<p>I haven’t heard of Belhaven. Where is it?</p>
<p>My D is at GCC. She doesn’t complain about any rules, but then she’s happy to pop into chapel twice/week and she’s not a partier. Applicants do not have to sign a statement of faith, so there are students from different (or no) religious persuasions. The only thing she complains about is the workload. She never had to study much in high school (even for AP classes), but she’s studying at GCC.</p>
<p>Belhaven is in Jackson, MS</p>
<p>[Belhaven</a> College Christian Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.belhaven.edu%5DBelhaven”>http://www.belhaven.edu)</p>
<p>What about Hope College in Holland, MI?</p>
<p>oops…I see that you’ve already considered it…</p>
<p>She’s definitely applying to Hope, Wheaton, Calvin and debating whether to apply to taylor, Grove City, Pepperdine, and Gordon. She’s a good Lacrosse player so it’s a shame most don’t have lax teams. And, she may want to major in Art. So she’s having a tough time knowing what would be a good fit. A good Christian college w/ good Art Dept., a good national reputation would be nice, and a lax team would be a bonus. People in New York are Obsessed w/ school names so she wouldn’t make a decision based on that but it’s nice they’ve at least heard of Pepperdine out here.</p>
<p>We do know Hope has a nationally accredited Art program but don’t know the qualities of the other schools programs.</p>
<p>I also wonder if some of the bigger universities have good intervarsity or christian clubs and you could still have a good experience as a Christian at them. Alot of the stories I hear from my older kids friends make it sound like you’d be very out of it if you weren’t partying alot.</p>
<p>I know several students from the East. About 50% of students are out of state.</p>
<p>Several very smart, athletic kids from a couple of very committed Christian families that I know have gone to Taylor. I don’t know anything about it, and it isn’t mentioned much here for some reason. But these are strong students–and nice kids–who probably could have gotten in to some elite secular LACs and universities.</p>
<p>In response to your initial concern, I don’t think lack of involvement in youth group will be that much of a hindrance to your daughter’s admission at Wheaton. They’re more interested in your actual faith (as explained in one of the essays, and perhaps discussed in the interview) and your desire to grow spiritually. I wasn’t overly involved in my youth group–I was also a two sport varsity athlete, which makes it difficult to attend regularly. The only way it could possibly impact her negatively is if the committee gets the impression that faith isn’t that important to her, or if she has a negative pastor’s recommendation.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. she applied but hasn’t had time for an interview due to soccer which finally ended. Do you recommend she go to Wheaton and interview?</p>
<p>I went to school at Palm Beach Atlantic and loved it. My parents took me to go see Taylor, Cedarville, plus legalistic schools like Pensacola Christian. I fell in love with PBA and not just the physical setting. It was a school that was a perfect transition into adulthood. It was a Christian atmosphere but not everyone that attended there was a believer. I was also in the honors program and had to work my rear off. I felt like I was really challenged academically. Feel free to ask me any questions about PBA.</p>
<p>Is Pepperdine’s student body really that spiritually focused? I thought it was more of a rich kid’s school ( a beautiful place for nice, attractive kids from affluent families). I read on an online review somewhere that off campus there is a big party scene for students as long as they can get transportation. Does any of this ring true?</p>
<p>I’m 30 minutes from Pepperdine. </p>
<p>30% of the student body is legit, the other 70% is a mixed bag of normal college kids. The “wealthy” quotient is a little higher than normal, but Pepperdine has its fair share of lower income students like any other college.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that a student with a strong faith will find the activities, friends, and organizations that will sustain and nurture that faith even at a “party school.” My son went to Ohio University, one of the top-ranked fraternity and party schools in the US. Several of his friends were strong Christians when they entered as freshmen… and were the same when they graduated. In a larger school, that just means a larger pool from which to select friends you can hang with.</p>
<p>One thing that also helps find these people is involvement with the campus organization that caters to your particular denomination, as well as off-campus churches. In my case, it was the Wesley Foundation. All of my freshman friends came from that involvement. I still remember my first visit to my very secular school… a whole carload of kids drove by, saw me looking “lost” and came back and pulled over. “Hey,” they shouted, “we’re going to church. Wanna go?” Sure - friends before I even applied there!</p>
<p>So don’t completely rule out secular schools. When you see a sign (like I did at my son’s school) outside a fraternity house that says “Honk and we’ll chug a beer!” it’s easy to know that your kid can EASILY be turned off by that kind of outlandish behavior, just as you and I are turned off by that kind of behavior outside of college.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure Pepperdine also has a women’s lacrosse team, but it maybe a strong club program. I played in high school in Southern California and a few of my teammates were approached by them. It’s a beautiful school with strong recognition in Los Angeles and the south bay. They have a dual program where she can graduate with a BA in art and with her California teaching credentials. </p>
<p>I have a couple of friends at Point Loma in San Diego who love the school. I would say it is slightly more conservative than Pepperdine. I know less about their academics but their reputation is strong.</p>
<p>Is anyone familiar with Westmont? Strongly Christian, or in name only? Academic rigor?</p>
<p>All three of my triplets applied to Pt. Loma. It was the first school we toured, and we all liked it. They offered pretty good scholarships. A lot of kids from our area (25 miles north of Pt. Loma) go there and love it. The faculty panel especially impressed me–they seemed caring and concerned with both the spiritual and academic welfare of the students. We would be happy for our girls to go there.</p>
<p>We just visited Pepperdine last week. We toured the dorms and the campus, but had to leave and missed the faculty panel. Needless to say, it’s gorgeous. They offered our D a nice scholarship/grant/loan package and their broadcast journalism major looks great. The students…not so much…but that was just a first impression. </p>
<p>We did a drive-by of Westmont several years ago, but our oldest daughter ended up going to UCSD (a world apart). Just spoke to an alum this morning about the school; he was very enthusiastic about the academic rigor and Christian focus. It’s in a beautiful area too, although we didn’t look that carefully at the school itself when we were there before. One of our D’s is still considering it, so we should probably make a quick trip to see it. </p>
<p>Other schools our girls are still considering: Hillsdale, Cal Poly, Mt. Holyoke (!!)</p>
<p>Santa clara University – my daugher is considering it because she received a nice scholarship offer. However, I had never heard of it before. Any comments?</p>
<p>Lots of Santa Clara fans on CC, but not so much on the “Christian” forum. More of a Jesuit than a Protestant vibe.Hope I don’t get flamed for that!
Here is a link to the Santa Clara forum.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/santa-clara-university/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/santa-clara-university/</a></p>