My D is a second-year student at ONU. She is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but tells me that there are many religious and many non-religious people there. A student should not find that it is difficult to find others with a similar mindset regarding religion.
I know this reply is too late to help your D, but thought I would reply for others looking at ONU. My daughter is a sophomore in the Dicke School of Business. The business school at ONU is not a large one (less than 300 students), but my daughter has had a great experience. She is impressed with the knowledge and accessibility of her professors, and has had many opportunities to excel. This summer she is interning with an international CPA firm, and feels that this opportunity was available in large part because of ONU. She will be able to graduate in 3 years from college, and spend her 4th year getting her graduate degree in accounting. Overall, she is very pleased with her educational experience.
From a social standpoint, ONU is certainly on the small side. You tend to get to know the other students in your college (which can be good or bad), and know a fairly large percentage of students overall. The housing is good (better each succeeding year). There are a lot of organizations and opportunities to get involved, so the lack of a large college-town atmosphere is not terribly critical.
Overall, my daughter’s biggest complaint is about the meal plan. There aren’t a lot of choices and it is expensive. All in all, her experience has been very positive.