momoftwins

Anybody going to Hillsdale this fall?

Aodh

I got accepted and will be visiting next week. I will probably know where I'm going soon after that.


(Its between Hillsdale and the Honors Program at Baylor U.)

momoftwins

Aodh,

How was your visit? My son visited a couple times and has been impressed more with each contact - enough to accept.

Aodh

It was fantastic. The classes and professors were great, and the tour guide and my admissions counselor were quite intelligent. Actually, all of the kids, even those in the cafe, seemed pretty smart.

In the end, I have decided against attending Hillsdale for a few reasons, even though I loved the place:
It was cold: I am from New England, and am tired of the cold.
It seemed kind of like post-High School: Everyone was moving to classes, to lunch, etc, together.
It seemed everyone was just like me: Everyone was white, Christian, and conservative - either libertarian or republican. While I would have fit in with them perfectly, they all seemed too much like me, so much so that I wouldn't be a unique individual.
...and they offered me virtually no financial aid.
Even though I won't be going there, I still love the school and its mission, and will probably donate to them in the future.


So in the end, I liked Baylor's atmosphere just a little bit more; enough that I chose it over Hillsdale.

(Had the financial aid amounts been the same, I have no idea which school I would have chosen)

momoftwins

Aodh,

Best of luck to you. He selected Hillsdale for the strong academics, great interactions between faculty and students, and the amazing lectures we attended. Interestingly enough we expected the campus to be as you found it. It actually seemed a bit more diverse in thinking and class presentations than other schools we visited. He's going to be a "diverse" student there.

standrews

Like Aodh, DS absolutely loved Hillsdale, mostly for the academics, but he turned them down because finaid was way out of line with other schools and made it impossible to attend without taking on more debt than he was comfortable with.

Aodh

Financial Aid was really what it came down to.
In regards to diversity, it wasn't that so many people were white, but everyone was just like me it seemed - there views, the way they acted, even there sense of humor.
..but the faculty was ideologically much more diverse then any state school. I sat in on a libertarian professor and a 'neo-con' professor, whereas at a state school, it would have been either a liberal/marxist professor, or a really liberal/Marxist professor.

fencersmother

Momoftwins: what dorm did your son request (if any)? You can pm me if you'd like.

fencersmother

The financial aid issue is a shocker to me since S1 will be a senior there and got great aid. When Twin1 and Twin2 applied, their financial aid wasn't quite as good. I wonder if the endowment is somewhat in need of recharging since they built the Grewcock Ctr?

When we went to pick up S there on Thursday, we realied that what momoftwins said is right, there really is much more diversity of thought there than many would have you think. Even among the profs, some left leaning, some right, some with no leanings at all. The beauty of Hillsdale is all the instructors seem to be devoted to the school's mission. That is so completely refreshing in academia.

Many of the students, especially the girls, do seem to be of the "sorority sister" types so I can understand Aodh's feelings on that. The boys though, seem to be a very diverse group.

My D, 17, wants to apply ED for next fall.

One good thing about Hillsdale: it's FREE! to apply online. If she gets in, I'll not have to pay too much for her to look elsewhere!

momoftwins

fencersmother,

Can you share any info on the dorms? He hasn't selected yet.

fencersmother

Niedfeldt is known on campus as "nerdfeldt;" it's got a bunch of computer types in it - or that's what others think. They are a cohesive group of guys. Simpson is the loosest of all the mens dorms and doesn't really have an "identity." Most of the athletes live there. Galloway functions like a frat, though it is not, of course. They have "Feast" every Thursday night (no shirts or girls allowed, and you have to be a current or former Gallowayan to attend), and have a great time together. It is also the closest to the new Grewcock and I have heard that some of the guys from Galloway go to breakfast in their bathrobes in January - because they can! Niedfeldt is furthest from the "action" and has the least connectedness with the campus activities.

midas_09

I'm a recent grad and still associated with the college (and still live in Hillsdale and get to utilize the college's many resources). To the dorm question, I lived in Simpson for 2 years and generally enjoyed it--they have the suite style dorms where two rooms share one bathroom. I did find it a bit less social than, say, Galloway, however you make it as social as you want to be. Many of the guys living there have their friends through the sports teams, so they are not around very often due to practice and perhaps less inclined to seek new friends. The rooms in Simpson are also larger and, perhaps most importantly, are air conditioned. It's not summer much in Michigan, but having AC is worth its weight in gold those first couple months. Last I was aware Galloway still didn't have AC, although that could have changed in the last 4 years. Galloway also has communal bathrooms which simply are what they are. A general rule of thumb is that if you are or were an athlete or have some interest in joining a fraternity, then Simpson is probably the best fit. Most of the honors students choose Galloway. This is not to represent any rivalry between the two--many of my favorite classmates lived in Galloway--simply differences. Also, and again this is based on the last that I knew and I'm aware that some things have changed on that side of campus, but Neidfelt was an upperclassmen dorm.

Also, in response to the question about the endowment being possibly crippled by the Grewcock Student Union (which is absolutely magnificent by the way--2nd to none), the administration was adamant that the funding for any building not affect the endowment--it was all raised separately and for that expressed purpose. (A new student center was actually scheduled to be built the first year Dr. Arnn arrived, but he nixed the idea because, among other reasons, it would have required dipping into the endowment. Great vision.) But that is why now when you tour it, you will notice many names designating separate areas by their donors (Richardson Commons, AJ's Cafe, the Racey Room). Even the money for the collonade stretching from the library to the student center was donated by several sisters who live in Hillsdale and love the library for that expressed purpose. The fundraising for this college is simply unrivaled in my opinion, and I suppose I should know--the Grewcock's were my scholarship donors and for that I owe them the deepest gratitude (I give their painting a "thumbs up" each time I walk by, but somehow I doubt that makes us even).

The bottom line (in my opinion) and what sets this college apart is its ability to enflame a passion for learning and order these towards right action. Inevitably by the second year when most students have completed most of the Gen Ed classes, something just clicks. You suddenly wish you'd paid more attention and want to go back and take all those classes over again. For me, it was just being around the faculty and watching their firm grasp on not only the manifestations of thought, but of the essence of the ideas themselves. My wife (also a Hillsdale grad) and I are already lamenting when it comes time to leave this place and the academic atmosphere that imbues it. It is a place where the highest things are exalted for what they really are, and these fundamental ideas are shared by the staff almost across the board which is truly amazing. Above all though, this school taught me how to think, how to reason, and how to apply the ethics and values which allow for such things to exist to these ideas. It prepares one to see behind the curtain of posturing which is so prevalent in today's world and understand what ideas are the real driving force behind what we see. My gratitude for this college runs deep, and I know this sentiment is not uncommon among my peers. When you step off this campus, you truly feel that the only way to repay the generous men and women who make this experience possible for each of us is to positively impact the world in a way that would make Hillsdale and all it stands for proud. There is no other alternative. Education is a freedom, but it is not a right, and as such we have no choice but to exercise that freedom and change the world for the better in whatever way, small or large, that our vocation drives us. We owe our fellow man and our alma mater nothing less.

I do hope this was helpful for anyone considering Hillsdale.