Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My son went and visited Hillsdale in his college section process. He loved a lot about it. We are aware it is purportedly the flagship of conservative colleges however people who really know it say it is just non-liberal and in the college world non-liberal is automatically alt right. He is looking to us for advice in his selection process and with Hillsdale, I am not certain how to advise him.
He attended a class, talked with students, played with the Jazz teacher. So he got a pretty decent feel for what it is like. They told him he would be the top trumpet player there (which was both flattering and not encouraging)
It is religious oriented, but hardly alt-right/Nazi.
We know it is small, highly selective and therefore probably highly qualified academically. It is a pure liberal arts school in the old fashioned sense of the word. While they have majors, everyone comes out with a well rounded education. The computer majors learn Shakespeare and Kant, and the English majors take science classes.
Classes are typically 15 - 20 students. Which is great for faster learning. They get some amazing speakers (and jazz musicians) visiting campus. It is a beautiful campus in a tiny run down town in the middle of nowhere. There is not much to do off campus except visit other nearby universities. It is insanely expensive (48K) but they offer lots of scholarships
On thing I am puzzling over is how it is viewed int he academic/employment world. The approach and concept is so different from other colleges I am not sure how to compare it. He is also considering University of Michigan, which is a powerhouse giant in nearly every field. Big school, huge classes, lots of TAs not much personal consideration if any. But of course everyone recognizes a U-M degree and it can open a lot of doors. while I am sure he will be admitted to U-M it is unlikely he will get any scholarships there. It costs about $26,000 (unless he commutes from home which is possible)
I am curious what other people think of Hillsdale, especially anyone who went there recently.
My son went and visited Hillsdale in his college section process. He loved a lot about it. We are aware it is purportedly the flagship of conservative colleges however people who really know it say it is just non-liberal and in the college world non-liberal is automatically alt right. He is looking to us for advice in his selection process and with Hillsdale, I am not certain how to advise him.
He attended a class, talked with students, played with the Jazz teacher. So he got a pretty decent feel for what it is like. They told him he would be the top trumpet player there (which was both flattering and not encouraging)
It is religious oriented, but hardly alt-right/Nazi.
We know it is small, highly selective and therefore probably highly qualified academically. It is a pure liberal arts school in the old fashioned sense of the word. While they have majors, everyone comes out with a well rounded education. The computer majors learn Shakespeare and Kant, and the English majors take science classes.
Classes are typically 15 - 20 students. Which is great for faster learning. They get some amazing speakers (and jazz musicians) visiting campus. It is a beautiful campus in a tiny run down town in the middle of nowhere. There is not much to do off campus except visit other nearby universities. It is insanely expensive (48K) but they offer lots of scholarships
On thing I am puzzling over is how it is viewed int he academic/employment world. The approach and concept is so different from other colleges I am not sure how to compare it. He is also considering University of Michigan, which is a powerhouse giant in nearly every field. Big school, huge classes, lots of TAs not much personal consideration if any. But of course everyone recognizes a U-M degree and it can open a lot of doors. while I am sure he will be admitted to U-M it is unlikely he will get any scholarships there. It costs about $26,000 (unless he commutes from home which is possible)
I am curious what other people think of Hillsdale, especially anyone who went there recently.
I was raised as an Evangelical fundamentalist Christian. Within that world, it is looked upon favorably. I attended a well known North Eastern Evangelical Christian college. My parents gave us no choice. We could commute, attend a state university, or a Christian college.
I wanted to go away, and I was pretty devout back then, and afraid of "worldly" things. In retrospect, I wish I'd attended a secular school.
If your son is a conservative Christian, he will probably fit right in.
Hillsdale has a good reputation, but is not terribly well known outside of the conservative Christian bubble - or the Midwest.
More high profile and well known in secular circles are Wheaton College (Illinois), which is sometimes called "Evangelical Ivy" or "The Harvard of Christian Colleges".
You also may want to look into Grove City College. Ultra conservative. Will not accept federal funds. Relatively low tuition.
You may want to look into Gordon College (MA) Eastern University (PA) and Messiah College (PA)
I'd stay away from places that advertise or are connected to any controversial preacher. Bob Jones. Liberty University. Oral Rroberts University are all places I'd avoid.
You may also want to look into Centre College (KY) and Westmont College. (CA)
Personally, I regret attending a Christian college.
One thing to consider is that Hillsdale College prides itself on not accepting any form of federal financial aid. This might affect your son's choice, if he, or you, don't have the means to pay tuition out of pocket. Check to see if there might be a problem with him obtaining a student loan for Hillsdale, or if he qualifies for financial aid from the college itself.
