<p>Hi, Megan:</p>
<p>I have a son who is a Freshman at Biola and he also had to decide between it and Westmont. It would have been a tough choice for him except for the fact that he was accepted into the Torrey Honors Institute. It is a unique program and I don’t believe there is anything like it anywhere in the country, so for him, the choice was very clear. I assume you know that THI requires a separate application and admission process, right? It’s not something you “get involved in” after you’re there. You must be admitted to the program after or at the same time you are admitted to the University, but before you accept the admission offer.</p>
<p>You don’t say whether you live in Southern California or not, but I will tell you that there is an interesting culture at Biola because it’s in a suburban area and there are a fair number of kids who are able to go home on the weekends. That leaves fewer around on campus, BUT there are also a lot of students from further away, and those kids tend to be a pretty tight group. There are also more kids from all over the world because a lot of missionary families choose to send their kids here. That makes for an interesting mix of students.</p>
<p>Because of its location, there is more to do NEAR Biola than there is near Westmont. Disneyland is only 20 minutes away and a lot of kids purchase annual passes and go regularly. It’s about 40 minutes to the beach and about an hour to the mountains so there are all kinds of activities off campus to take part in.</p>
<p>However, Westmont (from the several visits we made before making the decision) has a pretty tight-knit student body and an even tighter-knit alumni network. There are LOTS of families who seem to make it their full-time job to make sure out of area kids are made to feel at home. There is a shuttle that takes students into the town of Montecito and to the beach, and from either place it is easy to get into the city of Santa Barbara, where there is a lot going on. Not as much as at Biola, but plenty to do.</p>
<p>I didn’t get the sense that there is as much cultural diversity at Westmont, though. Again, probably because of Biola’s strong Missions outreach, there are students from all walks of life everywhere. Really, by that I mean students from lots of other countries. Biola is also about 3x the size (in student enrollment) of Westmont and that makes a difference in the feel.</p>
<p>Westmont is WAY more beautiful, though! My D is pretty sure she’s going to want to at least apply there! She felt the same way you did. At home the minute she stepped on campus!</p>
<p>Biola is less expensive by quite a bit if that means anything to you. Our S got good merit scholarships from both schools but Biola was at least 10K cheaper even so.</p>
<p>Feel free to post specific questions and I’ll answer as best I can.</p>