<p>Some level setting. I am the father of five children and by profession a SVP of Human Resources. I have two children in college today Wheaton College in Illinois and the U.S. Air Force Academy. We are of an evangelical Christian faith and politically conservative.</p>
<p>I have traveled in my career to dozens to more than 100 Colleges and Universities and even with my own children more than ten formal visits as a parent. I utilize US News, Forbes, Princeton Review, and more. I have come to be biased by faculty to student Ratios, freshmen retention, and graduation rates. I am equally biased against IVY League undergraduate schools based on their liberal out of touch with reality views, anti-Christian positioning, and more than anything else I do not see an economic value proposition for most families. I do see great value at the graduate level for name school education in many disciplines.</p>
<p>I have also come to realize that college choices have the most to do with each individual student their wants, needs, areas of interests and academic abilities. An insight is that family income below $100K leads to lots of need based scholarship opportunity, but upper middle incomes of above $100K to $300K really find college expensive. Academic versus need based scholarships are more limited and the cost of college is mind bending expensive. However, through various ways of financing an education more often than not a private school can be less expensive than many state schools that really only help the lowest income levels with aid. Christian colleges can be an excellent choice for many of us.</p>
<p>Sadly, when it comes to Christian Colleges many are more like Church Camp than a disciplined quality education that can compete with secular school options. Also many Christian Colleges are very loosely aligned with Christian faith, which has some market appeal but misses the point of living your life for Christ in all that you do with a Biblical foundation.</p>
<p>Here are the Christian Colleges I can recommend:</p>
<p>Baylor, Bethel, Calvin, Cedarville, Grove City, Olivet Nazarene, Taylor, Westmont, and Wheaton. (Not exhaustive as there are schools like Northwestern College in Iowa I do not know as much about but I speculate would grow my list.)</p>
<p>Other Non-Christian colleges I have recent insight into are:</p>
<p>Hillsdale, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, Texas A & M, Truman State, University of Northern Iowa, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine, and Wake Forest. Plus West Point (Army); Annapolis (Navy); and the U.S. Air Force Academy.</p>
<p>Princeton Review provides a selectivity profile ranking from 60 to 99, with higher scores equaling a higher the academic profile with close correlation to the degree of difficulty for admission. </p>
<p>In order: Vanderbilt 99; Air Force 98; West Point 97; Northwestern 97; Navy 95; Wheaton 94; Pepperdine 94; Wake Forest 94; Grove City 93; U of W Madison 93; Hillsdale 92; Truman State 91; Westmont 89; Cedarville 88; Taylor 86; Baylor 83; Texas A & M 83; Olivet 82; Bethel 82; and U of No. Iowa 75.</p>
<p>As you can see the Christian Colleges hold their own with secular schools in attracting a quality student with high academic profiles. Utilizing the US News ranking the only two Christian Schools with National ranking in their top 100 are Baylor University and Wheaton College.</p>
<p>Baylor University Waco, TX</p>
<p>14,000 students; 12,000 Undergrad; Division 1 Athletics; 100 plus majors; Beautiful Campus; and excellent reputation for employment and graduate school. Outstanding academic as well as need based financial aid. (34,000 applicants for 3,800 spots)</p>
<p>We came to Baylor due to their top 10 ranking in undergraduate engineering and the number one ranked Air Force ROTC unit in the country. We found the faculty to be Biblically based, pragmatic, and well educated. Much criticism comes to Baylor on their varied views of evolution and the fact that their student body does not have to be Christian to attend. Many students are not Christian but most are and the Faculty is required to be believers, with exceptions for guest lecturers. The only negative is the distance to Waco which is 100 miles south of Dallas. Whether I am New York on business or anywhere else in the planet when the name Baylor University comes up I hear the same phrase Baylor, that is a great school! </p>
<p>Wheaton College in Illinois</p>
<p>3,000 students; 2,400 Undergrad; Division 3 Athletics; Outstanding Facilities; Outstanding Faculty; Number 39 out of all colleges in SAT scores; Top 10 in nation for percentage of students that go on to graduate school; Top 25 in nation for students who graduate in four years. (2,600 applicants for 580 spots, but only 1 out of 4 women are accepted with entering class 50/50 male and female.) Top 25% of students at or above 32 for ACT and 1430 for SAT.</p>
<p>Wheaton academics are not for the faint of heart. While 88% graduate in four years the tone is competitive in the classroom and accepting & nurturing in all other aspects. The students are bright but know how to have fun. 14 hours of required Bible. More of a reformed bent within faculty but students come from all denominations. Wheaton has a rich endowment and provides for more than 95% of need based aid but has very limited academic scholarships. </p>
<p>Cedarville University Ohio</p>
<p>3,200 students; 3,000 undergrad; Division 2 Athletics; 60 plus majors; One of the Best College Presidents in Nation (my opinion); Biblically sound and extremely Market Focused with high placement of graduates.</p>
<p>Cedarville has it all from business, to nursing, to engineering. Great facilities; nurturing environment, and a great economic value proposition. Students work hard but their profile represents that while most of their students are very bright, the bottom 25% may be more challenged to finish college. Which is kind of the point as the whole school is fulltime dedicated to student success. This school is extremely student focused while uncompromising on the work required to succeed. While the facilities are exceptional the setting is often referred to as being in the middle of a corn field with the largest city close to them being Dayton, 25 miles away. The student satisfaction has been measured against more than 300 comparably sized schools, Christian and secular, to be the absolute number one. The school is an often overlooked gem.</p>
<p>Calvin College Michigan</p>
<p>4,000 students most undergrad; Division 3 Athletics; Best facilities! Passionate faculty!</p>
<p>Calvin is worth checking into as I found them to be disciplined & organized, welcoming; with evidence of academic success and great job and graduate school placement.
