List of colleges with Presbyterian, Reformed, and Evangelical roots which made the Young America’s Foundation sixth annual “Top Conservative College” list.

The 2009-2010 Top Conservative College list includes
College of the Ozarks, Grove City College, Hillsdale College, The King’s College, Liberty University and Regent University.
A wide variety of rankings exist for the market of American colleges and universities. Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases its “America’s Best Colleges” edition.

The magazine grades each institution based on factors including peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, and student selectivity. Yet, U.S. News does not rank the overall experience that colleges offer. That is why Young America’s Foundation presents the following list of institutions that offer a conservative experience for students. Young America’s Foundation deemed these institutions the best, and they are listed in alphabetical order.

Many conservative students seek alternatives in higher education, but they may not be fully aware of institutions that fit these criteria. The 2009-2010 “Top Conservative College” list features institutions that proclaim, through their mission and programs, a dedication to discovering, maintaining, and strengthening the conservative values of their students.

These colleges offer an alternative to the liberal status quo, because they allow and encourage conservative students to explore conservative ideas and authors. They offer coursework and scholarship in conservative thought and emphasize principles including smaller government, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.

Furthermore, they avoid trends in academe by continuing to study Western Civilization instead of straying toward the study of Marxism, feminism, sexuality, postmodernism, and other distractions that do not give students a complete understanding of our country, our culture, and its founding principles.

Young America’s Foundation highly recommends service academies such as West Point and Annapolis for people interested in serving their country and receiving a top-notch education. However, these schools do not appear on our list. They are not liberal arts colleges but rather military colleges that follow a training model for future officers.

There is nothing more honorable than serving our country, and we strongly encourage qualified students to consider this option.

This is not an exhaustive list of conservative institutions and should not be taken as such. Nor should it be the only source consulted in a college search. Young America’s Foundation recommends that this list serve as a starting point. Parents and students should seek several information sources, read admissions materials thoroughly, consult with friends and counselors, and make visits. Additionally, Young America’s Foundation is not a college rating organization; we decided to publish this list to help address a frequently asked question.

The College of the Ozarks is a unique Christian Work College with about 1,400 students, located in Point Lookout, Missouri. Dubbed as “Hard Work U.” by The Wall Street Journal, it has a special work-study program in which students work in lieu of paying tuition.

In addition to the 41 majors, 38 minors, and eight pre-professional programs it offers, the College of the Ozarks has an extensive character education program. As soon as students arrive for freshman orientation, they begin character education programs and abide by a dress code and an honor code.

A core liberal arts curriculum is required of all students, and an optional character-based curriculum is available. The general education curriculum is “purposefully complemented by an emphasis on the development of vital competencies,” such as writing, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary connections. Overall, the College of the Ozarks offers a robust array of programs and excellent opportunities to receive a well-rounded education.

One of the most distinctive features of the College of the Ozarks is the work-study program. All students work 15 hours per week instead of paying tuition. Many students find interesting jobs at the College such as working at the College’s own restaurant and lodge, print shop, landscaping department, or on the farm. Two 40-hour weeks are also required during longer breaks, including Christmas or Easter.

For more information, contact College of the Ozarks:
College of the Ozarks Admissions
P.O. Box 17
Point Lookout, Missouri 65726
(800) 222-0525

Grove City College is a Christian college located just north of Pittsburgh with 2,500 students. It offers 41 undergraduate majors. Its mission is to offer a rigorous academic education in a thoroughly Christian environment at an affordable cost.

As a liberal arts institution, its web site also states: “Rejecting relativism and secularism, [Grove City College] fosters intellectual, moral, spiritual, and social development consistent with a commitment to Christian truth, morals, and freedom.” The atmosphere created at Grove City College through its policies and programs encourages “the spiritual, moral, intellectual, and character development” of its students and staff. Young America’s Foundation has a warm relationship with Grove City College. Students almost always attend Foundation programs and there will be a Foundation high school conference at Grove City College in the summer of 2010.

