<p>Can anybody give me a sense of how religious the student body and daily life would be at these schools? The kid in question is from the northeast, religiously observant and would be interested in a school where that's relatively commonplace, and where it might be woven into the organization of the school (by that, I mean chapel attendance being a common occurence, etc.) </p>
<p>The student in question is a mainline Protestant, not seeking the evangelical subculture. Most of the Christian schools in the northeast seem to be evangelical, and then of course there are many old schools in the northeast that are functionally secular today, although they have historic ties to the mainline denominations.</p>
<p>A Jesuit or other Catholic school might be worth considering, but going to a school for religious reasons, and then being unable to participate in Communion there for four years, is maybe not the answer. So we'd like to know more about the Lutheran/Dutch Reformed schools in the upper midwest, such as the ones mentioned. Thanks.</p>
<p>@fieldsports I can’t give you any info about Hope but my daughter looked at both St. Olaf and Luther. Both colleges are ELCA affiliated (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). It’s the liberal wing of the Lutheran Church where females can be pastors. From what I saw at St. Olaf (we visited 5 times), they do a great job of making religion easily accessible to the student body (daily chapel time where no classes are scheduled) without making it feel mandatory. St. Olaf is a dry campus. Students may drink but they have to be discreet about it. I know less about Luther. My daughter attended a sports camp there and decided she didn’t want to apply. She didn’t like the dorm she stayed in or the food. She also thought the campus facilities were more “run down” than the other schools she applied. I would also suggest that you look at Gustavus Adolphus College, also an ELCA college. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions. If you are looking for a more conservative college, then I would suggest the Lutheran Missouri Synod colleges (Concordia-Wisconsin) or Wisconsin Synod colleges (WI Lutheran College).</p>
<p>ELCA is in the right place on the spectrum for this, so we will follow up. Thank you. I would welcome suggestions of anything we may have overlooked in the Northeast. </p>
<p>Muhlenberg is also ELCA. The school is commendably multi-cultural, diverse and inclusive – perhaps to the point where it feels essentially like a secular school? Any comments from Muhlenberg parents would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I’m also wondering if Messiah College in Grantham PA and Gordon College in Wenham MA are truly evangelical protestant, as opposed to mainline, as it would appear from their websites.</p>
<p>St. Olaf is a “college of the church” but not a preachy school. As was said above, there is daily chapel with open time. The music during services is beautiful and the sanctuary is beautiful. Out D was brought up in the Episcopal tradition but is not currently observant and finds that all places on the spectrum are welcome and comfortable. It is definitely not an evangelical type place . . . very social justice oriented and thoughtful. D goes to chapel at times to hear friends in the choirs. You can PM me if you have further questions.</p>
<p>I know Hope and St. Olaf very well and I would say that the campuses are very similar. The kids are for the most part wholesome, engaged, active kids. Many will attend church but it’s personal not a pressureful thing. Both colleges have a strong arts culture, Hope is strong in dance, St. Olaf is known for it’s choir. Hope has a very strong community presence and tie, St. Olaf is one of two colleges in it’s town. Hope has a nursing school and an ABET accredited engineering program and is growing, approaching 4,000 students. St. Olaf has nursing but not engineering and is just over 3,000 students so both are a tad larger than a typical LAC private. I personally think Holland is more “fun” for young people with the beaches, the town on the edge of campus etc. and an Amtrak station 2 blocks from campus to get away to Chicago. There is drinking and parties on both campuses but not of the bing sort of drinking that students feel like they HAVE to participate in. I think they are both great places to get a college education. I don’t know anything about Luther. </p>
<p>St. Olaf is affiliated with ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), but that is the more liberal mainstream branch of the Lutheran church (in comparison with Missouri Synod). IMHO it is stronger academically than either Hope or Luther. Messiah in PA is definitely more “evangelical” in the common sense than St. Olaf. We have friends whose daughter went to Gordon for a time, and our sense is that it also is more strongly evangelical than either Luther or St. Olaf. I do not have much knowledge of Hope.</p>
<p>St. Olaf is nonpareil for music and is very strong in mathematics. It is 45 minutes from Mpls/St. Paul and buses run on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Gordon College in Massachusetts has been in the local news because of the President’s stance on gays. Alumni want the school to soften its position about gay people, but admin. is holding the line. I guess that would put them on the fundamentalist end of the Protestant spectrum.</p>
