Distinct scholars vie for scholarships
Whitney A. Stewart
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
The college hosted 25 high school seniors last weekend, hoping to attract students strong in academics and extracurricular activities to the college.
The high school seniors, who have been guaranteed half-tuition scholarships, competed through essays and faculty interviews for two available full-tuition scholarships and three 75 percent tuition scholarships.
"The weekend was amazing. I felt like it was a really faithful representation of Hillsdale. They weren't trying to make it seem like something it wasn't," said Sarah Savage, a high school senior from Wildwood, Mo.
The students were invited to participate in the weekend based on their activity in multiple disciplines, Assistant Director of Admissions Andrea Yeutter said.
"The first qualifier is obviously their academic performance in high school, which is evidenced by their transcripts," she said. She added that students need a high school GPA between 3.85 and 4.0 and an ACT score of 33 or 2200 on the SAT.
But Yeutter said grades weren't the only thing admissions counselors and faculty considered.
"It's not just for people who are smart, because we want them to have a superior record of service, leadership and are well-rounded," she said. "We're looking for people who will come to Hillsdale and make a contribution to the intellectual community but also in other ways - being involved. It's great if a student is smart, and you have to be ambitious to do well here, but we want students who are going to do more than just go to class and study in the library."
Savage said she is weighing Hillsdale against a few other schools, but said she hasn't found another liberal arts college that integrates the study of the liberal arts into student life as well as Hillsdale. She said she would probably major in English and classics and minor in flute performance if she decided to attend the college.
Yeutter said the weekend this year was improved over other years by the way the students bonded with each other and other students.
"The students that we had this year seemed to interact better with one another than any other group that we've had before," she said. "They all seemed to be friends by the end of it."
Yeutter said even faculty members noticed their smooth social interactions and complimented them. The new Grewcock Student Union and the President's Ball also gave students the chance to connect with future college friends.
"Most of them already know what Hillsdale is on paper, but to have them experience it makes a significant part in their decision to come here too," she said. "I think they had more interaction with non-hosts this year because they were just hanging out in the union."
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
The high school seniors, who have been guaranteed half-tuition scholarships, competed through essays and faculty interviews for two available full-tuition scholarships and three 75 percent tuition scholarships.
"The weekend was amazing. I felt like it was a really faithful representation of Hillsdale. They weren't trying to make it seem like something it wasn't," said Sarah Savage, a high school senior from Wildwood, Mo.
The students were invited to participate in the weekend based on their activity in multiple disciplines, Assistant Director of Admissions Andrea Yeutter said.
"The first qualifier is obviously their academic performance in high school, which is evidenced by their transcripts," she said. She added that students need a high school GPA between 3.85 and 4.0 and an ACT score of 33 or 2200 on the SAT.
But Yeutter said grades weren't the only thing admissions counselors and faculty considered.
"It's not just for people who are smart, because we want them to have a superior record of service, leadership and are well-rounded," she said. "We're looking for people who will come to Hillsdale and make a contribution to the intellectual community but also in other ways - being involved. It's great if a student is smart, and you have to be ambitious to do well here, but we want students who are going to do more than just go to class and study in the library."
Savage said she is weighing Hillsdale against a few other schools, but said she hasn't found another liberal arts college that integrates the study of the liberal arts into student life as well as Hillsdale. She said she would probably major in English and classics and minor in flute performance if she decided to attend the college.
Yeutter said the weekend this year was improved over other years by the way the students bonded with each other and other students.
"The students that we had this year seemed to interact better with one another than any other group that we've had before," she said. "They all seemed to be friends by the end of it."
Yeutter said even faculty members noticed their smooth social interactions and complimented them. The new Grewcock Student Union and the President's Ball also gave students the chance to connect with future college friends.
"Most of them already know what Hillsdale is on paper, but to have them experience it makes a significant part in their decision to come here too," she said. "I think they had more interaction with non-hosts this year because they were just hanging out in the union."
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
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