Hastings College Admission
Hastings College Undergraduate Program
Hastings College Application

The Facts

Hastings College is a small, private liberal arts and communications college located in the town of Hastings, Nebraska . The school is affiliated with the Presbyterian church, and is home to over 1,050 undergraduate students and just about 40 graduate and part-time students. Hastings is perhaps best known for being the home of the man who invented Kool-Aid, but the school has more to it than that!

Students get a chance to choose from more than 70 majors in the school's wide range of programs, many of which place a direct emphasis on preprofessional studies that prepare students for the real world. Some of the most popular majors are within the areas of teacher education, business administration, psychology, visual and performing arts, and biology.

Admission to Hastings College is not very competitive numerically; last year, over 1,600 students applied for admission to the school and approximately 1,250 were accepted; of those, about 400 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 950 to 1250, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 20 to 26. Additionally, over 35% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.2.

Hastings College has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 13:1, and professors get high marks from their students on accessibility and willingness to help. Students receive a large amount of one-on-one attention from their professors for the entire length of their studies at the college, and often develop lasting relationships with their teachers that continue far beyond graduation and occasionally lead to jobs. The school also boasts a terrific career development program that provides workshops in resume building, interview skills, and searching for the right job.

The Social Scene

The town of Hastings is very small, and doesn't offer students much in the way of entertainment. There a few bars and pubs, but they are pretty strict on carding, and aren't particularly student-friendly.

Most of the partying and hanging-out is done on campus, and many activities do include drinking, which is very popular, especially on the weekends.

The school has a fair share of fraternities and sororities that pretty much govern on-campus social life, and provide great vehicles for socializing and getting to know new people. The administration has recently tried to limit the number of parties the Greeks can throw, but so far, it hasn't worked in the slightest.

The dating scene is what you make of it; chances are, you'll have to actively search for a date. Don't expect to be flooded with requests.

What’s Good

“The campus is nice and small, which makes it easy to feel at home. People are just really kind and love the school.”

“The classes are tiny, and it gives you a chance to share your opinions and have your voice be heard.”

”You get a great preprofessional education for a fairly low price. You can't lose!”

What’s Bad

“It is soooo boring here! The weekends are just a lot of studying and sitting around watching the grass grow or something.”

“The parties can get really out of hand sometimes, and the drinking often gets in the way of peoples' ability to focus in class.”

“The school is very much stuck in the past, and the administration is pretty resistant to change in general.”

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