Under “Methodology,” it explains how everything is rated! I would recommend anyone looking at the ratings to delve deeper into each specific one and see if it poses a concern to them as a prospective student––definitely varies by person with their threshold.
1 Like
Davidson and Richmond are a strict no-go according to this conservative law professor’s watchlist.
2 Likes
Bubble??? why??? how rude!
5 Likes
Funny how that works 
11 Likes
Other than the fact that women and black people were historically denied access to education, I see your point.
An interesting discussion could be had today about whether the historical underpinnings for the existence of the Seven Sisters and HBCUs continue to support the need for these institutions, and whether there are other, more contemporary, justifications, or not.
But that doens’t make it the same as what’s been discussed here.
FWIW, I probably wouldn’t use “bubble” for the first two requirements, but the “woke” comment does lend itself to that kind of interpretation.
4 Likes
Honestly, in my opinion, I think these are all VERY similar. Maybe a smidge more liberal at one than the others, but still comparable. I would probably look at major and other factors at this point, unless you solely want to find which one is a bit more conservative.
I looked at the Federal Election Commission (amazing site where you can search up companies and see where their employees contributed to…or just individuals in general if that floats your boat), and I examined Furman, Richmond, and Davidson.
Link I used (this has Richmond pre-selected and all my filters, but you can add the others): Browse Individual contributions | FEC
I can count on my hand how many donations were to a Republican on a presidential authorized committee. The professors at all these options % wise are all very similar ideologically if I had to guess.
Student body may be a bit different. But professors, in my opinion, don’t vary much institution to institution with these three.
And of course, not everything should just be based off of what presidential campaign professors from these schools donated to, but it reveals something. Take a look at Hillsdale College, and those are literally all donations to Trump. Baylor University––much more Trump than the three aforementioned options. Washington and Lee (small LAC), again, I see more Trump than Davidson, Furman, and Richmond. At those three it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack when looking at the database for donations to Trump. All three are comparable and it’s not an overwhelming difference.
4 Likes
I don’t see Davidson as reputationally “far beyond” Richmond. Richmond is a very good school. I know less about Furman.
2 Likes
Colleges that are "bubbles" is a continuation of this discussion, which probably is not too relevant for the specific student in this thread.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing. The rankings were interesting. I didn’t dig in, but I assume that a yellow school ranked higher than another yellow school was thought to be more tolerant of opposing POV. Is that right?
NVM. I re-read your post. Agreed, that thread won’t be of interest to this student.
The “interesting discussion” you are suggesting is in the other thread, since it probably is not of interest to the specific student in this thread.
1 Like
Right. I read over the “this student” part of your post. I was just responding to the notion that all-women’s or HBCUs are “bubble” colleges, and was trying to distinguish those schools and their history from the current day practice of shopping for politics when picking a school. Said another way, the history of those schools and why we have them is a bit more involved than contemporary politics.
1 Like
Wow folks. I’m pretty amazed at how quickly this thread devolved into debate. Plus, it’s really hit on almost everything that typically gets these types of threads shut down. The main problem is that the majority of posts on this thread are bordering on violations of Forum Rules in one way or another. Or, the posts are off topic.
I don’t have time to edit or delete every post that is problematic. So, going forward, I am asking that people stick to the main question:
Which of the three schools might work best for a friendly Christian kid who leans conservative but is open, and who doesn’t want to rely on Greek life for fun?
Keep politics out of it. Keep anything else that we all know borders on violations of Forum Rules out of it. And to ensure that there is balanced perspective, I am linking this page, which provides more insight to the alleged intentions of FIRE: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - SourceWatch
Posts that don’t comply with Forum Rules will be deleted or heavily edited. Thanks for your cooperation. Forum Rules | College Confidential
12 Likes
hi there! are you able to discuss how conservative your son necessarily is? is he socially conservative? fiscally conservative? both? at all three of these schools, i can see fiscal conservative ideologies being “tolerated” (as you say he wants), and i can even see them being embraced by various students as well. however, if he is socially conservative (i.e., he does not agree with same-sex marriage), i can see it being a problem at all three. demographically speaking, young people at most institutions are far more likely to agree with socially progressive policies, and i do not think furman, richmond, and davidson are any different in that regard.
fwiw, when i was thinking of transferring to another institution during the beginning of COVID to be closer to home, i went through the process with davidson, and during my (informal) interview with a current student, he explained to me that, to him, davidson was rather middle of the road and not as incredibly liberal as many may believe. greek life is noticeable, and many students come from the south. i don’t want to potentially sell a false narrative, but i do think davidson’s “wokeness” oftentimes gets overstated, and that scares some people off. it’s a wonderful school and an academic powerhouse with D1 sports.
this may sound trite, but he will find his people no matter which school he goes to. he will also find people who will challenge him no matter which school he goes to. however, i totally understand political environment being a factor in choosing a college (it was for me!), and with that being said, i think he’d get the best of both worlds in terms of academics and the kind of political environment he’s wanting at richmond.
9 Likes
In considering the University of Richmond, note that, officially, it maintains one of the few coordinate college relationships remaining in the nation.* Your son would attend Richmond College, for men, alongside students attending Westhampton College, for women. Although most UR students regard these undergraduate colleges as essentially fully integrated in practice, your son may appreciate the adherence to tradition that this nomimal separation represents.
*The others, I believe, consist of HWS, Saint John’s/Benedict and Yeshiva/Stern.
1 Like
Since I posted my note two hours ago, I have hidden four posts, all of which were either off topic or inflammatory.
Please stick to the topic of the post: Which of the three schools might work best for a friendly Christian kid who leans conservative but is open, and who doesn’t want to rely on Greek life for fun?
5 Likes
I agree that Furman and the Greenville area is going to be more conservative Christian.
If you’d like another to consider you could look at Campbell University in NC. It’s not as prestigious as Davidson but is generally regarded as a good school. It is strongly Christian but not as far right as Liberty. It is definitely conservative though. It has a law school and an Osteopathic Med School.
3 Likes
This might be the most enlightened post that I’ve had the joy to read on CC. I’d say that in @A2TwinMom 's case, Furman was more than just a “university” but an amazing, life-affirming experience. Sounds like a great school.
4 Likes
Aw, thank you so much! For me Furman really was an amazing, life-affirming, and transformative experience. I’m so excited that my DS22 has just about decided it’s the right place for him.
@Nattyloo32 Don’t know if you have plans to take your son to an Admitted Students event, but my son found the one we went to a couple of weeks ago super helpful. There’s one more later this month, on April 25.
I will pick several Christ-centered colleges within Missouri.
Southwest Baptist University
Missouri Baptist University
College of the Ozarks
1 Like