This is the definitive place to discuss everything that makes life on & off campus so unique in Central Virginia.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#636734
It has issues with the dad who would be underwriting that undergrad experience. I suspect I am not alone in that uncomfortable place of loving the school and being conflicted about how it is being run.
By stokesjokes
Registration Days Posts
#636736
JK37 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 12:27 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 9:57 am Let the record show that my son grew up heavy on critical thinking through classical education. Critical thinking in the hands of a contrarian can result in some pretty unpredictable idealogies. My son has actually been a bit surprised at his state university in the lack of critical thinking in his early classes. He certainly found people who shared idealogies with him but whom had little reason to back up their beliefs. And while he is a believer, suffice it to say politically he would have been an outcast at LU. But strangely the academic liberty that he thought he would find outside a Christian environment hasn't been the utopia he expected. Just like those Christian classmates he engaged growing up who just repeated the same tropes from their parents he finds those with his current views at A&M doing the same just from a different background. As a result, he's significantly adjusted his views but not to the point where he'd be a fit in Lynchburg. It seems the next generation takes what they see in Scripture and has a decidedly different view of how they believe Jesus would apply it today. Just my two cents from a dad in your position, lawdawg2002.

My daughter is a completely different story. Geography is her issue with not considering LU. She essentially drew a circle within three hours of home to determine her boundaries. And as a loving dad, I am good with that idea. My youngest is nothing like her older siblings and is in LU gear whenever possible. She sits and watches games with Dad and is mentored by perhaps LU Equestrian's most celebrated alum. All that adds up to Liberty being squarely in her choices as a HS freshman. Of course I hope some of our board/administration's issues are better resolved by then.
Does the board/administration issues have much impact on the experience of an undergrad? I don’t think it does.
Back to @ALUmnus ’s original concern, for the most part the students are insulated from all of the nonsense. I am often surprised by the students and faculty I talk to who have no idea about all of the drama and dysfunction.

Students aren’t dealing with the board or the president, they are dealing with each other and their professors, who, for the most part, are really great.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#636737
lawdawg2002 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 10:02 am Money is also a thing because with two of the schools he would still have virtually all of his 529 money when he graduated.
The Honors Program is also well funded with scholarships that range from $4,000 a year to full tuition (for National Merit Commended students) to full-ride scholarships (for National Merit Finalists).
By paradox
Registration Days Posts
#636740
Cider Jim wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:40 am
lawdawg2002 wrote: December 1st, 2021, 11:42 pm My son is deciding between Texas A&M, University of Georgia and Cornell. He really hasn't been very interested in LU. I think he could be persuaded to go to a Christian college, if he knew he could be surrounded with critical thinkers.
Does your son know about LU's Honors Program and its 740 students who are critical thinkers and get accepted into Ivy League graduate schools? LU has more almost 200 more Honors students than they have varsity athletes. Study
My niece graduated from the honors program at LU. She's an attorney now. When I think back on her specific journey, the LU years would seem to stand out as the most transformational. Her critical thinking skills improved immensely, and with that, greater career options. But the biggest takeaway was her faith. Formed her own conclusions, and made the faith her own.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#636741
stokesjokes wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 11:50 am
Have you looked into Wheaton?
Neither Wheaton nor Grove City have Honors Programs. They like to say that "all their students are Honors-level students," but if you compare their SAT/ACT scores to LU's Honors students' scores, ours are over 200 points higher. For example, our Honors students' average SAT is 1460 and average ACT is 33, compared to Wheaton (1245 SAT & 28 ACT) and Grove City (1201 SAT & 27 ACT).

Plus, Honors Programs have Honors housing and Honors coursework: our Honors seminars have a 15:1 student:professor ratio, and we offer over 40 courses across the curriculum, and our capstone project is a 25-page Senior Honors Thesis.
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By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#636742
Undergrad in journalism
MBA
Got my EMT certification across Wards Rd at CVCC

I feel both degrees plus the EMT certification helped me land where I am now, but I finished school at the height of the great recession in '09, and the only employers really hiring at that point was the government/public sector. Ultimately, more than the education, I feel the biggest value was just not carrying student loan debt due to the LCA scholarship followed by a GA position (plus tobacco settlement funds for the EMT certification at CVCC). Had I gone to Tech, William & Mary, or Fordham, then the financial situation may be much different than it is today.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#636748
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:54 pm Tread lightly bringing up the LCA scholarship. That's a sore spot for many.
Sly, LU made up for it with the current full tuition Val-Sal scholarships (and even smart homeschoolers can qualify for them!). Study
By ALUmnus
Registration Days Posts
#636752
Cider Jim wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:57 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:54 pm Tread lightly bringing up the LCA scholarship. That's a sore spot for many.
Sly, LU made up for it with the current full tuition Val-Sal scholarships (and even smart homeschoolers can qualify for them!). Study
What is the Val-Sal scholarship?

I had thought I'd convinced my daughter to do 1-2 years of community college, save money while she's deciding on what she wants for her future. One of her friends was even going to do it with her, while living on their own. That plan seems to be eroding, though.
She has a 4.5 gpa at a private classical Christian school, so she'd definitely be interested in an honors program.

