I live in Fairfax Co. and know four families who sent their kids to Liberty (two online, two to the actual university). I can't think of a way to put this politely, but I seriously doubt any of the kids had the grades to get into any of the more respected religious schools. One of the kids went there after dropping out of NOVA midway through her first semester because she couldn't keep up with the curriculum.

Among Christian LACs, I have met a number of very intelligent, thoughtful people and have heard good things about the academic quality of Hope College in Michigan.

Pepperdine and Baylor also come to mind as having respectable academics (unlikely Liberty), but still being religious colleges.

I also don't hear of DC-area kids going to Patrick Henry, though I know of several HS kids who attended debate camps there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

The same Wheaton College that suspended a professor for saying Muslims and Christians believe in the same god?

https://www.thefire.org/wheaton-college-shows-what-a-warning-school-looks-like/

Well if you don't agree with their actions that's fine - their beliefs are not for everyone - but Wheaton is a respected, rigorous liberal arts college whose rank is similar to schools like Lawrence, Muhlenberg, St.Olaf, Sarah Lawrence etc. aka schools DCUMs seemingly have no issue with and are pretty "legitimate".

Liberty is basically a step above a for-profit college and is not seen as a serious academic institution.

It's hard to be a serious academic institution when religious orthodoxy is more important than academic freedom of speech. And that's true for both Wheaton and Liberty.

I looked at all 3 of those schools, and know people who went to all of them. Liberty doesn't really provide a serious education. It's a fun die school. Wheaton has some great professors( John Walton for example) but the student body is fairly liberal for a Christian college. The academics are strong. Wheaton did the right thing in firing Dr. Hawkins. Christians and Muslims do NOT worship the same God. Grove City is probably the best of the 3 for a conservative Christian. Strong academics and a pretty conservative student body.

I know one family whose DC turned down an ivy for Wheaton. And I know 2 people with kids at Liberty but one lives in MI and the other is a Christian missionary in Africa.

I'm originally from Chicago and the first 10 years of my career were there. Anyone who applies for a job and went to Wheaton gets a bit of a side eye - it's like a big red warning flag that they're uber-conservative. Just something to be aware of.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

The same Wheaton College that suspended a professor for saying Muslims and Christians believe in the same god?

https://www.thefire.org/wheaton-college-shows-what-a-warning-school-looks-like/

Well if you don't agree with their actions that's fine - their beliefs are not for everyone - but Wheaton is a respected, rigorous liberal arts college whose rank is similar to schools like Lawrence, Muhlenberg, St.Olaf, Sarah Lawrence etc. aka schools DCUMs seemingly have no issue with and are pretty "legitimate".

Liberty is basically a step above a for-profit college and is not seen as a serious academic institution.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

OP here -- that's not my intention; I understand both Wheaton and Grove City to be very well regarded in terms of academics. Did you like Wheaton?

But I'm just curious as to why I don't hear more about DC-area families sending their kids to evangelical universities.

I know plenty of people from the DC area who went to Grove City and to Wheaton.
I can't think of anyone who went to Liberty- they are just not in the same class.
Where do the families who you think are pretty religious send their kids to school?
Some of the choices are also tuition and distance based.

Thanks for sharing your insight! The families I understand to be religious in terms of these schools -- conservative Protestant/evangelical -- seem to be sending their kids to UVA. OOS publics like UNC, and SLACs that don't appear to skew heavily religious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

OP here -- that's not my intention; I understand both Wheaton and Grove City to be very well regarded in terms of academics. Did you like Wheaton?

But I'm just curious as to why I don't hear more about DC-area families sending their kids to evangelical universities.

I know plenty of people from the DC area who went to Grove City and to Wheaton.
I can't think of anyone who went to Liberty- they are just not in the same class.
Where do the families who you think are pretty religious send their kids to school?
Some of the choices are also tuition and distance based.

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

The same Wheaton College that suspended a professor for saying Muslims and Christians believe in the same god?

https://www.thefire.org/wheaton-college-shows-what-a-warning-school-looks-like/

I met a Liberty U student whie at work, she was majoring in business, if I remember. She was a homeschooler, and did her classes online cos her parents wanted her to stay home

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

OP here -- that's not my intention; I understand both Wheaton and Grove City to be very well regarded in terms of academics. Did you like Wheaton?

But I'm just curious as to why I don't hear more about DC-area families sending their kids to evangelical universities.

Please don't lump us in with the likes of Liberty University.
-Wheaton College grad.

Just curious as I don't hear about many from our area inside the Beltway, even from families I believe to be pretty religious.