<p>Not the midwest, but have you considered Liberty University?</p>
<p>"Founded in 1971, LU is an independent, fundamentalist Baptist university located
in Lynchburg, Virginia."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.liberty.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.liberty.edu/</a></p>
<p>If you were to visit, you could also check out Lynchburg College, Randolph Macon Women's College, and Sweet Briar College.</p>
<p>I notice that Illinois Wesleyan was mentioned. Does anyone know anything about Ohio Wesleyan? I believe one of the alums of my daughter's choir goes there, I've heard her sing and she is wonderful. I just googled it and noticed it is one of the CTCL colleges (colleges that change lives).</p>
<p>NJres's son looked at Ohio Wesleyan, if I'm not mistaken. NJRes, any comments?</p>
<p>Another possibility for your daughter: Gordon College in Mass.</p>
<p>OWU has a rep for being quite liberal, even activist. It doesn't sound right for the OP's kid but I haven't visited, just what I've read.And we know that can be horribly off. I'd think College of Wooster might be a better call.</p>
<p>What about Augustana in South Dakota? Low tuition, mid 1200 average SAT. I don't know anything about it, but it came up when looking for a midwest open-minded Christian college for one of mine.</p>
<p>Rhumbob...your D might consider some of the Jesuit schools like the Loyolas in various cities... or Univ of St.ouis, Holy Cross, Georgetown (tough) uhhhh...... BC? ..... you may be a protestant Christian...BUT the Jesuits were traditionally the intellectuals of the catholic church and the jesuit schools retain this rigor. they are mostly traditional but may be more freewheeling than some protestant christian schools. and i think these days the catholic thing is not overbearing ..and in any case might make for challenging and intense discussions.. some friction is good.. . I'd stay away from Benedictine & dominican colleges as they tend to be not as challenging or cosmopolitan. If your D is looking for womens colleges or historically womens colleges, the elite catholic womens colleges were run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, my Mom suggested Manhattanville, and Newton College of the Sacred Heart..both top notch schools. now they are probably coed. the quality is on the levle of Holy Cross and BC.</p>
<p>from carolyn: if she wants a Christian College, or even one where "Christian values" are mainstream, she should probably drop Carleton. The student body is pretty liberal there..... </p>
<p>I thought i'd add that Christian does not HAVE to mean not liberal. You may in fact be a very traditionally liberal family.... there are also some Quaker or Quaker/affiliated schools that your D could consider. schools that stress egalitarian outlook, respect and tolerance and social responsibility, like Earlham, Haverford, Swarthmore and Guilford. thes schools could be a very supportive but stimulating experience.</p>
<p>Spiker, You're right, of course. I should not have assumed that just because the OP's daughter is looking for a "Christian College" that she would be seeking conservative Christian views.</p>
<p>That said, I can't imagine someone being comfortable at both Wheaton and Earlham :) Both are excellent schools but attract student bodies that are polar opposites. </p>
<p>At Wheaton, the majority of students are church going evangelicals. At Earlham, according to the school's own research, the majority of students self-identify as non-church goers and a significant portion as atheists. </p>
<p>At Wheaton, you'll find the majority of students vehemently supporting pro-life issues and opposing gay rights. At Earlham, not only will you find most students vehemently pro-choice, you'll also find a large population of gay students who are openly accepted and that gay rights are a hot topic. </p>
<p>At Wheaton, creationism and intelligent design are part and parcel of science education; Earlham takes the evolution route. </p>
<p>They really are two entirely different environments. As you said, however, it probably depends on what the OP's daughter is looking for --- Both are excellent schools for the right type of person.</p>
<p>Manhattanville, and Newton College of the Sacred Heart..both top notch schools. now they are probably coed. >></p>
<p>Manhattanville is also no longer a "Catholic" college. It is non-sectarian.</p>
<p>I spent quite a bit of time at Ohio Wesleyan as a high school student in choirs. I wouldn't describe it at all as liberal...I think moderate (NOT connservative Christian) is more accurate. I also think that TOLERANT is a great descriptor. Terrific small LAC in Ohio with good choirs and music program. Very very pretty campus.</p>
<p>One of my son's older friends will be a junior at OWU this fall. He completed an REU (National Science Foundation) intership at UVA this summer. So - it appears that OWU is on the ball with undergrad research - at least in his case! I believe he is receiving a pretty decent merit scholarship. His first-year courses were not as rigorous as he would have liked, but it things are turning out well as time goes on. This is the only negative thing I have heard, and it would only be a negative in very specialized cases. </p>
<p>There are both advantages and disadvantages to attending a school where one's stats exceed the average by a considerable margin (as in this case), and he is beginning to reap the benefits.</p>
<p>Rhumbob,
Someone mentioned Furman - most Southern colleges will have a much more obvious Christian flavor, and larger Christian presence than NE or West Coast schools. Since being Christian in the South is still very much the mainstream (backsliding not withstanding ;)), a student does not have to go to a "Christian" college to get the atmosphere that I think you are describing - in fact the "Christian" colleges tend toward the more strict interpretations that I think you are trying to avoid.
