<p>Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful! I love College Confidential...</p>
<p>I've given away my son's college guides so I don't know if she'd be in the running for St. Olaf in MN. It's a Lutheran school, beautiful campus--it's in "Colleges That Change Lives". There are colleges named Concordia that are Lutheran I think that may not be extreme--one of my brothers went to one of them. The book, "Choosing the Right College" has a sort of religious, right-leaning perspective that may be helpful. It was in our public library.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between Christian schools and schools that have some church affiliation.</p>
<p>Christian schools often require students to sign a statement of faith and the essays often require that you talk about your faith. They require attendance at chapel, etc. In contrast, church affiliated schools such as Notre Dame etc. don't have any such requirements.</p>
<p>Wheaton does have a very good reputation but is hard to get into. Grove City likewise. </p>
<p>I know a student who attends Calvin (Michigan) and loves it. She's quirky, dyes her hair pink sometimes and other colors, has some piercings but does not feel out of place there (of course, she's Christian). Another student I know is looking at Hope in Michigan. Eastern University outside of Philadelphia has a lovely campus and is somewhat more diverse and less strict than some of the other schools. It's close to train station that enables students to get into Phila; it also connects Amtrak for transportation all over the country. I know a lot of students from Eastern and they're a nice group. Messiah (outside of Harrisburg, PA) has beautiful facilities and dorms but is somewhat isolated.</p>
<p>I know what you mean by creepy - but none of the above are creepy. However, I believe that Wheaton only within the past 10 years allowed boys and girls to dance together, which seems extreme to me.</p>
<p>I accept your apology. I didnt go to Liberty, my kid is not there, and I am not of that particular faith. I just get my hair raised up when people make value judgements based on their own bias about a school, often based on nothing but innuendo and hearsay, without ever going to visit that school, talking to anyone who is there etc. </p>
<p>Further, its not disingenuous to call someone out on that point and at the same time tell them they are entitled to their point of view. If you grasp what I am saying is that you are entitled to THINK what you want about a school or a school culture, but another altogether to go on a website and start throwing rocks at it. Just because you didnt like it or disagree with their policies does not give you that right. If it were me, I would simply say, "it may have a restrictive culture or policies that are not of my liking" or similar comments. Or "too conservative for me." </p>
<p>Point in fact, there are a number of schools out there that we (my kid + parents) thought precisely that and chose not to apply. THere were several that were "too liberal" as well. </p>
<p>But I see that the OP did not wish to offend me or anyone.</p>
<p>I think one of the things that makes this country so GREAT is our freedom to choose among 3,000 colleges in the United States. We arent forced into state schools or private schools with a particular culture or influence. If you make a wrong choice, you can choose to leave. But we should celebrate the diversity of ideas and cultures out there, even if they are not our own particular brand of religion or culture.</p>
<p>That is all.</p>
<p>Have a good day and enjoyable college search. The really GREAT news is there really are many, many "christian" colleges of all flavors, sizes, and cultural experiences out there. I wish for you that you find the "perfect fit."</p>
<p>'I've given away my son's college guides so I don't know if she'd be in the running for St. Olaf in MN. It's a Lutheran school, beautiful campus--it's in "Colleges That Change Lives".'</p>
<p>Plus, St. Olaf produced TWO Rhodes scholars this year.</p>
<p>Wheaton College (IL) is one of the best schools in the country. It is also extremely Christian. Grove City is a very good school and more liberally Christian. </p>
<p>Cedarville (OH) is an amazing school. I have spent time there and LOVE it. It is far from fundamental but very conservative. Taylor (IN) is small but nice, and IN Wesleyan has one of the most amazing campuses I have ever seen. I have friends at Asuza Pacific (CA) and Master's (CA) who love them. I also have friends who enjoy Gordon (MA) and Houghton (NY) is well-respected inside and outside the Christian college community. </p>
<p>Bible college does not equal Christian college.</p>
<p>Group of Ohio Scientists Endorses Lesson Plan to Critically Analyze Evolution
CSC</a> - Group of Ohio Scientists Endorses Lesson Plan to Critically Analyze Evolution The Ohio scientists add that "Allowing students to study
disagreements over parts of evolutionary theory is a healthy part of a first-rate science education. Censoring such disagreements from the classroom would be a disservice to genuine science and a setback to good science education." Many of the Ohio scientists are signers of the national "Scientific Dissent from Darwin" </p>
<p>Proceedings of the First Conference on Creation Geology:
<a href="http://www.cedarville.edu/departments/er/geology/abstractbook.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.cedarville.edu/departments/er/geology/abstractbook.pdf</a></p>
<p>I'm with reasonwhy... you can easily tell what are the colleges that many consider 'creepy' by their websites. Just look at their mission, vision and code of conduct. The code of conduct will often give it away, and yes, they are about controlling every minute detail of the student's lives. They tell you specifically what kind of music you can and cannot listen to, what kind of movies are OK (sometimes not even PG-13), how you must wear your hair, piercings, dress code, etc. Many allow no dancing at all, not even liturgical dancing. There's a BIG difference between these fundamentalist colleges and other Catholic and Protestant universities/colleges that were founded as part of missions. I can't remember which one, but one of these colleges even forbids contemporary Christian music.</p>