Grove City has a commitment to conservative scholarship in various fields. For example, Dr. Paul Kengor (political science) has written several best-selling books and is an expert in the American presidency. He is also executive director of the College’s think tank, The Center for Vision & Values. Dr. Tracy Miller (economics) has published articles examining international and agricultural economics and economic development. Many of Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises’ papers are housed and researched at the College. In addition, Grove City boasts a strong department of religion and a major in entrepreneurship. Engineering (ABET-accredited programs in mechanical and electrical engineering), education and business round out the most popular majors.

Additionally, The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College is a think tank offering annual conferences, noted speakers and a chance for faculty members and fellows to share their editorials in media outlets around the country. The Center also produces numerous white papers on social, business, and economic subjects.

Given its legal and financial independence from the federal government, Grove City College’s tuition, room and board are surprisingly low. Annual tuition is less than half
the national average for four-year private institutions, and room and board is one-third less than the national average for such institutions, thanks to the College’s fiduciary responsibility. It also has a private loan program as well as its own private need-based and merit-based scholarship program. As a result, Grove City has been called a “best value” in America in higher education time and time again.

For more information, contact:
Grove City College
100 Campus Drive
Grove City, Pennsylvania 16127
(724) 458-2100

Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan is a liberal arts college with 1,300 students. Offering 34 traditional majors, eight interdisciplinary majors, and nine pre-professional programs, Hillsdale consistently ranks highly nationwide in U.S. News & World Report and Forbes magazine, among other publications. Its core curriculum exemplifies the tradition of a classic liberal arts program. All students, regardless of major, are required to take courses in humanities, natural science, and social science during their first two years. Highly respected conservative professors teach at Hillsdale including Dr. Burt Folsom (history), Dr. Ivan Pongracic (economics), and Dr. Mickey Craig (political science).

Students at this southern Michigan campus hear from one of the largest and most distinguished lecture programs in the country. Hillsdale’s Center for Constructive Alternatives (CCA) has sponsored more than 1,100 speakers since 1971, including conservative luminaries such as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Walter Williams. Students are required to attend two hours of CCA seminars in order to graduate.

Independence is an important theme at Hillsdale. Upon its founding in 1844, it was the nation’s first college to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, or religion in its charter. Ever since, the institution has not taken a penny from the federal government. When some students received federal loans in the 1970s, Hillsdale quickly reacted by maintaining independence and rejecting government quotas. Even given the absence of government funding, Hillsdale remains a great value because it continually provides privately funded financial aid packages.

Hillsdale provides students with a well-rounded education that focuses on liberty. Students learn what liberty means and the moral conditions of its preservation. They develop the skills to be productive citizens and the character to be good ones. The mission statement sums up the college well. It reads: “The College considers itself a trustee of modern man’s intellectual and spiritual inheritance from the Judeo-Christian faith and Greco-Roman culture, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.”

For more information, contact
Hillsdale College Admissions
33 East College Street
Hillsdale, Michigan 49242
(517) 607-2327

The King’s College in New York City is a growing Christian college in the Empire State Building. Their 2009-2010 class added 130 new students to the mid-town Manhattan site to bring enrollment to 300. The King’s College expects more than 200 new students in the fall for a total student body of 450 for the 2010-2011 academic year.

King’s emphasizes a core curriculum that stresses western civilization, writing, politics, philosophy, and economics. King’s graduates learn to contrast ideas based on eternal truths with trendy ideologies that come and go. They are prepared to serve in and eventually lead eight strategic institutions: government, law, business, media, the arts, civil society, education and the church.

The campus located in New York City allows for the campus art gallery to be the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the performing arts center to be Broadway, the library to be the New York Public Library, and the quad to be Central Park. Students eat, shop, study and play in the heart of one of the world’s most influential cities. When it is time to intern, they go to places like Oppenheimer or CBS News.

The King’s College academics feature three majors: Politics, Philosophy and Economics (modeled after Oxford); Business; and Media, Culture, and the Arts. Professors include renowned Christian and conservative authors like Anthony Bradley, Peter Kreeft, Joe Loconte, Udo Middelmann, Anne Hendershott and Marvin Olasky. Adjunct writing professors come from the National Review, the Wall Street Journal, and World.

