Non-Profit Private
Accredited · Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Mobile, Alabama
59.1% Acceptance Rate
Spring Hill College — Admission Snapshot 2026
A complete at-a-glance picture of every metric that matters for your 2026 application
59.1%Acceptance Rate
3.5Avg GPA
1090Avg SAT
22Avg ACT
$37,172Annual Cost
$51,500Grad Salary
33%Pell Grant
Acceptance Rate
59.1%
Avg GPA
3.5
Avg SAT
1090
Avg ACT
22
Selectivity
Somewhat Selective
Institution Type
Non-Profit Private
Campus
Main Campus
Accredited By
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
SAT Middle 50%
1050–1120
ACT Middle 50%
19–24
Need-Based Aid
33% receive Pell
Spring Hill College, founded in 1830, is Alabama's oldest Catholic college with a beautiful Mobile campus overlooking the bay. Known for its business and nursing programs, Spring Hill's 'Core Curriculum' emphasizes Jesuit values of social justice and service.
Spring Hill College Acceptance Rate
Spring Hill College takes a broad view of applicants, admitting about 59.1% each year.
What SHC Admissions Looks For
- Whole-Person Review: Personal circumstances and career goals are weighed alongside grades.
- Flexible on GPA: Strong extracurriculars or work experience can offset an average transcript.
Selectivity at a Glance
Somewhat Selective
Selectivity scale: Somewhat Selective — 59.1% acceptance rate
Most Selective (0%)Open Enrollment (100%)
Recommended Academic Profile
Candidate GPA Range
Admission Category
Strategic Requirement
3.50 – 4.00
Target Match
Maintain Rigor & High Testing
3.30 – 3.49
Competitive Reach
Focus on Score Compensation
Below 3.05
Secondary Reach
Requires Contextual Support
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard (Nov 2025).
Spring Hill College Application Deadlines & Admission Dates 2026
Spring Hill College follows a Rolling Admissions policy, meaning applications are reviewed as they arrive and there is no single fixed deadline.
Key Admission Dates
Rolling Admissions — Apply Anytime
SHC reviews applications continuously throughout the year. Seats and scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so applying early gives you a significant advantage for both admission and financial aid.
💡 The scholarship deadline (December 1, 2026) often falls before the regular admission deadline. Submit your application and FAFSA early to be considered for maximum aid.
Deadlines are verified from official institutional sources but may change each cycle. Always confirm final dates on the official website.
SHC GPA Requirement
The average GPA of admitted students at SHC is 3.5. That makes admissions here highly selective. Most admitted students carry mostly A's with the occasional B.
Between 3.20 and 3.5? A strong standardized test score is worth prioritizing.
Most schools report GPA on a weighted or unweighted 4.0 scale differently. For an unweighted profile like this, students with AP/IB coursework typically carry a weighted GPA of 3.70–3.90.SHC GPA & Admission Outlook
Assessment: Selective; solid academic performance is expected.
Recommended Strategy: Focus on a Strong 'Spike' in extracurriculars or research.
Where your GPA falls in this range shapes what the rest of your application needs to do:
Candidate GPA Range
Admission Category
Strategic Requirement
3.50 – 4.00
Target/Match
Maintain Rigor & High Testing
3.30 – 3.49
Competitive Match
Focus on SAT/ACT Compensation
3.10 – 3.29
Secondary Reach
Personal Statement & Impact
Below 3.09
Institutional Reach
Requires Significant Contextual Factors
Evaluation Metrics That Matter Here
- Acceptance rate ~59?77% (sources vary significantly; IPEDS 2024-25 reports 76.57%; CollegeSimply reports 59% from a different sample year - use the IPEDS figure); test-optional; Common App accepted; personal writing sample required; guidance counselor evaluation and letters of recommendation strongly recommended; tuition $24,054 (2024-25) - deliberately below market for a private Jesuit institution.
- Founded 1830 by Bishop Michael Portier; oldest Catholic college in the Southeast; fifth-oldest Catholic college in the United States; third-oldest Jesuit member college in the country; oldest institution of higher education in Alabama; desegregated 1954 - first integrated white college in the Deep South; commended by MLK in the 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail.
