Preface: This blog is intended to provide some information about general life at a christian post-secondary institution. It comes from my own experience, and results will most certainly vary. This article is intended to answer some questions, as well as lay to rest some myths and misconceptions.
While I was in Texas, I had the opportunity to interact with Christians from Michigan Tech. We got to talking about the college experience, and they asked the question, "what is life like a Christian college?" My freind Bobby put it perfectly... WEIRD. But there is much more to life at a Christian school than WEIRD. There are many upsides and downsides, but there are also some misconceptions. I am going to cover a number of items in this blog. I would like to stress that every school is different.
Rules: The first thing to note about attending a Christian school is that the rules will be different from a traditional post-secondary institute. These rules usually fall in line with scripture. One of the rules at my particular university which seems pretty consistent is the dress code. You are expected to dress in a manor that is respectful of yourself. (In other words, no leggings and no tank tops). Some schools are more laid back than others. For example, at my school, men and women can freely interact everywhere on campus except for the dorm rooms (there are a large number of common areas in each dorm building that men and women can interact). In fact, all except for one dorm at my school is co-ed. The last thing that one might find intrusive but really isn't that big of a deal is curfew. At my school, curfew runs form 1am-6am. Between those hours, you are unable to access your buildings (you can access any door INSIDE the building but you can't access the main doors). There are some RAs who will police this much more than what one would see as necessary, but most are pretty laid back. That seems like a pain right? Well, you will find very quickly that if you aren't a party person you usually fall asleep before midnight. Some schools have very strict rules, but others, such as mine are very laid back.
Education: A common misconception about christian schools, especially "bible" schools is that everyone who attends is attending to become a pastor or a missionary. This is actually not the case as many students attend to study things like education, social work, counseling, business, and even more specialized areas such as criminal justice. That being said, students will also take bible classes. At Lancaster Bible College, most students will not only graduate with a bachelors degree in their field of choice but also an AA in Biblical Studies.
Romance: Another misconception (and argued about quite a bit) is the idea of finding a wife at bible school. If that is the only reason why you are attending school.. JUST STOP. While it is true that a number of people who attend bible college get married to someone they met there, it isn't a guarantee, and it shouldn't be your primary goal. "Ring by Spring" is really only about 2% true. You see it every once in a while, but it isn't a regular occurrence.
Spiritual Life: Spiritual life on campus is significant. My RA for my first year was a pastoral studies major. He had section bible studies which always resulted in some interesting and quite entertaining conversations. Chapel is also a regular occurrence. For me it was 3 days a week, Tuesday-Thursday. Some schools have it once a week, some have it every day. It is a wonderful time to remove yourself from academics for a time of worship and fellowship. Also, being surrounded by a large number of Christians means that you have a lot of opportunities to engage in theological discussions, which happens ALL THE TIME. And for me, when I am trying to sleep and I hear one break out, I just can't help but join in. It's a lot of fun actually (as boring as it sounds).
The Bubble Effect: One of the most accurate assumptions made about going to a bible college is that you are stuck in a bubble. When you go to a bible college, you are surrounded by a large quantity of like minded people. Secular schools don't go without this effect either but the values are significantly different, and by that I mean a leftist student attending Yale University would be triggered to kingdom come if they spent 5 minutes at a Conservative Christian University. I had the advantage of working for an airline so I was constantly exposed to different people with different backgrounds with different ideas.
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