Hastings College

[AZRaiderH8r]

All, I would really appreciate any info that you have about Hastings College. My son is being recruited pretty heavily by them for Cross Country and Track. I don't know much about the school or the area, so any feedback that you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[84HuskerLaw]

If your son is a good student and you can afford it, you will not regret choosing Hastings College. It is an excellent school. Along with Creighton, it is easily the best academically in Nebraska. As a Hastings grad, I am no doubt biased but I can confidently say that if he pays attention, he will learn and be successful. He will be expected to attend classes and will be a name, not just a number. His professors will be professional and will know him personally. I can't speak to the track program but Hastings College has a serious commitment to excellence across all endeavors in my opinion. Obviously the Osborne family helped to build some exceptional facilities. The campus is relatively compact and user friendly. Hastings is a nice small city with good services and convenient access to most things students might want or need and just 30 minutes from Grand Island's mall and additional services and about 1 hr and 40 miuntes from Lincoln.

[ColoradoHusk]

My in-laws are from Hastings, so I go there fairly regularly. Hastings is your basic small town, and HC is your basic small, private college. Personally, a small college experience wouldn't be something that I would like, but people are different. It's an ok town, but if your son is coming from out of state or from a bigger city, he may think it's pretty boring.

[StPaulHusker]

Tom Osborne went to college there. That's all you really need to know.

[AZRaiderH8r]

Very helpful, thank you! My son is really looking at both ends of the spectrum, it seems. He has qualified for academic scholarships and, since we live in Arizona, he's thinking about going to ASU or Grand Canyon University. ASU has an enrollment of over 70,000 students and the class sizes (especially undergrad) sometimes have over 300 students. I went to ASU, and it was quite an adjustment after high school. But, he wouldn't be running at ASU, so I think he's interested in what Hastings has to offer. It would certainly be a drastic change for him though; he's only lived in Arizona.

 

Academics are very important to him though. He's looking at getting into Biomedical Engineering; any idea how Hastings stacks up there?

 

Thanks again!

[ColoradoHusk]

If your kid is getting academic scholarship offers to ASU, I would encourage him to go there. Yes, it's a big school and he may have a number of classes with over 200-300 students. But, if he is looking at such a specialized and scientific major, the "bigger" school would more likely have better resources for that.

 

Also, one other thing that people don't always consider is the network of alumni that a bigger school has. Across the country, the name Arizona State is going to be more well-known than Hastings College. Also, if he is a sports fan, it's going to be a lot more fun rooting for Sun Devil teams for the next 50 years than Hastings College Broncos teams.

 

I know big colleges aren't for everyone, but I think the bigger school is the better option in the long run.

[84HuskerLaw]

Hastings College grads do excellent in medical school admissions and attendance and graduations. I would not be afraid to consult with an advisor / professors in the Biology/Premed departments at Hastings about your son's interests, majors, and grad school plans, etc. They will be happy to discuss and no doubt advise him as to the programs, courses and other advantages and disadvantages of Hastings College vs other schools, large or small. As I said above, Hastings is a very good school and I do not believe you would regret his attending there. It is a small liberal arts college that is very friendly, personal and dedicated to educating students. They care and you son can be as good a student as his mind will permit. He will enjoy sports and be safe and comfortable. It is not a big city obviously. They care and he will be able to truly excell if that is his academic future.

[AZRaiderH8r]

Great, thank you!