- Permanent SHC Italy Center in Bologna - semester, year, and summer programs in social justice and global studies, with travel included in tuition; open to students from other universities; Rockhurst University strategic partnership announced March 2025 adds new undergraduate programs and graduate pathways.
- NCAA Division II Badgers with 16 varsity teams; 11:1 student-faculty ratio; average class size 12; 919 undergraduates enrolled; 70% of total student body living on campus; 56% of students from outside Alabama; 38% Catholic; more than one-third of graduates continue to graduate or professional school.
- Rigor Over Raw Number: A slightly lower GPA (say 3.8) paired with multiple AP or IB courses often outweighs a flat 4.0 from a standard curriculum.
- Trajectory Matters: A lower start in 9th or 10th grade, followed by a clear upward trend senior year, reads as academic resilience rather than a weakness.
Data verified via IPEDS, College Scorecard (Nov 2025) and the Common Data Set (CDS). Expert Review led by Sohaib Khan and Dr. Waseem.
Check Your Admission Chances at SHC
Admission Chance Predictor
Real-Time Sensitive Analysis — based on Spring Hill College's verified institutional data
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Calculating Profile...
Adjust the sliders to see how every decimal point affects your outcome.
Your SAT Score 1200
Your Unweighted GPA 3.00
✅ Verified Data: Institutional records for 2026.
Calculated via College Portal's Human-Intelligence (HI) Methodology & Editorial Standards. Verified by Sohaib Ahmad Khan.
Spring Hill College (SHC) Test Requirements
Standardized scores still matter here: aim for the middle 50% range of the 2026 admitted class below, and if SHC is test-optional, a high score submitted voluntarily still helps with merit scholarships.
Can I Get Into SHC Without SAT or ACT?
SHC considers scores when submitted, without requiring them. Prepare well and submit your best attempt — most applicants test 2–3 times.
Spring Hill College Average SAT Score: 1090
The average SAT score of admitted students at Spring Hill College is 1090 on the 1600-point scale.
SAT Competitiveness
SAT 1090 — Accessible
This average is on the lower end nationally, making a strong score here a genuine advantage.
Key Insight: Aim for the 75th percentile (1120 SAT or 24 ACT) to stand out. Below average? Spring Hill College allows Score Choice for the SAT, so a retake only helps — a low sitting never has to be sent.
If your score is below 1050, retaking the SAT is strongly recommended to improve your chances at SHC. Retaking multiple times is completely normal — most competitive applicants sit for it two or three times. There's no official limit on attempts.
SAT Scores Breakdown by Sections
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Math | - | - | - |
| SAT Reading | - | - | - |
| SAT Composite | 1090 | 1050 | 1120 |
Below 1050, you're behind most admitted students; at 1120 or above, you're ahead of 75% of them. (25th/75th percentile = the score below which that share of admitted students fall.)
View list of all colleges with average SAT score of 1100
Can I get into Spring Hill College (SHC) with a 1100 SAT?
A 1100 SAT puts you ahead of most of SHC's admitted class — but admissions still weighs GPA, course rigor, and essays alongside it. A strong score opens the door; the rest of your profile decides what happens next.
Spring Hill College (SHC) ACT Requirements
The average ACT score at SHC is 22.
ACT Competitiveness
ACT 22 — Slightly Competitive
This sits close to the national average ACT score.
ACT Scores Breakdown by Sections
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACT Math | 22 | 18 | 26 |
| ACT English | 24 | 20 | 28 |
| ACT Composite | 22 | 19 | 24 |
Can I get into Spring Hill College with a 24 ACT?
A 24 ACT puts you ahead of 75% of SHC's admitted students — a strong position, though the ACT is only one benchmark among several admissions weighs.
Unlike the SAT, the ACT scores four separate sections — English, Math, Reading, and Science — each on a 1–36 scale. A noticeably weak section (Science, especially, at STEM-focused schools) stands out to reviewers, so it's worth checking your section breakdown for outliers before applying.