<p>I don't understand paying that kind of money to send my kid to a school where, when they graduate, they will have been totally sheltered and not know how to connect with the real world. These places seem more like communes to me with harsh penalties for small indiscretions (don't dare listen to Jars of Clay, or dance with someone at a wedding).</p>
<p>If someone could explain to me how these colleges prepare its students for living in the real world when they graduate, I'd be eternally grateful. Do they offer solid academics? Maybe some do. But I think college is more than just academics and am hoping my kids are getting more bang for our buck than just academics. </p>
<p>I also think it's misleading to assume that because a college has a religious affiliation, that it will expect its students to adhere to certain Christian beliefs. My daughter is attending a small LAC, affiliated with the Lutheran Church - 30% of her school is Jewish, 30% is Catholic, 30% is Protestant, and the remaining 10% does not align themselves with any religion. But the best way to discover the narrowness and strictness of a college is to look at its mission statement, code of conduct and find out if students are required to sign a statement of faith when applying.</p>
<p>As others have said, it depends upon the definition of Christian. I assume that you, based on the original post, can suggest to her Church affiliated schools rather than Church directed schools. </p>
<p>In that case, it may be worth looking at some of the jesuit schools like Regis, Fairfield, Fordham, Loyola, Creighton, Univ Detroit Mercy, Canisius, Xavier, John Carroll, Gonzaga, Marquette, Wheeling Jesuit, and others of varying competitiveness.</p>
<p>Others that are more relaxed would include: Beloit, Calvin College, Elon, Hillsdale, Hope, Muhlenberg, Olivet, Seattle Pacific, Trinity, and Ursinus.</p>
<p>"Second, Liberty is not 'creepy.""</p>
<p>Of course, creepiness is in the eye of the beholder...I do think that a close affiliation with a particular individual fundamentalist evangelist creates the kind of environment that turns a lot of people off--i.e., Liberty, ORU, Bob Jones, and Regent all share this.</p>
<p>Cathfishin, thank you for your excellent posts. You're right of course, I should think more carefully about my wording in the future.</p>
<p>In my own defense, it wasn't because I don't know about colleges like Liberty that I called it creepy. I'm homeschooled, and both my family and the vast majority of my friends are conservative evangelical Christians. Most of my friends are going to a Bible college, and one of my good friends recently told me excitedly about Pensacola Christian College and how wonderfully Christian it was. (Pensacola makes Liberty look like Antioch or Berkeley. They have seperate elevators for men and women.) I felt free to categorize it as creepy because I know the sorts of people who go there, and they are generally creepy. It was still unnecessarily inflammatory of course, but it wasn't based on ignorance.</p>
<p>And again, thanks for all the suggestions everyone!</p>
<p>I have two cousins who went to Presbyterian College and they both liked it. They are both evangelical Christians and one home-schools her children.</p>
<p>In New York there is Houghton, Roberts Weslyan, and Cansius. They are all great schools. Also there is Oral Roberts out west. You can also try mycollegeguide.org to look for Christian Colleges</p>
<p>Washington & Jefferson in SW PA is a very nice LAC which is nominally protestant (with lots of Catholics). Very nice small school.</p>
<p>I'd look at Messiah. From what I understand, it's religious enough to have mandatory chapel, but I know of some fairly mainstream kids that go there. Check the SAT's to be sure it would be a match.</p>
<p>Messiah is extremely expensive for what it offers... and its reputation. If the OP's friend's parents are requiring a Christian school, they may very well not allow Messiah, as it is barely Christian and some of its teachings are actually considered heretical by the mainstream church.</p>
<p>Oral Roberts = Liberty as far as creepiness goes.</p>
<p>Christendom College in Virginia
Thomas Aquinas in California
University of Dallas</p>
<p>"Creepy" is a loaded word, but my reaction to the post was positive. There are some great Christian colleges. I suspect a good number of them are pretty rigid. Where being rigin crosses over into being creepy will be up to the prospective student.
Have Whitworth and Pepperdine been mentioned? I noticed Seattle Pacific was.<br>
I think many church-affiliated colleges try to promote Christian values but do not doctrine. Most Christian students can go to those colleges and know they won't be looked down on for their faith. Non-christians can also be comfortable at those colleges. But doctrine is important to some students and/or their parents. And spiritual safety. And spiritual growth. That's the niche "Christian" colleges fill. Some of those colleges strike many of us as "creepy" when they act to meet those objectives. But others think their positions reflect integrity and that they are a prudent choice.</p>
<p>How can ultra-conservative Christian schools be considered "creepy?" Here's an analogy that gives me the creeps. When George W. Bush was apparently looking for intelligence info to support an invasion of Iraq and was told that Iraq has not stockpiled weapons of mass destruction, he allegedly responded that that was the wrong answer. His search for information was not aimed at uncovering the truth but at compiling data with a great enough degree of "truthiness" to justify a conclusion that he'd already reached. Our nation is now having to cope with the horrific consequences of manipulating a supposed quest for truth which was, in fact, anything but objective.</p>
<p>Ultra-conservative evangelical schools do something similar. By pre-deciding the "truth" in response to matters for which there is no conclusive evidence, they train their students to discard or misinterpret anything they may discover that conflicts with that dogma. Their internal politics violate academic freedom, and in the process, create graduates who go out into the world and support candidates or gain offices themselves for the primary purpose of bending the truth to their own dogmatic ends. So yes, I think that universities that practice indoctrination under the guise of real intellectual inquiry can fairly be labeled "creepy."</p>