Christian Colleges in the East

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I just graduated from high school and am looking for a good Christian college to attend for pre-med. I've already been reading and researching online, but it would be really helpful if I could get some suggestions/recommendations based on my particular search criteria.</p>

<p>Here's what I'm looking for:</p>

<p>-A college that's "Christian" not just in name but in practice too. My high school was Christian. All its faculty members are born-again believers, and a there are a lot of missionary kids/families there. It was a very warm, nuturing environment where you could really grow in your faith.
However, I don't want a college that's "stuffy" about religion or is over-the-top conservative.</p>

<p>-Academically rigorous, and with a motivated, competitive student body. I like a good challenge and feeling like I'm really learning and improving. One of my worst nightmares is of ending up in a college where I feel I'm not getting the most out of my time there. (This is not to brag, but just to give you an idea of the standard I'm looking for: My SAT score is over 2200; GPA is 4+; I've taken 7 AP classes, 5 of which were all during my Senior year; I was involved in quite a few extracurriculars like the Student Council, the Student Ministries Leadership Team, JV and Varsity basketball, Drama, Audition Choir...)</p>

<p>-Strong in psychology/psychiatry and the sciences, since I'll probably major in one of the psychs, as well as fulfill my medical school prerequisites there.</p>

<p>-Also strong in the fine arts, such as theatre, music, filmmaking, etc., as I'm planning to have 1 or 2 fine arts minors.</p>

<p>-East coast-ish. Not necessarily on the coast, but I'd rather not go further inland than Ohio... or Illinois, max.</p>

<p>-Reasonable tuition fees and/or good financial aid.</p>

<p>Any and all info that you can provide would be wonderfully appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>There is college of the holy cross, trinity, boston college, georgetown, villanova, and notre dame… all are top tier academics, but each is different!! enjoy!!</p>

3

<p>I’d venture saying none of these would fit your #1 criterion. your profile is confounding. Why would a student w/ your apparent capacity be starting this process and quest now?</p>

<p>Wheaton should be on your list. Grove City, Liberty, Covenant, Patrick Henry, Berry, Belmont, Spring Hill, Hillsdale, Houghton, Eastern.</p>

4

<p>Shennaniah, since you’re in Bangkok, are you aware that American HS seniors typically apply to colleges in the fall and winter of their senior years for college classes that begin the following fall, and that they are generally notified in March and April of their acceptances for the fall?</p>

5

<p>

Can’t speak for the others, but Notre Dame certainly would. However, it is in northern Indiana, and thus would not be East Coast.</p>

<p>

How many of those fit the second and third criteria? Liberty, Houghton, and Patrick Henry (unaccredited) teach Young Earth Creationism, which would be an issue for a science major. The OP also seems to be concerned about not being academically challenged, and some of those might not be academically challenging to a 4.0, 2200 student.</p>

<p>Oh, and the first point for that matter. Not too conservative.</p>

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<p>Gordon College in MA is decent.</p>

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<p>ND is a fine school, and a self-proclaimed Catholic college. Check out the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities.</p>

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<p>Grove City seems to fit your criteria the best. Wheaton seems like another great choice for you, but it’s near Chicago. Like Whistle Pig though, I’m wondering how a student like you is just starting the college application process. Are you planning to delay matriculation for a year?</p>

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<p>Like Kim1g428, I also thought of Gordon.</p>

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<p>Wheaton is an excellent Christian school. It’s academically rigorous (I’m attending, NMF, 34 ACT) and is genuinely Christian–faculty, students are all christians (many denominations, but there is a strong commitment). Also, they just opened a fabulous new science building and have a good program in psychology as well. The location near Chicago is a plus as well.</p>

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<p>Wow guys, thanks for all the replies, and sorry I’m a little slow with mine… for some reason I didn’t receive any more email notifications after the first one.</p>

<p>Anyway, to answer the question why I’m applying at this unusual time:</p>

<p>In a nutshell, I had to take a year off because I was waiting on one (and the only) medical school in Singapore, my home country. But after not getting in there, I’m now looking at Australian colleges which, like Singapore, allow high school graduates to enter medical programs without going through pre-med. Aussie colleges begin their academic year in Feb, so if I do apply to US colleges I’ll be aiming for 2nd semester, since I have to wait for the Aus results to come out.</p>

<p>Regarding “conservatism”: I’m looking at the East rather than the West because the east culture generally has less of a wild, “party” edge. So since the east is already comparatively conservative, I’d say I’m looking for a college that IS conservative, but only moderately so. I don’t like the wild crowds, but at the same time I’m not a cover-up-head-to-toe, don’t-listen-to-pop-music, curfew-by-10pm type of conservative.</p>

<p>Just looking at academics alone: Apart from Wheaton, which of these colleges would be a good challenge for me?</p>

<p>And by the way, I don’t mind looking at states that are somewhat further in from the coast, like IN and IL. Just not the west, or totally in the middle.</p>

<p>Thanks so much everyone, this is really helping me. :)</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, does anyone know Taylor University in Indiana? How does it compare to the other colleges that have been mentioned so far?</p>

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<p>A few thoughts for you:</p>

