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Author Topic: Do you know anything about these colleges?  (Read 109797 times)
askingquestionsaboutGCI
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« on: September 12, 2008, 11:48:12 am »

My daughter was accepted by 8 colleges last year, but decided to stay local at Towson University, which is looking more and more like a huge mistake after only 2 1/2 weeks there.  We may be discussing the option of transferring next year -- or next SEMESTER, if things continue at this rate.

If you have any info on these colleges, please let me know.  We visited several of them during her college search, but I'd love to know other people's opinions, not just the sell-job the college does when you visit.  Thanks.

1)  Indiana Wesleyan, Marion, IN
2)  Cedarville University, Ohio
3)  Palm Beach Atlantic, Florida
4)  Anderson University, Ohio
5)  Hope College, Michigan

Thanks for any input.
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exshep
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« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2008, 09:46:00 am »

All conservative colleges. Cedarville  is a small school owned by the General Association of Regular Baptists.   If you have not had any problems with GC fellowships, this can be a good school.  If you have had problems, it might be  uncomfortably close for comfort.

Keep in mind all the schools are small and in small towns.  If the experience at the schools is not favorable, the college experience can be uncomfortably claustrophobic.  I was a prospective student at Earlham College.  Had it not gone well,  there would not be much in Richmond IN to fall back on.

It is funny  that this post came up.  I was chatting with students of two small schools who felt like they were in prison.    Curry College is  in a remote wooded area and Clark University is in an extremely rough neighborhood too unsafe to venture far from campus.  

I can understand the issues with Towson.  My alma mater  is in a  similar plight at the moment.  

Small schools do have the advantage of  close relationships with students and faculty.  I can see the benefits of the schools.  

I realize the thread is off topic for the forum.  I ask the admins be gracious and allow the need to be filled.   I pray that  you can find the school that can be the right  fit.  Best wishes in your efforts.  I am no expert, but if you want to send a PM off forum, be my guest.
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Had friend in Columbus church 80's and 90s. Member left in 1993  Involved GC in Texas  2005-2007.  Empathy to both  with  positive and negative aspects.
EverAStudent
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« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2008, 11:06:34 am »

Of those you listed, I only have first hand dealings with grads and present students at Cedarville.  Therefore, I offer nothing negative or positive about the others.

Cedarville has won my highest respect for:

  1) teaching students how to actually exegete Scripture for themselves (as opposed to the GCx approach of "here is what the elders require you to believe this passage says")

  2) encouraging independent thinking, but never "unorthodox" doctrine

  3) encouraging Christian service in venues where they do not actually control the student

  4) fostering a real enthusiasm for serving the kingdom

It may just be that the place naturally draws students who have those qualities already rather than influencing the students to be that way, but then, is that bad?

Sadly, Cedarville is very expensive.  The only other down side I have seen is a bit of arrogance on the part of some grads, not with respect to knowledge or doctrine, but with respect to whom they "befriend," preferring strongly to keep their close friendships with other Cedarville grads.  Yet, if I could afford it, I would send my own son there.
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exshep
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« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2008, 08:41:27 am »

I had a roommate who was did his undergrad work  at  Cedarville. He was delightful.    I also worked with a  couple at Metro Airlines  who met at Cedarville.  Both  were  a delight.    The one who  went out on missions were too forceful  for my taste. They were robotically quoting scripture and not leaving room for honest inquiry.  All of a sudden GC sounded appealing.  

They also have  network of radio stations across Ohio.  The programming is sound and balanced.

The only caveat  is one had  run aground with GC,  then the potential for flashbacks might be a bit much.

Sounds like  a good list of schools.  Keep us posted.
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Had friend in Columbus church 80's and 90s. Member left in 1993  Involved GC in Texas  2005-2007.  Empathy to both  with  positive and negative aspects.
Angry
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« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2008, 09:24:24 am »

Depends which field of study she is pursuing.  If your Daughter is undecided as to a major, I would have her look at a local communty college and save some money.  Hope College in Holland Michigan is known for churning out teachers.  If she wants to get into teaching, great.  Outside of that field though, their diplomas are worth no more or no less than a public four year college.
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DrSam
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« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2008, 06:31:34 pm »

Unless you are pretty wealthy, the yearly tab at many of these private schools can be around $30,000.00. That is $120,000.00 for a four year degree. Worth it? I don't think so. I would rather spend that money on grad school or a down payment of a home. I tell all my students to go to a junior college or a state school, live at home if you can, go as cheap as you can and then pay the bucks for a top school on the graduate level.

If you must go to a Christian school then send her to the top ones like Wheaton, etc.

If your child is partying with the "heathen" then something may have gone wrong with the inoculation process at home. I attended undergrad Christian institutions when they were more affordable in the seventies and I knew plenty of kids that went berserk and took drugs then. Remember Frank Graham? I had him in a class where he mocked the 80 year old English Ph.D. He eventually got thrown out (I saw when he was forced to leave campus) for an indiscretion on his part. The rest is history.



