Looking for Christian college with good national reputation

rstuben · 09-27-2009, 06:03 PM

My daughter would like to go to a Christian College. We are very familiar w/ Wheaton but think she'd have trouble getting in cuz she's not involved in our church youth group. She is High School Varsity Soccer Captain, Varsity Lacrosse, and Hospital Volunteer yet we're not as involved as Wheaton would like to see in church due to time constraints and "cliquiness".
She has a 93.5 weighted average and many EC. What other schools have a good National Reputation and you can grow spiritually. Her 26 ACT is not as good as her high school ave. We've thought of Calvin, Hope, Gordon. Would like to know more about Pepperdine?
Any thoughts on getting in Wheaton w/o a strong church going rep?

susgeek · 09-27-2009, 06:58 PM

Have you considered Houghton?

Houghton College: National Recognition

I have a couple friends' kids who go there, and one friend's son works in the library there.

gwu_girl · 09-27-2009, 10:35 PM

I am a freshman at Pepperdine this year. It is a fantastic school. I think she will have better chances getting in if she retook the ACT and shot for maybe a 30.
The spiritual life is great. There is always something going on — from convocation, to student-led worship, small groups, etc.
The location in Malibu is beautiful. It's a very safe, clean area, but it's only 20 minutes away from all the resources of Los Angeles.
What are your questions?
What is your daughter thinking of majoring in?

Creekland · 09-28-2009, 10:46 AM

I've heard good things about Geneva (PA), Cedarville (OH) and Union U (TN) in my searches... Union has stayed on my son's list - he's already applied. They have free applications until 9/30 via their website.

I'm pretty sure my son's short list is going to be Covenant (GA), Union, GCC and possibly Wheaton. Covenant is small, but ranked highly by Forbes and USNWR (in its class) and has a good program in my son's major (Community Development) so it's likely to be our first choice, but we still need to visit Union and GCC to compare. The only drawback I have with it is its size... but my son considers the size to be a plus. He likes small.

musicnerd · 09-28-2009, 01:39 PM

Belhaven in Jackson, MS is worth a look. They have a women's soccer team. They are one of 25 schools accredited in all four *arts* disciplines, but they have many other majors as well.

My dd's first choice was Union, until we visited Belhaven. It changed because she is a music major and Belhaven has EXACTLY the program she is looking for. It is even smaller than Union...with only about 1000 traditional students, but she LIKES that and is drawn to it. Also, we have been on campus twice now and just really, really like the school and the atmosphere.

(Oops! I'm Musicnerd's mom, posting under her name! Forgot to log her out!)

rstuben · 10-05-2009, 04:31 PM

We were looking into Pepperdine and wondered about the Christian atmosphere. She wants a school that she can grow and the students are Christian but there isn't a stifling atmosphere w/ ridiculous rules. Wants fun but not just of the drinking, smoking kind.
She'd like to major in Art and Psychology and possibly go into art education or art therapy. How is the Art dept. at Pepperdine?

rstuben · 10-05-2009, 04:34 PM

We thought of Houghton but it's smaller than her high school and predominantly girls so she hasn't looked seriously at it. We saw Messiah and she didn't love it. She was thinking of looking into Gordon but have since heard some not great thinks about. She's also looking into Hope and Calvin.

berryberry61 · 10-06-2009, 08:50 AM

You should also consider Grove City which has a very good reputation

rstuben · 10-06-2009, 08:13 PM

Does anyone know what the atmosphere is at Grove City. Some things I've read have been re: complaining of too many rules?.

Creekland · 10-07-2009, 07:45 AM

I've talked with 2 students that go to GCC (currently). One is in Engineering and the other is in Entrepreneurship. Both absolutely love the school. Neither complained a bit about rules, but they did complain about winter... Neither talk was set up by GCC - just students I know. I've also talked with other parents who have students there. None mentioned rules at all. They did say it's a very conservative/libertarian leaning school politically, but were also totally in support of the school and thought it was a good choice for their students.

From the current stats, it's probably as hard to get into GCC as Wheaton right now. Their mid range SAT scores are quite similar.

GCC: 570 - 700 CR
580 - 690 M
26 - 30 ACT

Wheaton: 600 - 700 CR
610 - 690 M
27 - 31 ACT

Grove City is slightly larger (621 vs 581 freshmen).

wildwoodscott · 10-07-2009, 12:52 PM

I also recommend Grove City. My son graduated from there a couple of years ago. If you are serious about the school, I would recommend visiting and interviewing. GCC places a lot of stock in the interview with the admissions counselor.

phear_me · 10-08-2009, 12:08 AM

Biola University - A Private Christian University in Southern California

Wheaton College: Home

rstuben · 10-08-2009, 09:58 AM

Does anyone know anything about Palm Beach Atlantic in Florida or Point Lomo Nazarene in San Diego?

berryberry61 · 10-08-2009, 12:00 PM

rstuben - regarding the atmosphere at Grove City - I have never heard anyone (and I know several who have attended) complain of too many rules. I would surmise in fact that if you were looking at Wheaton per your first post, that the rules at Grove City and Wheaton would be similiar.

Grove City is indeed more conservative / libertarian than some other christian colleges. That said, I believe Grove City brings in a more religiously diverse group (ie far more catholics) than Wheaton. So if your concern about your D not being admitted to Wheaton is lack of involvement in her church group, you may find thats not really an issue at Grove City

Whistle Pig · 10-08-2009, 02:39 PM

Again, don't assume. Doing so only leads to assumptions.