Hood College

Private · Moderately Selective · MD

Photo: Acroterion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMD · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,194

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate43.5%

6-yr grad rate56.9%

Drop-out rate32%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$48k

Out-of-state tuition$48k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity50.4%

Gender diversity65.5%

International1.5%

Identity—

Overview

Hood College is a liberal-arts college in Frederick, Maryland, formerly a women's college and coeducational since 2003. Its traditional red-brick campus sits within commuting distance of both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, giving students access to two major metro areas without the college itself being urban.

Academics

Biomedical science is a genuine strength at Hood, helped by the research cluster around nearby Fort Detrick, a major federal biodefense and medical-research installation — students in the sciences can find research and internship opportunities tied to that cluster that a typical small liberal-arts college would not have access to. Education and psychology have also been longtime strengths.

Campus & student life

The Frederick campus retains its traditional, close-knit character even two decades after going coeducational, and its location gives students a real choice: a quiet, residential small-college setting with two major cities reachable for internships, culture, or weekend trips.

Getting in

Hood's process is holistic, and given its strength in the sciences, applicants interested in biomedical or research-adjacent fields should expect the Fort Detrick connection and Hood's research opportunities to be a real talking point worth addressing in an application.

Worth knowing

Students should know Hood's coeducational history is relatively recent (2003) — some traditions and alumni identity still carry traces of its long history as a women's college, even as the current student body is fully coed.

hood.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate77.8%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying