Gordon College

Date: Jul 12 2014
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
I had a wonderful experience at Gordon, but I recognize it's not for everyone.

The student body varies between students forced by parents to go to a Christian college, students raised in traditional Christianity who are pretty closed minded, and students of varying Christian backgrounds who are willing to struggle with their faith. You will run into people in all of these categories, but then no college is perfect.

There are rules. Did I think all of them were necessary? No. Was I willing to put up with them because the experience was positive? Yes. I had tons of fun even without alcohol and even with the visitation policies. My experience is they are not legalistic and focused on catching rule breakers. Still, Gordon is a Christian college. if the rules will feel oppressive or behavioral standards and beliefs will be offensive Gordon probably isn't the school for you. And that's ok. If you will struggle with being in a space that allows debate and free thinking, it's probably not for you. And that's also ok.

I felt plenty of space to disagree with varying aspects of Christianity, although some students can be harsh, the overall environment is open to debates. See the Soulforce visit from 2007.

The professors were caring, I was able to do research with two of them and they were always available for extra help or just great conversation. I felt they challenged me to think and did not just indoctrinate - speaking for the psych department, anyways. They cared about my well being and my personal development. I got great career advice.

We did a lot more homework than friends at other colleges, so the workload is pretty heavy.

It is easy to go to Boston on the commuter rail, but my experience would probably have been a lot worse without a car. There is little you can walk or bike to and Gordon does not have tons of things going on at night unless students organize them. All students are allowed to have cars on campus.

I graduated and attended at grad program at Boston College. They had high regard for Gordon, but name recognition outside of New England is probably lower. Grad school was easy compared to my Gordon education.

Overall I had an excellent experience. I enjoyed my time, developed lasting friendships, felt supported through difficult times, and got a wonderful education with plenty of opportunities for career advancement.