They were generous with multiple scholarships from academics to recognition for community/church involvement. Their core curriculum was the best I have seen at any college for a liberal arts foundation with real world application. Their campus and facilities are a big wow! Their faculty was amazingly student focused and I saw true Christian insight and depth.</p>
<p>My caution is their reformed identity is very denominational but they spend great efforts to say it doesnt matter what your spiritual focus is as all Christians are welcome Huh? Also without a doubt their faculty is more politically liberal than most found on Christian campuses. A great deal of emphasis is on serving the world for Christ, which is admirable but they are Bible light in their practices. Still I could not give up on this school because I saw so much wonderful and solid opportunity for students on so many levels. And as an added plus I know so many of their alumni who are spiritually grounded, passionate for the Lord, and are extremely successful in the world economy. (They love Calvin!)</p>
<p>Grove City College - Pennsylvania</p>
<p>2,600 undergrad students; Campus looks and feels like Princeton (a good thing!)</p>
<p>I will start with my negative. I found Grove to be more politically conservative than Christian in their applications and practices. But wow what a school! The cost is half most Christian Colleges and attracts some of the brightest students only slightly behind Wheaton in profile. The students are active and engaged in the world and in learning. The school has an intense core curriculum and prides itself in not providing grade inflation. Their job placement process starts with their freshman in helping them see their strengths and match them with their interests with great results. They have a wide degree of majors including engineering and keep their student boy/girl ratio at 50/50. Because of the low financial cost and having a great school they are hard to gain acceptance. If you have the brains to get in, it is hard to top this school for having all you need to prepare for careers and/or graduate studies.</p>
<p>Westmont College California</p>
<p>1,350 undergrad students; Campus in Santa Barbara Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean</p>
<p>For a small school they have their act together. The price tag, while scary is offset with generous academic as well as need based scholarships. Started as a Wheaton clone but now has its own identity. Campus was caught in a fire and has been rebuilt with wonderful facilities. Known for great faculty and students from every corner of the earth. Psychology is one of their strengths and their students overall are very competitive in the marketplace upon graduation. </p>
<p>Olivet Nazarene Illinois</p>
<p>This is the only college I can recommend without having personally been on the campus. My daughter went there with her church group and was impressed with their caring and comprehensive academic choices. They offered her huge academic scholarships that would have brought our total outlay to less than $12,000 per year all in. (Tempting)</p>
<p>I researched the school and know several of their alumni. The school is comprehensive, student focused, Christ honoring, and well financed that shows in their campus and programs. The academic profile of the students is the lowest of schools I would recommend but higher than any state school in Wisconsin except their flag ship in Madison. I got the sense I would trust them to with my childs education and they have lots of majors to choose from. Their alumni are passionate about this school.</p>
<p>Taylor University - Indiana</p>
<p>2,800 undergrads & Amazing Faculty</p>
<p>The negatives are the campus is in the middle of nowhere and more than any school I would recommend it had a flavor of running more like a Church Camp than a University. However, the academic profile is high, the academics are exceptional and US News has consistently ranked Taylor as the number one school in the Midwest.</p>
<p>We met and saw the most comprehensive writing program that has students published and paid starting in their freshman year. By the time they graduate some had more than 100 published articles and one student sold a book for movie rights in the six figure neighborhood. The whole Taylor experience is connected to the world economy and making a difference in the world for Christ. Their chapel services are spectacular bringing in speakers from around the globe and a time of worship. Taylor may be the most Christ focused of any campus we visited without a whiff of legalism. The campus while well equipped is not pretty with buildings but the mission, the comprehensive educational opportunities, and the passionate student body makes this a great choice to consider.</p>
<p>Bethel University Minnesota</p>
<p>3,600 undergrads, 1,800 adult education; and 1,200 graduate and seminary students</p>
<p>Every Bethel student I know whether current or alumni love this school. They have extensive majors, good facilities, and attract a solid academic profile student body. They are Biblically centered but more liberal than all but Calvin in my summary. While they participate in ROTC through neighboring schools it is clear they are biased towards an anti-war sentiment and less patriotic flavor than most Christian schools. Their legacy however is very conservative and I sense they are experiencing more of a changing of the guard with their new president. </p>