Your ACT score clears the first filter, but GPA, course rigor, extracurricular depth, recommendations, and essays are what carry an application the rest of the way at SHC.
Your 2026 Admissions Roadmap for SHC
Accessible Strategy: Academic Foundation
SHC is accessible to students who show core competency. Focus on proving readiness for college-level work and locking in financial aid.
Spring Hill Desegregated in 1954 - MLK Named It in the Letter from Birmingham Jail - That History Lives in the Curriculum
Spring Hill College desegregated in 1954, becoming the first integrated white college in the Deep South and the only one in a five-state region for ten years afterward. In his 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. specifically commended the Catholic leaders of Alabama for desegregating Spring Hill "several years ago." This is not a footnote - it is an institutional identity marker that shapes how Spring Hill approaches social justice, Jesuit mission, and its curriculum today. Students applying to Spring Hill who are interested in justice, ethics, social change, or Jesuit education should engage this history directly in their application essays. Students who don't know about it - who write about Spring Hill as just another small Jesuit college - are demonstrably unprepared for what makes this institution specific.
The Bologna, Italy Center Is a Real, Resident Program - Not Just a Study Abroad Option
Spring Hill operates a permanent academic center in Bologna, Italy - in Europe's oldest university city - that offers semester, year, and summer programs in social justice, Italian language, and global studies. The travel program is embedded in the curriculum and included in tuition costs for SHC participants. The center is also open to students from other colleges and universities, making it an active, operationally independent facility rather than a course catalog placeholder. Students applying to Spring Hill who have international interests - in business, social science, arts, communication, or social justice - should name the Bologna center specifically in their applications, ask about the application process for semester versus summer, and ask how many first-year and sophomore students typically participate, since going early in the degree increases the integration of international experience into the full curriculum.
The Rockhurst Partnership Opens New Programs and Graduate Pathways - Effective Spring 2025
In March 2025, Spring Hill and Rockhurst University (Kansas City, MO) announced a strategic partnership as fellow members of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The partnership gives Spring Hill students access to new undergraduate programs (including data analytics and intelligence, exercise science, and social influencing), streamlined pathways to Rockhurst graduate programs, and exchange program opportunities on each other's campuses. This is a current-cycle, operational development - not an aspirational announcement - that materially expands what Spring Hill students can study without transferring. Prospective students whose intended field benefits from any of the newly accessible programs should ask the admissions office what the current enrollment pathway into Rockhurst-affiliated programs looks like for entering fall 2026 students.
Spring Hill's Tuition Is Unusually Low for a Private Jesuit College - And That's Intentional
Spring Hill's published tuition for 2024-25 is $24,054 - dramatically below the national private university average and below virtually every other Jesuit institution in the country. This is a deliberate pricing strategy: the college has explicitly stated it lowered tuition to make Jesuit education more accessible, and 96% of undergraduates receive grants or scholarships on top of that already-reduced base. Students who are comparing Spring Hill to Jesuit peers like Loyola New Orleans, Xavier, or Bellarmine on sticker price are making an unfair comparison - Spring Hill's effective cost structure is meaningfully different. Running the net price calculator before assuming what Spring Hill will cost is essential, because the final out-of-pocket figure frequently surprises families who expected a private Jesuit college to be prohibitively expensive.
Expert Insight:
Spring Hill's yield rate of approximately 8% is among the lowest in this entire project - and it reflects the same pattern that affects most small Jesuit colleges in the South: admitted students, after seeing full financial aid packages, often choose flagship state universities that offer better merit aid relative to the sticker price comparison. The most common failure in Spring Hill applications is submitting without the required personal writing sample - which is a stated requirement, not optional - and without the strongly recommended guidance counselor evaluation and letters of recommendation. At a school where 96% of students receive financial aid and scholarship decisions are made holistically, an incomplete file not only delays the admission decision but signals to the financial aid office that the student isn't engaged enough to submit complete materials, which affects initial award amounts.
