Best Christian Colleges

College Search & Selection
21

<p>"I'm guessing half of the younger public school teachers in our area are Bob Jones graduates."</p>

<p>If any at all, it would probably be more like 1%. I know many BJU graduates that I have met while living around the country, so my intent with this response is not to bash them in any way. They are wonderful people that view their BJU education as highly as any college graduate should. Unfortunately, BJU's highly regarded reputation within the Fundamental Baptist community and other states is not shared with the local general public.</p>

22

<p>Kikkill:</p>

<p>I meant Liberty U would be limiting if you had a chance to go to a tier one or two school because the quality of the academics are lacking. Sorry to be blunt but unless the employer is ultraconservative Christian, like the US Justice Department apparently, the outlook is not so good. That's the employment side but I think the intrinsic worth of a 4th tier university, Christian or not, is just not comparable to most.</p>

<p>I'm really not trying to offend and I know I'm no expert, but I do think the vast majority, the majority they will never meet in college, would agree. Anyway, I guess I'll hang my wet blanket somewhere else now.</p>

23

<p>MamaDiva
My S's AP Government teacher, his Honors English teacher, his Honors Spanish teacher and his Calc Teacher are all BJ grads. BJ is located about 5 miles from my house. I work with BJ grads everyday. Yes, a huge percent of the younger public school teachers are Bob Jones grads. As co-workers, they are wonderful: hard working and uncomplaining, if a bit sheltered. (College students who live on campus are particularly restricted.) They think very highly of themselves and are supremely confident. As teachers, though, I am not as impressed. I asked this question originally to get some insight into how Bob Jones is looked at academically within the Christian college community.</p>

24

<p>I understand Dallas Baptist University is pretty good academically, and similar to Liberty in Christian stance.</p>

25

<p>Just curious, but what exactly are you referring to by Pepperdine University being just a Christian college by name?</p>

26

<p>I know someone who wasn't religious and hated Pepperdine because it was really religious, if that helps.</p>

27

<p>stillnadine,</p>

<p>In my experience, BJU is disliked by most other Christian universities. It is basically a laughing-stock among Christian colleges due to its ultra-restrictiveness in everything from student behavior to allowing (much less encouraging) access to resources that might undermine the school's beliefs or question the Bible.
On the other hand, the Christian school I went to, while requiring Bible classes and 3 chapels/wk, actually encouraged alternate viewpoints and had relatively liberal viewpoints on a lot of things. For example, my toughest classes spiritually were actually my biblical studies courses in which we tore Scripture apart and often had to confront very challenging passages (in every way) that simply cannot be ignored.</p>

28

<p>Thank you for your insights, apumic. As public school teachers, they seem very limited in their knowledge of literature, history, etc. Everything, no matter the subject, relates back to their personal religious beliefs. I understand for many religious people (of all persuasions), of course, everything relates to their faith and that they see it as their "mission" in life to make sure their beliefs are shared. But in a public school setting, with students from many religions (even many, many sects of Christianity), the focus should be a more generalized view and leave religious education to their family. From my experience, teachers from Bob Jones expect me to respect their religous rights, and to respect their right to instill their beliefs and values in their own families but show little respect for the religious rights and family values of others. Interestingly, I work with Bob Jones grads (not teachers) and they are much more open and willing to look at issues from many perspectives. It just seems like the teachers are more limited.</p>

29

<p>Okay, so I don't know too much about the other colleges, but I do go to Pepperdine & here's the information I can give you on that school: I am currently a first semester freshman at Pepperdine and I came all the way from Pennsylvania in search of a unique religious perspective that I never found at home. Well, I definitely got that at Pepperdine, but it wasn't exactly the perspective I was looking for.</p>

