[6][7] Its enrollment was quickly boosted to as many as 700 students by men seeking to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War.
[5] When the war ended, enrollment dropped to 500 students, and the college was forced to lay off some of its faculty.
[2] The college's enrollment declined, and its operating debt increased to $400,000 a year ($1,072,759 in today's money).
[6] Time magazine noted that even with the inducement of flying lessons, Hawthorne had less than half the number of day students it needed to fill its freshman class.
[9] With long-term debts over $4 million, the college declared bankruptcy in 1988 and began plans to liquidate its assets.
[8] In 2014, it was purchased by the nonprofit Overseas United Education, which opened a preparatory school called the Hawthorne Academy in the fall of 2017.
[5] The campus expanded to include properties in three towns, twenty buildings, and a 50 acres (20 ha) airfield with a 3,500 feet (1,100 m) runway.
It was a member of the ECAC Northeast intercollegiate athletic conference, playing NCAA Division III hockey from 1984 to 1988.