<p>Check out Hillsdale College in Michigan. Small, selective, and conservative. My niece was looking for a low-party place and starts there in the fall.</p>
<p>I agree with wis75. Very well-stated! It seems more important to look at things such as size, courses, etc. rather than clutching to this desire to cling to certain rules. </p>
<p>I also get tired of the whole “I’m a Christian and don’t want to drink/party” song and dance. My own kid just graduated with a M. Div and she and her classmates enjoyed drinking and parties both in undergrad and grad school. She is getting ordained as a deacon in 2 weeks and certainly knew how to balance things. I actually thought Rice had the right mix of social life and more serious pursuits. </p>
<p>You shouldn’t have to beat your chest about being a “Christian” to manage this issue.</p>
<p>What sort of college does she have in mind?</p>
<p>Thank you for your response. I haven’t broached the idea of women’s colleges with her but given that a couple of people mentioned it, it might be worth looking into. Thank you for planting that seed in my head!</p>
<p>@katiamom- BYU is not at all what I am looking for. My hope is to help her move toward a more moderate position as opposed to what I would consider a fairly extreme position. And given that her parents are social drinkers and very moderate in religion and otherwise, we are kinda glad that Jesus drank wine. lol</p>
<p>vandygrad87 did you go to Vanderbilt? if yes I need some advice on how to get into my dream school PRINCETON. I know it’s higher-tier than Vandy, but you should still probably be able to provide some input. Thx!</p>
<p>@wis75- Thank you for your response; you were able to put into words much of what I was trying to say. I agree with you completely. She needs some degree of challenge on her beliefs so she can keep what she really thinks and discard the rest. I love her to death and just want to move her toward the midline some. She is interested in some Christian colleges but her Dad and I would really like to push her to a school that is more-liberal-yet-still-somewhat-conservative. If that exists! Another one that popped in my head is maybe Belmont in Nashville? </p>
<p>You gave me some great points to ponder. Thank you.</p>
<p>@shrinkrap- My brother and BIL both went to Duke- great school! And like you said, your daughter found her niche and I’m sure mine will too. :-)</p>
<p>@Determined- yes, I agree with your perspective. I think my daughter would be very happy with an all-Christian school but I don’t know that that is best for her. I think a person can have whatever values they have and still be accepting and tolerant of others. I am not sure she would really grasp that at a very religious school. As it is, I think I sometimes make her uncomfortable! ;-)</p>
<p>@momofwildchild- I don’t disagree with you. I don’t hang out with the “don’t drink, dance etc” group and don’t advocate for her to do that either. My point was that I was trying to move her to more of a midline position without making her feel overly uncomfortable. I want her to be challenged and to see that choices are just that- choices- and there are a lot of choices one can make and still be a good person. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>@Adad- I don’t think she really knows yet. We are talking about it a bit at a time b/c talking about colleges seems to make her feel pressured, but as she is rising junior, we’ve got to get the ball rolling. She has mentioned William and Mary, liked what we told her about UVA (both of these would be LONG shots, IMO, though), would probably love a school like Grove City but not sure our Dad and I would…</p>
<p>@princeton- that was years ago so I have no idea what to tell you! Well, I can tell you this- schools are much more competitive now than they were when I went. I am quite certain I would not get into Vandy if I were applying now! I wish you luck though.</p>
<p>vandy- haha its crazy how competitive they are these days. what was your major?</p>
<p>If you can I would try to schedule overnight visits in the fall. They are a great way to get a feel for the school. OTOT, if she ends up with a horrible host it could backfire.</p>
<p>she would probably loveee grove city. you may as well. it’s a dry campus and is very conservative but like everywhere, there is still some off campus partying. I wouldsuggest there or wheaton or hillsdale</p>
<p>Vandy-
I tend to agree with others, she probably would find like minded people wherever she went, and actually at a big school she would be more likely to find people like herself then a smaller one (though I can understand why a big school seems daunting). </p>
<p>One of the things that worries me about someone like your D is are they uncomfortable being around others who have different ideas of morality and such, or is she afraid of being tested by being around others who are different? If she goes to a strict Christian school, that rigidly enforces rules, it seems to me that she would be going to an environment that takes control of her moral beliefs out of her hands, basically she has someone else ‘enforcing the rules’. While her moral position is not mine, far from it, I can respect her beliefs, but one of the things about beliefs is they are going to be challenged, that unless someone is going to live in a religious community like an order or something like the Amish or Shakers used to be, when they get out of school they are going to have to face it. From a religious perspective, Jesus and his followers didn’t hide out, they went and lived among others, including what were seen as the low of the low (tax collectors? Some things never change <em>smile</em>). </p>
