Hope College

Hope College incoming freshman academic profile

Average high school GPA

3.822025-26 · CollegeData source

SAT composite middle score

Not reported

ACT composite middle score

Not reported

Average GPA of enrolled freshmen (scale may be weighted or unweighted). SAT/ACT are median scores of students who submitted them — not scholarship cutoffs.

Freshman financial need & merit gifts

2025-26 financial-aid profile · CollegeData source

Average freshman need met

89%

Average undergraduate need met

87%

These groups use different denominators and should not be added together. Need met is an average share of assessed financial need—not a share of tuition or an aid guarantee.

Published scholarship grid · 2026–27

Hope College merit scholarship grid

The college describes these awards as automatic for admitted students who meet the criteria. Test scores are optional for these awards.

Applicants receive the highest eligible award; test-optional. Annual awards renewable up to four years subject to full-time enrollment and satisfactory academic progress.

Hope College net price by family income

Historical average cost after all grants and scholarships — not need-based aid eligibility. 2024–25 academic year.

Families earning $150,000+ should not assume they'll get need-based grants; the "Over $110K" group mixes very different incomes.

At what family income does financial aid stop at Hope College?

There's no universal cutoff. Need-based aid depends on income, assets, family size and college rules; merit scholarships are based on grades and scores, so high income doesn't rule them out. Use Hope College's net price calculator for a personal estimate, and the federal aid estimator for federal aid.

Graduation, earnings & student debt

6-year graduation

77.7%Fall 2019 / 2019–20 entering cohort

First-year retention

88.4%Fall 2023 entering cohort; return in fall 2024

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$65,9612011–12 and 2012–13 entering cohorts; earnings in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars

Median federal debt

$23,250Federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025, pooled

Historical group figures, not individual predictions. Debt excludes private and Parent PLUS loans. Source: College Scorecard (ID 170301).

Colleges with acceptance rates similar to Hope College

Hope College accepts about 87% of applicants. These colleges have the closest reported acceptance rates.

• Central College · Pella, IA87% acceptance
• Campbell University · Buies Creek, NC87% acceptance
• Carlow University · Pittsburgh, PA87% acceptance
• Carthage College · Kenosha, WI87% acceptance
• Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitz · Brooklyn, NY87% acceptance
• Christian Brothers University · Memphis, TN87% acceptance
• College of Micronesia-FSM · Pohnpei, FM87% acceptance
• Harrisburg University of Science and Technology · Harrisburg, PA87% acceptance
• Iona University · New Rochelle, NY87% acceptance
• Manhattanville University · Purchase, NY87% acceptance

Colleges with merit aid similar to Hope College

Hope College reports average merit aid of $21,711 per year. These colleges report the closest average non-need-based awards.

• Pratt Institute-Main · Brooklyn, NY$21,746.758 avg merit aid / yr
• Lehigh University · Bethlehem, PA$21,666 avg merit aid / yr
• University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA$21,399 avg merit aid / yr
• George Washington University · Washington, DC$22,036.67 avg merit aid / yr
• Northwestern University · Evanston, IL$21,215 avg merit aid / yr
• Lawrence Technological University · Southfield, MI$22,221.13 avg merit aid / yr
• Bentley University · Waltham, MA$21,176 avg merit aid / yr
• Point Park University · Pittsburgh, PA$22,315 avg merit aid / yr
• Brown University · Providence, RI$22,364 avg merit aid / yr
• Gonzaga University · Spokane, WA$22,532 avg merit aid / yr