<p>Your view of East vs. Left Coast has “relative” merit but … the East Coast is anything but “conservative”, generally, altho it becomes culturally more so, as one moves south. For example, Charleston NC is worlds apart from Boston or NYC, which is about the goofiest place on the planet, imo. Philadelphia is less liberal and “better” but not much. Conversely, possibly one stranger place than NYC is definitely San Francisco, but I’d go there in a “New York minute” … before I’d go to New York. SF is weird, beautiful, and if one is gay, THE mecca. Come to think of it … if one is gay, Mecca might be the last place he/she’d wanna be. :eek: So, my real point, East and West Coasts are both bastians of liberal, progressive thinking, values, and votes, with islands of sanity in the midst of both. And both are vastly different than the Heartland of America, which is nearly everyplace else, barring some “islands” of liberal lostness. (I know, I’ve a view on this, I confess.) So, generally speaking, I believe you are wise in broadening your search. Heck, what’s another 1,500 miles … more or less … when you’re coming from Bankok! :cool:</p>

<p>Taylor’s an excellent Christian college, a modest notch down from Wheaton, but getting lots of overlap in apps w/ Wheaton. It is conservative, not at all dogmatic, and the view at Taylor is you need not be, believe, etc. but while you are at Taylor “these are the values and rules we expect you to play by …” Here’s THE major downside for Taylor: Upland! Upland is farmland, which is beautiful, nice country, but it is very much in the middle of nowhere and the town itself is the literal wide place in the road. They had a Ft. Wayne campus for urban type programs, but I understand they’ve closed that. Taylor’s great, but Upland’s not much, and it’s not close to much of anything beyond some massive pig farms and many cornfields. Just my opinion.</p>

<p>Now, in light of your interests, and your further explanation, you might take a look @ Belmont University. Great campus and location, a block from Music Row in Nashville, TN, and about a half mile from Vanderbilt. The U is about 5K undergrads, and another 1,000 grad students. They have partnered with Hospital Corp of America (based there in Nville) to develop some super facilities and programs in medical/health areas …PT, OT, nursing, pharmacy schools. They are also building and opening a Christian law school this year. Belmont is very connected to the music industry and has many famous musician/entertainers among its alumni. Do you know who Minnie Pearl was? In fact, while music performance is big, they have a unique music-business program as well. They have a pre-med program that might merit checking out. Several of the healthcare programs have joint interaction w/ Vanderbilt, which is a world-class med school and center. </p>

<p>The U. has grown rapidly and has announced a cap on enrollment, so it’ll not get much larger. It is conservative, Chrisitan (it was once Baptist, but has disaffiliated and is very multi-denominational. The student body seems quite diverse. I’ve observed students in burkas.sp? They play no football, but have teams in Div I basketball (regularly make the NCAA playoffs, but rarely go far) and other sports. </p>

<p>Nashville is a major city which seems to be thriving relative to many US cities, thanks to lots of commerce and being the state and country music capital of the planet. It’s a major med center. Nice climate (during the school year … hot in the summer!). It is good academically though not as strong as Wheaton. Students reside on and off campus, and the area is very residential, seemingly “safe”, and only a mile or 2 from center city, w/ transportation. </p>

<p>Might be worth a look.</p>

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<p>Wheaton (it’s in Illinois though)</p>

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<p>Theres also a wheaton in norton mass. Gordon college is wonderful.</p>

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<p>The Wheaton College in MA is not a Christian college and the academic level of its incoming students is a little bit lower than the Wheaton College in IL that is a non-denominational Christian college. The two colleges share a name, but nothing else.</p>

<p>You sound like an ideal student for the Wheaton College in IL, esp since you want Christian.</p>

<p>Wheaton, IL Mid 50% scores (SAT CR 600-730, M 610-700, WR 590-710, ACT 26-32)
Wheaton, MA Md 50% scores (SAT CR 580-690, M 570-660, WR N/A, ACT 26-30)</p>

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<p>While I would agree w/ Creekland’s assessment, we should be careful in perpetuating the notion that Wheaton (MA) is “a little bit lower than the Wheaton (IL) …” based on a differential of 20 or 30 or more SAT points. Again, I’d agree w/ Creekland’s conclusion, but in no way because of that. Let’s face it, those scores are inadequate, misinterpreted golden calves that simply allow for quantifying a test score. Silly, ridiculous. </p>

<p>And worldly. Simply suggesting, that especially in light of this specific forum and threads, ranking schools on that basis merits some challenge, perhaps reconsideration. As Christians especially, in a secular world, we need to become informed, thoughtful, careful, and ready to defend our unique worldview. And in applying that to discernment and decision-making about which college(s) and universities might be better (not best …) than others for specific individuals in light of their either current or desired Christianity or at least higher education from a Christian perspective. </p>

<p>Do I think Wheaton is a great school and a great Christian college? Yes. Do I think Gordon, Grove City, Trevecca Nazarene, Lee, or other Christian colleges are great, perhaps even “better” for specific individuals. Absolutely. </p>

<p>What’s the point(s)? My POV would be to not conclude better or otherwise based upon standardized test mean scores. They are not very meaningful or important beyond both decribing, and unfortunately determining to a degree, the student body’s academic preparation and/or ability. And what that really points to, for most, is that we are deciding this based upon how we want the world to label us (or our children) vs. where they are being called for God’s purpose. That can be more challenging and important, imo.</p>

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<p>Well put. I agree.</p>