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School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Hollins University is a private women's university in Roanoke, Virginia, founded in 1842 as one of the oldest institutions for women's higher education in the country (men are admitted to graduate and some other programs, but undergraduate education remains for women). The campus sits below Tinker Mountain in the Roanoke Valley, giving it a self-contained, quiet setting a short drive from a small city. Hollins is best known nationally for creative writing, though it has built real strength across the arts and equestrian studies as well.
Academics
Hollins' undergraduate creative writing program is among the most decorated in the country; alumnae include Pulitzer Prize winners and prominent novelists and poets, and the program's reputation draws students who want to write seriously as undergraduates rather than wait for an MFA. Its Jackson Center for Creative Writing and visiting-writer series reinforce that focus. Beyond writing, Hollins has long-standing strength in studio art, dance, and playwriting, and its riding program is one of the most established in the country, with its own equestrian center.
Campus & student life
Hollins' campus is compact and residential, with most students living on campus for all four years, which supports a close, familiar community rather than an anonymous one. Traditions run deep at a school this old, and class rituals tied to the academic calendar are taken seriously. Hollins Abroad, the university's own network of study-abroad centers built specifically for its students, is a long-running and distinctive feature rather than a bought-in program.
Getting in
Hollins reads applications holistically and, for a school this size, pays close attention to a student's writing sample or supplemental materials, especially for students interested in the writing program. Essays and demonstrated interest matter more than at large universities, and interviews are encouraged.
After graduation
Graduates go on to MFA programs, publishing, journalism, and the arts in outsized numbers relative to the school's size, and the writing program's alumnae network is unusually active in mentoring current students. Others pursue graduate work in the sciences or professional fields; the small size means most students get real faculty mentorship regardless of major.
Worth knowing
Hollins is a women's college for undergraduates, which shapes both its culture and its traditions, and students considering it should know this going in. Its equestrian program and creative writing reputation are genuine, long-established draws rather than marketing claims.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
hollins.edu ↗High school coursework
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