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Each program at Cedarville University comes from a biblical world view. This university has impacted my life in so many ways, and has helped me see just how to integrate my faith and integrity into my career. The professors are very intentional so that studying the bible isn't just for academia, but more for spiritual growth and for life change. Being able to learn in that type of environment was truly priceless. What Cedarville brings is a balance between the uniquely, distinctive Christian experience... Read More and an emphasis on good stewardship. At Cedarville University, I personally enjoyed analyzing research data using critical thinking and application. I developed skills in interpreting, and evaluating published research using case study and literature review. Outside of the regular classroom work, I was able to conduct independent research regarding sensory integration therapy and its effects on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This research is developing my skills in interpreting and evaluating literature, while fostering an appreciation for the importance of quality research in allied health and exercise science. In addition, as a year round collegiate athlete, the accountability and support from teammates and coaches at this university has helped me to become a better leader.

I just finished my sophomore year in the international studies major; most of my professors have been anywhere between good to fantastic, truly caring about the students. Also, the campus is pretty, with a lake in the center. Beautiful flowers bloom on the trees whenever spring comes. Unfortunately, Cedarville often seems fake. Other students may try convincing you that theyre the perfect Christian or act like they cant relate to you if you struggle with depression, like me. Cedarville requires 5-day-a-week... Read More chapel attendance. I have repeatedly heard (in chapel) the message that depression/anxiety is sinful/the result of lack of faith. One chapel condemned the use of medication for depression. Some of the Cedarville administration is, in my humble opinion, sexist. When the university's current president began that role, all of the women professors in the Bible department were laid off, and the 25-member board of the university reduced its number of women members to one. According to a news article on this faculty shakeup, President Dr. White said Our position is that we dont train women to be in the office of pastor, elder or bishop. The idea that they shouldnt be elders is insulting, as elders are often important voices in the church who vote on various church decisions and issues. The position that women should not be pastors does not surprise me, as it is common among baptists. Personally, I have no problem with women being pastors. (I am a woman, if youre wondering). What bothers me is the hypocrisy: Cedarville encourages all students to join a local church, as their position is that university chapel does not count as church. Cedarvilles position is that women should not lead in the church, but leading in other areas of life is okay. The hypocrisy comes from the fact that Cedarville now will not allow women to lead as professors at an academic institution, nor will they allow women to teach theology in chapel, which, by their own admission, is not church. Officially, women who speak in chapel are only allowed to share testimonials (personal stories), but they cannot teach theology because that is seen as exerting authority over the men in the chapel, which, in my humble opinion, is bull crap. Ive encountered a fair amount of sexism in my interactions with certain male students, although that that could be a problem at any university. If you have any opinion that does not align with Cedarvilles particular brand of conservatism, chances are, you may be judged if you choose to share it. A couple chapels in the year were purely political messages, without referencing God, which bothered me, because the students were basically a captive audience for someones political agenda. Although Cedarville frequently emphasizes that it is not legalistic, I find that actions often do not support these words. Cedarville can be so overbearing that they treat the students like children rather than adults. Students are required to sign a contract that promises that they will not consume alcohol as long as they attend Cedarville, even if they are of age, off campus, or on break. There is a strict curfew (midnight during the school week and 1 oclock during the weekend) that will result in a fine charged directly to your student account if violated. Women are not allowed into the mens dorms and vice versa except at designated times. Cedarville monitors everyones internet activity, and several websites are blocked from access. Every computer in the Stevens Student Center building has a little plaque on it to let you know that internet activity is being monitored, so do all that you do to the glory of God. Good intentions, maybe, but a little Orwellian, in my humble opinion. Cedarville has what its students call a ring by spring culture, meaning that everyone is seriously rushed to get married, for whatever reason. I am 20 years old and know many already-married-Cedarville-students my age/younger. The university has married housing for them, so its not just a handful of people who get hitched ASAP. I considered transferring from Cedarville earlier in my sophomore year, but many of the credits would not transfer to another university. Cedarville requires everyone to get a Bible minor, too. I am almost done with that, so that would also be wasted. Cedarville also is very particular about accepting credits from high school AP classes. If you transfer to Cedarville and already have taken Gen-Ed science classes, youll still have to take science classes at Cedarville, because their courses are different in that they offer the evolutionary perspective and the creationist perspective. On the bright side, though, I have discovered that not everyone is the same there. If you look hard enough, you will find some pretty cool people, and people who think for themselves rather than blindly accepting everything that the university feeds them in chapel. These hidden-gem friendships have truly made school bearable. I think critical thinking is an important part of faith. I say all this partially to vent, yes, but also because I would have liked to have known all this myself before I committed to Cedarville.

