College is a choice that requires some careful planning and is something that should be thought about as early as your freshman year in high school. The earlier you prepare and narrow down your choices, the greater the chance you’ll find a good fit and have more options as far as financial aid.

Here are some areas you need to consider when choosing a Christian college, many of which related to choosing a college in general:

Location

What kind of environment do you want to spend at least four years of your life? Some people enjoy living in large cities while others enjoy a more rural environment. The city location is also going to play a factor in activities and opportunities you have available to you.

Campus Size

Campuses with large student populations can sometimes be intimidating but often have more programs available due to greater demand. Generally smaller colleges have the advantage of better student to instructor ratios, but this is not always the case. Visiting the college and talking with current students is a great way to determine this.

Class Size/Environment

A major advantage to Christian colleges in general is the Christian environment-you can learn about God and fellowship with like-minded students without a lot of the negative aspects some students encounter in other college types.

Since you’re paying for college through some sort of your own funding (including any scholarships you earn and student loans you may take out), to a certain extent you need to treat it like you’re literally investing in a product. People sometimes don’t think of their education in those terms, but it’s helpful. You want the best learning environment for your time and money. Small classes and at least some availability to your instructors will help you greatly over the course of 4 years.

Degree Programs and Course of Study Options

Some Christian colleges have course programs that are very similar to secular colleges, while others have concentrated options in Bible studies. Many can give you flexibility or a range of options between both. While it definitely common to not know what you want to do as far as your career when you’re in your teens, knowing what you want to study will narrow down your list of choices.

Financial Aid/Tuition Costs

Tuition costs can range widely even with private colleges, and as early as your sophomore or junior year it’s a good idea to start looking for scholarship and grant options-just to know what’s available, even if you can’t apply until you’re a senior. In later stages in your choices, a determining factor is often the college that gives you the best financial aid package.

Mentorship Opportunities/Career Development

According to your field of study, some colleges have programs that offer hands-on experience along with classroom study. The general qualifications of the college’s instructors-what they’ve accomplished outside the classroom-is helpful knowledge.

General Steps in Your Search

Think of this process like a water through a funnel. It’s often easy to begin a broad search on the web, which will often result in a lot of options for you. Sign up for more information with the colleges that seem most interesting to you. You can then arrow these options down using the criteria that is most important to least important to you. With your final choices, personally visit the campuses and get feedback from current students.

Good luck and best wishes to you!

This is where home schooling comes into play; with the right resources you can provide your child with everything that they need to develop into strong, healthy, intelligent and resourceful young adults. Keep in mind that home schooling is not always as easy as you might want it to be, and there will be trials but that is what a good education is all about. Christian education takes it a bit further, incorporating morals and everyday life lessons into the overall theme of education.

To help you along the way to a good Christian education provided for your child in the comfort of their very own home, here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind, to help both you and your little one benefit from the situation as much as you possibly can.

• Hang onto your sense of humor; if you take things too seriously and don’t provide any freedom or flexibility for your child they will probably resent the situation and may not benefit as much as you would like them to.
• Remember to keep the Christian in the ‘Christian education.’ Sure, you might not be a licensed teacher but nobody can teach your child Christian morals and theories quite like you can, and nobody can instill in them the values that you want them to have like you can as their primary care giver.
• Identify the line between home and schooling, and keep it there. If you blur the line, you run the risk of ruining your child’s education and disturbing their home life as well, neither of which will serve your child well at all. In such a case, you might as well send them to traditional public school or Christian school.
• Although it might sound a bit crazy, consider how your child feels about the home schooling situation. They might be able to offer you more insight than you think on how to handle the Christian education at home.
• Remember to make sure that your child is as well rounded as possible. Put them in sports, enter them into a church youth group, or do something else that puts them around other children their age. Christian education is not about seclusion from the world; it is about a different way of thinking and educating your child. Forming bonds with other human beings is just as important a part of education as reading and writing.

Continuing education in a Christian college is a great idea. While the law says that they are adults at 18, we know from our own experiences that 18 is still an impressionable age. In the public college arena your child will be told that their ideas, and beliefs are outdated, simple minded and intolerant. There are not many children this age that are ready to be battle tested on their beliefs. Even the college professors won’t be on their side, if fact many are even worse then the student body. Just watch the national news, and see what colleges call an education, you will be horrified.

Many parents love the idea of having their children continue their education in a Christian college. We all remember our college days, and the behavior that was accepted in a public, or state run college. Having your child away from home for the first time is daunting enough, but throwing them to the wolves, why they are still impressionable is a very scary thought. That is why parents are choosing Christian colleges. This gives your child a few more years to completely grasp what it means to live a Christian life, now that they are not under the direct protection of their parents.

It also gives them the chance to interact and socialize with other Christian their own age. They can see first hand that living a Christian life can be done, even in today’s society. They will get encouragement from other children who have also decided to live a Christ-like life style. They will also be taught by professors who respect your beliefs, and still encourage parental involvement. And God willing, they might just meet their future spouse, someone that has the same goals, and the same belief system, and the same respect for biblical principles.

You know you child better than anyone. If your child is mentally and emotionally ready to stand up for what they believe in, they maybe okay to attend a public college. But for many children, a Christian college is the way to go. It gives them a few extra years to become everything God intended them to be, without the constant bombardment of society’s lack of respect for our beliefs. It also gives them an additional support system of friends and professors that will help them in their walk with Christ.

There is a growing trend in this country. Christian parents are removing their children from the public school system and home schooling them. This is a great way to more affordably control what your child learns. With the increase popularity in home school there are many new programs available to help you.

There are several companies you can find online. They have all the textbooks you will need. You can get books that start from pre-school and continue through high school. They have your general education or if you have a math genius, they offer the more advanced math like trigonometry. You can educate your child no matter what level of education you have. The books are very self-explanatory and have been tested for years. The programs also administer the tests that are required by almost all states to make sure that your child is not falling behind.

These programs not only teach them the necessities to graduate and attend college, but there are many bible courses available. These courses are age appropriate, and include bible verse memorization, devotional reading, and in depth explanation of our Christian history.

Many parents are afraid if they home school their children that they will not have the social advantages of being in a public school. That is no longer the case; with the popularity of home schooling there has become a whole networking system available to you. You can enroll your child in art classes, swimming lessons, or music classes it just depends on the size of the network in your area. They also give you tips to help you begin your own network in your area.

They can also tell you about sport activities and leagues in your local area that your home-schooled children can participate in. In fact, there are some recent court rulings that say that home school children can participate on the school leagues. This can be very handy, especially if you have a very athletic child and you want to give them exposure so that they can be eligible for college scholarships.

This is a great way to take charge of what your child will or will not learn. As more and more parents begin teaching their children, more programs are becoming available to help parents network with like-minded parents. Do some research and find a program that will work for you and your children. This gives you the opportunity to give your child an education, without exposing them to the agenda of the social progressives.

“…instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4