Tell me everything you know about all of these schools. My ultimate goal is to become a prominent politician.
This depends on your political views to a certain degree. I’ve not heard of New St. Andrews, but Hillsdale and PHC are promoted as conservative. I considered both, but went to Hillsdale.
Hillsdale: possibly your strongest bet as it has conservative backing, a huge donor base, “Ivy league” standards and excellent internship opportunities in D.C. It has “judeo-christian” values woven throughout much of its promotional material, but you don’t really encounter that once you’re on campus except from other students. This has benefits in the educational materials as well-- no chapel requirements, no bible courses, etc. that can take time away from other core classes/courses in the major. The education that results is sometimes more “libertarian” than conservative. CCA seminars offer opportunities to learn under frequently well respected scholars in different fields, and David McCullough has co-taught a history course or two before. Hillsdale is “conservative” but secular enough and large enough to provide an education that won’t be colored by the political viewpoint.
Patrick Henry: super small. It does have strong connections to Washington D.C. though, to the extent that it’s been called a funnel for internships with conservative politicians and lobbyists. They have an extremely large number of interns in D.C. that is disproportionate to their size. Impressive. They are strictly religious though, and this translates in to some regulation of students’ social lives. This can be appealing to some students but distracting or anxiety inducing to others. Their religious requirements might restrict the pool of faculty they have to choose from, theoretically they may have statistically less renowned faculty than Hillsdale because of this. They’re supposedly more overtly conservative and religious than Hillsdale.
@Elyssa85
What is the “vibe” on campus at Hillsdale? I visited PHC this spring, and loved it. The students there were VERY serious about their academics, and quite conservative. I have heard that Hillsdale tends to be more Libertarian than conservative. Are the students at Hillsdale serious about academics? I EXTREMELY conservative both economically and socially. Would this be fine at Hillsdale? Also, PHC seemed kina preppy which I liked. (when I say preppy, I mean preppy in a classical way. All of the guys were dressed up for class in coat and tie) I am looking for a preppy school. Is Hillsdale preppy? Could I wear a polo and khakis or coat and tie every day, and be fine?
Thanks!
Try not to get this thread shut down and I’ll try torespond tonight.
@NavalTradition
The other thread got blown way out of proportion. This is just a thread about PHC and Hillsdale.
Okay, basically of the three I would recommend Hillsdale. It’s a real college with a real endowment and multiple real departments. It just offers the most resources. I don’t know much of anything about it beyond the 200+ million endowment number and the fact that it has bio, chem, physics, modern language and economics departments, but that’s enough for me.
PHC, as I’ve said, I know a little about. First off, I don’t trust any school that brags about its law school placement numbers. You know what job prospects are like for recent law grads these days? Not good. PHC had a good track record placing grads into the Bush administration, especially when Ashcroft was AG. Obviously those opportunities are no longer there under Obama, but I don’t see them bragging about placement rates with the Republicans in Congress either.
Every PHC grad I know works in low-level administrative/nonprofit work in DC. All of them felt like they outgrew the college. There’s no getting around that it’s a small place. Or that it has a small worldview even by the standards of Christian conservatives, which the majority of the PHC grads I know still consider themselves. PHC fired a library clerk a few years ago for saying that baptism is necessary to salvation. First, what? Second, a library clerk. Third, despite how well your visit went, that incident would give me pause about fitting in as a high-church Anglican.
Also, if you want to go into elective politics, it’s a good idea to have a wide range of experience with various human types. A tiny school like NSA or PHC won’t give you that. Hillsdale, which is still pretty small but is at least Division II athletically, would give you more of it. HSC, to a certain extent, would as well.
NSA, I know very little about. It seems like it has many of the problems of PHC (no endowment above all) but not others (the administration seems to have their intellectual head screwed on straighter). The Lordship colloquium is going to be very Calvinistic. Are you Reformed Anglican? Might not be so bad if so.
This. If your ultimate plan is to have wide public appeal so you could get the support of a majority of voters, then consider attending a more diverse school where you can obtain leadership skills or just regular people skills useful in working with diverse populations. Hillsdale > PHC on this.
Do you guys know anything about Gettysburg College. Over the last week it has popped up, and now I am seriously considering visiting. Here are some qualities it has that I like.
- Small (Around 2.700 students)
- Small classes (average class size is 18)
- VERY preppy, and HUGE Greek presence (I am very interested in joining a fraternity. PHC does not have that)
- Leans conservative (I have heard that Gberg leans to the right. It’s not as conservative as PHC or Hillsdale, but like you guys said diversity is good, and Gettysburg is more diverse politically)
- #9 best campus food(I am a food enthusiast, and LOVE good food. I have heard that Gberg has a huge salad bar, sandwich bar, pasta bar, 10 different deserts avail bile daily, an much more. I have also heard that they have over 100 recopies so the food almost never repeats. My mouth waters when I think of all the possibilities! When I went to PHC, the food was one of the negative aspects of the school. It wasn’t all that great.)
- From what I’ve read most of the students at Gberg are preppy, white, and upper middle to upper class. This is exactly what I want. Gettysburg seems to have that country club feel to it.
It is just as good if not better than any of my other choices. I am considering visiting next year. I had 2 questions for you guys. - Do you know anything about Gettysburg?
