Hillsdale’s Other Milestones

Many know that Hillsdale College accepts no federal funds but fewer know of some of the school’s other milestones.

“From its inception in 1844, Hillsdale took a firm stance on non-discrimination, standing firmly against slavery and firmly for the education of women. It was the first American college to prohibit (in its very charter) any type of discrimination, whether based on race, religion or gender,” Joy Lucius writes in the AFA Journal. “Also, Hillsdale was the second U. S. college to offer women a four-year degree program.”  The AFA Journal is published by the American Family Association (AFA).

“Privately funded grants and scholarships given to Hillsdale students exceed $20 million annually,”  Lucius notes but “The problem is that only 1,400 students at one time can benefit from financial resources there.”

What makes Hillsdale even more unique is that it offers a classic liberal arts education with a Judeo-Christian perspective.  Hillsdale’s director of admissions Jeff Lantis said that a Hillsdale education is “an earned privilege and not an entitlement.”

Lantis urges students and their families to:

• Take courses in high school for advanced placement credit and college credit;
• Look at all college options with admissions, tuition prices, degree programs, teacher-to-student ratios, housing and food costs;
• Compare large vs. small colleges;
• Get an appointment and ask questions about financial aid; and
• Research grants, loans, scholarships.

The point of the article was that “the borrower really is a slave to the lender.” Hillsdale College tries to exemplify that through limiting financial burden on the student, parent and family.

“According to American Student Assistance, 37 million people have outstanding federal student loans, the average near $25,000 and some well over $200,000,” Lucius Observes. “Owing a whopping, collective $864 million, these borrowers are so trapped by their educational funding choices that many of them must pay the government as much as 20 % of their personal monthly income in order to stay current with those federal loans. More than 40 % of these federal debtors will become delinquent at some point during the first five years of loan repayment.”

 

Spencer Irvine is a staff writer at Accuracy in Academia.
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