The Hope Forward Program spans from orientation to graduation and provides supplemental learning opportunities focused on three pillars: community, access and generosity.

About the Program

Anchored in Hope’s mission to educate students for lives of leadership and service, the Hope Forward program equips graduates to:

  • Be lifelong learners active in their communities
  • Engage with areas of hopelessness out of a personal hope and abundance
  • Give generously to create positive impact locally, globally and at Hope College

The Hope Forward cohort model progresses over four years in three categories: Community, Access, and Generosity. In Community, the four-year sequence is Formation, Involvement, Leadership, and Engagement. In Access, the four-year sequence is Self-Exploration, Creative Thinking, Problem Solving, and Positive Impact. In Generosity, the four-year sequence is Abundance, Gratitude, Generosity, and Philanthropy.Some highlights of the Hope Forward Program include:

  • Dinners with the president
  • Off-campus retreats 
  • The development of a personal portfolio
  • Supplemental advising/mentorship
  • Service-learning experiences
  • Seminars and banquets
  • Book studies

And, active participation in campus-wide traditions like One Big Weekend, Time to Serve and Day of Giving.

To learn more about the program, including how to apply, we encourage you to speak with an Admissions representative or visit the Hope Forward Admissions website. There you will find information about the application process and timelines. 

“A beautiful part of the Hope Forward program is that students like me have entered a lifelong community. The Hope Forward vision does not want my own relationship with the community to end on the day I graduate from Hope College.”
—Student in the 2025 Cohort

About Our Students

Students participating in the program demonstrate a deep commitment to their education. Their GPA is academically on-par with their peers, dispelling the notion that eliminating tuition reduces a student’s incentive to take their education seriously. They represent 13 countries and 24 states across the America, with a variety of academic majors:

  • Biochemistry
  • Neuroscience
  • Pre-Med
  • Nursing
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  • Exercise Science
  • Education
  • Business
  • Global Studies
  • Global Health
  • History
  • Theology
  • Religion
  • Philosophy
  • English
  • Art History
  • Engineering
  • Communications
  • Accounting
  • English
  • Kinesiology


Our students are vocal about their desire to succeed and give back so they can bring hope to the world. Rather than focusing on what a career can offer them, students are asking, “What can I give to make the world better?”

“I am given Hope Forward as a gift to think of myself less, both financially and mentally, as I steward my education well so that I can pour back into others who would continue to do the same. I go to college with an assurance that I am covered along with a glad responsibility to give back by passionately pursuing my dream to be a doctor who cares for his patients as much as he cares for the sciences.”
—Student in the 2026 Cohort

  • Hope Forward students standing around a Gateway Mission sign
  • Two Hope Forward students working in a playground
  • Three female Hope Forward students smiling for a selfie
  • Three Hope Forward students participating in a panel discussion at Hope College's Catalyst Summit
  • A Hope Forward student talks to Nate Haveman while looking at a framed artwork
  • A Hope Forward student speaking into a microphone at a podium with an arch of balloons behind him
  • Five Hope Forward students standing in a group and smiling at the camera
  • A Hope Forward student speaks to two other people at a reception
  • A Hope Forward student showing his artwork to viewers
  • Two female Hope Forward students smiling at the camera
  • Two male Hope Forward students working on a craft at a table
  • A man in a blazer looking at botanical prints in an art display
  • Three Hope Forward students participating in a panel discussion at Hope College's Catalyst Summit
  • A Hope Forward student in paint-covered overalls shows her work to others
  • Five female Hope Forward students working and laughing at a table

HELP HOPE FORWARD

If you would like to speak to someone about a gift, please contact Philanthropy and Engagement.