<p>I'm currently looking to apply to top conservative schools such as Vanderbilt, Davidson and Wake Forest. Possibly Richmond as well. </p>
<p>One school that I have always been fond of is Wheaton College near Chicago ("Harvard of Christian-Protestant schools" as the guidebooks books say). However, due to Wheaton's religious affiliation, I am not sure how one would be looked upon by top graduate schools.</p>
<p>What is the reputation Wheaton College in the secular world and how would top graduate programs view a degree from Wheaton?</p>
<p>I would not consider Vanderbilt a conservative school at all. The schools you listed are not anything like Wheaton. Wheaton is a strict, Christian school and very rigid. Academically, it is far superior to other Christian schools like BJU or Liberty, but I’m still not a fan.</p>
<p>OTOH, I personally know a Wheaton grad who finished 2 years ago at Vanderbilt Law School (I don’t know where else he applied / was accepted or rejected) and landed a plum job with a top Chicago firm. I do think Wheaton has some credentials in the secular world that certainly a BJU or Liberty doesn’t.</p>
<p>I’d say Davidson is more conservative than Vanderbilt, but not truly “conservative” in the Wheaton College sense of the word.</p>
<p>None of the other schools on your list are like Wheaton, as others have said. You know there’s mandatory chapel attendance, right? None of the others on the list probably even have chapel. I attended Wheaton in the mid 90s, and lots of people I knew ended up in grad school: UCLA, Notre Dame, SUNY Stony Brook, Drew, Boston U., Yale Div., and a PhD program at Yale. Those are just people I can think of off the top of my head. It’s definitely a school that encourages it’s students to go to grad school. </p>
<p>I had a very good experience there, but won’t be encouraging my kids to apply. It has a very particular, narrow view of what “Christian” means, one I don’t share anymore. To each his or her own, though, so I’d encourage you to visit and see what you think. I really liked the campus, and being near Chicago is a great plus. </p>
<p>I’ve only posted on one other thread, but I’m learning so much here at CC! I’m completely addicted to the site. This is actually a topic I know something about. :)</p>
<p>I don’t think you will be at a disadvantage. Wheaton is ranked sixth among all small schools in the number of graduates it sends to Teach for America according to Time.</p>
<p>I’ve lived in geographic proximity to Wheaton for many years, have attended events/performances on campus, and know 2 recent grads.</p>
<p>Yes, Wheaton is a Christian school that puts faith and Christian service at the heart of everything it does. If you are not comfortable with that, you won’t be happy there.</p>
<p>Having said that, Wheaton is an outstanding college whose reputation and graduates are highly regarded among many, many graduate schools. It has a deservedly fine reputation.</p>
<p>A friend/former co worker now in a PhD program went there for undergrad. She said it was a good school, but that the religious element of the school did need to be directly addressed and sort of “defused” (for lack of a better word) in her grad school applications, though this may have been more the case in her field (Clinical Psychology) than in others.</p>
<p>momofwildchild: Is it correct to assume from your comment that you find it disturbing that grads from a school like Wheaton would fill many slots in TFA? Are you assuming something inherently bad about that? Can you clarify?</p>
<p>Sample of one, obviously - I have a young woman who works for me who is a grad of Wheaton College (married to the fellow grad who went to Vanderbilt law school and now has a plum job at a prestigious law firm here in Chicago). She’s “Christian” but it really doesn’t seem to be markedly different from sort of normal mainstream Christianity – she attends services on Christmas and Easter and seems to do all the normal things that a twentysomething girl does, including going drinking occasionally with girlfriends and the like. I’ve never seen or heard her do anything that was fundamentalist and / or evangelical in nature. She’s friendly socially with many of the people in our office who are gay and live very alternative lifestyles. Again, sample of one, but just saying. She certainly doesn’t come across as a God-squad type and I got the sense that she just preferred a quieter environment for college.</p>
<p>I suspect that there isn’t too much difference, in terms of “extreme” religious views, between the typical Wheaton grad and a person who graduated from a secular university but who was active in a Christian campus group.</p>
<p>That would be along the lines of how I would characterize this young woman, certainly. I can certainly think of people who went to my secular university who were far more outspoken and convicted about religious beliefs, including some who became pastors / ministers and others who went on evangelical missions to Third World countries.</p>
<p>I agree, Hunt. The students and faculty I’ve encountered there ARE actively involved in living the tenets of their faith on a daily basis, but that’s true of many Jews, Muslims, etc. Some people just make their faith a more active part of everyday life than others, but I don’t think that makes them “extreme.”</p>
<p>MomofWildChild…I can’t say I know anything about Wheaten but what could be so disturbing about faith based kids working in underprivileged areas? I would think the kids would benefit from being around all of that goodness. Just because kids are strong of faith it does not mean they are spreading the word, just living their life by it.</p>
<p>^^ Wheaton is on a different level from just being strong of faith. Not every graduate is extreme, of course, but the overall message is to promote the type of Christianity that gives the rest of us a bad name.</p>
<p>Here’s Wheaton’s Covenant:
[Wheaton</a> College - Community Covenant](<a href=“http://www.wheaton.edu/welcome/aboutus_community.html]Wheaton”>http://www.wheaton.edu/welcome/aboutus_community.html)
While this will certainly seem extreme to a lot of people, it’s actually quite a bit less extreme than what you will find at more fundamentalist institutions. Obviously, it’s not for everybody. But the members of Campus Crusade for Christ at your local state U. may have more extreme views.</p>
<p>I am not going to get into a religious debate here, but I don’t agree that homosexuality is to be condemned or that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ or that every word of the Bible is “God breathed”. I am saying this as a strong Episcopalian with a daughter who is a Candidate for Ordination. If Wheaton is a good fit for some, then great. I do not and will not ever support the Covenant.</p>