Rebecca Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 My son is going down a history major path with a possible journey to master's and then PhD. One of the schools we have been considering is Hillsdale for undergrad. Can I have some feedback on this please? Is the accreditation of this school what it should be so that he could pursue higher learning wherever he would desire? Thank you. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Here is a link to their accreditation status. https://www.hlcommission.org/component/directory/?Action=ShowBasic&Itemid=&instid=1330 They are regionally accredited through the North Central region, not nationally. They do have a good reputation within Michigan. I have no idea about elsewhere. They have been endorsed heavily by Rush Limbaugh, and the skuttlebutt is that due to the crazy of this election cycle being linked to him may hurt their reputation. Again, it's educational water-cooler skuttlebutt though, and frankly, I've known several schools that had someone endorse them whose reputation later took a major hit, but the schools seemed to come out just fine if they distanced themselves from the situation. Despite its regional accreditation several ranking groups have placed it in the top 100 LAC's nationally. It scores below Wooster College - Jane in NC's son's college which is an awesome school - and below Michigan's Kalamazoo College (you should really check that one out, it is a lovely college and Kalamazoo is a wonderful town that loves its college students) but above Lewis and Clark in Oregon, Reed, and Bennington in most but not all rankings. That said, while the top 35 LAC's are really tippy top, all of the LAC's in the top 100 of these systems are competitive and generally reputed to be first rate so my guess is Hillsdale is pretty good. You should message Margaret in CO. I believe she had a child attend Hillsdale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 They are regionally accredited through the North Central region, not nationally. Despite its regional accreditation several ranking groups have placed it in the top 100 LAC's nationally. Just to clear this up quickly, regional accreditation is what you want. National accreditation is for the for-profit-type colleges. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Just to clear this up quickly, regional accreditation is what you want. National accreditation is for the for-profit-type colleges. Sorry, I said National, but I meant that regional was their only accreditation. I didn't see ABET for any engineering, or other department specific departmental accreditation like some of the music ones, medical, and such. I really shouldn't type before having coffee, LOL! I am not certain if there is anything specific for history. I'm more versed in the sciences and Music/Art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 Thank you both so much. For some reason, we feel very drawn to this school even though it is farther away than we prefer. I did look at the top 100 list. I think I will look again to explore more options. He is definitely not majoring in engineering, music, or going on to medical school from what he and I can determine at this time. He most likely would be accepted into a special honors cohort at our local community college if he stays here for his first two years and then transfers somewhere to complete his degree - this is our ultimate back up plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Sorry, I said National, but I meant that regional was their only accreditation. I didn't see ABET for any engineering, or other department specific departmental accreditation like some of the music ones, medical, and such. I really shouldn't type before having coffee, LOL! I am not certain if there is anything specific for history. I'm more versed in the sciences and Music/Art. Ah, ok, that makes sense! Edited October 28, 2016 by bctnln1059 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 I know nothing about Hillsdale, but I'm currently studying for my BA in History with an eye toward graduate school. I would start my looking at the their placements into graduate school for recent graduates. Graduate history programs are competitive and the PhD job market is very rough right now. Foreign language skills will also be vital, depending upon what field of history your son plans to study. For instance, I'm interested in Medieval English history. To be competitive for grad school, I need to know Latin and either French or German. If he's interested in ancient history Latin and Greek. It's important to be able to read the primary sources in the language in which they were written. At the undergraduate level translations are mostly acceptable for historical study, but language skills need to be getting developed. At my first history conference last year, the first question several people asked me were "how are your languages." Obviously as a new undergraduate, he may not be sure, but it is certainly something to consider. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I have a friend whose child graduated from Hillsdale and is now in grad school (PhD) at Notre Dame. And I have another friend whose child went to Hillsdale and is now attending Case Western for Med School (after getting in to many top med Schools). I know these are just anecdotal stories, but I think Hillsdale is well respected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Here is a link to their accreditation status. https://www.hlcommission.org/component/directory/?Action=ShowBasic&Itemid=&instid=1330 They are regionally accredited through the North Central region, not nationally. They do have a good reputation within Michigan. I have no idea about elsewhere. They have been endorsed heavily by Rush Limbaugh, and the skuttlebutt is that due to the crazy of this election cycle being linked to him may hurt their reputation. Again, it's educational water-cooler skuttlebutt though, and frankly, I've known several schools that had someone endorse them whose reputation later took a major hit, but the schools seemed to come out just fine if they distanced themselves from the situation. Despite its regional accreditation several ranking groups have placed it in the top 100 LAC's nationally. It scores below Wooster College - Jane in NC's son's college which is an awesome school - and below Michigan's Kalamazoo College (you should really check that one out, it is a lovely college and Kalamazoo is a wonderful town that loves its college students) but above Lewis and Clark in Oregon, Reed, and Bennington in most but not all rankings. That said, while the top 35 LAC's are really tippy top, all of the LAC's in the top 100 of these systems are competitive and generally reputed to be first rate so my guess is Hillsdale is pretty good. You should message Margaret in CO. I believe she had a child attend Hillsdale. Regional accreditation is what you want. It's the gold standard. The national accreditations for entire schools are all pretty meaningless, although there are definitely national accreditations that are subject specific (e.g. ABET for engineering) that are well respected. I know nothing about Hillsdale, but just wanted to say that they aren't ranked well "despite" their accreditation. Regional accreditation is one of the things ranking organizations would look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) Regional accreditation is what you want. It's the gold standard. The national accreditations for entire schools are all pretty meaningless, although there are definitely national accreditations that are subject specific (e.g. ABET for engineering) that are well respected. I know nothing about Hillsdale, but just wanted to say that they aren't ranked well "despite" their accreditation. Regional accreditation is one of the things ranking organizations would look for. Sorry, I'm just seeing this has been covered. Edited October 31, 2016 by Daria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereneeandrews Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Hi! I believe I might be able to answer your question. I recently graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in History. The history faculty is suburb, and has some of the greatest minds in their field. They encourage sound thinking and open inquiry--they do not force any political agenda. I have taken classes from Dr. Richard Gamble, who you may know as the author of The Great Tradition, as well as Dr. Daryl Hart, who is another acclaimed thinker and writer in the field of American religious history. Dr. Matthew Gaetano is also one of the most brilliant up-and-coming minds in Renaissance and Reformation history. There were several times where he would hand us readings that he had just translated himself from their original languages. And there are just so many more wonderful people in that department who are just as equally accomplished and would be invaluable during the grad school application process. Several, if not a majority, of the students who graduate within the humanities go on to post graduate studies at respected schools. I myself will be doing so next fall. So, in short, I would say that Hillsdale is not just a good school for history, but might just be one of the top schools in the country in that field. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Thank you so so much for this ereneeandrews. Might I ask where you are going to grad school and what you are specializing in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereneeandrews Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Of course! My answer might be a bit disappointing, though. :) I double-majored in English literature alongside of History. And although conventional grad school options were available to me, I have chosen to go through Harrison Middleton University for a couple of reasons. I work for The Center for Literary Education, and HMU both offers a Great Books focused approach, and an online program that will accommodate my travel season in the spring. I plan to specialize in Shakespearean studies. However, I have several friends who graduated with me in the history program who have ended up at Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, and even Harvard and Oxford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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