Quote from: "askingquestionsaboutGCI"
My daughter was accepted by 8 colleges last year, but decided to stay local at Towson University, which is looking more and more like a huge mistake after only 2 1/2 weeks there.  We may be discussing the option of transferring next year -- or next SEMESTER, if things continue at this rate.

If you have any info on these colleges, please let me know.  We visited several of them during her college search, but I'd love to know other people's opinions, not just the sell-job the college does when you visit.  Thanks.

1)  Indiana Wesleyan, Marion, IN
2)  Cedarville University, Ohio
3)  Palm Beach Atlantic, Florida
4)  Anderson University, Ohio
5)  Hope College, Michigan

Thanks for any input.
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askingquestionsaboutGCI
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« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2008, 06:14:32 am »

Well, so far, she's not "partying with the heathen", but she's certainly getting "hit on" by them.  She even had a drunk GIRL make a pass at her in an elevator one night.  A guy she knew tried to commit suicide, and left his suicide note/text message on HER phone -- great..... she was the last person he tried to contact, so the police were all over the place....  She's been sick almost since the day she arrived, and of course, being a large state school, no one really cares.... And on and on and on..... (those are the ones that are EASY to write about!)

I know that in ANY school, these things COULD happen -- I'm not that naive.  I just think that the acceptance of these things as an everyday, normal occurence wouldn't be present at a Christian school.

And as for cost -- I absolutely agree.  However, this is a smart kid, and she was offered HUGE scholarships at each college, so for us, the difference between where she's going and most of those other schools was only about $700 per year -- not enough to worry about.

Please be praying as we work through all of this.
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wastedyearsthere
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« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2008, 06:49:40 am »

My daughter went to a Christian school her first semester.  The academics were good but the expense was high.  $30,000 a year.  She had to take out loans.  I told her she could continue going there (on loans) or go to the local community college for $1400 a semester which we would pay.  She chose to do this!!  She was disappointed with the other "Christian" kids there -- many were from "religious" homes but weren't true Christians -- some were very immature Christians.  My daughter was hoping for a very strong Christian college.

I'm going this route now -- 2 years at a local community college to get general ed classes and then to a state college for the rest of my kids classes.
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MidnightRider
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« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2008, 08:37:13 am »

Another thing to keep in mind besides the cost: You may not really be getting a Christian education when you send your child to a Christian college. If they hire Ph.D.s for all the subjects and use the same textbooks as the non-Christian schools, you may be getting the same secular humanist education you would get at Enormous State University. In that case, your $120K is not buying you much more than a "Christian environment".
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EverAStudent
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« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2008, 08:18:20 am »

Quote
And as for cost -- I absolutely agree. However, this is a smart kid, and she was offered HUGE scholarships at each college, so for us, the difference between where she's going and most of those other schools was only about $700 per year -- not enough to worry about.


In that case, tell her to enjoy Cedarville!!!!  From all I have heard, it is still the recommendation I would give.

When I first went to college, out of my own savings (I was working since I was 10) I paid to attend a small Christian college in northern Indiana.  In many ways it was unwise.  I was broke after 1.5 years, even working on the side.  Many of the young men in my dorm were only there because they had soccer or basket ball scholarships from the school and were not at all interested in academics or spiritual pursuits.  My roommate would drive over the border to get drunk with some of the other guys.  Sorry to say that much of this set me up for entering GCI where I thought I perceived that everyone was so much more focused on spiritual inititiatves.  

From all that, I attended a state college to get a real education, during which we left GCI and attended the best church of which I have ever been a member.  God is so kind.

There is no heaven on earth, but there are places that are better than others.  You really can get a good education at almost any quality school, secular or Christian.  Some Christian schools are better at putting Christ forward as a priority, more so than others.  Do talk with those who have attended such schools and get a feel for how well they do this.
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askingquestionsaboutGCI
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« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2008, 06:01:31 pm »

Quote from: "DrSam"


If your child is partying with the "heathen" then something may have gone wrong with the inoculation process at home.


Y'know, Dr. Sam, I just could not let this comment go unanswered.  I've tried to ignore it, but it has popped into my head over and over and over again since you wrote it.  I hope you didn't mean it this way, but I took it as a real insult against the job my husband and I have done raising our childen, and you don't even know us!  Prior to your comment, I never once said what my concerns over the college were -- I certainly never said my child was off partying or anything else like that.

And yes, this is my "problem" child -- the one that I've gotten more gray hairs over than all the rest, the one that I've spent more time praying for than all the rest!  I've successfully "launched" two others into adulthood -- I don't feel that our "inoculation process" was terribly flawed.  We're certainly not perfect, but by the grace of God, we've tried to do the best we can.  

