Westmont College

The student community is very difficult to break into as an "outsider." I get the impression that other people generally don't care that I am here or who I am...I intentionally took part in a group purchase for a professor as a gift, then did not pay just to see if the guy would approach me and say anything at all. Nope. The seniors in the biology department do little to nothing to help out lower ranked students with medical school issues beyond the useless pre-med club. They do, however, have plenty to say about how much effort they put into studying the MCAT, going with Potter's Clay (a make-myself-feel-good mission trip to Mexico), what to drink this weekend, and the latest sex innuendo laden youtube humor sensation.

Faculty is, for the most part, just too busy to have a conversation. Understandable at a bigger state university, but this place is ~2000 students. I gave an honest effort to make acquaintance with the pre-med adviser, but the biggest contribution to the conversation that he made was "have you ever been charged with a felony?" ??? Thanks for the inquiry, but I am an honorably discharged veteran. My academic adviser is nice enough, but again, just too busy to have a real conversation longer than 10 minutes, and it took her 6 months just to remember my wife's name. Interestingly, the best conversation I had with a professor was with the new chem professor who has just come from another university.

I love chapel, but Westmont's services are extremely dull. My wife loved to come with me at California Baptist University, but after coming once to Westmont, she doesn't show up anymore because she knows she will not be able to stay awake. Worse, there is heavy emphasis on worshiping in different ways...usually this means playing a set in a foreign language, doing some kind of African dance, etc. This is good, but the emphasis is too much. Chapel has focused on the great commission a total of zero times. Chapel has given a blatant invitation to salvation a total of zero times. I, someone who loves chapel and appreciates the chance to attend, have fallen asleep during chapel many times.

The worst part about dealing with this college, is how unreceptive the college was to my suggestions for improving its outreach to non-trad students. First of all, there is no tutoring center. If you live off campus, good luck getting to the homework help sessions, which are usually at the discretion of the student holding them (i.e., between 8-10 pm). There is no option to eat in the same facility with other students if you do not have a meal plan. I put a microwave in a low-traffic student lounge, and I have lunch by myself every day; you cannot get into the cafeteria without paying for a meal at the door. There is no commuter support, (e.g., at my previous college, there was a commuter coffee and breakfast sandwich bar in the parking lot every other week - an appreciated gesture). Veteran's Day came and went without a word.

In an attempt to address these issues and thus make the school more attractive to prospective students, I approached staff with a proposal to make a student veteran and non-trad representative. I made an appointment to have my proposition heard, and it was put off for a number of months. When the time finally came, the proposal went well, but the school said no. The most they were willing to do was put a link on their website. Dismal failure. I offered to pay for, and run, a commuter coffee bar, a organized association, and local events, but it was shut down.Overall, I would rate Westmont very low. It does present academic rigor, but unless you are intent on going for a science PhD, it wont serve you any good. Even then, if you want to get into a good graduate program, the onus is on you, not your school's academics. The student population is typical of rich southern California beach towns (snotty, unappreciative). There is no support for non-trad students, let alone married or veteran students. The college has unimpressive rankings, very high tuition, and honestly everyone raves about the beautiful campus when it's just a bunch of brush and some palm trees up in the hills (Santa Barbara City College is literally across the street from the beach...now that's a beautiful campus). As is typical with Christian colleges, do not come to Westmont expecting a spiritually mature Christian student population...people come here because their families are wealthy and/or their good at sports. If you are an older student, or consider yourself mature beyond your years, then expect to come here and be treated like a high schooler, because that's what the student population is most like.