Cedarville University came alongside me and helped me discover my passion for Social Work. Through rigorous course work, excellent professors and a great learning environment, I was able to meet my best potential. Cedarville not only helped me grow in the professional arena, but as a person as well. I would not be the person that I am now if it was not for my last four years at Cedarville University. I made some of the best friends I've ever had, discovered my passions and talents and grew as an... Read More overall person while at Cedarville University. I would highly recommend Cedarville to anyone I meet! Look it up and take a trip to visit campus. It will be worth it!

Cedarville University is a successful school that wonderfully mixes academic achievement with personal development. First, I will share a bit about the whole school (pros and cons), and then move on to the incredible experience I have been having in the graduate level program through Cedarville's School of Pharmacy. Our school may be small, but we perform with (and beat) many other larger schools in competitions. Our engineering team has won multiple world championships, our debate team achieves... Read More national rankings, our pharmacy program is a leader for classroom learning; the whole school has a wonderful academic environment. But, Cedarville does not solely focus on learning. They also care about students as human beings. I have been invited a number of times to a professor's house for dinner, or a movie night in the classroom. There are so many activities and opportunities to be involved with other people; if you are willing to put the work in, you don't have to worry about feeling alone. The campus is beautiful, and the buildings are all very well maintained. I can go for a walk, and be in awe of the beauty of nature. It is very safe on campus (and in the whole Cedarvile area), so you can go just about wherever you like. I will mention that Cedarville is a very conservative Christian campus. This drew me in just as much as the rigorous academics. We have chapel every day, which is unique. It is hard to find any gathering of multiple majors into a single room , let alone every weekday. The main focus of the school is to glorify God, and to spread the Testimony of Jesus Christ. The school works very hard to foster this kind of ethic in each student, and provides plenty of resources. There are a few downsides to this school. It is very conservative, so some people may not enjoy all of the rules. Some people think they are too strict. I absolutely don't mind them, but you would have to speak with more students to get an idea, or even read the school handbook for yourself. Also, we are not perfect. Sometimes the culture is to look like a "normal" Christian that has no struggles. But, if you come to a weekly dorm meeting, or accountability group (numerous opportunities), you will find that we are all broken people. Also, I have seen some comments on other websites about Cedarville not liking gay or transgender individuals. We do our best to make everyone feel at home here, especially since this is the first time many students are going away from where they grew up. We accept you for who you are, in the same way that Christ accepts us for who we are. Will there be those people who might not like you? Maybe, but don't hate the school on account of a couple people who are clearly wrong. I will also say that any time you are vastly outnumbered, it is normal to feel out of place. That's not what we want; we want everyone to feel safe to be who they are. For the undergraduate programs, I see a lot of white students. Luckily, in the graduate program, we are much more diverse, and I feel a great benefit from that. It would be great if the undergrad classes were more diverse as well. Now for the Doctor of Pharmacy program. I am in my first professional year, and it is great. I don't know how other pharmacy school are, but this has been my hardest year yet. I know that they say after high school, classes will get harder, but you never really understand what that means until you try it. I loved AP chemistry in high school, and got a 5 on the exam with no trouble at all. That was fun and relaxing for me. At Cedarville, there is so much to do. For example, on an average day for one class, we read about 25 pages, and every word is testable material. We learn about 30 new drugs ( and almost everything about them) for one day. I know a lot of pharmacy schools will be similar, but it is an immense amount of material. At times it feel like too much, and I get a bad (sometimes failing) grade. I just stay determined to keep going, and try my best the next time. Since it is so difficult, we have great support. Professors are almost always available, and are so happy to see students come in. The professors have your best interests at heart, and they all want you to succeed. Sometimes, they learn my name before I learn their name. They care about all students, and it has been great studying here. For classes, we do something called team based learning (TBL). We will read the material before coming to class, have an individual readiness assessment test (iRAT), where they see how much we learned, and then we get into groups (assigned based on personality, and last the whole year) to take the team readiness assessment test (tRAT), to help each other with the material. We learn so much better by working through it together after already struggling through it before class. Then, we go over the answers as a class, and the professor goes over the parts the class struggled with the most. It is an incredibly enriching process that lets you learn so much more than just sitting and listening all day. However, the first year is a mixture of TBL and regular classes, so it feels overwhelming. They structured it like that so we are more prepared for the next two years of class. It is encouraging to hear about how well my classmates do. We send students to different pharmacy competitions, and they almost always come back with awards. Last year, we swept a state SSHP competition (first place in two separate events), which was the first time that happened in the organization's history. This year, our school it in the top 20 of a national ACCP research competition. I can't wait to see how well we finish out! In conclusion, I love it here. We work as teams, collaborate and share with each other to do our best. We are competitive, but we do so much better working together. The friendships I am making here will last me a lifetime. Because of this school, I feel more and more like I am really a pharmacist. By graduation, I feel like I will be fully prepared to integrate in the workforce and bring my talents and knowledge to the health field.