<p>The professors are probably the most helpful teachers I've ever come across in my academic life, but unfortunately, I could not say the same for the students. Don't get me wrong, not all of the students are bad and I really like the friends I did make, but some of the students preach religious tolerance and then freak out if you aren't like them. I must say, I break boundaries a lot (i.e.: I have pink hair and was agnostic upon coming to this school so that makes me the devil), but I feel like Pepperdine has actually sapped my creativity so much in the past couple of months that it isn't even worth it to try to be your own person anymore. It seems like everyone here is so happy all the time, but sometimes I feel miserable and it seems like I'm the only one.</p>

<p>Pepperdine has something that I jokingly (but actually pretty seriously) refer to as "The Pepperdine Bubble." I am not making a common assumption, but a lot of people at Pepperdine have been sheltered for most of their lives and have been sent here by their parents in hopes of continuing their sheltered lifestyles. Most of them undergo culture shock upon coming here because they realize that the whole world isn't like their all-boy or all-girl school (some are home schooled too). They act condescending a lot because they feel like they are being "saved" and someone like myself who didn't believe much until now is going to hell. It's a strange feeling, but I believe that I am teaching people as much about the world outside of Pepperdine as they are teaching me about what goes on inside this secure little "bubble." I truly thank them for teaching me so much because I feel as if I had never learned anything at school until I came to Pepperdine, but sometimes I find myself asking, "Is who I am really worth changing for 'success'?"</p>

<p>About the wealth issue, wealth is a common misconception at Pepperdine. There are A LOT of wealthy people and yes, it is common to see a BMW or a Lexus as every other car when passing through the parking lot, but that shouldn't be a reason to diss the school and students really don't flaunt their wealth like it was rumored they do. I am probably the poorest student at Pepperdine and I get along just fine with the wealthy.</p>

<p>About the religion thing, Pepperdine isn't as bad as people think they are with religion, but the students can be. Sometimes I just wish there were more people like myself to give DIVERSE opinions. It's very frustrating being different, which is something I have never said before in my life because I'm a journalism major and we're supposed to get paid for our creativity. Pepperdine is mostly Republican, and don't listen to the Republicans on campus who try to tell you they are the minority. PEPPERDINE IS MOSTLY REPUBLICAN & VOICES VERY STRONG POLITICAL OPINIONS. That wouldn't be an issue for me if I didn't constantly deal with people freaking out when they ask me about my political views and I relate that I support Obama. If they're going to ask my opinion, they shouldn't freak out if it doesn't match theirs! I support their stance as Republican, so why can't they just support mine?</p>

<p>Yes, the nightlife at Pepperdine sucks. Malibu is a BEAUTIFUL area, but it is basically in the middle of nowhere and to get anywhere you have to drive at least 30-45 minutes. I don't have a car, which is AWFUL at Pepperdine, but I have friends who are generous enough to take me out on the weekends to Hollywood and so on and the nightlife here is great if you know where to go.</p>

<p>The nightlife situation brings me to my next point: RULES. PEPPERDINE HAS WAAAAY TOO MANY RULES! We are in college now and we're not allowed to have members of the opposite sex in our dorms after 1 am. It doesn't even matter what you're doing because you could even be studying, but you will get split up at 1am. Also, Pepperdine IS a dry campus and the rumours you hear as far as that goes are true. I personally don't mind this rule because I like being at a school that doesn't showcase bumbling drunk idiots falling down the staircase in your dorms while you're trying to sleep/study during the week, but I'm sure not everyone agrees with me on that. So, if you want to drink, either make some friends at USC or UCLA so you can go down there for the weekends and still enjoy the quietness and aesthetic beauty of the Pepperdine campus, or go to a different school because Pepperdine is not for you.</p>

<p>Also, no one is ever here on the weekends!!!! Everything in Malibu closes at 8pm, even on weekends, so everyone just goes out of town on the weekend and if you don't have a car or family nearby, most of the time you're stuck on a barren campus. I personally found this extremely hard to deal with because I am so far away from home and not only do I have to deal with homesickness, but I've never felt so alone in my life. I feel like I don't have any real friends here yet, but then again, I haven't really been here that long (like 2 months) so I think that's normal since I'm usually not very trusting to begin with, but I feel like there's virtually no one here that would get along with me anyway, even though most upper classmen I talk to tell me that you eventually find people with similar interests even though it is more difficult to find them the more eccentric you are.</p>

