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OP, do you actually even want to hear "thoughts on this article?"
Or only certain thoughts, with which you already agree?
If you are the sort of person who doesn't want your previously held notions to be challenged, in general, and rejects the notion of entertaining other perspectives, then this school sounds as if it may well be a better fit for you than most.
I just wanted y'all's thoughts on the article. I don't want to hear crap like " you might get into Liberty Law on a lucky day" when NSA grads have been admitted to top grad schools. It seems like certain people have a bias against truly conservative colleges. NSA is staunchly Conservative, but that doesn't mean it's any less academically sound than secular schools. I could bash places like Reed( the motto there is " Communism, Atheism, and Free Love) or Hampshire for being shallow and closed minded. If extremely secular Liberal colleges like Reed are respected, then staunchly conservative places like NSA deserve the same respect. The average 2 part SAT is 1243, so it's not like dumb kids go there. Tell me, what makes a place like Reed any better than NSA?
Tell me, what makes a place like Reed any better than NSA?
Nobody is making this comparison but you.
Personally, the focus on classical education appeals to me, the conservative Christian/evangelical bent does not. But, I'm an alum of a private liberal arts college affiliated with a mainline protestant denomination (of which I'm a lifelong member). I would be more intrigued by this school were it not for the evangelizing platform. That takes it out of the running, for me.
Just because it says "New York Times" doesn't mean it's a good defense for the school. Did you read the article? The two main administrators mentioned are no longer there and haven't been for years.
A couple things stand out to me, as a Christian and a former teacher:
1) I would be VERY wary of such a small school in a remote location with only one female teacher, where about half the professors don't even have PhDs.
2) If you want to go to Harvard Law and become an attorney, you should get better at mounting a defense and assembling reliable evidence.
I think you need to prioritize your goals. What is it about this place that attracts you? Any school can cobble together a list of half a dozen graduates with impressive-sounding resumes. That is not a sign of a good college. Those people may have succeeded IN SPITE OF the school they attended.
If you want a small school, there are plenty of those. If you want a Christian education, there are plenty of those. If you want to go to a place where people wear black robes occasionally and talk philosophy, there is even one of those in my state.
What is your main goal, and how would attending a school on the extreme side of the curve help you achieve that?
Just because it says "New York Times" doesn't mean it's a good defense for the school. Did you read the article? The two main administrators mentioned are no longer there and haven't been for years.
A couple things stand out to me, as a Christian and a former teacher:
1) I would be VERY wary of such a small school in a remote location with only one female teacher, where about half the professors don't even have PhDs.
2) If you want to go to Harvard Law and become an attorney, you should get better at mounting a defense and assembling reliable evidence.
I think you need to prioritize your goals. What is it about this place that attracts you? Any school can cobble together a list of half a dozen graduates with impressive-sounding resumes. That is not a sign of a good college. Those people may have succeeded IN SPITE OF the school they attended.
If you want a small school, there are plenty of those. If you want a Christian education, there are plenty of those. If you want to go to a place where people wear black robes occasionally and talk philosophy, there is even one of those in my state.
What is your main goal, and how would attending a school on the extreme side of the curve help you achieve that?
Well I wasn't using the New York Times as a defense. I just posted the article to give you guys a better idea of the place. My main goal is to get a Classical education for undergrad, and to be admitted to Harvard Law School. In any case, corporate law appeals more to me than litigation. Here's what I like about the place.
1. The main reason I want to attend NSA is that I'll be around likeminded students and professors. I have the EXACT same values as the college does. I'm extremely socially conservative, a Classicist, an Anglophile, against Feminism and against Multiculturalism. I'm a Pat Buchanan style conservative. My views are so far to the Right, that I'd be shouted down and called names at most schools. I'd be at home at NSA. I don't want to be around a bunch of Social Justice Warriors. I know diversity is valued in modern higher education, but I don't care for it. I prefer unity. I know that if I end up attending Harvard Law, I'll be around all sorts of people with all sorts of ideologies. So I'd rather be in a Conservative safe-space for undergrad.
2. Small( I really want a small school, and small classes)
3. Rigorous Classical Education( the entire curriculum is focused on the Classics of Western Civilization, and they teach the texts from a Christian prospective. I won't have to take ridiculous courses on "Diversity" and "Global Culture"
4, Reformed Protestant( I'm a devout Calvinist Anglican, and I really like the fact that this place is staunchly Reformed.)
I have an honest question for you. Could you give me some reasons why I SHOULDNT attend NSA? As I've said, if I put in the effort and get s really high GPA/LSAT score, I should be able to get into HLS from NSA.
I have an honest question for you. Could you give me some reasons why I SHOULDNT attend NSA? As I've said, if I put in the effort and get s really high GPA/LSAT score, I should be able to get into HLS from NSA.
Because you won't have been educated. You will have been indoctrinated.
The whole point of "education" is to open your mind and broaden your horizons, to learn about new ideas. How will you do that if you don't even acknowledge 51% of the US population?
The best "defenders of the faith" are well educated about beliefs other than theirs because they have taken the time to learn about those beliefs. You can't do any good for yourself or others by simply circling the wagons and pretending that beliefs you don't like don't exist.
Because you won't have been educated. You will have been indoctrinated.
The whole point of "education" is to open your mind and broaden your horizons, to learn about new ideas. How will you do that if you don't even acknowledge 51% of the US population?
The best "defenders of the faith" are well educated about beliefs other than theirs because they have taken the time to learn about those beliefs. You can't do any good for yourself or others by simply circling the wagons and pretending that beliefs you don't like don't exist.
When did I say beliefs I don't like don't exist? I said I'm against these things, not that they don't exist. I know what the Left believes. What will I get from being around them?
I will learn new ideas at NSA( the ideas of all those Classical authors I read) As I said before, I could just as easily say that the kids at Reed are being indoctrinated. You should read Ben Shapiros book "Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth" There's very few people as smart as he is. He attended UCLA and Harvard Law, and said that he wrote like a Communist because professors would give bad grades to those with conservative opinions. He also recommended that "Conservatives look for schools that are in line with their values" Let me tell you something else. I was at one point very interested in a small Liberal Arts college in the North. I asked the admissions office if there were any Conservstive professors in the Politicsl Science department. They gave me the name of the 1 Conservstive in the department, and I contacted him.( I'm not giving out the name of the college or the professor, because our contact was confidential) I asked him the following question
"I have heard stories about conservative students getting bad grades at Liberal colleges due to their views. This is something I really want to avoid. Would I get points taken off of papers because of my conservative views at X College?"
He said "Like so many schools we have taken a lurch to the left. You will experience that at most schools. X is probably toward the worse end of the spectrum in this regard. But there are conservative students here and they will make good fellows. I would hope most of the faculty would be open to diverse views, but I am a realist. To be in the minority always takes some courage; but it is good for the soul."
That being the case, why should I attend a secular school at all?
Again, it sounds like a place where you won't be challenged in any way, shape, or form to consider perspectives other than the ones you arrive with or to think more deeply than you already do about anything other than what you already believe. It is in that sense unlikely to be an intellectually broadening experience. There are those who wouldn't find that sort of a higher ed experience to be particularly worthwhile or enlightening.
If this is problematic for you, you'd be well-served to find another institution. If it's not (which seems to be the case), it seems to be a good fit.
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