Hope College
Private College in Holland, MI. Six-year graduation rate 80%. Median 10-year earnings $58,427.
Ten years after entry, the median Hope College student earns $58,427 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate of 80% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $26,800, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 80% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.5 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Hope College accepts 79% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 5,150 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 20% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 28% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 550–670 | 232 (28%) |
| SAT Math | 550–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–31 | 77 (9%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Hope College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 80% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 88%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The 9:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. With 3,368 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,275 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $30,700 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $17,606 while those at $110k+ pay $32,754. Most students get help: 96% receive grants worth $22,577 on average. About 45% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 834 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $17,606 |
| $30–48k | $16,590 |
| $48–75k | $18,206 |
| $75–110k | $25,017 |
| $110k+ | $32,754 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,488 of these 3,275 students, totalling $9,294,470 — an average of $6,246 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ottawa County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)