Comments such as those are disheartening, demoralizing, and totally unnecessary.
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wastedyearsthere
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« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2008, 07:42:46 pm »

I find Dr. Sam's statement also disturbing.  This was the line we were fed at GCC constantly.  That if you raise up our child in the way he should go when he is old he will not depart from it.  They used this verse in proverbs as a promise not as a principle.  I've known many godly, strong Christians who raised their children in a Christ centered home and yet some of those children have made choices that are sinful.  Who was to blame?  I know many of these parents who already were in pain being blamed for their children's indescretions by leaders at GCC.  I personally had a conversation with a GCC elder that believed that if children went astray that their parents were to blame.  I brought up Adam and Eve and God being the perfect parent -- and yet they sinned.  God has given us free choice and even if children are raised in strong Christian homes they can still make choices to go astray and sin.   This is a strong memory for me in why we made the choice to leave GCC.  I felt this was a theological inaccuracy not to mention hurtful.  

I agree with askingquestionsaboutGCI.  We need to support parents experiencing pain with our children's poor choices and not question how they were parented.
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theresearchpersona
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« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2008, 01:47:15 pm »

Not just choice, but a man's natural tendency...it's up to God to save someone, and to worship Him one must be born from above, as Jesus said; the way to God is worshipping the Lord first and absolutely: and parents should point in that direction. But I think even GC tends to forget that...too many "GCers" I've known acted completely unchristian all their "Christian" childhood, and one day "decided I needed to act like a Christian", but they don't love Christians, and they still don't evidence a lot of what the Word says is found in Christians. Particularly disturbing: but as pastors in the old days said, we need even to preach the gospel in the Church: for the unregenerate because some in our services are inevitable, for Christians because they love it, and for remembrance: but GC preaches modified forms driven with the waves and winds, however, and they're more interested in evangelization as if preaching were a philosophy debate, than laying what's plain out and letting God do the rest: they don't trust Him to do the work, so they turn to their own...including in trying to "act like a Christian".
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DrSam
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« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2008, 05:10:12 pm »

Amazing!

My statement:

If your child is partying with the "heathen" then something may have gone wrong with the inoculation process at home.

I am a psychotherapist and a parent. I know very well how volatile raising children can be. You could be Jesus Christ and still have a Judas. People have the power of choice. We all know that.

Again, I used the word "MAY" which is VERY different from "something did go wrong."

I hope my clarification has helped to stop the speculation and putting all the theological theories of what I meant to rest.

Blessings,

MR. Samuel Lopez De Victoria
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theresearchpersona
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« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2008, 02:08:51 am »

Something did, in the common man's eyes, go wrong: man fell into a nature of sin, which reigned since Adam. : )

That said, every child like every other person growing up and grown-up, needs Christ like everyone else: and we can raise kids strictly, or not; admonish them to do good or not; and whether or not they do, they, like everyone else, need the salvation in Christ that comes from God: and we do what we can to exhort them to do well, but the salvation and new man part is up to our Lord!
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askingquestionsaboutGCI
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« Reply #15 on: September 29, 2008, 12:50:00 pm »

Quote from: "DrSam"


Again, I used the word "MAY" which is VERY different from "something did go wrong."



Funny (as in "ironic" funny, not "ha-ha" funny).....  as soon as I hit the "send" button, I had the thought of "Which word/emphasis will he shift to get out of this one?"  Politicians and psychotherapists...... always have to leave themselves some wiggle-room!!!

And that's it for me on this side-topic -- I refuse to have battles of the wit with either the unarmed -- OR -- the overly armed!!  I was simply trying to get the "inside scoop" on some of these colleges, and somehow the question devolved into this.....
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theresearchpersona
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« Reply #16 on: September 30, 2008, 03:33:42 am »

Though linguistically "may" does change the verb entirely!

: D

Just lightening the atmosphere; I'm also a fan of exact English, though, for some personal info.
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g8torgirl
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« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2009, 11:01:55 pm »

Does anyone know what the GCM-affiliated church at the University of Florida is like?
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theresearchpersona
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« Reply #18 on: March 07, 2009, 09:11:53 am »

Does anyone know what the GCM-affiliated church at the University of Florida is like?

I remember somebody here mention shennanigans about GC* sending "help" to H2O there, a take-over band and overruning of "help" familes, and a consequent exodus.

As for GatorC.L., one of the guys that helped start it was one of those on Wikipedia trying to purge the article, and ended-up confronted by another assignee-to-purge/cleanse-Wikipedia-turned-repentant (who subsequently came and posted here in apology if the other Wiki editors come by here, and said he would keep an eye out for WP tampering: that repentant guy is Nate Swinton, though he hasn't posted here in a while), and others over there.

That's what I can gather from what I remember.
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g8torgirl
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« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2009, 04:13:23 pm »

Thank you! I have been doing some research and wanted to know if anyone had any personal experiences with the GCl group at UF
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