<p>Pepperdine is a challenge, and believe it or not, I'm truly not sure whether I want to transfer or not because I don't know where I want to be in my life and I have no idea where I'd like to go for journalism. Loneliness and conformity are pretty much the two biggest problems at this school, but I believe that if you're strong enough (which I really hope I am), you can fight them and become a better person upon graduation from this school. Don't be afraid to email me your questions about the University because I work at the school's calling center and usually know the most updated information about the school.</p>

<p>Hope this helps you decide!</p>

30

<p>thank you, hellodolly90!</p>

31

<p>Samford in Birmingham Alabama is a very good Christian college</p>

32

<p>Grove City stands out in my mind as having high academic standards and mandatory chapel attendance. Our D is in her 2nd year at Hillsdale, loving it, and singing in the choir at the local Presbyterian church. Check out Princetonreview.com. They have rankings for schools with "Students most likely to form Bible study groups." or something like that. Hillsdale does not have mandatory chapel attendance but the kids seem to initiate religious discussions on their own. Conservative and firmly committed to providing a classical liberal arts education rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics. Wheaton, Calvin and Hope also impressed me in the limited research we did on them</p>

33

<p>how are tcu and baylor? i have full ride scholarships to both</p>

34

<p>apumic, which Christian college did you attend?</p>

35

<p>There are other schools which qualify as strong academically and strong in Christian commitment and worldview besides just Wheaton and Biola that someone mentioned on this thread.
These are all evangelical Christian:</p>

<p>Cedarville U, in Cedarville, OH.
Top notch school academically and definitely committed to evangelical Christian worldview integration in all areas. They have thought of everything, as far as the student life and academic excellence and state of the art technology. Many kids go here for nursing and for engineering, among many other majors.</p>

<p>Grove City College - already mentioned.</p>

<p>Covenant College - in Lookout Mtn. TN - PCA affiliated. </p>

<p>Bryan College - Dayton TN - non-affiliated, very strong on all counts.</p>

<p>Houghton College - upstate NY - Wesleyan affil.</p>

<p>Patrick Henry College - VA - somewhat limited in majors but what it does offer is top-notch, as I understand it, and definitely firm commitment to Christian values and core.</p>

36

<p>I'm a senior in high school and I've been researching Christian colleges for a couple of years. I'm applying to:</p>

<p>Wheaton C (IL) - in my opinion the best Christian college out there
Gordon C (MA) - pretty much a fallback
Biola U (CA) - I'm only planning on considering this school if I get into their honors program</p>

<p>Other good ones: Hope, Calvin, Grove City</p>

37

<p>girlhobbit, what do you think of Westmont?</p>

38

<p>I attended Azusa Pacific University, near Pasadena, CA/LA County</p>

39

<p>Ahh, I forgot about Westmont. It's also a great school. When I visited Biola, there were a lot of people also applying there. However, they lost several buildings and had a lot of other damage in the recent fires. But yeah, definitely a good option.</p>

40

<p>Messiah College
-Located in Penn.
-Nationally Ranked as being one of the Best Colleges in the US</p>

<p>Calvin College
-Located in Grand Rapids, MI
-Numerous college guides give Calvin high ranks</p>

<p>Liberty University
-Located in Lynchburg, Va
-Tuition is relatively low and strong academics for not just undergrad, but grad. as<br>
well.</p>

<p>Wheaton College
-Located in Wheaton, Ill.
-U.S. News & World Report ranked it 59 out of more than 266 National Liberal Arts
Colleges. </p>

<p>Hope this helps and gives you some more ideas of some great Christian schools.</p>