Transfer Students Find Joy at Hillsdale College
Written by Katrin Surkan
In 2022, Hillsdale College welcomed a record high of 23 transfer students. Myah and Hanna transferred in as freshmen, Charlotte Ann and Mathieu as sophomores, and Emily, Jane, and Evelyn as juniors. They had collectively attended a total of ten other colleges before transferring, but every one agreed it was the welcoming peers and supportive professors of Hillsdale College that drew them in.
Hanna joined Pi Beta Phi at Hillsdale and said it’s her home away from home. Hanna smiled at the memories of students encouraging one another to go study for that quiz or work just a bit more on that paper, while Myah felt warmly welcomed into friend circles and encouraged to have fun. Students welcome strangers, be they prospective students, transfers, or just someone needing a place to sit for lunch.
Myah, Emily, and Jane missed having community through their first colleges’ virtual classes. Myah explained she had been online because her parents were missionaries in Taiwan. Evelyn and Jane found their prior colleges’ COVID-19 policies oppressive. Regardless, all three realized through their virtual education how important the culture of a school was to the quality of their education.
The transfers happily mentioned the passion of Hillsdale professors for their work, fields, and students. They all agreed Hillsdale professors here act as mentors and take time outside of the classroom to meet with students during office hours, all to ensure their students excel. In the words of Assistant Professor of History Dr. Edward Gutierrez, “The pedagogical process—essential for undergraduate flourishing—remains paramount at Hillsdale College.” Here, professors are educators first and researchers second.
Beyond the professors, Charlotte Ann, Mathieu, and Evelyn discussed their priority of a campus that supports hard-working and dedicated students. Charlotte Ann found her community college classes easy, and though the professors were kind, the students failed to encourage a good work ethic. Mathieu, a theater major, found his prior college closed-minded and distracted from the arts. Evelyn, on the other hand, felt a distinct lack of support for her faith at her old school. All three thrived on the supportive and robust student community that encouraged discussion and curiosity.
Everyone agreed Hillsdale allows students to hold their own beliefs comfortably. The transfer students found joy here in their freedom of speech and the resulting discussions present on campus. At Hillsdale, theology is discussed freely and frequently, and students are encouraged to voice their views in classes, even when professors might disagree. The professors are accessible, and the students are warm.
Being a transfer student is different, though, as Myah, Hanna, Mathieu, and Charlotte Ann noted. They had become “veterans” of a kind of schooling during the pandemic, which created a kinship amongst them. They had chosen Hillsdale because its culture held something their previous school was missing, but in many ways, they themselves were a part of that missing piece.
“I don’t have to be perfect,” Charlotte Ann grinned at me from across the table. Students might consider Hillsdale for a plethora of reasons, but they stay because they love the school: the education, the culture, and the students. At the end of our interview, Jane smiled. “It’s the people.”
To learn more about applying to Hillsdale College, click here.
Katrin Surkan, ’25, has roots on the east coast but can almost always be found traveling. When not writing, reading, or chatting with someone new, she’s likely looking for a dog to pet or singing at the top of her lungs between classes with a cappuccino in hand.
Published in January 2023