Hope College

The past two and a half semesters at Hope College have been a dream. After high school, my decision to attend Hope came only after having looked at and dismissing Michigan State University, which has 10 times more students. Personally, Hope College was a wonderful candidate for undergrad because they have some wonderful facilities, an amazing location (Lake Michigan sunsets!), Christian values (while also not enforcing any religious activity outside of school!) and some fine athletics. Running Cross Country was in the forefront of my mind when I looked at Hope, and the coaches and team welcomed me with open arms. My talents as a runner have been pushed to far greater heights than I could have ever imagined were possible and for that I’m thankful. I have the highest possible meal plan, which gives me unlimited swipes in the dining halls, and I frequently drop into the dining hall to grab a bite when I get a second, even if it's just making peanut butter toast after class. New this year, the dining hall is open all day long, even between prepared meal times, which allows for plenty of flexibility on days when my schedule is overcrowded. The atmosphere of Hope is very welcoming. When Chapel isn’t mandatory, having a full service is all the more special because you know that everyone present wants to be there. Additionally, the students at Hope are very involved and very passionate. Hope College is one hundred percent worth pursuing!

I love Hope College. There campus is great. When I went on my visit all I heard was that they wanted to to succeed. Hope has a great athletic program that I hope to participate. Its in a small town Holland, and also right by the beach. Hope is a Christian college where there are many different beliefs. Everyone loves each other and you will never feel left out. GO DUTCH!!

I love Hope College so much. I fell in love with the campus and It would be my dream to spend 4 years here. The building are gorgeous and the christain community is something I really appreciate about the school. The food is good and healthy choices are available.

Overall Hope College is an excellent school but like anywhere it has its pitfalls. I'll be a sophomore in the fall and I'm very excited to get back into the thick of it all. While the school is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church of America they don't really try to shove Christianity down your throat. The sports life is so so which I'm fine with but I'm sure there are many others who would like to see some changes in that area. The campus itself is safe but during my first semester we had some off-campus scares with shootings and assaults against female students both of which were investigated and taken care of to my knowledge. The biggest problem I had was with mice in the building which started in January and didn't end until I moved out of my hall in May. The Phys Plant needed to do something about it and never did beyond saying something along the lines of, "Here's a mouse trap, good luck." The food is good but needs to be seasoned and becomes rather boring after a while. After midnight during the week there aren't a lot of options when it comes to dining unless you have a car and can go get fast food or whatever you can come up with in the kitchens of your res hall. They changed the dining hours last semester to make them more broad and available for more people but more flexible hours could be done honestly. Class sizes are great and if you put the effort in to get to know your professors they're some pretty amazing people. The TAs never really teach the class in my experience but they're always really helpful and good resources if they aren't busy and if the professor isn't on campus. Holland itself is adorable but after 11:00 p.m. it's pretty dead for minors. Holland is also kind of a tourist town so there are some great store but everything is a little overpriced. If you can't make it to Meijer the Minit Mart on 15th Street has a lot of snack food kind of stuff and things to make sandwiches if you're in a pinch.

A very beautiful college. Close together, not to much walking. The college has about 3000 students. A smaller school size will allow you to become comfortable with your surroundings quicker. Has a five story Library with a quiet basement. Printer capability throughout campus.

I loved my experience at Hope College. I learned and grew a lot throughout my four years there. The school does have a strong Christian base, although it is completely optional to participate in chapel. The campus provides plenty of opportunities to get involved in various organizations, both educational and recreational. I would recommend Hope College to anyone!

Beautiful campus, but very expensive. I loved the feel of the campus and the people who were around me. I was going for a visit to look at the swim team and to see if I wanted to commit early. Everything about the school made me want to say yes. But everything about the price made me worry . The college itself s very very expensive, too much for me and my family to be able to afford.

Awful, honestly I wish everyday I had transferred somewhere else. If you like asking challenging questions, and engaging in class, Hope is not a fit for you. If you identify as LGBTQIA+ Hope is not the right fit for you. If you are a minority student, Hope is not right for you, we have has racial slurs spoken to minority students. If you value education, real connection, and diversity do not attend Hope college. Do not make the mistake I have made. I am a very talkative junior here, and I literally only have 3 friends. I've joined student groups, and have met basically no one of any substance. Writing this depressed me because I wanted more than anything to learn, and have good friends, and at Hope I have found none of those things.

Hope college is a great campus if you are looking for a strong community open to all opinions. I am very happy with this school because the people are very welcoming and the professors are very helpful. Academically it is a difficult school, but you will leave each class having learned something

Hope College students are friendly and welcoming while also sometimes being exclusive. There is a small amount of diversity on campus and sometimes the majority forgets that others experience life and Hope differently. However, there are different groups on campus working to improve this attitude. The academics at Hope are strong in almost if not all departments and departments work closely with students to help them find their place in the world.

Hope is a good option for getting all the help you need and being in a very safe environment. The professors here care about the success of their students, and the school has plenty of student activities and events. The food can sometimes be better but if you don’t like what they made you can always go to the make your own sandwich section basically like a subway or make yourself a waffle or hotdog.

Hope College provides a personal relationship with professors, students, and faculty. With a small class size, students are allowed to form close relationships with their professors. Hope provides many extracurricular activities from sports, to clubs, to Bible studies. Hope is a safe environment to learn, grow, and find oneself.

Hope College has been an amazing and strong choice of a college for me so far. This has been a good choice as it is a small, liberal arts PWI. Being an African-American, Female student on a majority white campus. I feel safe and included on this campus and made important in the conversations and decisions on campus.

Coming into Hope as a freshman I was very excited. I had visited the college my senior year in high school and had loved every part of it, everything was so new, everyone was so nice, and I felt at home. A year at Hope College has definitely prepared me for the real world, back home everyone looked and thought like me. At Hope I came to understand that in the real world I would at often times be the only Latina in a room and would have to come to terms with the fact that people were openly homophobic, racist, or sexist. I had lived in a liberal bubble back home in California and Hope had burst it.

My favorite place on Earth. The only downsides are the amount of parking spaces available for students, and Phelps Dining hall. As far as academics go, the class sizes cannot be beat (smaller is so much better), and the professors are so amazing at what they do. They are always available by email and answer back quickly, or they are pretty much always available for a meeting. Although the school has about 3200 students, it still feels like there is so many people to meet! Social life in the beginning of the year is pretty lively, and then Greek rush happens during January where it can kind of taper off for open parties. If you want to continue partying second semester, rush!!! Overall, the campus feels very safe, and you can walk anywhere around it in about 5 minutes. Oh, and they just finished building the new beautiful Bultman student center to be open for this year! Go dutch!