5 Questions for Picking a College

Decisions about college can be intimidating. For many young people the decisions involved in their college educations will likely be the most significant they’ve made up to that point in their lives. College is a massive investment of time, resources, and energy; it can feel overwhelming as we try to make wise choices in this sphere. We at Worldview at the Abbey would love to be a resource to any student facing these decisions and would encourage you to consider the following points as you seek God’s will for your college education:

1. Pray and seek Godly council. This is where I believe anyone in moments of difficult or tough decisions should begin their journey, including decisions about college. Consistent prayer is inseparable from the growing Christian. Our Father desires ever deeper relationship with us, for us to know Him better, and to be more transformed into His likeness and prayer is part of how that process is accomplished in the life of the believer. Now, what I would not encourage a student thinking about college decisions to do, is to pray with the expectation that God is going to deliver to them a “clouds parting” moment of direct instruction. God doesn’t tend to provide us that. He may, but I would be cautious about setting bad expectations. Whether or not God makes His will known in an overt, demonstrative way, what prayer does is it positions us properly before our Heavenly Father. Placing ourselves in submission to His will, seeking His direction, and trusting His loving sovereignty are the goods we can be confident about, whether or not God gives us the concrete revelation we may think we want. Our God loves us, desires good for us, and has promised to faithfully walk with us. God also places people in our lives to draw biblical wisdom to our attention and consideration. I think students facing these decisions should intentionally seek those individuals God has placed in their lives to this point and ask for council about how they have seen God using or growing them, areas they think God has given them strengths and areas they see need for growth. Questions like these and others can be useful in pointing us the directions God has prepared for us.

2. Have a direction in mind as part of your school decision. I think many students make a call on where they want to go school expecting to make decisions about what they want to major in and study after they arrive on campus. While its very possible that you will wrestle with your precise choices of study while at college, and perhaps change your mind on some things, I think the questions of what you’ll study and pursue after graduation need to be considered as part of the college choice process. To shove this question down the road can leave us casting too much of a priority onto things like, “how nice are the dorms?” or “how tasty is the cafeteria food?” College is often seen as an opportunity to discover ourselves or figure out who we really are and want to be. I think this is a terrible idea. Students will certainly learn about themselves while at college but to see a college education as a means to that ends seems like utter foolishness to me. If you are unsure about yourself, identity, calling, or other truly significant questions I don’t recommend a young adult separating from their primary sources of Godly council: parents, pastors, mentors. God gives us these individuals to help us on the road of life and if a student is uncertain in critical areas, casting off from the moors God has provided to that point in their lives seems premature. Being patient and discerning the broad direction God is calling you out into is a project best done before beginning the investment in a specific college education. God may guide you in different directions through your college career, but I wouldn’t recommend starting out aimless.

3. Seek out the school that will most excellently prepare you. Assuming that you have received my first two points of council, you are looking for a school with at least a cardinal direction in mind about what God may be calling you toward. You should next try to find the institutions that will be most effective in preparing you for that end. I don’t think its appropriate to think about our education as simply a means to an end, there is good in learning, period. However, I do think making practical decision about what institution you partner with for your education is simply good sense. If God is calling you to be a bridge builder, go to an excellent engineering school. Each student is going to face various constraints on the choices available to them, but I would encourage prioritizing the ones with strengths in the areas God seems to be directing you. This may seem straightforward, but its easy to let things like family legacy, college name recognition, or even sports and student life considerations distract from the purpose of why you’re going to school: to pursue an education in obedience to what God is calling you into. Wherever the best preparation is, prioritize considering that school.

4. Don’t assume every Christian college is. Is “Christian,” I mean. I’m stealing this one from the Provost of Worldview at the Abbey Jeff Baldwin who has offered this council to students and parent for years. I do think students should seriously consider a Christian school for their college education, but just because the iconography looks good on the logos, or they have a chapel attendance requirement doesn’t mean they will be hearing sound doctrine in those places. The Bible warns about wolves in sheep’s clothing and a student attending a university that claims allegiance to Christ may instead find their faith under assault from the very people supposed to be supporting their growth. It is easy to extend the benefit of the doubt to brothers and sisters in Christ and just assume that because they claim to be on the same team, that there is true agreement on the truth of God’s word. If students are considering a Christian university, they should be even more inquisitive as in some ways a secular university can be more straightforward about what to expect. Students considering Christian colleges should ask tough questions of administrators on the school’s doctrinal positions. They should ask concrete questions of the Bible or theology faculty about what is taught in those spaces. Don’t just assume that because there’s a cross and nice sounding slogan on the branding material, that truth reigns in that place.