SHC Profile
Full Name
Spring Hill College (SHC)
City
Mobile
State
Alabama
ZIP Code
36608-1780
Type
Non-Profit Private
Campus
Main Campus
Official Website
Accredited By
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCC)
Is a SHC Degree Worth It?
Whether SHC is worth it depends less on its reputation and more on your program choice, financial aid package, and career goals — here's the data to weigh it against.
The average household income among admitted students is $59,000, with a graduate unemployment rate of 3.57%.
How much does a degree from SHC Cost?
The sticker price is $37,172/year, but the average net price students actually pay — after Pell and federal grants — is typically much lower.
33% of students receive a Pell Grant and 51.2% take federal loans at SHC — file your FAFSA early and list SHC as a choice to be considered for both.
How much does a SHC Graduate earn?
Median earnings 10 years after enrollment (roughly 4–6 years post-graduation) are $51,500 — about 27% above the U.S. median graduate income.
Compare Similar Colleges
Less Competitive Schools
These schools have lower average SAT or ACT scores than Spring Hill College. If your SAT or ACT score is slightly lower, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School | Location | SAT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, AL | 1055 | 21 |
| Marion Military Institute | Marion, AL | 1043 | 20 |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock, AR | 1049 | 21 |
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville, AR | 1050 | 21 |
| Southern Arkansas University Main Campus | Magnolia, AR | 1050 | 20 |
| University of Arkansas-Fort Smith | Fort Smith, AR | 1050 | 21 |
| Colorado Mesa University | Grand Junction, CO | 1070 | 23 |
| University of Northern Colorado | Greeley, CO | 1077 | 22 |
| Western Connecticut State University | Danbury, CT | 1044 | 24 |
| Baptist University of Florida | Graceville, FL | 1045 | 20 |
Equally Competitive Schools
These schools have the same range of average SAT or ACT scores as Spring Hill College. If your SAT or ACT score is competitive, you'll be competitive for these schools also.
| School | Location | SAT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn University at Montgomery | Montgomery, AL | 1090 | 21 |
| Troy University | Troy, AL | 1086 | 22 |
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ | 1095 | 22 |
| University of the Ozarks | Clarksville, AR | 1088 | 21 |
| Pacific Union College | Angwin, CA | 1093 | 22 |
More Competitive Schools
These schools have higher average SAT or ACT scores than Spring Hill College. If you improve your SAT or ACT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School | Location | SAT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntingdon College | Montgomery, AL | 1148 | 23 |
| Tuskegee University | Tuskegee, AL | 1121 | 22 |
| Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA | 1155 | 22 |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs, CO | 1140 | 25 |
| Western Colorado University | Gunnison, CO | 1130 | 25 |
Degree Programs at SHC
Bachelor Degree Programs
Masters Degree Programs
Frequently Asked Questions About SHC Admissions
Median graduate earnings at Spring Hill College run about $51,500 a year.
Spring Hill College costs roughly $37,172 a year, and most students combine this with scholarships or aid.
About 33.0% receive a Pell Grant at Spring Hill College. The odds are moderate and largely income-dependent, but an early FAFSA filing still helps.
At 59.1%, Spring Hill College's acceptance rate is on the more attainable end compared to top-tier selective schools.
Admitted students at Spring Hill College average a 3.5 GPA.
Spring Hill College doesn't publish a hard GPA floor, but landing at or above 3.2 keeps you in the typical applicant range; below it, lean on essays and recommendations.
Below 3.1, Spring Hill College becomes a harder reach, though a strong test score, meaningful activities, and AP/IB coursework can still make a real case.
A strong SAT score matters at Spring Hill College — aim above 1090, ideally within the 1050–1120 range admitted students typically fall in.
Spring Hill College follows Rolling Admissions. Applications are reviewed year-round, so applying early is your best strategy.
The scholarship/financial aid priority deadline is December 1, 2026. Submit FAFSA before then for maximum consideration.
Yes, transfers are common. Have transcripts, recommendation letters, and a solid personal statement ready to make your case.
Strong academics, a focused extracurricular profile, and standout essays move the needle most, along with a competitive SAT/ACT score where relevant.