All students are members of “houses,” groups of students named after greats like C.S. Lewis, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Students this past year experienced leadership first hand by building an award-winning debate team and starting a variety of student organizations.

For more information, please contact
The King’s College
The Office of Admissions
350 5th Avenue, Suite 1500
New York, NY 10018
212-659-7200

Liberty University, founded in 1971 by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, is located on 6,000 acres in scenic Lynchburg, Virginia. It is the largest evangelical university in the world. Total enrollment is more than 60,000 students, including the distance learning program. The chancellor of Liberty University is Jerry Falwell, Jr.

The mission of Liberty University is, “to develop Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact tomorrow’s world.” A common motto of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell for Liberty University was, “if it’s Christian it should be better.”

In turn, Liberty offers 115 undergraduate areas of study, 24 graduate areas of study and 3 doctoral programs. Notable schools include the Liberty University School of Law, the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Jesse Helms School of Government.
Liberty University students are known for their theologically, socially, and fiscally conservative views on issues like “…an absolute repudiation of ‘political correctness,’ a strong commitment to political conservatism, total rejection of socialism, and firm support for America’s economic system of free enterprise,” among other things.
The experience at Liberty does not stop with the classroom. Dormitories are supervised by a small army of “student leaders” who work to maintain the spiritual and social health of the halls. Liberty mentors one student leader for every five residential students, assuring that no single student is left without adequate social, spiritual, and academic support.

The thrice-weekly, university-wide chapel service plays hosts to 60 national leaders each school year. It is considered to be a required stop on the national, conservative campaign trail, and it is North America’s largest weekly gathering of Christian young people. In addition, the university has gathered dozens of “Big South Conference Championships” through its 20 NCAA Division 1 sports, it has a national champion debate team, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs, and hosts numerous special conferences devoted to Biblical and contemporary issues.

For more information, contact
Liberty University Admissions
1971 University Boulevard
Lynchburg, Virginia 24502
(434) 582-2000

Regent University. Founded in 1978, Regent University has more than 4,800 students studying on its campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and online around the world. Regent offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from a Christian perspective in fields including business, communication and the arts, divinity, education, government, law, leadership, and psychology and counseling. In addition to the rigorous academic environment, Regent offers other unique opportunities.

The Ronald Reagan Symposium, held each year in conjunction with the former president’s birthday, features nationally and internationally known scholars, including Harvey Mansfield (Harvard), William Kristol (Weekly Standard), Michael Barone (Washington Examiner and FOXNews), Jean Bethke Elshtain (Chicago), and George Nash (The Russell Kirk Center). Reagan Symposium topics have included “The Future of Conservatism” and “The Future of American Culture.” Each Symposium comes out as a scholarly book. For example, The New York Times published a long and favorable review on “The Future of Conservatism: Conflict and Consensus in the Post-Reagan Era.”

Clash of the Titans®, annually showcases debates between leading political heavyweights, such as Lt. Col. Oliver North, Mike Huckabee, Arianna Huffinington, Steve Forbes, Howard Dean, Geraldine Ferraro, Alan Colmes, Newt Gingrich and Ehud Barak, debating the war in Iraq, presidential elections, peace in the Middle East, and the American economic crisis.

Regent’s monthly Executive Leadership Series brings a cross-section of preeminent leaders to campus. Among them are Rudy Giuliani, Dick Morris, Maria Bartiromo, John Maxwell, Art Williams, Barbara Corcoran and Zig Ziglar.

“Christian Leadership to Change the World,” Regent’s motto since its founding, motivates its resolve to offer unparalleled opportunities. The Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, and thousands of other alumni got their start at Regent University.

For more information, please contact
Regent University Admissions
1000 Regent University Drive
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23464
(888) 718-1222

To see the entire list, visit: http://www.yaf.org/InnerPageTemplate.aspx?id=3368&terms=conservative+colleges

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