The main issue is there are probably some atheists and/or leftists out there in hiring positions that would 'discriminate' against a graduate of Hillsdale. But it could be an advantage with other hiring managers / companies.
Hillsdale puts a big emphasis on free market economics and understanding the Constitution which I think are good things that perhaps are not a focus at many colleges.
It appears all of Hillsdale programs are accredited, so to say they are teaching 'dogma' doesn't make any sense unless the accreditation people are in on it.
By the way, Nazi is short for National Socialist, so Nazis aren't right wingers or alt right. They are on the left.
I grew up in Michigan and Hillsdale is known (nationwide) as having a pretty far right conservative culture. At the time, I was raised in a conservative blue collar family and I looked into attending Hillsdale because of this culture. They were offering some pretty decent scholarships as well. At the end of the day, I ended up going to Michigan, and I'm glad I did. The experience really enlightened me, a lot more so than I think it would have going to a small conservative Christian school that would have only helped to further entrench me in my religious/conservative beliefs. Today, I'm neither very religious or very conservative, and I think I'm a better person for it.
If you want your son to benefit from learning from a variety of people, cultures, ideas, etc., then push him to go to a more diverse school. Being immersed in a diverse setting will give him an advantage in critical thinking, whereas being in an environment where you're just being hand fed ideas that you already believe will not do much for you other than make you more stubborn.
The choice needs to be your son's, guided by you his parents. My youngest son has a friend who was considering Hillsdale College when making a choice of colleges nearly 20 years ago. I had known this boy and his parents for over 10 years, and knew they were quite liberal many respects.
The young man asked me what I thought of Hillsdale as a College choice. All I told my son's friend was that Hillsdale had a reputation for being very conservative, maybe true and maybe false, and he should investigate that to see if he would be comfortable there.
He decided to attend Albion College, and told me he appreciated my advice to investigate further.
Your son should attend a college where he will be comfortable and accepted, rather than be an outlier.
Also check career placement. Who is hiring the school's graduates and in what career fields.
What Major is your son considering? It sounds from your post as if the Music Program does not require auditions. I would not recommend any non-Audition school to anyone considering a Music degree. Auditions are emotionally shattering (oldest son received a Bachelor of Music Engineering from Univ of Miami and had auditions at Berklee and Indiana University in addition to Miami) but the absence of Auditions is likely an indication of a low quality program.
If you want your son to benefit from learning from a variety of people, cultures, ideas, etc., then push him to go to a more diverse school. Being immersed in a diverse setting will give him an advantage in critical thinking, whereas being in an environment where you're just being hand fed ideas that you already believe will not do much for you other than make you more stubborn.
There isn't much 'diversity' of thought at most colleges these days and often people on the left conflate 'critical thinking' with liberalism. These colleges are 'hand feeding' ideas that many students already believe and often trying to shut down debate regarding those ideas.
There are liberal students trying to get speech codes on campus, and showing up to heckle conservative speakers on campus, and in some case, participating in riots to intimidate these speakers.
If a student in majoring in a traditional discipline, there really shouldn't be any politics in the class room in the classes that are part of the accredited program.
It would be difficult to not be exposed to liberal ideas given liberals control much of the media and Hollywood.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 11-07-2017 at 05:52 PM..
There isn't much 'diversity' of thought at most colleges these days and often people on the left conflate 'critical thinking' with liberalism. These colleges are 'hand feeding' ideas that many students already believe and often trying to shut down debate regarding those ideas.
There are liberal students trying to get speech codes on campus, and showing up to heckle conservative speakers on campus, and in some case, participating in riots to intimidate these speakers.
If a student in majoring in a traditional discipline, there really shouldn't be any politics in the class room in the classes that are part of the accredited program.
It would be difficult to not be exposed to liberal ideas given liberals control much of the media and Hollywood.
I think your agenda is better suited for the Politics forum. Most of my professors in college were fairly moderate, if not free market capitalists. The idea that most colleges are liberal cesspools where conservatives are not tolerated is far fetched and exaggerated. There are all sorts of conservative groups on most large university campuses, including College Republicans and College Libertarians, as well a plethora of religious groups and foundations.
The difference between a large university and something like Hillsdale is that the large university is going to be a melting pot of ideas whereas if you're not a Christian conservative, you're probably going to struggle at a place like Hillsdale. One of the main purposes of a college education is to explore and find yourself. Sitting in a classroom eating up regurgitated concepts and views that you already adhere to is not, in my opinion, going to help anyone become a better person. But I get it, and some people only want that. If that is what OP is looking for, for his son, then so be it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
