Jump to content

Menu

Union University, Samford, Messiah, and Wheaton


mjbucks1
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi Hive.  I would like your input.

Dd has been accepted to the above schools.  She has been selected into the Global Missions Scholars program at Samford, and just interviewed this past weekend for the Samford Fellows program.  She will be heading to Union the end of February to interview for the Union Scholars of Excellence program.  The following Monday she has an interview at Messiah for their honors program.,  We have a visit to Wheaton planned in April.

Have any of your children attended any of these colleges, or made the choice between them?  Right now Union is at the top of her list.  As with our older ds, I know that much of this depends on the right "fit" for the student (ds is attending a large state school and dd would like a small, private Christian school).  Dd intends to major in Spanish and education, and would like to get an ESL certification.  Her goals is to work in missions by teaching English to others abroad.  I just wanted to hear the experiences of some other students if possible.

Also, has anyone had a child compete in the Scholars of Excellence program at Union?  We would like to get an idea of the amount of additional scholarship money she could possibly receive.  She has done well with scholarships so far, but if she could get a bit more it would mean she could attend without any loans :).  

Thank you for your help!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Messiah was in my daughter's Top 4 at the end of a very arduous application period that included about 20 schools. We made a second visit coming from Alaska, which tells you how seriously she considered it. We both really liked Messiah a lot. She was engineering, so I can't speak to the humanities programs there. I did think the atmosphere was very positive. In the end, the money was the deciding factor, and it was less expensive to go to another school.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Union University is a fantastic school in a wonderful location (easy day trips to both Nashville and Memphis!). It was my older son's top choice for a looonnnnggg time, but in the final turn of events, the money offered by our local public university was just too enticing, so he is not at Union. My niece is, however, and she is majoring in education. She absolutely loves it--the campus, the students, her professors, the town, and the multiple opportunities for mission work. 

My son competed in the Scholars of Excellence at Union. It was a fantastic weekend and made him want to go there even more. But from what I understand, the program has changed quite a bit since he did it, so I'm not sure if my $$$$ information will help you any. He had already received the trustees scholarship prior to SoE plus several other scholarships that stacked with it. After the SoE weekend, Union offered him a rather small additional amount. We immediately turned it down and said he would go elsewhere. Then Union came back with a much larger offer! It was SO odd and uncomfortable to us. We had no idea that you could negotiate scholarship amounts! I'm pretty sure I posted about it here at the time because it was so strange to me. lol! Anyway, we definitely got within a "doable" territory of $ when all was said and done, but again, the draw of completely free school (plus some) at the local public was too much to turn down. I will never know if it was the right decision, but my son has had a great experience where he is. 🙂

Samford is also awesome! Your daughter has a great list!! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you to all who have posted so far!  Morning Glory, your post was particularly helpful. I am really praying Union works out because as of right now it is her top choice. I completely understand going where the money is. Our oldest was a NMF and has a full ride at a large state school. I believe God can use our kids wherever they go, and I have told my dd this. When we went to Union, dd (and my husband and I) talked to the department heads in the ESL and Spanish program for over an hour. We were all very impressed. I did get the impression from that visit that they would work with students to get the price within an affordable range.  Your post gives us hope!!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I graduated from Union quite awhile ago, but am still very connected to many people there. I also was a double major in Christian Studies and Spanish, and took many TESL classes. Many of the professors I had are still there in the Spanish and TESL departments. It is an amazing school! We have family members that have recently graduated from there as well. Union is definitely one of the forerunners for where I would love my kids to go. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My friend is a professor at Messiah.  He loves it there.  I had many friend go to Wheaton and have a friend whose child is currently there, and loves it.  I also have friends who went to Samford and whose kids have recently gone.  They love Samford too.

I have an MA in TESOL (from a different Christian college) and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about that part.

Edited by DawnM
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

My friend is a professor at Messiah.  He loves it there.  I had many friend go to Wheaton and have a friend whose child is currently there, and loves it.  I also have friends who went to Samford and whose kids have recently gone.  They love Samford too.

I have an MA in TESOL (from a different Christian college) and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about that part.

 

What does your friend teach?  I wonder if my dd has been in a class with your friend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son is attending Messiah in the College Honors Program. He is a freshman. He also had an arduous college application process and in the end chose Messiah.

I am not familiar with/do not have experience with your other schools. (Except for Wheaton which we ruled out bc of distance/cost-- however, I did tutor a student two years ago in College English/Writing/ and Philosophy from Wheaton and was absolutely "in heaven." Loved every minute working with his materials. 🙂 )

We all greatly enjoyed the Honors Day at Messiah and were completely surprised by the whole experience. It is a very positive place. It is ranked very highly for student engagement which directly correlates to Professor interaction/mentorship of students. I would say that my son's experience so far supports that, too.

Edited by Rebecca
  • Like 1
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...