Jump to content

Menu

Patrick Henry College vs. New St. Andrews College vs. Hillsdale College vs. Christendom College?


AngryBircher17
 Share

Recommended Posts

If you've already looked into these, you may already know this, but New Saint Andrews does not have a typical campus and does not have dorms. Students get room and board from families in the community. We know several kids who have gone there, and it has seemed a good situation for them, but it would not be my preference for my own dc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you've already looked into these, you may already know this, but New Saint Andrews does not have a typical campus and does not have dorms. Students get room and board from families in the community. We know several kids who have gone there, and it has seemed a good situation for them, but it would not be my preference for my own dc.

What's the student body like?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what you are asking; however, have you looked at the Common Data Set information for the colleges you are considering?

 

A few years ago, a law required most colleges to provide specific answers to a commons set of questions.  The idea was that this would give a set of comparable results for questions about students, admissions requirements and financial aid.  You might find some of your answers within these results.

 

You can find the Common Data Set responses at IPEDS.  Sometimes they are also available on the websites for individual colleges or on sites that use the IPEDS database to feed into their own college search engines.

 

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once you have a fairly small set of possible colleges that you are interested in picked out, as your title makes it appear you do have, it would be best to go visit them for yourself. Meet students; sit in on classes, read course descriptions and requirements.

 

Also, most people apply to several places, because getting in if you apply to only one place is usually not guaranteed, though sometimes it is, for example, if it is a state school with clear rules that you fit and enough room for all applicants from in state.

 

Another option is to apply to the places that sound like they might fit you, and then after you find out where you have been accepted. go visit just those places, but there often is not much time between getting acceptance letters and having to choose which you will go to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew someone who went to Christendom College way back in the day. I thought it was pretty Catholic, but not necessarily in the same way that Wyoming Catholic or Thomas Aquinas is. (I can't remember what it is called - but they used to do a lot of laying on of hands / Holy Spirit / Speaking in Tongues - type of Catholicism. Gosh if I just can't remember what that is called... Darn it. Anyway, not something that most Catholics are used to seeing.) Don't know if it is still that way.

 

I believe Patrick Henry is pretty evangelical Christian.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might also see if student publications like the campus newspaper are available for colleges you're looking at.  That can be an indication of what topics of concern on campus are.  If there is an official and unofficial papers, it can be good to look at both.

 

You might also look for Facebook groups related to the college in question.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the student body like?

 

I'm not sure how to answer a question this broad. Besides that, I've not spent time at that college, so I can't comment on the student body, only the kids I know who've gone there. All the kids I know who have gone there were associated with Christ Church or its sister churches and were very involved with NCFCA during high school.

Edited by Jane Elliot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since you are a conservative, I know you'll want to think about the financial side of your education.

 

New Saint Andrews costs around $17,500, which seems pretty cheap to me and frankly I'd wonder why. (Where are they cutting back?) Regardless, they don't participate in the Federal Student Aid program ("to preserve its religious freedom"), so many of the usual grant and loan programs won't be available to you. Total cost for four years would be around $70,000.

 

Patrick Henry also doesn't seem to participate in the Federal Student Aid program, though they are less explicit about that on their web site. Their annual cost is around $40,000/year, so $160,000 for four years.

 

Hillsdale doesn't participate in the Federal Student Aid program either, which as they point out means that "many lenders will not process student loans for students attending an institution without a federal school code". Cost is around $34,000 per year, so $136,000 for four years.

 

Christendom is also "one of a handful of colleges or universities in the nation not to participate in any Federal funding program". Cost is around $36,000 per year, $144,000 for four years.

 

Since you are a conservative, you may be OK with not relying on taxpayer funding (via federal grants and loans) for your education. However, you are also probably not a fan of taking on personal debt. With that in mind, you'll want to talk to your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education, if they are able to help you financially, and if so how much they can contribute. When you visit these schools, you will want to speak to the financial aid office to get a sense of what, if anything, you can expect in institutional and/or merit aid. You will want to do your research on student loans, and find out whether you will be able to get a loan with decent terms if you are attending a school "without a federal school code".

 

You will probably also want to identify a "financial safety" - a school, perhaps not a perfect fit but one that could give you the basics of the education you need for your career goals, that you can afford without additional aid if the other schools end up too pricey for your budget.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

... Just to spin off justaque's post, many of the colleges that don't participate in federal loan programs have their own version of financial aid or need-based scholarships to help with the costs.

 

I know Hillsdale has a needs-based scholarship program that offers up to 1/2 price off tuition. I don't know all the details, however.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We know folks who either are or have been to all of those schools. All provide a solid education and a wholesome environment if the student is motivated that way. Of course you can get into trouble anywhere!

 

In our house at least, the theology would be a driver. Those are four very different schools that way.

 

Naturally it also depends on what you are planning to major in and what your plans are. None of those schools would work for mine for that and other reasons. 

 

YMMV...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...