2-iron

Others that have not been mentioned

Sewanee (BIG PARTY SCENE)
Southern Methodist
Samford (SUPER CONSERVATIVE)
Azusa Pacific
Centre College

Davidson, although it is the most conservative top LAC, is far from what I'd consider a "Christian school".

A-Card

BYU ? I know BYU is good. (Bring. Young U)

Joejitsu

Hello,

I believe I can help with some good suggestions. But first, I need a more detailed background of your church so that I can know the kind of values/doctrine you adhere to. Can you tell us more about the church ?
Do you adhere for instance to a CREED ( e.g. The Apostle's Creed, the Westminster Confession of Faith, a Statement of Faith ?).

limnath

Thanks everyone for your advise. It will be very invaluable for our youth group.

Joejitsu, to answer your question, our church is large ( 2,500 members ) with a large senior high youth group ( 100 members ) where about 30% are graduating soon.

I am one of their youth advisers.

Our church is quite conservative and adheres to the historic Christian faith. You know, Inerrant Word of God, Salvation by Grace through faith, etc.
We have a statement of faith similar to most Evangelical Churches in the country.

Hence, our high schoolers tend to be conservative, clean living folks.

A lot go to Christian high schools but a significant number go to public schools where they join Christian clubs.

In fact during summer, a lot of them go on missions groups, charity work for the urban poor, etc.

I hope this gives you a background of our graduates and their values.

Thanks again.

Titoroski

surprised no one mentioned Regent University in Va Beach, VA. It is home to CBN and Pat's crew. Just thought it was at least an honorable mentionable.

atrophicwhisper

.... Georgetown is technically Christian, but I'm not sure if it'd suit you because it's Jesuit as opposed to Evangelical. On a political spectrum, it's a bit more on the liberal than conservative side when looking at religious institutions. However, it's probably one of the best, if not the best, "Christian" university in the nation.

I think the average SAT more around 1400 as opposed to 1250, but its obviously still tangible if you're open to a Jesuit university.

If not, then the only other school I can think of off the top of my head would probably be Baylor (but someone already said that.)

cmbmom

Many students from very conservative Christian high schools in Maryland apply to Messiah (PA) and Liberty (VA).

SoCal18

Pepperdine is amazing!!!

Shrinkrap

My D could be one of the kids in the OP's youth group. she belongs to a few of them. Me and H didn't want Protestant Christian (She's been doing that for the last 13 yrs) but she applied to Santa Clara and Pepperdine. We visited Santa Clara and we could all feel good about that, but more observations about Pepperdine and Church of Christ would be nice.

phonyreal98

If we're throwing Catholic universities into the mix, I would say Notre Dame is definitely right up there with Georgetown.

bartleby

AFAIK, Notre Dame is much more Roman Catholic in its character than Georgetown, but I'm not certain.

mattmom

To the OP, I am a great admirer of Davidson College but I am not sure it meets the criteria you are looking for. Although it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, it does not preach a specific religious value to its students and it embraces religious differences and the broader community. There are many people of faith at the school but politically it is not especially conservative, just not wildly liberal, perhaps moderate compared to other schools of its stature. There are students who belong to active religious fellowships and others who do not who do not attend religious services of any nature. In addition, there are Muslim students and Jewish students, and many Catholic students as well as mainline Protestants. Despite the Presbyterian affiliation, no single religion dominates campus life, nor does doctrine really come into play much. The religion department offers courses in many religions, taught academically, not doctrinally--I suppose secular may be the word here. There is little if any proselytizing by religious students toward their less religious or differently religious colleagues--the college does not promote a sense that one belief system is more valid than another.

Essentially, the school has a strong foundation of ethical behavior and community service but does not really fit the conventional image of Christian school as you may be defining it. That said, it might be an interesting place for young people who have been brought up in a more narrowly Christian tradition, in that it would give them an opportunity to live in a more diverse environment while still being in a setting where some academically gifted students and teachers have religion as part of their lives--but many don't. Ethics and mutual respect are probably among the best lessons to be learned at Davidson, in addition to the high level of academics in general. I think it's the kind of place that makes everyone a better person but that is not tied to a Christian outlook in quite the way that your posts seem to be querying.

Sheed30

georgetown, duke .

Shrinkrap

"it might be an interesting place for young people who have been brought up in a more narrowly Christian tradition, in that it would give them an opportunity to live in a more diverse environment while still being in a setting where some academically gifted students and teachers have religion as part of their lives--but many don't. "

That is exactly what I'm looking for! But I'm not the OP ( nor am I my daughter...)

Joejitsu

OP,

I think I know what your criteria is, so let me put in my 2 cents worth as I have had the chance to travel the country and visit a lot of Christian colleges over the years.

Firstly, please remember that being TRADITIONALLY Christian and having been founded by a church or denomination in the past does not mean that it is NOW Christian. Many colleges today have all but abandoned that tradition.

