RegGuheert
04-29-2010, 09:41 AM
Liberty University (http://www.liberty.edu) is DD17's final choice for college. It was about time that we visited! :tongue_smilie:
Expectations:
To be quite frank, we did not really have high expectations for this visit. DD had been to a Christian summer camp at Liberty a couple of years ago and was not really impressed by the campus. MomsintheGarden and I know many people who are going or have gone to Liberty and we have heard very good things about the school. Still, there have always been vague concerns about the low average entrance exams scores, etc.
Some Facts:
- Liberty was founded in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College by Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. Elmer Towns.
- Liberty is the largest Christian university in the world.
- Liberty is the 9th-largest degree-granting 4-year institution in the United States.
- There are currently over 12,000 resident students and over 50,000 online students attending Liberty.
- Liberty currently offers approximately 150 different degree programs.
- SWB obtained BA degrees in English and Greek from Liberty University in 1988.
Our Impressions...
Please note that we focused our time on the biology department, since DD is planning to obtain a BS in Biochemistry.
...About the Campus:
- The campus is HUGE. I believe Liberty University owns about 6549 acres of land. (By my frame of reference, that is over 1/3 the size of the US Air Force Academy reservation!) However, most of that land is up in the mountains.
- Liberty has an eclectic mix of facitilites ranging from low-budget "temporary" buildings built in the 1970s to large steel factory buildings converted for athletic and administrative use to a beautiful, huge, modern, state-of-the-art academic building. I would not call this campus attractive. Our son goes to VA Tech, which is on the other end of the scale in terms of attractiveness of a large school.
- The campus straddles a four-lane highway, with some *very nice* apartment-style dormitories and some student facilities opposite from the academic area. This is the newest part of the campus.
- The academic area, including both old and new is quite nice, including an attractive courtyard which connects most of the classroom buildings.
- Sports and outdoor activities are a big area of focus for Liberty University. Year-round skiing, anyone? They have it. It is currently free for resident students. Indoor facilities for ice skating, hockey, soccer, basketball, rock climbing, wresting, volleyball, and others. Outdoor facilities for football, soccer, baseball, softball, skiing, snowboarding, aviation (they have airplanes and a helicopter), hiking, mountain biking, and others.
- They have just added massive, modern computer and study labs which occupy about 1/3 of the area of two floors of the main academic facility.
- They have very impressive, modern facilities for nursing education in this same facility. We have heard nothing but good things about their nursing programs. If any of our children have an interest in nursing, Liberty will certainly be high on this list of candidate schools.
- We had heard bad things about the food at Liberty, but we found it to be quite good and the atmosphere in the main cafeteria was nice. There are 15 different eating facilities for the students at Liberty.
...About the Students:
I must say that we were most impressed by the student body at Liberty. We have been on several different Christian and secular campuses over the past couple of years and we found the students at Liberty to be the most welcoming that we have seen. Without exception, every student which we approached with a question took the time to answer us politely, many going "above and beyond" to help us. In fact, we had several occasions where students or staff approached us and asked if they could be of assistance. I think we often looked lost! :tongue_smilie: We even had a couple of Liberty students approach us the day after we left during a visit to a medical school 100 miles away: "Were you at Liberty yesterday?" They spent 45 minutes discussing their Liberty experience with us.
As far as the academic skills of the students, I have to say that we saw a full range, from some who did not have great English skills to a young man who had just scored a 36 on his MCAT exam. (All-time high MCAT score from a Liberty student is 41.)
...About the Faculty:
Most of the biology faculty members we met were well-liked by the students, but some of them were well-despised. We sat in on the class for one of the latter and I would put him in the category of being SO familiar with his difficult subject that most students would have difficulty keeping up. He seems to like being known as a hard teacher, but he compensates by offering an "A" for scores of 80% to 100%. I think the students in this class learn a lot if they work hard.
Not all faculty members have PhD's, but Liberty has announced that they will only hire PhD's in the future. I believe many of the programs are trying to improve their accreditation status.
...About the Academics:
We met many, many students in pre-med courses of study at Liberty. It is clear that Liberty has successfully placed many students in medical schools around the country. One young lady this year was the *only* student accepted to a particular dentistry school following her junior year of undergraduate studies.
Just as it was for our son at VA Tech, the honors program played an important role in our daughter's decision to attend Liberty University. This program provides not only scholarships, but provides discounted premium housing together with other honors students as well as providing additional academic challenges for the students.
I have no doubt that DD17 will be well-challenged academically in biochemistry at Liberty. It looks like an excellent atmosphere to learn and prepare for medical school.
...About the Christian Aspects of Liberty:
All liberty professors are required to sign a statement of faith before they are accepted into the university. Students are not.
Liberty University requires all on-campus students to attend convocation every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We attended convocation and were impressed by the "show" and the caliber of speakers that they bring in for this meeting.
Students are organized within their dorms down to groups of no more than five. They have weekly prayers together and there seems to be a strong focus on providing a support organization that reaches every student.
...Overall:
Overall we were very impressed by Liberty University! That's a relief! ;) I think any reservations we all may have had going into this visit are now gone. No, it is not "perfect", but it should suit the needs of our daughter very well.
