Pensacola Christian College

I do not recommend PCC. Unfortunately, like many, I went to private schools that constantly drilled that "it's God's will for all Christians to attend a Christian college for at least a year" (I wonder now where in the Bible they found that!), and I bought it hook, line and sinker. I headed off to PCC, doing what everyone was telling me was "right". It's taken me many years away from that college to understand that so many things that I was taught there were just plain wrong - wrong ethically, spiritually, doctrinally, morally. Wrong in every way.

Since there's not much space, I'll attempt to give you a feel for PCC in just a few points, and encourage you to get a wide sampling of former students' opinions:

1. Limited ability to leave the campus: Women are only allowed to leave campus with several others, and the specifics are laid out in detail (such as the number of women, the age, etc.). Rules are much stricter for female students than male. If you have a car, great - you'll have everyone buddying up to you so you can drive them to appointments, to the mall, to the beach. If you don't have a car, it can be hard to get off campus - very hard, and that can have damaging psychological effects.

2. Limited Information - No TVs or most magazines: I never saw anyone with a Newsweek or Time magazine, or any magazine, for that matter. Due to #1 above, lack of outside information plus difficulty leaving campus results in one student who is very uninformed about current events. Once when an EXTREMELY important world event occurred, the college put a TV in a public area, with someone closeby to "censor" and turn the TV off during commercials, so you wouldn't see that. On break, I would go home and find out all sorts of things had happened in the world outside while I was in school at PCC.

3. Strict rules, ridiculous rules, people enjoying their power: You earn demerits for everything from not emptying the trash in your room daily and not making your bed to missing class or having what the school deems a "bad attitude" (i.e. asking questions when you are accused of wrongdoing) to being on an elevator that gets stuck because too many people were on it. Earn enough demerits, and you'll eventually be "campused" - literally, you are not allowed to leave the campus for the rest of the semester. Earn 150, and you'll be expelled. Earn 25 for missing a class. My own example of my "heavy-demerit semester" (I was still under 75) was due to a sunburn I got at the beach. I wasn't feeling well afterwards, and got up during a church service to go to the bathroom. A nurse followed me to the restroom and witnessed me vomit. She forced me to go to the health center (which has no physician, no ability to write prescriptions, nothing - just beds, humidifiers, aspirin and the like) against my will, and then I was given demerits for missing classes. I wanted to be at class. I didn't want to be in the health center. They force me to stay there, and then give me demerits for missing class. There are many similar examples people can give you. Things that are extremely unfair and hurtful, yet if you question these things, in the humblest of tones, in the forum called "Discipline Committee" (or "DC"), which is where you stand before a panel of disciplinarians which reviews your demerits, you will be warned that you have a bad attitude, and this in itself can earn you more demerits. PCC is a very discouraging place for many, and it's potentially damaging to students' perception of Christianity and how Christians should interact.

4. No physical contact whatsoever between members of the opposite sex: You're thinking kissing and petting, but I'm talking poking someone in the ribs, handshakes, brushing a spider off someone's back. That can get you "socialled" - the college prohibits you from talking to a member of the opposite sex for two weeks. Talk to them, and you earn yourself an expulsion. I'm not kidding here. I was never socialled, but the no-physical-contact rules at PCC were damaging nonetheless. I went home between semesters, and would flinch if a man tried to shake my hand. My father reached out to lovingly pat my knee when he was driving, and I pulled away. It hurt him deeply, but it was instinctive, a reaction instilled by PCC. I've heard similar stories by other women who attended PCC, even some mentioning that their marital relationships were affected as a result of the premarital no-touch philosophies touted by PCC.

5. Inferior education and lack of accreditation: Many of the staff of PCC graduated from PCC. They teach more students, who then graduate and teach more students who then graduate and... You get the idea. Diversity in education helps ensure quality, and PCC is limited in this regard. Many of the educational materials are created at PCC itself (A Beka Book is a creation of Beka Horton, the founder's wife), which means you're once again limited. The educational materials themselves are heavily censored. American History will be American History the PCC Way. In biology, you will not hear theories of evolution or about the Big Bang theory, though many Christians will agree that this is important to their education that they be knowledgeable as to the theories the secular world is taught in order to be able to argue them scientifically as well as doctrinally. Accreditation is also a big issue, and don't let them tell you or imply that it is not. It WILL be an issue for you if you are wanting to be something other than a worker in the Christian school system, missionary, homemaker, or pastor. I have yet to find an accredited university that will accept my PCC credits, and I have applied at many schools. PCC will showcase those rare exceptions of someone in law school or medical school, but these are extremely rare occurrences, and to get in, these folks had to jump through many more hoops and experience a headache that those coming from accredited schools don't. I hope I've given you a sampling. There is much more I would want to say to tell you about this school. Please be careful. Unfortunately, young people are often at their most vulnerable period in their life when making a decision as to which college to attend.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

Hey, this college sucks. You're asking, "Why did you go then?" I went simply because this was among the handful of colleges that my Mom and Dad would foot the bill for, and I was too damned lazy to work my way through college. Oh well, you get what you pay for.

Let's face it, people go to college for two reasons: to learn and get laid. I did neither at PCC. Very few people do from what I saw.I consider myself lucky. I have a good job, a nice family and still go to church. Many who go to PCC aren't so lucky. Avoid this place like the plague. You could easily describe it as Osama bin Laden University.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

1st Year Male -- Class 2004

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Individual Value: F