Quad

Head-to-head

Hope
Messiah

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Messiah's yield is 11 pts higher than Hope's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    Hope is a bit larger (3,288 vs. 2,259)

    Undergrads
  3. 3

    Hope grads earn $4.4K more ten years out than Messiah's ($58,427 vs. $54,064)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  4. 4

    Messiah's SAT midpoint is 35 points higher than Hope's

    SAT midpoint
  5. 5

    Messiah's grants cover 47% of its full price on average, vs. 43% at Hope

    Aid generosity
  6. 6

    Messiah has 3 pts more first-gen students than Hope (18% vs. 15%)

    First-generation students

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Hope admits 79%, Messiah 81%; Messiah's yield is higher, at 31%.

Acceptance rate
Hope79%
Messiah81%
Quad's selectivity
  • HopeSelective
  • MessiahSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1000–1600
Hope
1100–1340
Messiah
1150–1350
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • HopeRigor and GPA important76%
  • MessiahRigor and GPA very important69%

Who's on each campus

Hope is a bit larger than Messiah (3,288 vs. 2,259 undergrads); Messiah has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Hope3.3K
Messiah2.3K
Pell Grant share
Hope16%
Messiah20%

Majors and faculty

Business Administration and Management leads at Hope, and Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences at Messiah.

Students per faculty member
Hope9 to 1
Messiah12 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • HopeBusiness Administration and Management, General15%
  • MessiahHealth Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General9%

What each costs

Messiah costs about $1.4K less a year than Hope on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Hope$31.6K
Messiah$30.2K
Aid generosity
Hope43%
Messiah47%

What each pays off

Hope's former students earn more, a median $58.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Hope$58.4K
Messiah$54.1K
Graduation rate
Hope80%
Messiah77%

How each has changed

Applications grew at Hope but held steady at Messiah; selectivity held steady at both.

Applications, 10-year change
  • HopeGrowing+17%
  • MessiahSteady−1%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Hope College Common Data Set 2023–24, Fall 2023;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Messiah University (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;Messiah University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2027 applicants;Messiah University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;Messiah University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why