College vs. College

This is Katie's assessment of the two colleges we visited:



Lets start with King’s (http://www.tkc.edu/). King’s College is located in the heart of NYC. It is in the Empire State Building and has several hundred students. They offer three majors- politics philosophy and economics, media culture and the arts, and business management. Their academics program is very rigorous and focuses heavily on business, journalism, and film production. They have ample opportunity for internships in NYC in all three of those. I went to one class and it left me confused and bored. It was supposed to be a politics class, but the professor didn’t even talk about politics! He was discussing a book about Sparta they were reading. Towards the end of the class, he did start talking about different choices the king made and why they were good or bad but until then, I was incredibly confused. The professors are nice, energetic, and have a well-developed sense of humor. The college does not have normal housing. They have apartments of three instead of the usual dorms. Also, they do not have a meal plan, so you must buy your own groceries and make a meal plan. The people are nice, but very glamorous. If you are a fashion diva who wants to change the world…..King’s is the college for you! Most of them are from public schools and do not know how to speak, write, and read analytically and with a Christian worldview. King’s does not offer a lot of extra-curricular activities. They have a debate team (but there is limited space with a LOOOOONG waiting list) and a theatre club. That is all but there are ample opportunities throughout NYC to get involved. Most of the students I talked to liked King’s because it “treated them like they were adults” and because of the hard classes.



King’s has two major drawbacks that I saw. The first is the glamour. Because it is in NYC, it attracts a certain kind of person. A nice person, but a person who is not at all like me. It is definitely for people who like fashion, shopping, and living in a very shallow city. The second drawback that I think is incredibly serious is their lack of emphasis on spiritual growth. They do not have chapel, small groups, worship, or any kind of gathering to worship God. It would be very easy for a teenager to lose their faith in such an environment. King’s has an emphasis on academics, not spiritual growth. The students themselves pointed this out several times. Another drawback that is more personal is the emphasis on business and media. I want to go into politics and King’s does not deal with politics hardly at all. It is not the environment I am looking for.



Lets move on to Patrick Henry College (http://www.phc.edu/). PHC is located in a small town in Virginia right outside of DC. It has a few hundred students and is only slightly smaller than King’s. They offer several politics majors, a literature major, a strategic intelligence major, and (most recently) a music major. They too have a very rigorous academic program. However, the two classes I visited were interesting and left me wanting more. Even though I came in the middle and wasn’t quite sure where the class had been, I still understood most of it and left intrigued. The professors are kind, intelligent, interesting and VERY willing to help you at any time. PHC has spacious dorms (not very large but spacious nonetheless) that normally have three people in them. They have a normal meal plan as well which is not as bad as other colleges. The food always contains a wide variety and is surprisingly delicious! All of the people at PHC are like me or very close. We have the same interests and ideas. 80% of the people who go to PHC are homeschooled which makes for a very different and not unpleasant experience. They have similar focus and I do not feel like an abnormal “nerdy” homeschooler. PHC offers a multitude of extra-curricular activities. They offer worship team, a variety of sports, theatre, different music options, tutoring, newspaper staff, different jobs around campus, debate and speech, moot court, mock trial, and more. All of the students I talked to said they went to Patrick Henry because “God told me that was where I was supposed to go” and because “Patrick Henry helps us change the world even while we are in college”.



The only drawback that I heard from students and that I saw was that it is indeed a very small college. Everyone knows everything that is happening in your life. That’s hard when you really don’t want people interfering. However, PHC has such a great environment and such a great emphasis on spiritual growth and developing relationships before academics that I feel it is the right college for me. All the faculty said that they were giving us the opportunity to change the world in college. We become world movers even while we are still young and that is what I have wanted to do. I feel like I can go to PHC as myself and be immediately accepted and feel at home. Unfortunately, if I went to King’s, I would feel like I had to change myself to be like the people around me. I would need to become a “city girl” to fit in. I would also probably lose my faith because of the environment I would be in. The faculty at King’s made the point that they were EQUIPPING students to become world changers when they go out on their own. This is not what I am looking for. I want to change the world NOW.



In conclusion, King’s is a great school. I would recommend looking at it and making sure it wasn’t for you, but if you are anything like me (nerd who would like to change the world in the area of politics) then I would sincerely discourage going to King’s.

Flag at Halfmast!

This two to three weekshas been rough for FamilyLife staff particularly here in Little Rock. We have seen two very precious women who have had long standing battles with cancer go to be with the Lord. The first lady was Debbie Perry and she was a great encouragement to many even in her battle with cancer. The day she first had to wear a wig she was entertaining people by "flipping her wig" at people in jest. She died on March 30th. We had a all staff meeting that day and it was a special time of prayer for her husband Tom. He was very encouraging to us as staff!

And then on April 7th, a missionary staff's wife went to be with the Lord while her husband slept next to her. She was very peaceful. They had served together for a number of years in New Zealand. More recently they have worked with all the different speakers who speak at the Weekend To Rmember getaways.

So as you can imagine we have been a bit somber around here; however, we all have our hope in the Lord. And praise God for these two women and for how uses each of us to minister in this world so taken by sin and death!

So when I went outside at the end of the day to go home and saw this:

My heart was taken by the beauty of this tribute and how we honor those who have gone before us and how they will one day welcome us into that celestial home!

Walk the Dog

Walk the Dog

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