<p>Yes! Eckard is on her radar. Good thought.</p>
<p>I read “Unlikely Disciple”. Liked it very much. I do think it’s to Liberty’s credit that they offer it at their book store. </p>
<p>However Liberty is not a college that she would ever consider. I think that it was only brought up to illustrate what she does not want.</p>
<p>She also does not want “Southern” - with the exception of Florida.</p>
<p>Schools run by the Jesuits tend to be more focused on science and are politically more liberal than other Christian schools. You may want to look into schools like Boston College, Georgetown, Loyola, St. Thomas (MN), etc.</p>
<p>The great thing about Jesuit schools are they are committed to educating all comers and tend to appreciate diversity. On the liberal end of catholic, and many students that are not catholic at all. May not guarantee a traditional Christian spouse, but likely to find friends who are educated, open-minded, and concerned for their fellow man. Maybe even that elusive species of compassionate conservative the Republican party needs. The antithesis of Liberty, Oral Roberts,etc.</p>
<p>I wonder whether it might be more useful to focus on helping your daughter find a college that offers the best program for her interests that also happens to be located in a place where she has access to the kind of Christian community off-campus that she wants to be a part of (or which you hope she will continue to want to be a part of when she leaves home.) That would be my question to her: what kind of Christian community is she looking for? What does it mean, in her view, to be a Christian? Focusing on political parties or “Christian” dress or nothing Southern is not going to get her to where she says she wants to be. None of those things even fully define what it means to be “politically conservative”, so I don’t really understand what she wants. I can tell, though, that you hope she holds on to her Christian upbringing, whatever that has been. I understand.</p>
<p>Finding the best college combined with a great community of believers has been my approach as I have worked to help our son, who has chosen to follow the Christian path for his life, put together a list of colleges. I never planned for him to include the small Christian college I attended my first two years before I graduated with my AA and transferred to a state university. The intentions of the founders of the school were honorable and worthy, and I did not mind the rules (actually appreciated them, especially as I learned that so many of the students had been sent to the college to reform them in their parents’ last hopes to convert their now-adult children - too little too late in most cases - and those kids needed rules - probably the first time in their lives they had been held accountable for anything.) I enjoyed some wonderful, challenging, academic Bible classes, and grew spiritually, but not so much because I was at a “Christian” school. I had already made a very clear choice to pursue a certain way of life, and while I chose to go to that school for a couple of years, most of my spiritual growth came from my experience being involved with a local congregation of believers. College is not the church, even the Christian college, and too many problems occur when students and parents forget that.</p>
<p>As my son has created his list of schools, he has focused first on schools that offer the degree program he wants to pursue. The immediate second question for him is whether there is a local congregation with whom he will be able to work and get involved and further develop his faith and meet other young adults pursuing a similar faith-based path. We have crossed off schools where there are no congregations of the kind he is looking for. That said, he has more than enough schools on his list. When he goes to visit these schools, he will be taking the campus tours, but he will also be going to worship with some of the congregations nearby. He is looking for a college home, but really, what will seal the deal is whether he can find a church home, too. Most of the schools on his list are not so-called “Christian” schools.</p>
<p>As a parent, of course, I pray that he leaves home with a great foundation, and with his spiritual life developed enough that he is not swayed by opposition on a college campus. He is already a freethinker and not easily swayed by other people in general, so I don’t worry too much, but he knows he will be in the minority, as he is in the world in general. And he is fine with that. He gets along with people of all backgrounds, and he is not looking to college peers to help him build his faith. He knows the place for that is during his time of private study and his time with a supportive group of believers in a local congregation.</p>
<p>Best wishes as you help your daughter find her path.</p>
<p>We are doing just that. Attempting to find a good fit and the best college for her. Previous to this post - she had ruled out any Christian Colleges as being too politically conservative. </p>
<p>Recently we began wondering if there <em>might</em> be a couple of Christian colleges that she could also consider. There are many that she would never think of - either because they are not terribly challenging or because they are ultra conservative.</p>
<p>Where a certain poster got the idea that we were “looking for conservative” is beyond me. She is looking for colleges - Christian or secular - that are moderate to very progressive - Christian or secular.</p>
<p>As to Catholic colleges - the ones that she would like are not “Evangelical Christian” so spiritually they would not add anything. She isn’t ruling out Catholic schools - but it’s a net sum zero situation. It isn’t her faith and marrying a Roman Catholic would not be good - for us or for the Roman Catholic family since my daughter would not convert.</p>
