<p>One of the best kids in my graduating class ended up at Grove City College, which is a Christian liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. I don’t know very much about it but it might be worth looking into.</p>
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Yeah, I’m at Notre Dame, and while most students seem rather conservative (nearly all my friends, at least), I’ve yet to meet anyone who hates gay people. There’s very large campus-wide support for gay rights, which is definitely good for someone looking for a “Christian” atmosphere, given the bits in the New Testament about loving everyone and not hating. I imagine it’s similar at most schools, with the exception of BYU and the megachurch-genre of evangelical schools.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has said they support abortion. Every time it comes up, it’s definitely a one-sided issue. Probably considering that someone who was pro-choice wouldn’t come to ND in the first place.</p>
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I would go on to say that religious belief also has very little to do with if someone drinks, unless they happen to be members of a religion that bans alcohol consumption, such as Islam or Buddhism. Going to a religious school won’t guarantee anything, unless it’s explicitly a dry campus. Even then, I doubt there will be no drinking. People drinking alcohol is something that will be very common in life, so it’s important to be able to tolerate it.</p>
<p>Knowing some religious people who go to some of the top schools (like top 10 USnews), I don’t think you should be discouraged from applying to Ivy leagues simply because of your religion. From what I have heard, though many people aren’t particularly religious at these schools, they don’t seem to look down on religious people and there are PLENTY of campus organizations full of Christians so you will definitely find your niche :)</p>
<p>My daughter sounds very similar to you. She is in her first year at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI, and LOVES it. Check it out!</p>
<p>Thank you, I appreciate it. (: Not sure I’m brave enough for Michigan, though. I’ve lived in southernmost states my whole life, and although I love the cold, I’d be worried to try everything involved by myself.</p>
<p>Sewanee, Pepperdine (look again it seems perfect for you), maybe Rice?</p>
<p>I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Westmont College in Santa Barbara CA. It’s a wonderful school: very academic and nice students on a beautiful campus. It may be a great fit for you. </p>
<p>Here’s a link with a video about the school:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.westmont.edu/admissions/[/url]”>http://www.westmont.edu/admissions/</a></p>
<p>Texas A&M!</p>
<p>It’s a great school, it’s ranked as the most Religious and Conservative public school in the nation and there are several Christian groups with membership upwards of 300 students. </p>
<p>They’re also 2nd in the country for job recruitment preference by major industries, and they offer a fantastic honors program. Plus with your PSAT i’d assume your national merit, and they offer full tuition scholarships for that (both in state and out of state). Even if you arent national merit, you will still likely be given an out of state tuition waiver and a McFadden scholarship, which would reduce COA to roughly $8500 a year. </p>
<p>The greek/party scene is also easily avoidable. greeks only account for like 5-10% of the student body. They’re academics are also really respected!</p>
<p>Seriously though, check out Texas A&M. I’m a Christian too and I’m probably going there because of the awesome environment!</p>
<p>Wow, this board got resurrected! Thanks, I will look at both Westmont and Texas A & M.</p>
<p>Awesome! Feel free to pm me if you have any questions about a&m! I’d love to help a fellow Christian out in their search!</p>
<p>My son is a conservative Christian and loves it at Texas A&M. Several strong Christian organizations there. Purdue is also very conservative - but it’s cold there!</p>
<p>Texas A&M admits nearly 70% of applicants. Average SATs: 586 CR, 623 M, 564 W. The 4 year graduation rate is 46% (compare to Ivies and selective LACs where the rate generally is over 80%). The most popular majors include business, engineering, and agriculture. It’s a huge school (nearly 50,000 students.) Only about 21% of classes have fewer than 20 students; about 23% have 50 or more (compare to typical LACs and Ivies where the percentages are about 75% and less than 10%, respectively). And it isn’t a “Christian School”. It’s a public university in a state that happens to have many religious conservatives, and that happens to have a strong public alternative (UT Austin) that more liberal arts & science students probably would prefer.</p>
<p>If the OP wanted a relatively affordable school for engineering, TAMU might be a good choice. A high-scoring Christian conservative with more of an arts & science bent might be happier with some of the others mentioned above (such as Notre Dame, Wheaton, Pepperdine, or Sewanee). Full sticker costs at Wheaton are about $6K higher per year than the OOS cost to attend TAMU (however, average need-based aid at Wheaton is ~$16K v. ~$9K for OOS TAMU students). Wheaton stats: 662 CR, 652 M, 647 W; 79% 4 year graduation ratel; ~58% of classes <20, ~5% >= 50.</p>
<p>No matter how conservative the students, a huge public ag & engineering school will have a very different atmosphere than a LAC or small to mid-sized private research university.</p>
<p>tk21769, just fyi, based on A&M’s own numbers, they accept about 55% of their freshman applicants. 29,713 applicants, 16,488 accepted for 2011.</p>
<p>Dachshundlover - Reading through these posts, it seems that your concern is about finding a social setting where you can find support and respect for your beliefs. Most are right, that at many/most colleges you can find peer groups that can support your political and religious beliefs. Campus Crusade and other groups are very active and can be a great support on most campuses. However, the real heart of the issue is the faculty. Where will you find faculty that will help combine your passion for your field of study with your faith. (Not talking about simply putting a Bible verse on a power point or agreeing to some predetermined “positions”) Finding a college where you can wrestle deeply with your faith and calling through faculty who respect you is essential to growing as a Christian. If you can find that AND have peers who will challenge you to grow…that’s a winning combination.</p>