Would you allow your child to go to a college you’ve never heard of?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

At least one of them is only nominally Christian. There's not even a chapel on campus. I would say that devout Christians had a difficult time because the vast majority of the campus population did not attend church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

Northland and Green Mounrain aren’t. These are hardcore liberal environmentalist schools.

One is Unitarian and the other is Methodist. They’re on the liberal side of Christianity, but they’re still Christian.

NP. I am a Northland College alum. It was founded by the UCC, but religion does not play any role in the college’s mission, vision, or day-to-day life. A student looking for a Christian college experience would not be happy at Northland.

OP- I enjoyed my time at Northland. It is not a household name but the education I experienced was transformative and that’s what matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

Northland and Green Mounrain aren’t. These are hardcore liberal environmentalist schools.

One is Unitarian and the other is Methodist. They’re on the liberal side of Christianity, but they’re still Christian.

United Church of Christ, not Unitarian. I'll just out myself as a Northland grad and say you obviously have zero idea what you're talking about when it comes to this college. The out in the open spiritual life there is pretty much non existent. The few school-sanctioned religious displays featured practices of Ojibwe Native Americans. We certainly never had a public Christian prayer. I met faaaaaaar more atheists at Northland than I did practicing Christians. There were a handful of hardcore evangelicals who thought it their mission to save us tree-worshipping heathens, but they were greatly disliked. Anyone who has actually spent 5 minutes at Northland would know that calling it a "Christian SLAC " is laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

These schools are “Christian” in the same way that Carleton, Grinnell, Elon, Boston University, and Emory are. Aka not really at all.

[Anonymous]

No - if a potential employer needs to Google the name to confirm it's a real college that can't be a good thing for employment or advanvement.

[Anonymous]

Just dropped my college at a school I had never heard of before researching colleges. It seems like a great fit and they have a really good post graduation employment record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I’m not talking Denison or Kenyon or Knox or St. John’s. My kid is interested in schools like Northland College, Green Mountain College, Berry College.

I've heard of Green Mountai. Very granola crunchy. Also check out Warren Wilson College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

Northland and Green Mounrain aren’t. These are hardcore liberal environmentalist schools.

One is Unitarian and the other is Methodist. They’re on the liberal side of Christianity, but they’re still Christian.

Unitarian is a lot of things, but Christian ain't one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just dropped my college at a school I had never heard of before researching colleges. It seems like a great fit and they have a really good post graduation employment record.

This is the key question. This and graduate school matriculation.

And for employment, WHERE are the graduates employed? I don't just mean what industry, I mean geography. Are most staying close to the college town? If so, your offspring BETTER LIKE that college town and its immediate region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have only vaguely heard of Green Mountain College. Looking it up now, I see its highly specialized in environmental studies. It looks charming and like a really thoughtful place to study, if that makes any sense. And OOS tuition is $35k.

The only thing that would give me pause is the 66% acceptance rate. That is high and I have a mental ceiling of about 45% acceptance rate (UMD)and a preference for the 6-26% acceptance rate college choices. Yes, I base a huge amount of credibility in that statistic and don't adhere to the "there are many excellent colleges" cry- out because I don't believe that at all.

Yes, every student can just decide to go to a school with a 5 to 10% acceptance rate - no problem! I must have missed the part of OP's post where she stated that her kid is looking at Berry College or Green Mountain as alternatives to Williams, Harvard and Stanford. Surely, you must realize that these schools are not in reach for every student.

DD looked at Berry College when she thought she might want to do pre-vet, but ultimately didn't go that route. She did apply to one school that I had never heard of and seriously considered attending. My senior DS is also likely to apply to a school that I never heard of before he started his search. Oh and the most selective school on his list is Maryland with its 45% acceptance rate. The horror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

These schools are “Christian” in the same way that Carleton, Grinnell, Elon, Boston University, and Emory are. Aka not really at all.

Berry definitely is religious. They talk about Christian principles in their mission statement. The others are affiliated with churches, but appear less religious in an impact on everyday life sense. But don’t kid yourself; if a school is affiliated with a religion it makes a difference.

- Jewish Georgetown grad who definitely felt the impact of Georgetown’s Catholic identity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The have you heard of it test is pointless OP. We’ve all heard of large state colleges with middling academics but great althletic programs. What percentage of Americans have heard of Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Haverford, Grinnell, Macalaster, Swarthmore, Davidson or Kenyon?

There are a lot of metrics on which to choose a college— size, location, strength in your area of specialty, graduate placement, cost, and very definitely, will my kid thrive there. But have I heard of it is a bad one. Most people have only heard of Ivys/top 25 national universities, big state schools, football/basketball powerhouses, and colleges in their geographic area. That leaves out a lot of excellent colleges.

Right, but with a couple exceptions in your list, those are well ranked, well thought of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just dropped my college at a school I had never heard of before researching colleges. It seems like a great fit and they have a really good post graduation employment record.

This is the key question. This and graduate school matriculation.

And for employment, WHERE are the graduates employed? I don't just mean what industry, I mean geography. Are most staying close to the college town? If so, your offspring BETTER LIKE that college town and its immediate region.

Its in a very rural area. Employment opportunities nearby would be quite limited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

Northland and Green Mounrain aren’t. These are hardcore liberal environmentalist schools.

One is Unitarian and the other is Methodist. They’re on the liberal side of Christianity, but they’re still Christian.

Unitarian is a lot of things, but Christian ain't one of them.

They would disagree with you.

Also, you’re an ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the schools you mentioned are Christian. Does your kid have a particular desire to attend a Christian SLAC? Not criticizing that choice, but it’s just a possible explanation.

Northland and Green Mounrain aren’t. These are hardcore liberal environmentalist schools.

One is Unitarian and the other is Methodist. They’re on the liberal side of Christianity, but they’re still Christian.

Unitarian is a lot of things, but Christian ain't one of them.

They would disagree with you.

Also, you’re an ass.

UU here - and UU is based in Christianity and rejected the concept of the Trinity (thus the Unitarian). And historically, Jesus is revered as a great leader and man of faith, but not as a deity. That said, UUs borrow freely from other faiths and traditions, many UUs do not consider themselves "Christian" as such (being Jewish, Hindu, Wiccan etc.) and the cornerstone of the faith is the dignity and worth of ALL human beings no matter what, there is no dogma, and the Bible is just a book from which to learn.