Hello to all! My son has been applying to colleges and has narrowed choices down to 2: American University (about a 90-minute drive from us) and Belmont University (a plane ride for us.)
He’s been accepted to both and cost is within $5K/annually. Both programs are good, and our son is leaning towards American because he “clicked” with the campus during our visit, and the program looks to be excellent. We had a visit to Belmont scheduled for last week but of course had to cancel.
Any thoughts from students or parents on the two? We are not a religious family, so he feels a little nervous about attending a Christian college and being so far away.
AU is Methodist Affiliated and requires no aspect of religious credit for graduation. At Belmont, students are required to take a Bible course. Belmont is also a far more conservative school if that matters. Fit is everything at a college and would advise your son to look at other aspects of each school to determine which would be the best fit!
"We are not a religious family, so he feels a little nervous about attending a Christian college and being so far away. " That sentence alone tells me that AU is a much better fit than Belmont. Both of my kids have adjusted very well to college and both went to the school that felt like the best fit. My son is a rising Junior at AU - I never got a call from him asking to come home. In fact most of the time I could barely talk to him because there were people “waiting” for him LOL. AU is very accepting of all faiths and those who don’t ascribe to any faith (my son falls in this category). I would worry about fit and finding his people at Belmont. If you have never lived in the South it is hard to describe how religion dominates the culture. My son catagorically ruled out any school that required religion classes as he felt that would indicate a conservative environment and he is very liberal. if you have specific questions you can PM me.
Thanks for the feedback - that’s definitely helpful. He’s a very self-motivated, well-disciplined kid so I feel like the “vibe” at AU is a better fit. We’re struggling with cost, as it’s a good $10K/year more expensive. It’s so helpful to hear from other parents We’re not in the south, so I hadn’t considered the overarching feel of religion in the south as a whole.
My son is Songwriting and music business major at Belmont. The question of religion comes up all the time in reference to Belmont. It clear that ithey are unapologetically Christian school but they are very welcoming and don’t try to convert students. Students are required to take two religion classes only.
My son is a Christian. He went to a Christian elementary and middle school but went to very liberal Magnet high school for Arts. When I asked my son what does he think about Belmont being a Christian school- he laughed. He says Belmont is a regular school. Faculty may be Christian but majority of students are just typical college students. Most go there to study music not Religion. They go there because of the excellent connections to the music industry that belmont offers. They hang out at other college campuses, bars, and do all the things that other college students do.
My son says if you want a Christian school you choose a different school because despite Christian admin, the atmosphere is no different then other secular schools. “Christian Schools” tend to maintain a certain environment by only recruiting Christians. Belmont does not.
I’m probably biased, but I’ll give you my honest opinions.
I applied to both (not knowing how Christian Belmont is, I’m jewish). AU has been one of my dream schools but I liked the idea of Belmont being closer to home so I applied. I got accepted and the minute I was they were bombarding me with “please come here” emails. One caught my eye, which was boasting about how religious the institution is. It immediately put me off because they obviously didn’t care about showcasing religious tolerance like other Christian schools do. Another was when they acquired a local art school and banned certain forms of art. Students from the art school were told they couldn’t paint nudes or use certain practices in their films.
Meanwhile, I’ve toured AU twice and didn’t realize it was technically Methodist until about a week ago (I’ve been committed for about a month). I just got an overall better vibe about AU, it seemed like they cared more about attracting more diverse students. The fact they have a spiritual center for all religions in the middle of campus while being Methodist is really cool to me. I feel like AU overall is also a more respected institution.
We’re not in the south, so I hadn’t considered the overarching feel of religion in the south as a whole.