<p>I have seen kids like her, there is a family who we associate with who are evangelical, they homeschool their kids and are part of a Christian homeschool groups, and their kids struggle when they hit the real world, even though they live in a place that is known for being secular and liberal, they stand out and often have trouble because in effect they have been isolated among ‘people like themselves’. I have to tell you, over the years I have worked in places where we had graduates like you D from strict Christian colleges, who were very much like she appears to be, and when they got into the ‘real world’ they had trouble, because they often had trouble in discerning how to live their life in a moral way without trying to impose it on others, like going out to eat after work and having the person tell others when they are having a beer or whatever they shouldn’t be drinking…(on the other hand, also have met some who didn’t drink, but bought drinks for others and such, who realized it was a personal obligation to themelves). </p>
<p>Not saying I would put her in full bore "animal house’ land, saying that she may do better at a small LAC or a school like that, religious affiliated or not, then a strict Christian school (from what I have heard about ‘strict Christian schools’, she may be more tempted then she things, lot of kids go to those schools and don’t follow the rules, they go to the schools because mom and pop insist, and they rebel). I agree with others, take a look at the school, and for example what kind of clubs they have. Schools often have Christian Campus Crusade or other evangelical groups, even in pretty liberal schools, and the could find an anchor of kids like herself, which would allow her to feel comfortable, while also hopefully broadening her horizons.</p>
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<p>Our kids gradually got more involved and interested in college planning as junior year progressed. It was hard at times to trust them on this. Also, their thinking evolved: so a college that was not of interest in the fall might become of interest in the spring. </p>
<p>One idea for now would be to visit any reasonable, convenient college simply to discuss what was good and bad about that college and thereby stimulate her thinking and interest.</p>
<p>What does she like about William and Mary? That can be used as a springboard to identifying other, similar colleges that might not be as reach-y.</p>
<p>I wonder if a better approach might be to focus on her interests – academic and otherwise – and find a school with like-minded students. In other words, instead of looking for what a college does NOT have (drinking), look for what a college DOES have (particular academic program).</p>
<p>Our son does not drink. He just graduated from high school and I will tell you this past year has been difficult for him since the majority of his class mates do drink. He does attend some parties, but in some instances he feels left out (after prom parties, for example.) We didn’t specifically look for colleges where no one drank, but which would be a good overall fit. He was accepted to some excellent schools, but after visiting Rice he felt he found “his people”. Do students drink? Absolutely. Are there plenty of academic/other activities to keep one busy if they don’t drink? Absolutely.</p>
<p>Find your D’s passion (or at least her interests if she has no passion), and the other will take care of itself.</p>
<p>Mount St Marys College in Los Angeles is all girls (some male nursing students) small great campus (featured on the OC and other shows)not overly religious in great area of LA</p>
<p>I would agree with givings in post #37.</p>
<p>Last summer, I was an adult leader on a Christian mission trip to Belize. The students from our church youth group all attend public high schools; we were paired with a youth group from another church (different town, same state) whose students were all home schooled or attended private Christian schools. When one of our girls mentioned that she would be attending our state flagship in the fall, the girls from the other group gasped. “How can you be a believer and go there? They are all heathens.”</p>
<p>I was so proud of our student who said: “I will be living in the Campus Christian House, and I will live my life as I always have. You can’t be an example if you only hang out with believers.”</p>
<p>This young lady has successfully completed her first year of college. She attends a campus congregation that worships on Saturday nights and then goes out together for dinner and movies. She attends all the athletic events and has great school spirit and does not drink. She takes advantage of an “After Dark” program on campus that offers free, no-alcohol social events in the student center and other places on campus. </p>
<p>You can live a model life as a college student on any campus if you choose to do so. I’m praying that our son finds that same niche on campus in the fall. </p>
<p>Oh, and my young student friend earned herself a trip to Hawaii for all of June and July. She was selected as a student intern in a mission program on the islands.</p>
<p>I hope this is funny. </p>
<p>Almost all of my kids friends went to Christian schools, if not California Community colleges. Biola, Azuza Pacific, Westmont, etc. We did not want that, but looked at a lot of Jesuit schools. </p>
<p>Son was pretty leery about “Catholics”, but he’s heading to Loyola Marymount.</p>