<p>The campus came across as a fun place to study with lots of majors to choose from and students that are serious about life, athletic, artistic, and engaged. They put great emphasis on their students studying overseas. And my oldest was offered great academic scholarship support.</p>
<p>Comments on other Non-Christine Schools:</p>
<p>University of Wisconsin Madison</p>
<p>30,600 undergrads; 12,000 grad; The Flag Ship of Wisconsin</p>
<p>We live in suburban Milwaukee and my children attend (past and present) a large public high school with a graduating class of 560. The HS is known for having the second highest ACT scores for public schools in the state and more than 90% of their graduates go to college. Out the 560 graduates more than 200 apply to Madison and this last year only 27 were accepted. There is really no close second for state schools in Wisconsin. My business actively recruits Actuarial students from Madison and their graduates tend to be viewed as bright and motivated. People in Wisconsin talk of Madison like people on the east coast talk about Harvard, Princeton and Yale but what are the facts?</p>
<p>Less than 50% of UW Madison students graduate in four years. A full 30% dont make it from their freshman to sophomore year. Princeton Review lists them favorably for their library, school newspaper, and undergrad entrepreneurial business program but also ranks them high in top ten for being LGBT friendly, and having lots of beer and hard liquor. This year they failed to make the top 10 for Party Schools coming in at number 14. I meet many a refined adult who are alumni of Madison and more often than not, they have a drinking story or two highlighting their college career. Abortions are state funded and available on campus; the only infant stem cell research funded by government dollars is at Madison, and if you go to one of their home football games a tradition is to chant loud and clear obscenities including the F word back and forth with great pride. Liberal yes! Yet they are known for research innovation, medical discovery, business best practices, and political engagements (having a real voice) that help shape America. While politically to the left, we know some very conservative and Christian people that go to and attend UW Madison with pride.</p>
<p>My opinion it takes a very special student to survive and thrive in their environment. It would be easy to get lost, easy to fail, and easy to walk away from Christian values. The faculty to student ratio is 17 to 1 and will increase to 20 to 1 due to budget cuts. Wheaton is at 10 to 1 and Vanderbilt is at 7 to 1. No school I am commenting on has a higher ratio. Though in the eye of the beholder whether good or bad only about 15 to 20% of UW Madison graduates ever get a masters degree compared to over 70% of Wheaton grads. It is hard to see the magic that holds Madison in such high regard. And, while their sports are awesome in last years Rose Bowl I supported TCU(the winner) which was viewed a being from the lowly Mountain West Conference and not worthy of the Big 10. Sadly, that same attitude is view that holds Madison in such high regard academically with blinders to the facts of a quality education.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt University Tennessee
7,000 undergrad; 5,000 grad; One of the most selective schools in America AND
Wake Forest University North Carolina
4,600 undergrad; 2,000 grad</p>
<p>If you are looking for Ivy League status without some of the hard left politics issues both schools are premier academic powerhouses. Their students are extraordinarily bright, balanced, and engaged in the world. Neither school is conservative per se nor Christian but you can be both and be welcome and fully embraced in the classroom and not be painted as being part of the lunatic fringe. </p>
<p>Both schools are known as a rich kids schools but their endowments are humongous allowing exceptional need based and academic scholarships. Too heavy on the sorority and fraternity life in my opinion but both schools are worth consideration. Comparing with Madison their Faculty/Student ratios are under 10, not 20. More than 90% graduate in four years and more than 90% move from the freshman to sophomore years. (Vs. 50% and 70% at UW) Vanderbilt is more elite, but both are very similar and quite spectacular at what they do.</p>
<p>Pepperdine University California</p>
<p>This school is in the most beautiful setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, CA. It is well funded and disciplined in their approach to education. While conservative I do not consider them to be a Christian school as there is little Bible and little spiritual focus. The name of this school is big and while most of America has heard of it few really understands what is unique about it. If you approach it as a well run school and are willing to pay a big price tag to go to school in paradise this is a valid option. </p>
<p>Truman State University Missouri
University of Northern Iowa
Texas A & M</p>
