Patrick Henry College
Purcellville, Virginia
Patrick Henry College was founded on a conviction that a rigorous classical education, grounded in a biblical worldview and oriented toward civic leadership, is one of the most important things a young person can pursue. Located in Purcellville, Virginia, about 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., PHC is a small, intentional college where faith and scholarship are treated as inseparable, and where students who are serious about ideas, governance, and their responsibilities as citizens tend to find their people quickly.
Get to know Patrick Henry College
College Highlights
THE CLASSICAL CORE
Every PHC student completes a classical core curriculum that forms the backbone of the entire academic program. The first year alone introduces students to History of Western Civilization, Logic, Rhetoric and Composition, Recitation, Theology of the Bible, and Western Literature, an intentionally demanding sequence designed to engage students’ hearts and minds simultaneously. As students advance, the core expands to include Constitutional Law, Philosophy, Economics, Music History, Euclidean Geometry, Biology, Physics, and more. The result is a shared intellectual foundation that ties the entire campus community together and gives upperclassmen the depth to engage advanced coursework.
WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BEYOND
PHC’s location in Northern Virginia gives students ready access to sites and resources that most colleges simply cannot offer. College-organized trips introduce first-year students to the major cultural and historical institutions in the greater Washington area, alongside battlefields and national parks within easy reach of campus. For students interested in global experience, the Global Studies and Service semester allows them to continue their degree programs while studying at universities in England, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, South Korea, and New Zealand.
APPRENTICESHIPS
Every PHC degree program requires between 8 and 23 credits of apprenticeship work, making real professional experience a graduation requirement rather than an optional add-on. PHC’s location and reputation among employers in Washington open doors to some of the most sought-after undergraduate placements in the country, including positions with Congress, the White House, the CIA, the Alliance Defending Freedom, National Geographic, the FCC, and many others. Employers actively recruit PHC students, and the college maintains a bulletin board where organizations post opportunities specifically seeking PHC talent.
FORENSICS
Forensics is widely considered PHC’s signature extracurricular, and participation runs deep across the student body. Moot court, mock trial, and civic debate are woven into the academic culture here, and the skills built through the classical core, particularly logic, rhetoric, and the ability to argue opposing positions, give PHC competitors a preparation that shows in their results. More than a quarter of the student body participates in forensics at some level.
ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY
Non-U.S. Citizen: 0%
Hispanic/Latine: 5%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 2%
White, non-Hispanic: 59%
Native/Indigenous American or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 0%
Asian, non-Hispanic: 5%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 6%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 0%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown: 28%
DEDICATED FACULTY
PHC’s faculty are scholars who teach from within the same worldview that shapes the curriculum, meaning faith and academic inquiry are engaged together rather than kept in separate lanes. Professors meet individually with every student in their department at least once per semester, and the relationships that develop across four years frequently extend into mentorship, professional connections, and discipleship well beyond formal advising appointments. President Haye personally welcomes students into his home as part of an ongoing mentorship program, a gesture that signals the kind of investment that defines the PHC community from the top down.
STUDENT SUPPORT
Academic support is available through ASCEND, a program that brings together academic coaching, peer tutoring, and schedule audits for students who need additional help. PHC’s peer tutors offer a particular advantage: they have completed most of the same courses, often with the same professors, and can offer both academic guidance and personal encouragement from lived experience.
RESIDENTIAL LIFE
Nearly the entire PHC student body lives in one of six Williamsburg-style, single-gender residence halls on campus. The model is intentionally built to foster community formation across all class years. Resident Assistants host fellowship gatherings and service activities each semester, and corporate chapel meets three times a week with wing chapels twice a week, giving students regular rhythms of worship, study, and prayer alongside their neighbors. The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains surround the campus, and the natural setting, combined with proximity to the history-rich Northern Virginia landscape, gives daily life at PHC a character that is genuinely difficult to replicate.
STUDENT LIFE
Campus life at PHC reflects the intellectual and artistic energy of the student body. The PHC Chorale is a mixed-voice ensemble that performs across Northern Virginia and regularly tours nationally and internationally. Eden Troupe, the student-led theater club, produces full productions each semester. The Shall We Dance Society offers weekly lessons and hosts formal dances throughout the year. Student publications including The Herald newspaper, the literary journal Westmarch, and the theology journal Aletheia give students outlets for writing and editorial work that double as professional portfolio builders. PHC does not have Greek life, but students consistently describe the campus community as one of the most distinctive and tight-knit things about their time at the college.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Career preparation at PHC begins after the first year, once students have completed much of the classical core and can start connecting their studies to their vocational interests. The career services team works with students across all four years, offering résumé support, interview preparation, networking events, and connections to employers and alumni. The alumni network is active and genuinely useful, with graduates returning to mentor current students and open doors in law, government, intelligence, journalism, business, and education.
SUCCESS ACROSS DISCIPLINES
PHC’s pre-law program has built a strong reputation over the college’s 25-year history, with graduates consistently performing well on the LSAT and gaining admission to law schools across the country, including several who have gone on to clerk for the United States Supreme Court. The Strategic Intelligence in National Security program holds certification from the International Association for Intelligence Education, one of only a small number of undergraduate institutions in the country to earn that distinction. Graduates of the program have served across the breadth of the U.S. Intelligence Community. In virtually every field PHC students enter, the depth of their classical training and the breadth of their professional experience tend to set them apart early.
Admission
TEST SCORES
Required
FRESHMAN PROFILE
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
25th Percentile: 660 | 75th Percentile: 740
SAT Math
25th Percentile: 580 | 75th Percentile: 680
ACT Composite
25th Percentile: 27 | 75th Percentile: 33
ACT Math
25th Percentile: 22 | 75th Percentile: 30
ACT English
25th Percentile: 30 | 75th Percentile: 35
Tuition & Cost
Tuition: $28,400
Fees: $25
Room: $5,000
Board: $6,020
Contact Patrick Henry College
Contact Admissions
www.phc.edu/admissions
(540) 441-8110
admissions@phc.edu
Campus Location
10 Patrick Henry Circle
Purcellville, VA 20132
(540) 338-1776
communication@phc.edu