Hastings College

“Hastings’s small size is its strength: Students receive individualized attention in their studies right from the start in its student development program. Students are trained extensively in study skills as freshmen and are counseled as they adjust to college life. This nurturing continues throughout their four years, as their development is carefully looked after by advisors and counselors. We hear this supportive atmosphere extends to the classroom as well.”

- The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges

 
Hastings College is one of the nation’s 331 most interesting colleges, according to Kaplan, Inc., publishers of the “Unofficial, Unbiased Guide.” Kaplan is a leading provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools, and businesses. 

Hastings takes top honors on a special list of recommended schools where a large number of students pursue more than one major. Other colleges on the “Multiple Majors” list include such nationally known schools as Amherst, Macalester, Syracuse and Wellesley.

Kaplan based its selection of “most interesting” colleges on factors such as unique programs, academic strengths, and student characteristics. They also surveyed current students, recent graduates, high school guidance counselors, and college officials. “The in-depth narrative answers we received, particularly from the student surveys…allowed us to see what daily life is really like for undergraduates at each of these schools,” write the editors.

In a two-page profile, Kaplan describes Hastings College’s “tough but manageable” workload and quotes a sophomore as saying, “Competitiveness is alive and well at Hastings, but it is healthy competition.”

Among Kaplan’s other observations:

•  “Most students are eligible to receive lower- and upper-division credit for internship experiences.”
•  “There are more than 60 [student organizations] to choose from, with a sprinkling of religious clubs adding flavor to the usual types like choral groups, student newspaper, the campus radio station, music ensembles, and theater clubs. The forensics team is consistently recognized as one of the best in the nation.”
•  “With all the beautiful new facilities, it’s no wonder that sports are important at Hastings. Football games draw big crowds, as does the excellent women’s basketball team, which won the 2002 NAIA Division II national championship.” (Note: The women’s team also won the national championship in 2003 and 2006.)

”The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges,”

2005 Edition, by the staff of Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions,

Kaplan Publishing, Simon & Schuster, NY, NY.