<p>For a long time, I've debated going to a college with the rigor of one in the Ivy League, financial help of a full ride or a Christian College that'll help me grow in my faith. Is there one that gives me the best of all these world's? Which of those would be a priority to YOU?</p>
<p>I think it would be sad if you had to pick one over the other. You can have your faith and rigor in both secular and religious institutions if you choose carefully. </p>
<p>I struggled with secular vs religious and in the end choice secular simply because my major (engineering) is very rare at Christian colleges and I need the scholarships the secular universities offered. In the end however, I believe my faith grew far more attending a secular university than it ever would have in a Christian one.</p>
<p>First of all, if you decide to attend a secular university, make sure you make it a priority to
- Find a good church that will help you grow in your faith and
- a faith group on campus who can relate to you through the unique struggles undergrads face</p>
<p>You must not confuse academic rigor with name-brand power however. Many schools are as or more academic than Ivys but don’t have the name-brand power. So you need to figure out what you really are looking to get from a school.</p>
<p>I believe the choice to attend secular vs religious is an extremely person choice and not one-sized fits all. Anecdotally, I attended a secular university and majored in Engineering. My sister attended a religious university and majored in engineering. I have that the Christians who manage to keep their faith throughout their entire undergrad experience at secular universities are often very strong of faith indeed when they finish. I also discovered however, that many had more liberal or just plain different doctrinal emphasises from when they started to the time they finished. They also had much more opportunities to practice “friendship evangelism”. At the Christian school my sister found that students either left even more convinced their denomination was the only way or that it was completely messed up. A lot of them left as sheltered and ignorant of the non-Christian world as they were when they entered and yet were supposed to be ready to go out and convert the world. (This was a more conservative Christian school)</p>
<p>The bigger the secular school the more likely you will be able to find a group of people from a very similar church background to you (whether or not that is good or bad is your opinion).</p>
<p>Do you know what you are going to major in? If you wanted to major in education or psychology, for instance, many Christian colleges have very rigorous programs in that. But if you want to do Engineering you are more limited (LeTourneau and Grove City Colleges are two options you would have).</p>
<p>One option is, once you know what major you want, go to the library or Barnes and Nobel and pick up a US News and World Reports* and look for top schools in that major (or if its a common major try looking for top schools in your desired geographical region). Then look at those lists for religious schools. Then check out that schools website and contact admissions or a professor you might want to work under and ask questions.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<ul>
<li>I know US News is not the end all be all. But its an easy way to start looking for generally accepted rigorous schools.</li>
</ul>
<p>Cancel, There are Christian College and Universities that do have plenty to offer in both rigor and devotion. However, the rigor comes more so in the degree you choose rather than the school.</p>
<p>I work at Brewton-Parker and our Theology, Psychology and some Business degrees are very strong academically. Others are not as difficult. So like the previous poster said, don’t stick with name brand, do a bit more research and you’ll be surprised what you find.</p>
<p>Catholic: Notre Dame, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Boston College, Villanova, </p>
<p>Protestant: Wheaton, Pepperdine</p>
<p>Are you looking for a Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox/Mormon/Other denomination, or any?</p>
<p>Also, what is your intended major?</p>
<p>
Both were to me, and I did my best to accommodate both. Of course, I would have been willing to go to a secular school with a good religious community, so if the academic disparity is very large, that’s something to consider.</p>
<p>you should check out the templeton honors college at eastern university, near philadelphia, pa. it is a small subset of eastern. you can still major in whatever you choose, but your core classes will be different from what they would be were you not to be in the honors college. they also offer some larger scholarships.</p>
<p>Valparaiso University is where I go. small Lutheran University in Northwest Indiana. I’m studying Electrical Engineering and it’s ridiculously hard. Valpo gave me a presidential scholarship and is most known for their Engineering, meteorology, and nursing programs. Check it out.</p>