HMI Semester
Fall 2025 & Spring 2026 Semester applications are now open!
If you are still interested in applying for our Spring 2025 Semester, we encourage you to start an application! Please also send us an email to confirm your interest.
Please note that the HMI Semester (for high school juniors and seniors) is often confused with the HMI Gap Semester (for high school graduates).
To Apply:
- Complete our online Semester application, including responses to the three essay questions listed below. Note: our online application platform is hosted on a secure, third-party site.
- Submit your current transcript, by having your high school email it to admissions@hminet.org. Your transcript should include your most recent fall semester/trimester grades. Please do not email us your transcript yourself. The transcript must come from your school.
- Solicit two teacher recommendations, with at least one coming from a core academic teacher (humanities, math, etc.) who taught you this year or last. The second may come from any current or past teacher, mentor, counselor, coach, etc. Please ask your teachers to visit www.hminet.org/teacherrec to fill out the form on your behalf. The “Application Status” box in your online application will update within 2-3 business days when we have received one or both of your recommendations.
- If applying for financial aid, please have your parent(s)/guardian(s) submit a complete financial aid application by February 15.
- There is no fee to apply to HMI, although there is a $60 fee to submit a financial aid application. This fee is automatically waived for families of a certain income level and below. If your application fee is not automatically waived, but you feel you cannot afford the expense at this time, please contact us for a fee waiver.
Application essay questions (answer all three):
You may choose to answer one of the three essays with a video recording of yourself. If you choose this option, you still need to answer the other two essays in written format. Click here for more information about this option.
All essays have a 300-word maximum.
- What inspires you?
- We believe every student brings a unique perspective that strengthens our community. What makes your perspective different from that of your peers?
- Why do you want to come to HMI? How do you think you will be challenged here? Where do you think you will thrive?
Admissions FAQ
The HMI Semester is open to high school juniors and seniors (ages 15-18). Students apply as sophomores or juniors to attend for one semester of the following year. As with college admissions, students drive the HMI application process. The student must write their own application essays, solicit their own teacher recommendations, and have their school send us their current transcript.
Applications for Fall ’25 / Spring ’26 are due on February 15, 2024. To apply visit the online portal to create your account and begin.
We typically receive about twice as many applications as we have spots. Applications that stand out contain well-written essays that convey a strong interest in attending HMI. We do not require or prioritize previous outdoor experience in our admissions process. No previous hiking or skiing experience is necessary–just an openness to participating in our extended wilderness expeditions. While students with strong transcripts often score highly in our selection process, you do not have to be a straight-A student to attend HMI. We do our best to evaluate applicants holistically, taking into account teacher recommendations, personal essays, and the academic transcript.
Yes, HMI welcomes and accepts international students. HMI is approved by the U.S. State Department to obtain temporary F1 student visas for international students. International financial aid may be available on a case-by-case basis. For specific questions about the international student application process, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@hminet.org or (719) 486-8200, x1.
For current tuition and financial aid information, visit our Tuition & Affordability page. Extensive need-based financial aid is available.
For upcoming program dates, visit our Tuition & Affordability page.
For our admissions travel calendar, visit the Admissions Presentations page.
No, but we do encourage students to submit one of their essay responses in video format.
Students who applied by February 15 will receive their admissions decision via email on March 14, 2025. Applicants will also be able to view their admissions decision by logging back into their online application portal.
Enrollment agreements will be due back to HMI in early April for both the Fall and Spring Semesters (specific date will be included in the application decision communication).
Admissions decisions often end up in applicants’ spam folders. If you still can’t find an email from us after checking your spam folder please let us know by emailing admissions@hminet.org.
Contact the Admissions Office
By email: admissions@hminet.org
By phone: (719) 486-8200 x 1
Meet the Admissions Office
Yanitsa Rodriguez
Yanitsa is from the vibrant city of Houston, TX, deep in the heart of the South. She graduated from Texas A&M University (whoop!), where she majored in Political Science & U.S. Government, with a focus on the critical issue of Latine Immigration, specifically asylum-seeking minors.
Post-graduation, Yanitsa embarked on a transformative path with Teach for America, finding herself in Birmingham, AL, inspiring young minds as a high school Spanish teacher. Her time in the classroom ignited a fierce dedication to educational equity—a cause she champions with unwavering passion.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Yanitsa finds solace and inspiration in sacred ancestral connections to the natural world by recognizing its profound impact on holistic healing and emotional well-being. Whether chasing mountain sunsets, experimenting in the kitchen, finding peace through meditation and yoga, or expressing herself through her singing and performing–Yanitsa embraces a magical life!
Yanitsa Habla Español
Yanitsa is from the vibrant city of Houston, TX, deep...
Yanitsa Rodriguez
Admissions Associate
Jill Gardiner
Jill returned to HMI in 2021 almost exactly ten years after her time as a Semester 26 student. While she’s bounced around from coast to coast (Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, California), she’s thrilled to have landed back in Colorado. After getting a degree in economics from Boston University, she worked at a tech nonprofit in the Bay Area before re-joining the HMI community. She firmly believes in greeting any body of water she meets (no matter how cold!), still hopes that her dog Arlo will become a trail-running buddy, and will happily talk to you about spreadsheets for hours.
Jill returned to HMI in 2021 almost exactly ten years...
Jill Gardiner
Director of Admissions & Financial Aid
Non-Discriminatory Statement
HMI admits students and employs faculty and staff of any gender, race, color, religion, disability-status, sexual preference, national and ethnic origin, and accords them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students, faculty and staff of the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, sexual preference, national and ethnic origin or disability status in administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, and other school administered programs.