- Is the college making a huge attempt at diversity? If so, I don’t want to attend. I want Gettysburg to stay the way it is now while I am there. (I don’t want it to lose that country club feel)
Also, could you guys sugguest any other schools that are like Gberg?(small, lean conservative, preppy, white, middle to upper middle class student body)
Thanks!
LOL. It’s good that you know what you want.
A page in the “Student Life” section of Gettysburg’s website describes their numerous diversity initiatives. Gettysburg is also a member of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity. A friend of mine who graduated a while back says that the college is becoming more diverse.
Do the visit Kdkhan, you will love Gettysburg! Gettysburg has been trying for years to become more diverse and if it ever happens it won’t be during your time there.
@MidwestDad3
No offense, but I don’t think you know colleges as well as you think you do. I remember you said I should steer clear of Sewanee because a student told you she was a feminist. How can you say that one students opinion defines the whole school? I spoke to some friends of mine recently who know people at the school, and they say it’s a small, southern, conservative college dominated by Greek Life. Same with Gettysburg. How can you say Gburg getting more diverse when 84% of it’s students are white, and 50% are Greek? From what I see Gburg would be an awesome fit for me. Mostly preppy, white, upper middle class students from the Northeast.
@beenthereanddone
Could you please tell me everything you know about Gettysburg?
Thanks
OP, your third-hand information is probably more accurate than my on-campus visits. If your friends believe that Sewanee and Gettysburg have the minimum number of minority students that you are willing to tolerate, then by all means apply.
Kdkhan, Gettysburg is definitely worth a visit for you. It is a very fine LAC with about 2,500 students. Greek life dominates the social scene although you can’t actually pledge until your sophomore year. You can start to meet and form the relationships you will need to gain to admittance from the beginning of your first year at many of the numerous parties the frats host. It is largely white, upper middle class, a sprinkling of trust fund kids thrown in . Preppy. They even sell Vineyard Vines in the bookstore. Every year they trot out the desire to become more diverse but look at the actual numbers and you will see that they have been largely unsuccessful. It is a place that sounds like it would be comfortable to you. Visit and see for yourself!
@MidwestDad3
I don’t see what we are arguing at. You act as if I made some sort of disrespectful comment. I am simply stating the facts.(ON Gettysburgs website) 84% of students are white, and 50% are Greek. That’s what they say. What did you see on your campus visit that made you think otherwise? I mean look at what @beenthereanddone is saying.
@kdkhan There is a difference between someone disagreeing with you, and someone arguing.
I stated 2 facts about Gettysburg, and the opinion of one graduate. Just disregard it. It’s your right. But don’t try to convince me that I don’t know what I’m talking about.
I’ll go ahead and say something to you that a lot of people probably would like to say to you: Just go visit these places. Then come back and post.
If you visit Sewanee, and if you sit in on a class there, you may run into my daughter. She is not white. She is a feminist. You have been disparaging and dismissing people like her throughout your 67 posts. She is an amazing person–generous, talented, and a wonderful friend to her peers of differing races, faiths, and political views. Yet you cannot stomach the idea of enrolling in a college where there are more than a handful of people like her.
So visit as many colleges as you can this summer and fall, and I’m sure the whitest, Greekiest place will emerge for you. But the days of counting on prep school grads to share your views are long over. Because my daughter is one of those, too.
What MidwestDad says is very true - preps’ politics is not always of the right. You can have very preppy or very conservative. You probably cannot have both. Preps are diverse in their politics. Conservatives are diverse in their clothing choice and educational background. While you may find very preppy and fairly conservative or vice versa, you are not going to find the extremes of both in one place. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
@MidwestDad3
This has been my question for you all along. How can you say the views of your daughter (ONE PERSON) define most or even a small percentage of the school? I’m not saying that there are no femenists at Sewanee or Gettysbirg: there certainly are. What I’m saying is that it seems as though they are in the minority. You may or may not be right about Sewanee: I have heard that it’s changed a bit which is a shame. However, I really don’t believe Gburg has changed much at all. I SPOKE with one of thier admissions officers and aksed “I know many schools with strong Greek Life are trying to weaken it. Is Gettysburg going in that direction?” The answers from the admissions officer was “Certainly not. While we hold our fraternities and sororities to a very high standard, just like any organization, we are not going in that direction.” Also you say your daughter is open to many things. I’d wonder if she’d be open to a person like me? You have developed an image of me in your mind that is flawed. It seems as though your belief is that I hate minorities, and think women are inferior to men. This is simply not true. I abhor “Feminisim” in the classical sense of the word. I’m all for women being equal to men (equal pay, fair treatment etc) however, it seems as though Feminism wants to make women LIKE men. Also it seems as though Feminism has no room for old fashioned views. The Femenists that I no are disgusted by the idea of a stay at home mom. I’m not saying all moms should stay at home, but I don’t see what’s wrong with being a stay at home mom. As far as minorities go, I am a minority myself (Middle Eastern) so I don’t have anything against minorities. I just have preferences for the racial makeup of the college I go to. I know for a fact that I am most certainly not the only one that has these. Think about the guys who go to HBCUs.
I really don’t have anything else to say other than to reiterate that you should visit each college that you are seriously thinking of attending, preferably when classes are in session…