Liberty College, in Lynchburg, VA , is definitely not a college for everyone. But for those who find a comfort zone in an evangelical Christian setting, pack your bags and go give Liberty the once over. It could find its place onto your top five list quickly.
A New School Founded in 1971 in Lynchburg, VA by Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty University didn’t take long to gather up the attention and the devotion of an entire segment of the American population. Advertised early on as one of the intellectual seats of the evangelical Christian movement, Liberty drew the attention of conservative Christians as a perfect spot to send their offspring for an education while bathed in an Evangelical Christian environment.
The school presents itself as both a liberal arts college and a seminary school and offers the curriculum to substantiate both academic endeavors. Currently there are some 5,000 students at Liberty University and they are drawn from all over the nation. Liberty University can proudly confirm that after only a little more than a quarter century in the business of education, the school’s reputation has spread and now half of the students enrolled come from outside of the state of Virgina. Nothing breeds success like success and so far the work started by Jerry Falwell and continued under his sons Jerry Falwell Jr. and Rev. Jonathan Falwell can only be described as successful. In May of 2007 founder Jerry Falwell died suddenly but this institution seems destined to provide a long lasting monument to his efforts in the area of conservative Christian education.
What Makes Liberty Different. You might be drawn to Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA if you are interested in a college that offers a unique approach to academics by placing them in a spiritual setting. Liberty University in fact is as serious about the faith as it is about its scholastic choices. Students can come to Liberty to get an education in many academic majors including English, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Religion but what they will also get by coming to Liberty is a lifestyle.
That’s what’s crucial about making a choice to come to Liberty as an undergraduate. You really do need to know what kinds of behaviors are expected on this campus. First all students who enroll at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA are expected to take part in some form of community service and there are many options. You are not at college just to improve your intellectual knowledge, you are here also to develop yourself as a Christian person, one who serves. It’s really not so much an option as what is expected form Liberty University students.
Another difference you will find on the Liberty campus is the unique nature of its dorms. On many college campuses today, coed dorms are the norm. Even Catholic college campuses, seen by some as conservative , in many cases give students a choice of this alternative. But Liberty University has a simple single sex dormitory policy . For many students this might seem like an over the top rule, but students who come to Liberty University see single sex dormitory arrangements as liberating. There is no need to deal with the issue of opposite sex presence in your personal space. They feel liberated to simply be college students without a lot of unnecessary sexual pressure.
In many colleges today, living on campus is a requirement for freshman students. This is done because it is hoped that being on campus will make it easier for students to live according to certain rules as they make the transition from the care of their parents to living fully on their own. But by sophomore year students in most colleges, in part due to the lack of housing, are allowed to move off campus. Not so at Liberty. If you come to Liberty University know in advance that unless you reach the age of 22 before you graduate, or live with your parents, you will be expected to live on campus in Lynchburg, VA
You can see this as a negative aspect of coming to Liberty University, but students also can find that by staying on campus they have less hassle about where to live and how much to pay and they are for four years a full time member of an academic and spiritual community with all the support that provides.
What Makes Liberty Like Any Other College. There is no escaping the fact that Liberty University , Lynchburg , VA is a very different kind of undergraduate college. But then it was meant to be. But students looking at Liberty as a possible college choice shouldn’t think that Liberty is totally different than any other college campus. It is after all filled with some 5,000 active young people looking for an education but also finding their spiritual life important.
Just like every other college, Liberty has plenty of extra curricular activities for students like band, choir, drama, radio and television stations, and student newspaper. Liberty fields NCAA teams in basketball, baseball, football and a number of other varsity sports. The school also provides facilities for students who want to participate in intramural sports.
Still it must be said that as much as Liberty offers lots of activities and sports, these too are conducted with a very strong recognition of the spiritual essence of everything that happens at Liberty. Among the activities are many with strong Christian overtones such as “Youthquest”, “Light Ministry” and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Even the intercollegiate sports team name is the Flames ( reminiscent one imagines of the flame of the Holy Spirit )
When You Go to Liberty, You Go to Liberty. One potential drawback from attending a tightly wrapped academic and spiritual institution like Liberty is the lack of diversion or change. Liberty is located in Lynchburg, Virginia . Even if you wanted to go into town for some time away from the college atmosphere there really is not a lot of diversity to be found. The nearest major city is Richmond with is 120 miles away.
Students who make the determination to come to Liberty should definitely do so only after taking the opportunity to spend some time on campus and in the area. This may not be the location or the atmosphere for you. On the other hand many students of spiritual bent and students who are hoping to find their spiritual niche come to Liberty and find here a perfect match. They enjoy the spiritual background of everything they do. They like the discipline and they excel in the religion based courses.
The point is this is not a middle of the road school. It was founded for a purpose and it has been true to that purpose. If you share the beliefs espoused by the administration of Liberty University then you are in for a treat. But if you don’t, do everyone a favor and look around a little more before making a decision.