How does LU fare in the sciences?
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#636753
Cider Jim wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:57 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:54 pm Tread lightly bringing up the LCA scholarship. That's a sore spot for many.
Sly, LU made up for it with the current full tuition Val-Sal scholarships (and even smart homeschoolers can qualify for them!). Study
Those are merit-based, right? The LCA scholarships were not.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#636754
ALUmnus wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 3:32 pm

What is the Val-Sal scholarship?
How does LU fare in the sciences?
Valedictorian/Salutatorian Scholarship
Award: 100% tuition only scholarship (after subtracting other non-loan financial aid such as institutional aid, Pell, FSEOG, VTAG, etc.) per year for up to four consecutive academic years.
Eligibility:
Must have a cumulative un-weighted high school GPA of 3.50 AND a 1350+ SAT score (evidence-based reading/writing and math only) or a composite 29+ ACT
A school administrator must verify that the applicant is ranked as either 1st or 2nd in their class. Students attending schools who do not provide class ranks are not eligible to receive this award.
Approved School Administrators are as follows:
For homeschool students: parent or guardian, supervising principal, or co-op official
For public/private school students: school principal or guidance counselor

https://www.liberty.edu/student-financi ... olarships/

Our science program is light years from where is was 5 or 10 years ago. Our new Science Hall is now 3 stories with its own cadaver lab and some Ivy League educated faculty. https://www.liberty.edu/health-sciences ... chemistry/
Last edited by Cider Jim on December 2nd, 2021, 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#636756
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 12:29 pm It has issues with the dad who would be underwriting that undergrad experience. I suspect I am not alone in that uncomfortable place of loving the school and being conflicted about how it is being run.
No, you’re not. But the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive if we keep our emotions in check.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#636757
VALedictorian/SALutatorian. They are definitely not handing those out for ponying up for HS tuition. But I am glad to see that perhaps some additional opportunities came out of the LCA debacle.

Wheaton, Hillsdale & Grove City may all be terrific schools and I have heard great things from kids who go to them. But they also will take most anyone willing to pony up the tuition. My mailbox is full of unsolicited mail from all three nearly everyday. And what is the story with Nebraska Wesleyan? Tiny school no one has ever heard of and yet they must have a massive marketing budget based on them sending mail to my daughter nearly every single day.

So yeah, I am good with my COMS degree from LU. :mrgreen:
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#636758
JK37 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 3:55 pmNo, you’re not. But the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive if we keep our emotions in check.
While I agree in theory, we are not talking about chicken feed when it comes to costs at LU. That type of investment is inheritently emotional. I am still good with sending my kids to Lynchburg. But I admit that it significantly impacts my enthusiasm the longer the current administrators and board work to destroy the reputation of the school.
By lawdawg2002
Posts
#636760
I know this topic has left the subject, but I think it is on a very constructive path in that we parents, especially those of us who are alumni, need to know about scholarships, honors college and scholarly activity that is going on on campus to get this stuff in front of our kids. Mine is not into the show, he wants to know about the hard core stuff, but we have had a problem getting that info. Thank you all that have added to the honors, scholarship and personal info here.

As to whether the mess has any bearing on undergrads, I can only think of two areas off the top of my head. First, is the campus safe (as I felt it was as a student there)? Second, there needs to be something in place that attracts and retains quality faculty. In my daughter's program, she is being taught by world-class faculty. I know which are Christians for the most part and can direct her to them, but it would be nice if we had a place to send her where all the faculty were world-class and Christian. You know, because if its Christian it should be better.
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By paradox
Registration Days Posts
#636773
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 3:56 pm VALedictorian/SALutatorian. They are definitely not handing those out for ponying up for HS tuition. But I am glad to see that perhaps some additional opportunities came out of the LCA debacle.

Wheaton, Hillsdale & Grove City may all be terrific schools and I have heard great things from kids who go to them. But they also will take most anyone willing to pony up the tuition.........
You may be onto something there. However, most people don't pay full tuition. Getting the costs down is all part of the negotiation process. In my region, almost all schools will get your tuition down to the state university level, which is still pretty high. Seton Hall actually advertises that in-state students won't pay more than Rutgers. On the high end, Princeton is tuition-free to anyone who can get in, and family income is 150K or under, last I heard.
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#636787
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:54 pm Tread lightly bringing up the LCA scholarship. That's a sore spot for many.
Yes, myself included. Without it though, I would have not gone to Liberty...and likely walked away from the faith entirely.
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#636789
olldflame wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 3:43 pm
Cider Jim wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:57 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 1:54 pm Tread lightly bringing up the LCA scholarship. That's a sore spot for many.
Sly, LU made up for it with the current full tuition Val-Sal scholarships (and even smart homeschoolers can qualify for them!). Study
Those are merit-based, right? The LCA scholarships were not.
Correct, although admission to LU for LCA grads was not guaranteed. We were told "The scholarship is there, IF you get in," (although in 2003, LU only required a 2.0 GPA and an 800 on the SAT. Easy peasy lemon squeezee for me). Without the scholarship, I wouldn't have gone to Liberty, precisely for the some of the issues that have been bubbling up recently, and others that have yet to surface.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#636803
Does anybody remember the BR Lakin scholarships (c. 1985)? I think LU hired 8 English professors that year, and I was probably the last hire of the department with my humble Herd degree and 3 semesters of teaching experience in Huntington.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#636809
They were referred to as the BR Lakin Pastoral Scholarships for the Fall of '85. The spring of '85 there were roughly 2500 total students on campus. That fall there were that many freshmen and I as one of them.

For the record, I didn't have that Nutter guy for classes. But I did have his wife for one.
By Yacht Rock
Registration Days Posts
#636831
Ah, the good old LCA scholarships. What's funny is that the same person at LCA who promised our family that the only way Liberty would take away the scholarship is if they became financially insolvent is still there recruiting families. I still have the email from Jerry Jr calling me a liar because "no one would ever say that."

But hey, my kids get free tuition at another school now, so it all worked out I suppose.
By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#636849
my humble Herd degree and 3 semesters of teaching experience in Huntington.
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You may could have got a job in Morgantown and PH and JK could be your friends. 🤣
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