Visit Many Colleges, Then Hillsdale

Written by Ann Godsell 

Several years ago, my family set out to find the best college for our son. He had no idea what he wanted. (Sound familiar?) As parents, we only knew what we didn’t want—a place where he’d feel out of place, without a community, or worse, surrounded by others who would try to influence him to stray from the foundation we built for him at home.

As we visited colleges of varying sizes—public, private, religious, secular—we saw many consistent themes: “Free laundry,” “Great food,” “Rock-climbing wall.” But rarely did we hear messages about character or virtue.

Then, we added a college to our visit list—Hillsdale College. Our son was hesitant to visit a “small school in the middle of nowhere,” but when he arrived on campus, those factors diminished in importance.

He noticed really friendly and kind students and how they all interacted with each other. We noticed a clean campus void of posters with activism-themed messages. The flags around campus were red, white, and blue. In classes, our son noticed the students were engaged and that their professors knew them by name.

You might think we wished we had visited Hillsdale before other colleges—perhaps we could have saved some time and travel. But the opposite is true. Seeing other colleges helped us, especially our son, see the difference.

I encourage you to go visit a few other colleges. Then, come to Hillsdale and see why this place captures the hearts of so many students (and parents!) who step foot on campus.

Ann Godsell is the parent of a Hillsdale College alumnus. Her family’s Hillsdale experience was so formative and positive that she now works as the College’s director of K-12 and Admissions Marketing.

Published in October 2024