution of our size is really awesome — some medical schools don’t even have physical cadavers anymore. Being able to do hands-on work with a cadaver has helped me understand the human body in a way that lectures alone never could.”
Freshman Bodie Starr, a biochemistry major, said Hillsdale’s small size and student-faculty relationships are a major draw.
“I knew I wanted to attend a small school while I study pre-med, and based on visits and talking to students at a few different schools, I felt that the Lord ended up leading me to Hillsdale,” Starr said. “The pre-med program at Hillsdale was particularly exciting to me because of the student-teacher relationships formed and the cadaver lab.”
Students also gain clinical experience through volunteering at hospitals, nursing homes, and medical offices, according to Collier.
“I’ve volunteered in the ER at the local hospital and also spent time visiting hospice patients one-on-one,” Collier said. “Part of being a good doctor is taking care of human beings, not just bodies. Studying the liberal arts alongside STEM has helped me relate to patients individually and think critically about ethical issues.”
The pre-med program offers seminar courses such as “Exploring Health Careers” for underclassmen and “Professional Practices in Medicine” for upperclassmen, which guide students through shadowing, applications, and interviews, according to Hamilton. The Pre-Professional Society also connects students with peers, advisers, and guest speakers.
Harrison Layman ’25, an economics major now enrolled in the Indiana University School of Medicine, said Hillsdale’s academic rigor helped prepare him well for the next stage of his education.
“Hillsdale is academically rigorous, and while that can be difficult at the time, it is excellent preparation for the MCAT and for medical school classes,” Layman said. “At my medical school, I’m an economics major among many biochemistry majors, and I’ve never felt like I lacked the necessary knowledge base.”
Current students say the pre-med track’s academic rigor and faculty mentorship help make the demands of the program manageable.
“I’d recommend the pre-med program at Hillsdale to anyone interested in health care,” Collier said. “It’s challenging, but the faculty and resources make it very manageable, and you get to learn from excellent professors while staying well rounded.”