Take a look at Davidson, Rhodes College, Furman, Mercer and Samford University (this one is probably the most conservative) all of these will have strong Christian communities, while still having open debate.</p>
<p>I would also recommend looking at the ISI book - someone help me with the name, ?Choosing the Right College. It's message is the deterioration of the core curriculum, and it vilifies some liberal schools beyond reason, BUT it is a great place to look for more conservative schools that still have strong academics, and it evaluates all schools on the basis of strong departments and strong professors, to an extent none of the other guidebooks does.</p>
<p>St. Norbert is also worth consideration. Often falls out of national lists but gets onto regional ones.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.snc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.snc.edu/</a></p>
<p>One thing to remember about visiting schools in late fall/early winter in West Michigan is lake effect snow. Grand Rapids and Holland get quite a bit of lake effect, it is quite random and not very predicitable from year to year. One thing to remember is that the more snow a place gets, the better they are at removing it.</p>
<p>Maybe I am seeing this wrong but what you seem to be looking for as far as a tolerant Christian atomsphere is something that you will find in a majority of midwestern colleges that draw mostly from the midwest. </p>
<p>Schools that might interest your DD could include Alma (MI), Albion (MI), Wooster (OH), and although it is Catholic, Dayton (OH). If you would look at a public school that is fairly conservative I would look at Bowling Green (OH), they offer great merit aid. I have some knowledge of Michigan Tech, the student body seems very conservative with a large Christian fellowship. They offer in-state tuition to students with a 3.5 or better GPA. It does give new meaning to lake effect snow!</p>
<p>I grew up in Western Michigan and have several family members who went to Calvin.</p>
<p>First, with respect to weather, mid-October is an ideal time to visit the area. The fall colors will be great and the weather is generally warm days with cool nights. As you get into late October, the colors will be gone but unless it is really a freak storm you should not expect snow. By the time mid-November rolls around there is more of a chance of snow, but more than likely you will not see any snow.</p>
<p>Calvin does have a fair number of West Michigan locals going to it, but there are also a sizeable number of students coming from all around the country. I would check their web site to see if they give a breakdown. When we were visiting my relatives a few years ago my brother-in-law (an alum) arranged for an impromptu tour of the campus for my son who was looking for colleges at the time. The student who gave us a personal tour was from Massachussets and was not Christian Reformed; yet he said he loved it there. I believe (but am not sure) that all freshmen, even locals, must live on campus. However, I think that on campus housing is only available for the first two years. After that the students tend to get together to rent houses and/or apartments.</p>
<p>I don't know that much about Hope other than me sister telling me that they offered her son a lot more financial aid than did Calvin. However, both schools are extremely affordable relative to many other private schools.</p>
<p>As a follow-up to quiltguru's comments here is a link that adds some "data" on how liberal Ohio Wesleyan is:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WesleyanPolitical.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WesleyanPolitical.jpg</a></p>
<p>With 53% of students being very liberal and liberal, a fair description for the college is between liberal and moderate.</p>
<p>I just noticed the desire for international study. Calvin's scholastic year is divided into 3 parts: a fall term, a spring term and then a period in January that the call an interim. During interim there are many opportunities for unique classes as well as international travel/study. My nephew had planned to spend an interim in Israel, but then all the violence really flared up and they canceled the trip. He eventually spent an interim in Europe. I don't know what their level of support for a full semester or year abroad might be.</p>
<p>Goshen in Indiana is well known for it's overseas programs.</p>
<p>Don't know if this will fit the bill but our Lutheran (Covenant Church I believe)BIL and SIL were looking for a similar setting for their sons in Minnesota.After looking at most of the schools there you mentioned they wound up attending St John's University in Collegeville,Mn.there's a "sister" school,College of st Benedict ..they share classrooms and the central campus facilities.Both boys had a wonderful experience,the eldest just graduated from medical school (Creighton)</p>