For instance, the Ivies --- Harvard, Yale, Princeton were originally founded to train Christian Ministers and were very Christian in their worldview. Princeton for instance was founded after the Great Awakening of Jonathan Edwards and was very Presbyterian, adhering to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Needless
to say, these schools have all but abandoned that tradition and are now secular. Yes, they have Divinity Schools, but most of these are liberal ( although there are still pockets of conservatism among the faculty ). However, there is now NO EXPLICIT ADHERENCE to a Creed or Confession of Faith. I am not even sure if the student body or administration is sympathetic to Christian moral values in these schools anymore. Princeton for instance, has a Chair of Ethics occupied by a man who all but advocates infanticide if needed but I won't get to that.

Hence, I would eliminate such excellent traditionally "Christian" colleges/unis as -- Duke University ( founded by Methodists and Quakers), Southern Methodist University ( nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry), Mt. Holyoke College ( Original 7 seven sisters that was founded as a Seminary for women ), Macalester College ( still affiliated with the Presbyterian Church but VERY LIBERAL) in Minnesota and Amherst College ( which was originally founded for indigent young men of promising talents and hopeful piety, who shall manifest a desire to obtain a liberal education with a sole view to the Christian ministry).

Secondly, there are schools that are traditionally Christian but are slowly slipping away from Christian beliefs to become more secular BUT still have a lot of faculty members and administrators that SYMPATHIZE with Christian values and therefore, still demand at least the students subscribe to a code of conduct that MIRROR Christian morality.

DAVIDSON COLLEGE comes to mind. KALAMAZOO COLLEGE in Michigan is another.

These are EXCELLENT SCHOOLS, highly selective, with rigorous academics and strong moral foundations/ethics, conservative in general, but are not explicitly Christian anymore. If you don't mind that at all, I would highly recommend them.

Then there are schools that are church affilitated, adhere to a confession of faith, but where most traditional Christian would consider their creed UNORTHODOX. Let's face it, Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Christian Scientists and sometimes, Seventh Day Adventists are unfortunately considered by most Christians to be out of the mainstream. Heck, even Mitt Romney can't run for president without having his Mormon Faith an issues. Hence, I would eliminate the excellent Brigham Young University because it is Mormon. About 98% of the 34,000 students at BYU are members of the LDS Church and Approximately 97% of male BYU graduates take a two-year hiatus from their studies at some point to be Mormon missionaries.

There are also secular colleges that are CULTURALLY Christian and Conservative but whose administrators, although sympathetic to Christianity, deliberately keep the school secular. If you don't mind this, then such colleges as Hillsdale College in Michigan, Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and Texas A&M.



There are of course Catholic Colleges whose moral values MIRROR Evangelical ones but whose Theologies and Doctrines are different. If you don't mind this, then the following Schools will be GREAT and EXCELLENT : Franciscan University of Steubenville ( Ohio), Thomas Aquinas College ( California), Christendom College ( Virginia ) and University of Dallas.


Then of course, there are colleges and universities whose environment and culture are still underscored by its foundations in Biblical teachings which fundamentally influence student life and school policy. I am quite sure, based on your posts that these are the schools you have in mind for the kids in your church so I'll recommend specifically such schools.

Since your kids are quite smart ( you said SAT -- Critical Reading and Math averaging over 1250 ), I'll break the schools down into those whose average SAT scores are at or over 1250 and those whose average SAT scores are under that. Keep in mind that having an average SAT score of below 1250 does not mean the schools aren't good or not competitive. It really depends on the PROGRAM you get into. So here goes :

CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS WITH VERY HIGH SAT ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS ( Above 1250 ) :


Grove City College ( already mentioned ). I'd like to add that this school consistently outclashes most Ivy League Universities in consecutive nationwide studies made by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in cooperation with researchers from the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy to determine the extent of civic literacy in higher education. See here for instance :

Grove City students shine in history knowledge - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


Wheaton College ( Illinois ) : Alma mater of Billy Graham. More well known than Grove City because of its more high profile alumni.


Pepperdine University : Opulent hillside paradise in L.A.'s ritzy Malibu ... With popularity surging, only one in three applicants accepted ... Affiliation with Disciples of Christ means no drinking and strict visitation rules ... Dancing now allowed ... Business is by far the most popular program.

Baylor University : Flagship of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Calvin College : Noted for operating under an articulate and systematic vision. The thrust of the Calvin vision is that the Christian worldview can and should engage the various secular fields of learning with the intent of transforming them into agents of Christian renewal.

GOOD CHRISTIAN COLLEGES WITH AVERAGE SAT's BELOW 1250 :

Cedarville University (Ohio)

Regent University (Virginia)

Liberty University

Messiah College ( Pennsylvania )

Indiana Wesleyan University

Biola University ( Los Angeles )

College of the Ozarks ( Missouri)

Harding University ( Arkansas)

Hope College ( Michigan)

Azusa Pacific (California)

Anderson University ( Indiana )

Belhaven College ( Mississippi )

Union University ( Tennessee )

I'm sure I've missed some others, but these are my recommendations.