<p>Yes, I know these are not schools usually disccussed on this site, but these are three my daughter is considering for English major. Cornerstone is in our home town, Grace offers Illustration which she is also interested in. Daughter will probably be a NMS with 212 in MI. We are looking for anyone’s experience at these three schools. Thanks!</p>
<p>If she is NMS and interested in English, has she considered Calvin or Wheaton, two Christian schools with traditionally terrific English departments?</p>
<p>I would suggest that your daughter examine more options than the ones that you have shared, homeschoolingmom. I know Grace and Bethel, IN pretty well, since I lived in N. Indiana for many years. Both are good schools, and Grace has an excellent scholarship opportunity. However, none of these schools typically matriculate the kind of academic firepower that your daughter possesses. That doesn’t mean everything; it could well be that one of these schools is best for her. However, I wouldn’t want her to miss out on some great opportunities merely by never having looked at them.</p>
<p>My son was NMS and received a great scholarship at Clemson in South Carolina. While I’m not necessarily recommending Clemson for your daughter (it’s more of a science and engineering school than liberal arts), there are many amazing schools that have great Christian students. Clemson gave all of that and more to my son. He would never have gone there had we not broadened our search beyond the midwest.</p>
<p>If you are focused on conservative evangelical Christian schools, you might be interested to know that Liberty University provides a totally free ride (tuition & room and board) to all National Merit Scholars who attend there. see: [Financial</a> Aid - Scholarships - Liberty University](<a href=“Scholarships | Student Financial Services | Liberty University”>Scholarships | Student Financial Services | Liberty University)</p>
<p>It looks like Grace offers full tuition to NMSers. See: [Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Bethel, IN gives $6000 and consideration for more in competitive scholarships. See: [url=<a href=“http://www.bethelcollege.edu/offices/financialaid/scholarship.php]Bethel”>http://www.bethelcollege.edu/offices/financialaid/scholarship.php]Bethel</a> College: Financial Aid](<a href=“http://grace.edu/admissions/scholarships.php]Scholarships[/url”>http://grace.edu/admissions/scholarships.php)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that both Bethel and Grace are denominational schools (Missionary Church and Grace Brethren respectively). It is possible that not belonging to those churches would make one’s application for a competitive scholarship less competitive. I would suggest making a delicate inquiry of admissions counselors on this point.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight. You have expressed some of my concerns. D also is interested in a Biology Minor, one of her hobbies is Creation Research and she would like to attend a college whose biology department will support Creation. She also has concerns about being too many hours away from her … HORSE! (not family). She would like to be able to come home weekends. She has already received departmental scholarships from both Bethel and Grace through Art and Writing competitions which is what first brought those locations to our attention. Grace will provide full-tuition scholarships to NMF which adds to the attraction. She just completed an on-line Dual Enrollement course at Cedarville (4.0) and is starting Dual Enrollment on campus at Cornerstone. This should give her a feel of the challenges available there, others have told us she will be bored at Cornerstone. She also prefers a non-party school atmosphere. Many of our family members have graduated from Calvin and have shared with us their experiences: they now teach strong evolution, they have their share of drinking/drugs, are beginning to openly promote alternative lifestyles, and we don’t care to spend $20,000 year for that (they only offer $10,000 to NMF). Hope this doesn’t offend but I need to be honest about what we are looking for. I am still interested in addition comments.</p>
<p>I live in a small, rural school district in northern Indiana. We have had students go to both schools, particularly Bethel, over the last ~25 years. I do not know all the particulars regarding each school, but the students I have known have enjoyed those schools. We seem to have quite a few boys who play/played sports at Bethel. The two freshman I know there are Methodists. One did comment over break that they have “cussing” fines and mandatory chapel. Didn’t seem to bother him.</p>
<p>Has your daughter considered Taylor or Huntington? Don’t know how they are in her major, but we’ve had happy students there too. I know Taylor is well regarded in many areas.</p>
<p>I completely get the horse thing too, although in our case it was a goat herd! Good luck to your D.</p>
<p>I hate to break it to you but there are very few schools now a days that don’t have their share of drugs/alcohol anymore, even Christian colleges like Calvin. Considering your daughter is a National Merit Scholar, you also have to consider that your daughter has great potential academically and your goal should be to find her a school that provides a proper balance between your and her beliefs and academics. I understand about your views about Calvin, has your daughter looked at other schools like Wheaton or Notre Dame (it’s a catholic school, not sure what you think about that)? If strong evolution teachings is a problem, can I suggest a school nearby called Hillsdale College? It’s a non-Christian school but the majority of students there are christian. If you want a great christian school academically but don’t want as much of the partying/drug/alcohol use, I think that your best options are Calvin and Wheaton in my opinion.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman at Clemson University and I’ve seen just about everything that goes against my christian beliefs. If you have any questions about life on a typical non-christian college campus as a christian, feel free to send me a message!</p>
<p>I am sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that my D would not be exposed to drugs/alcohol. We had both items in my christian hs and plenty at Calvin College 25 years ago. Unfortunately my D has been exposed since birth to a close relative that has fought a losing battle with sub. abuse. As a result she probably has learned more about the detox centers, homelessness, financial ruin, damaged relationships etc. than many her age. Because of her personality: NOT a mall-rat, doesn’t watch TV (except for the National Spelling Bee ;^)), cannot stand drinking/smoking, reads, writes and draws non-stop, we figured a smaller campus with a signed code of conduct would enable her to meet more like-minded peers and that will help to ensure a positive experience at college. Grace continues to come up on the radar because of Illustration Classes, Full Scholarship, less than 3 hours away. We have been checking out Hillsdale, also less than three hours but no Illustration Classes. One difficulty is that by being homeschooled she doesn’t see that her academic achievements are above average. She is now a member of a Homeschool National Honor Society and this has helped her to understand there are others like her around the area, and that her level of performance is above average and it has also helped her to reach for higher levels of achievement. If we decide on Cornerstone (hometown) or Grace, IN we will definitely be pursuing the Honors Program to help challenge her. She wants to write books, write research articles and illustrate. We have suggested pursuing a degree that would allow her to work in the publishing/editing field until she can establish a reputation. We are not convinced this field requires a top tier school.
I really appreciate the comments and private messages, they confirm some of what we have heard and also remind us of other options. I would not mind hearing from more!</p>
<p>Have you looked into Spring Arbor (MI) at all? I don’t know much other than the literature that my D received in the mail. Smaller, Christian school, fairly close to GR.</p>
<p>We have NMS twins attending Grace with many positive things to say about the school. We found the school through Dr. Donald DeYoung, professor (strong Creation Science proponent) having heard him speak several summers at a Christian family camp in the U.P. of MI. There is no compromise on this position at Grace. Our family, while evangelical, are not members of Grace Brethren and did not find that to be a hurdle. Our sons have received an excellent education with ample personal attention from their professors. The strength to this small college is the ready access to opportunities for personal growth and development. Ask about their Millennial Scholar Academy or check it out online. We have observed faithful adherence to Scriptural standards of behavior without legalism. Glad to say more.</p>