<p>
OK, but as I pointed out, there are thousands of college graduates every year who believe these things, but are graduating from (almost) every college in the land.</p>
<p>That is absolutely true, but they aren’t all gathered together in a place that, basically, asks that every student accepts these views.</p>
<p>I guess the proof becomes how they interact in the real world that includes homosexuals and non-Christians. The young woman I’m referencing seems to have no problem with it, and if she believes we’re all going to h-e-double-hockey-sticks, she’s keeping it to herself. I’m not sure that I’d believe that the BJU or Liberty U grad would be as able to deal with “heathens” in the workplace.</p>
<p>I don’t think the OP was asking about whether individual posters support Wheaton’s covenant. It asked about Wheaton’s reputation, particularly among graduate schools. I’ll say again that Wheaton has a deservedly fine reputation.</p>
<p>Well, momofsongbird. It’s an internet forum. Someone mentioned TFA and I commented. The topic digressed. Imagine that! </p>
<p>I completely agree that BJU and Liberty are on an entirely different level.</p>
<p>Yes, momofwildchild, the topic digressed and I then pulled it back to the original post, as people sometimes will do on internet forums. Imagine that.</p>
<p>I’m Catholic. I say that so you will know where I’m “coming from.” </p>
<p>There’s a group of Evangelical Protestants in my neighborhood. They are wonderful people, but some of them tend to isolate their kids from the mainstream, especially when young. They send their kids to “Christian” schools and/or home school them. They actively discourage friendships between the younger children and others who don’t share their views (including Catholics.) Not all of them do this and it seems to be very much a point of contention within the group as to how far you should go. </p>
<p>Some of these kids have gone to Wheaton. One of those has gone on to a respected Ph.D. program. Others have gone to more secular colleges where their lives revolved around Campus Crusade for Christ, bible study groups, Athletes for Christ, etc. There was some social backlash against families who let their kids take the second route. </p>
<p>What bothers me about Wheaton–though in fairnesss, from what I can figure out, it isn’t as extreme as Messiah, Taylor, Houghton and other Evangelical colleges–is the emphasis on getting married. The attitude is that it is important to marry another “Christian” and students will never again be in a situation in which they will be assured that all the members of the opposite sex they interact with are “suitable.” I think Wheaton still rings the campus bell every time two of its students get engaged to each other. It’s seen as a cause for great celebration. </p>
<p>My impression -which is just that, my impression–is that this has created great pressure on some students to marry or at least get engaged before they are mature enough to do so. One of the kids in this circle in my neighborhood is divorced with a young child. It might have happened anyway, but I think she really felt pressured to find a husband before graduation. </p>
<p>I think Wheaton is aware of this. If you look at its website, you’ll see that a large part of its counseling service is devoted to “pre-marital counseling.” I see this as a good thing and I give Wheaton credit for it. </p>
<p>That said, I find the pressure to find a lifelong mate before graduation which these young people, especially the women, experience, unfortunate. They are no different in this respect from other groups who promote young marriages (in part it seems as a defense against pre-marital sex) like modern Orthodox Jews, Mormons, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t want to get into an argument about religious beliefs here. However, I do think this social atmosphere should be taken into account by someone considering Wheaton. The kids from the same group who have gone to regular colleges but spent their time socially mostly with kids with similar beliefs just don’t seem to include “finding a mate by graduation day” at the top of their lists. They DO seem to marry at a somewhat younger age than their non-religious classmates, which I’m sure is in part because of their beliefs about pre-marital sex. Still, there’s not this attitude that they’ve somehow “failed” if they finish college without having found “the one.” </p>
<p>I would, of course, urge the OP to investigate further. My impression is just based on my observations of the families from our neighborhood and their friends.</p>
<p>One other anecdote. Lots of folks I went to school with at Wheaton wouldn’t feel comfortable with the Covenant either now that they’ve grown up a bit, and, honestly, I think it’s because of the critical thinking skills that they developed at Wheaton! I think this is a big frustration of the administration. Friends have become Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopalian/Anglican (lots of them!), Quaker and completely secular. Of course lots of them have stayed snugly in the mainstream of American Evangelicalism. Part of it depends on the major, of course. No Philosophy majors that I knew have remained Evangelical. :)</p>
<p>Well, it’s all relevant, because it shows you that some people will have a negative impression of Wheaton. In general, it has a good rep academically–certainly the best of any of the Protestant evangelical “Christian” colleges.</p>
<p>
I just read that at BYU, 23% of the undergrads are *already *married.</p>
<p>Here’s a link that suggests my perception isn’t entirely false:
[The</a> Waiting Game | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction](<a href=“http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/19.29.html]The”>The Waiting Game | Christianity Today)</p>
<p>As for BYU, while Mormons also encourage early marriage, the statistic is a bit misleading because many Mormon men --maybe even the majority at a school like BYU–complete a 1-2 year “mission” before entering college or, more commonly, half way through. So, the typical undergrad is somewhat older than at many other colleges.</p>
<p>Well, actually this question was asked in the OP
I can’t see how any post commenting so far is off-topic on a question that broad. </p>
<p>Wheaton is ,IMO, clearly at the pinnacle of evangelical Christian higher education and students seem to do well in grad school admissions. </p>
<p>Beyond that, I believe our answers will vary based on each individual poster’s views on evangelical Christian education and evangelical Christians. Gee. Imagine that. Probably not that helpful to the OP. </p>
<p>If , as the article suggested, this fella is recruiting evangelicals only for any organization serving the under-served, well…that is not entirely pleasant to me either, MOWC. It makes me think of Christian evangelical missionary work among the heathen animists. A bit un-settling on many levels.</p>
<p>OP - what would draw you to an explicitly religious / Christian school as opposed to a more secular school where you could participate in Campus Crusade for Christ or similar types of groups? Maybe articulating the pros and cons of each of those options might help you think it through.</p>
<p>I thought this was an interesting quote from the early marriage article:
My question is this: why should you expect spiritual maturity to be different from any other kind?</p>