<p>D2 is a 2011 graduate, so yea, it’s been over three years since we’ve been on campus, but back then I would not use the words multi-cultural or diverse to describe it. That being said, I’m fairly certain it is a very welcoming campus to those who are not caucasian and not from the northeast. Yes, it is 30% Jewish (30% Roman Catholic and 30% Protestant), but the school was pretty white. I know they are doing a TON of things to increase the diversity and are very genuine about it. LBGT community is very accepted as well. But it’s mostly a lot of white kids, and mostly from the northeast. I loved the school for D2 and she was very happy there… but if you’re looking for multi-cultural and diverse, I’m sure other schools have a better record in that. </p>
<p>Neither St. Olaf or Luther would be very overtly religious. The Lutherams, even the most conservative of us, just are a pretty live and let live bunch. Never heard of Hope College, but any affiliation with the Reformed Church makes me nervous, as I am familiar with Dordt and Northwestern College. </p>
<p>St. Olaf and Luther are both in fairly small towns, although Northfield is close to the Twin Cities. If your child wants a more urban environment, I might suggest Augustana (Sioux Falls, SD), Concordia (Moorhead), or for the real urban experience, Rockhurst (Jesuit school in Kansas City). All are a little smaller, but still religiously affiliated without being pushy about their beliefs.</p>
<p>@ordinarylives just want to point out that while Northwestern College, like Hope, is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, Dordt is affiliated with the Christian Reformed church, which is more conservative than the RCA.</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way, there are alot of colleges in the midwest that have a far stronger religious pervasiveness and stringent religion related requirements and a less diverse student body than St. Olaf and Hope. </p>
<p>Messiah College is about a 15 minute drive from where I live. It is affiliated with the Brethren in Christ, a more liberal denomination of the Anabaptists (more conservative Anabaptists include the Amish and Mennonites). This is a different tradition than the more well-known contemporary “evangelicals”. Although unabashedly Christian in outlook and mission, there is definitely a different vibe at Messiah than at some other Christian colleges.</p>
<p>kidzncatz, I will PM you. Thanks to all for this input so far. </p>
<p>I’m a bit confused about who is who, among the schools. There is University of Northwestern St. Paul, which is nondenominational but religious, where Rev. Billy Graham served as college President for several years. There’s also Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.</p>
<p>Then, of course, there’s Northwestern U in Evanston, Illinois, where Cindy Crawford won a merit scholarship for chemical engineering . . . .</p>
<p>Muhlenberg is also ELCA. The school is commendably multi-cultural, diverse and inclusive – perhaps to the point where it feels essentially like a secular school? Any comments from Muhlenberg parents would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg has a diverse student body in terms of religious affiliation and seems to be accepting of everyone’s religious views. They have a new director of religious life and the College Chaplain. The Chaplain’s office seeks to serve student’s, faculty and staff of any (or no) faith tradition. They offer places to pray and reflect and a variety of religious services and programs and opportunities for interfaith dialogue. </p>
<p>Muhlenberg has a beautiful college chapel, the Gideon F. Eigner Chapel on campus. It is used for various worship services, Opening Convocation, Candelight Carols, and other vocal performances. It has just had a new roof, repairs to the pipe organ and restored inside masonry in the last year. We attended a beautiful Catholic mass there over parent’s weekend. </p>
<p>My take on the religious life at Muhlenberg from talking to my senior is that it is what you want to make of it. You can get involved at various levels or no level at all. The nice thing about Muhlenberg is that nobody will judge you regardless of what level you choose. </p>
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I don’t know if it’s still true today, but I know within the last ten years, Hope College used to have one of the highest matriculation rates to graduate schools across the country. </p>
<p>It’s been many years since I went to St. Olaf, but I’ve been to alumni events and think it hasn’t changed too much. I was a defiantly non-religious student, but I had a lot of friends who attended chapel on a regular basis and belonged to religion-related clubs. There was enough of a mix that the non-religious and religious students were very respectful of each other’s viewpoints. All students are required to take three religion classes and there are lots of options to choose from, including travel abroad during the January term.<br>
Because St. Olaf is in a small town, students entertain themselves mostly on campus. I kept busy with clubs and performances and recitals on campus, but I grew up in a small town. Big-city kids might have a harder adjustment to the lifestyle, but there is plenty to do as long as your hobbies aren’t nightclubbing or shopping or trying new restaurants.</p>
<p>I know many Hope College grads, and in general I have found them to be serious students and thoughtful adults. Hope College has a very good reputation in the sciences, especially in undergraduate research. If I’m not mistaken, Hope is one of the top liberal arts colleges for producing research publications, and I think they are tops (or near the top) when it comes to grants to liberal arts colleges for summer research programs. </p>