Cedarville was, by far, the best decision I have ever made. I attended Cedarville from 2008 - 2013, which If you can do math means I was one of those 5 year people. I started my freshman year as an electrical engineering major, It took me half-way through my junior year (and taking Calculus II three times) to finally get the hint that I couldn't do engineering. (I took Calc II with three different professors so I can't really blame their teaching skills) I switched to Information Systems and I can't... Read More tell you just how amazing the program was. The top-notch education I received at Cedarville was only because of the amazing professors. After attending Cedarville I believe that the number one factor in determining the quality of a university is based on how much professors care about their students. This is why I gave Cedarville 5 stars, the professors really do care. Next point: Cedarville is EXPENSIVE! I left Cedarville with $140,000 in student debt. (This number is so high primarily because I was there for 5 years). I do not recommend Cedarville for the student who is just looking for a degree. I paid over one hundred thousand dollars for the Cedarville experience, I just happened to get a degree in the process. Obviously this sounds a little extreme but, at it's core, it really is true. If I simply wanted a degree I had dozens of alternatives that would've costed a fraction of what Cedarville costs. But as an 18 year old, I can't say how much Cedarville changed my life. Growing up in a Christian home still didn't prepare me for life on my own. I could make my own decisions and determine my own future. Without the fellowship of other students and the daily chapels I am confident that I would be in a much worse place in life right now than simply in debt. I also recommend attending Cedarville if your major can provide the income for the debt you will receive. Unless you have a support system that can alleviate or prevent the debt, such as living at home after graduation or having parents that can pay your way though school. My degree started me at $45,000 a year which was sufficient for my monthly payments. Conclusion: Cedarville is an amazing college, 'nuff said

Cedarville is a great liberal arts Christian college. The campus is constantly being updated, the dorms are comfortable, and nothing is too far away from anything else. Chapel is a great experience with interesting speakers and motivating messages. The professors are fantastic, very supportive and tend to treat you like family. The cafeteria is pretty good, with lots of options and opportunities to make your own food if desired. There are a number of majors and classes to suit a wide variety of students,... Read More and class sizes are on the smaller size. The Bible classes are particularly interesting and inspiring. There's a decent gym on campus that's free to students, and it includes a climbing wall (but no pool). There are lots of opportunities to get involved with ministries and activities off campus. There are several sports - including soccer, basketball, and volleyball.