<p>Some reasons why people chose colleges of a certain religion or with many people of your denomination - is to promote the practice of the faith or faith style in which the student was raised. I am not shy about that. A Christian college would increase the possibility of her marrying another person who is from a similar background. </p>
<p>I doubt that in a secular setting that my daughter will join a campus Christian group. Some would and do. I am sure that she has no interest in seeming different from others.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>??? Why would someone who attends such a group seem “different” than others??? Is my secular school guy ‘different’ because he has joined an American Sign Language group, the Chess Club, or an Improv Club? After all, not everyone who goes to his school - not even CLOSE to a majority - are in those. He also goes to a Christian club (one of several there). None make him ‘different.’ They are all part of his niche in college and he’s accepted just as equally as those who choose different groups/clubs. He has friends from different faiths and no faith. They all accept each other. IMO, that’s how it should be.</p>
<p>FWIW, I went to a LARGE secular school and still married someone who shares my faith, since that was important to me (both of us actually). We’re still happily married more than 25 years later. Neither of us had problems attending a Christian club (among other things) and having friends. If anyone “shunned” us due to it, we certainly never knew about it (and chances are they weren’t worth trying to be friends with anyway).</p>
<p>Perhaps the concern over keeping the faith is more yours than hers? If so, please don’t make her go to a Christian school. Everyone needs to decide their faith for themselves. Forcing one to go to a Christian school seldom “works.” (This is all a ‘perhaps,’ but I’ll freely admit, those who go to my high school and claim the faith seem to always WANT to join Christian clubs at their secular schools. They may try a club or two to find the right fit, but I’ve never had anyone mention they didn’t want to join any because they were afraid of feeling “different.” (Naturally, Christian talk only comes up with students I know are Christian - if they were “afraid” to “come out” in high school perhaps they also did the same in college - I’ll never know.)</p>
<p>We are not “forcing her” to apply to or attend a Christian College It’s an option that we just started to explore. That’s all.</p>
<p>My daughter does not like to be different. She has said that she will not join Intervarsity or other groups at a secular college. She does noy want to seem too religious. </p>
<p>He words not mine.</p>
<p>She was adopted from an Asian country and I think that this may add to her desire to not stand out.</p>
<p>I’m thinking she may not understand what secular colleges are like… except, perhaps, at very liberal schools where being “religious” could be a negative. At most secular schools kids tend to be accepted for who they are (assuming they accept others in a similar fashion). ;)</p>
<p>We are “very liberal”. I attended a “very liberal” college. There were some Christians there, but their ultra-conservative politics made friendship with them impossible. I made good friends there.
My husband went to a Christian college. It was moderate politically then. It isn’t any longer. The college was filled with “closet Democrats”. My husband was one.</p>
<p>The only Christian college that seems to interest our daughter is Wheaton. We agree.
Westmont and Biola look good to her, but we are not happy about California. Too far and travel would be expensive.</p>
<p>So Wheaton and a group of seculars. She will have an easier time connecting with liberal students than with very conservative students.
She will explore some Evangelical Lutheran colleges as well. St.Olaf is one.</p>
<p>I thought I’d report back.</p>
<p>She has decided to apply to sec</p>
<p>Hi thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>Hi thank you so much for your help</p>
<p>Hi thank you so much for your help…</p>
<p>OP, Earlham seems to me like a great choice for your daughter.</p>
<p>OP, I’m sorry but as the thread goes on, and the reasoning you use as you are shooting down offerings it appears you are not as “inclusive-minded” as the school you are searching for…</p>
<p>Yeah she started as centrist and ended up as ‘very liberal’.
She is open minded but cant date a Catholic.</p>
<p>Earlham does seem ideal. I would add Hope in Michigan as a possibility too.</p>
<p>It might be a reach or high match, but Holy Cross in Worcester MA. I grew up in the city and have been on campus often. Really centrist to leftist student body with stron Jesuit dedication to education and community. Pm if you have any specific questions. I know several professors in the philosophy and psych departments</p>
<p>If you’re still looking, Roanoke College is a great ELCA school. Yes, it’s in Virginia but Roanoke isn’t very different from Ohio (I’ve lived in both) - certainly not deep South. Plenty of religious opportunity, but being politically liberal is very accepted (so is being politically conservative). It’s a nice mix.</p>
<p>BTW, my DD is a freshman at RIT (also in arts). Her friends cover the religious spectrum, but she does not feel uncomfortable saying she’s Christian. She attended one meeting of a religious student group, but didn’t pursue it. She still wanted to go to church when she came home for break.</p>
<p>I would also put a plug in for looking at St. Olaf. “A college of the church” but very “liberal” and open minded for the most part. There are campus groups of many strip and the whole spectrum is OK, but D reports that most students are pretty to very liberal politically and have a very social justice bent to their religious life where it exists. Their web site is quite good and there is lots to explore. </p>