I got a good financial aid package from Soka and I like the size and location, but I read a lot of articles online saying that they were indoctrinating students to SGI (Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist sect) or were discriminating against non-SGI students. I also read it was a bit of a personality cult for its founder, Daisaku Ikeda. I couldn’t find any recent (within the last 5 years) articles about SGI at Soka so I was wondering if it’s changed at all.
Can any current or recent former students or staff members speak to what student life is like at Soka? Is there anything sketchy going on that you noticed? Did you ever feel pressured to join SGI? Were/are you hesitant for any reason to criticize the school and Ikeda? Did you feel your post graduate opportunities were limited because you weren’t part of SGI? Anything else you think a prospective student should know?