Spring Hill College is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic Jesuit college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Archbishop of Mobile, Alabama. It was the first Catholic college in the South, fifth oldest Catholic college in the United States, and third oldest of the 28 member Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2007, US News & World Report reported that Spring Hill College ranked 11th among colleges in the South offering both bachelor's and master's level degrees.
The Spring Hill academic calendar is divided into two semesters, a fall semester of 15 weeks beginning at the end of August and ending before Christmas, and a spring semester of 15 weeks beginning in early January and ending in early May. There are May and June mini-sessions, and summer school is during June and July.
Spring Hill College was founded by the first bishop of Mobile, Michael Portier. After purchasing a site for the College on a hill near Mobile, Bishop Portier went to France to find teachers and funds for the new college. Upon his return he rented a hotel next to the college grounds and started the first semester on May 1, 1830, with an enrollment of thirty students, making Spring Hill the oldest institution of higher education in Alabama. On July 4 of the same year the bishop laid the cornerstone of the first permanent building. It stood on the site of the present Administration Building and opened for classes in November 1831. Spring Hill thus takes its place among the oldest colleges in the South. It is the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States.
In 1836 the governor of Alabama, Clement C. Clay, signed a legislative act which chartered the College and gave it "full power to grant or confer such degree or degrees in the arts and sciences, or in any art or science as are usually granted or conferred by other seminaries of learning in the United States." This power was used in the following year, 1837, when four graduates received their degrees. The first two presidents of the College were called away to be bishops, one to Dubuque, Iowa (Bishop Mathias Loras), the other to Vincennes, Indiana (Bishop John Stephen Bazin), and the third, Father Mauvernay, died after a brief term of office. Bishop Portier then found it necessary to transfer the College, first to the French Fathers of Mercy, and next to the Society of Jesus and Mary, both of whom lacked teaching and administrative experience. He then persuaded the Fathers of the Lyonnais Province of the Society of Jesus to take possession of the College. The new regime was inaugurated with Father Francis Gautrelet, S.J., as president in September 1847. Since that time the institution has continued under Jesuit direction.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 70% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NAIA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) Baseball (Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) Track (Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 20,948 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 19,658 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 1,290 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 3,558 | 26% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 672 | 40% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 11,933 | 95% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 4,135 | 68% | |
Any Aid: |
95% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 80% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 36% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 480, Math: 460 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 600, Math: 610 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 87% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 21, Verbal: 21, Math: 19 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 26, Verbal: 28, Math: 25 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