Expectations:
To be quite frank, we did not really have high expectations for this visit. DD had been to a Christian summer camp at Liberty a couple of years ago and was not really impressed by the campus. MomsintheGarden and I know many people who are going or have gone to Liberty and we have heard very good things about the school. Still, there have always been vague concerns about the low average entrance exams scores, etc.
Some Facts:
- Liberty was founded in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College by Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. Elmer Towns.
- Liberty is the largest Christian university in the world.
- Liberty is the 9th-largest degree-granting 4-year institution in the United States.
- There are currently over 12,000 resident students and over 50,000 online students attending Liberty.
- Liberty currently offers approximately 150 different degree programs.
- SWB obtained BA degrees in English and Greek from Liberty University in 1988.
Our Impressions...
Please note that we focused our time on the biology department, since DD is planning to obtain a BS in Biochemistry.
...About the Campus:
- The campus is HUGE. I believe Liberty University owns about 6549 acres of land. (By my frame of reference, that is over 1/3 the size of the US Air Force Academy reservation!) However, most of that land is up in the mountains.
- Liberty has an eclectic mix of facitilites ranging from low-budget "temporary" buildings built in the 1970s to large steel factory buildings converted for athletic and administrative use to a beautiful, huge, modern, state-of-the-art academic building. I would not call this campus attractive. Our son goes to VA Tech, which is on the other end of the scale in terms of attractiveness of a large school.
- The campus straddles a four-lane highway, with some *very nice* apartment-style dormitories and some student facilities opposite from the academic area. This is the newest part of the campus.
- The academic area, including both old and new is quite nice, including an attractive courtyard which connects most of the classroom buildings.
- Sports and outdoor activities are a big area of focus for Liberty University. Year-round skiing, anyone? They have it. It is currently free for resident students. Indoor facilities for ice skating, hockey, soccer, basketball, rock climbing, wresting, volleyball, and others. Outdoor facilities for football, soccer, baseball, softball, skiing, snowboarding, aviation (they have airplanes and a helicopter), hiking, mountain biking, and others.
- They have just added massive, modern computer and study labs which occupy about 1/3 of the area of two floors of the main academic facility.
- They have very impressive, modern facilities for nursing education in this same facility. We have heard nothing but good things about their nursing programs. If any of our children have an interest in nursing, Liberty will certainly be high on this list of candidate schools.
- We had heard bad things about the food at Liberty, but we found it to be quite good and the atmosphere in the main cafeteria was nice. There are 15 different eating facilities for the students at Liberty.
...About the Students:
I must say that we were most impressed by the student body at Liberty. We have been on several different Christian and secular campuses over the past couple of years and we found the students at Liberty to be the most welcoming that we have seen. Without exception, every student which we approached with a question took the time to answer us politely, many going "above and beyond" to help us. In fact, we had several occasions where students or staff approached us and asked if they could be of assistance. I think we often looked lost! :tongue_smilie: We even had a couple of Liberty students approach us the day after we left during a visit to a medical school 100 miles away: "Were you at Liberty yesterday?" They spent 45 minutes discussing their Liberty experience with us.
As far as the academic skills of the students, I have to say that we saw a full range, from some who did not have great English skills to a young man who had just scored a 36 on his MCAT exam. (All-time high MCAT score from a Liberty student is 41.)
...About the Faculty:
Most of the biology faculty members we met were well-liked by the students, but some of them were well-despised. We sat in on the class for one of the latter and I would put him in the category of being SO familiar with his difficult subject that most students would have difficulty keeping up. He seems to like being known as a hard teacher, but he compensates by offering an "A" for scores of 80% to 100%. I think the students in this class learn a lot if they work hard.
Not all faculty members have PhD's, but Liberty has announced that they will only hire PhD's in the future. I believe many of the programs are trying to improve their accreditation status.
...About the Academics:
We met many, many students in pre-med courses of study at Liberty. It is clear that Liberty has successfully placed many students in medical schools around the country. One young lady this year was the *only* student accepted to a particular dentistry school following her junior year of undergraduate studies.
Just as it was for our son at VA Tech, the honors program played an important role in our daughter's decision to attend Liberty University. This program provides not only scholarships, but provides discounted premium housing together with other honors students as well as providing additional academic challenges for the students.
I have no doubt that DD17 will be well-challenged academically in biochemistry at Liberty. It looks like an excellent atmosphere to learn and prepare for medical school.
...About the Christian Aspects of Liberty:
All liberty professors are required to sign a statement of faith before they are accepted into the university. Students are not.
Liberty University requires all on-campus students to attend convocation every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We attended convocation and were impressed by the "show" and the caliber of speakers that they bring in for this meeting.
Students are organized within their dorms down to groups of no more than five. They have weekly prayers together and there seems to be a strong focus on providing a support organization that reaches every student.
...Overall:
Overall we were very impressed by Liberty University! That's a relief! ;) I think any reservations we all may have had going into this visit are now gone. No, it is not "perfect", but it should suit the needs of our daughter very well.