<p>These schools have little in common other than they are well run, have great student options, and are gems in their own way. Truman is a state school with high academics and a low price tag for even out of state students. U of No Iowa is probably the best school I could find with almost everything you could place on a campus with good student outcomes but for students with a lower academic profile. Texas A & M makes you proud to be an American. Heavy into ROTC, all branches and really good academics and also surprisingly affordable for even out of state students.</p>
<p>Northwestern University Illinois</p>
<p>Academically this school is world renowned but very liberal and very much aligned with most Ivy League schools for bad, not the good. We could not shake this school as we have family ties so we visited the campus twice. On our first visit the school newspaper ran a front page article on a presentation given on campus advocating that if women learns to better self please themselves sexually their could be free from the bonds and burdens of being weighed down by a significant other or worse yet a spouse. Upon our second visit the campus was in controversy over a psychology professor that hired a couple to demonstrate live deviant sex practices in the classroom. However, the school has a history of their graduates going on to great things in society. It is tough to gain admission and most parents see their kids attendance as a seal of success. I see Northwestern being a better option if at all for graduate school as many undergrad classes have teacher assistants and grad students teaching. Their esteemed faculty is often on the road giving talks and not in the classroom.</p>
<p>Hillsdale College Michigan
1,300 undergraduates</p>
<p>Hillsdale is not a Christian College though Christianity is well accepted and even embraced. They are more aligned with fighting for religious freedom for all types of beliefs but are predominately protestant and catholic. Hillsdale is very conservative politically and teach a classical liberal arts model. They are well disciplined and like Grove City College do not accept any government funding. They have managed to accumulate one of the largest endowments of any college in America their size and as a result attract a top quality student and faculty. They teach and preach free market economics which is sorely needed on the college campus in this day and age.</p>
<p>When we visited they had an engaging student panel of five students that talked of the joys and challenges of a Hillsdale education. Also like Grove City, they too pride themselves on no grade inflation. At the end of the presentation the students being seniors were asked where they were heading in the next year two were off to Harvard Law School. (HLS shows their feeder schools and I recently looked against all the schools that I have referenced Hillsdale had 3; Wheaton 2; Grove City, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt each had 1.) Hillsdale, like Wheaton, expects more than 2/3s of their students to go on to graduate school in less than 10 years after graduation.</p>
<p>Hillsdale in many respects is a late bloomer as their college rankings over the last 5 or 6 years have soared. They are very competitive to get into and their graduates do well in all walks of life. And their financial aid in all respects is excellent.</p>
<p>U.S. Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO
U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
U.S. Military Academy West Point, NY</p>
<p>Unlike other universities if you are accepted you pretty much go. Each has about 4,200 students with high academic profiles, good athletic abilities, and resume of community involvement second to none. The Cadets and Midshipmen are paid to go to school but each has a minimum of 5 years post graduation service obligation. The academics are very technical in nature with science and engineering being dominant and unavoidable even if you ultimately major in English. They are evaluated on everything academics 60% weight; military proficiency 30%; and athletic performance 10%. They pretty much go to school year around but they also get to see the world as they study. While the classroom experience would rival an MIT or the California Institute of Technology their experiences overall do not look and feel little like any other school.</p>
<p>Our oldest is in his third year at the Air Force Academy and all we can say is wow! He has traveled the US extensively, been to Japan, and been involved with projects for NASA. And, I am biased that it should be on every Americans bucket list to see a service academy football game when they play each other. Jet fly overs, parachuting on the field, Cadets and Midshipmen marching onto the field in formation at the beginning and their schools hymns at the end. In the middle you will witness the most exciting football known to man, with enthusiasm second to none unique in tone and delivery.</p>
<p>There is no free ride in their journey. They earn their education and commission through hard work. They come to serve their country. Yes, many come to fly jets but many of them end up dying for our Country too. Make no mistake, the service academy route is a road that only makes sense for a few some of the finest young men and women I have ever come to know.</p>
:rolleyes: “Ah, don’t worry about it. Do 10 hail Mary’s, 20 push-ups, and pretend you’re Rudy.”</p>