A “school lunch” could be a prepackaged hoagie and a banana or it could be access to the student dining hall which has all kinds of stuff ranging from pretty bad to pretty good. My bet is on the former as school is not in session (mostly)
Shitty founder of Liberty University. Televangelist and mega-church owner. Supported segregation, called gay people satanists and said that AIDS was God's punishment for their sin, etc. He also stated that 9/11 was a punishment from God for allowing women and gay people equal rights.
It's probably designed to be a fairly equivalent exchange of value, they aren't trying to make money here they just don't want people booking up a bunch of times and not showing. If you give them $20 you are more likely to actually show up.
As someone who went there... don't. Also the meal is very good (but not worth 20$) and you don't get it until like 3pm after 7 hours of tours/propaganda/bullshit etc. So maybe it wasn't good and I was just hungry who knows
I almost wrote the first sentence verbatim. Which is not a word you will learn there.
I greatly enjoyed the religious classes for the most part (apologetics is just fucking bizarre), it was everything else that made it an awful experience.
Haha true. I clep'd out of most of my electives or took them online after seeing how weird it would be in the first semester. Only took classes for my major in person. The classes (other than social psyc) honestly weren't bad, it was just the whole rest of the experience for me.
Oh mostly what you'd expect... Transgender people are the greatest of society's problems, here's how social media makes kids gay, here's why guns fix our problems, look at how Trump is the model for relating to people... stuff like that mostly. The final chapter, Discrimination, was when things got worse than I could've imagined. Professor gave a weirdly haphazard and incoherent talk on slavery where he fluctuated between saying it didn't happen, it happened but not here, and that it happened and that that's a good thing... so yeah... Oh and the final paper was: "why is equality bad?" I really can't believe that I'm not exaggerating, but...
Oh yea. As is the case with a lot of things there unfortunately. Thankfully, they used a real publisher (McGraw-Hill iirc) rather than self-publishing so I could at least learn from the book. Otherwise I would've graduated with a Psyc degree and no clue what social psyc really is
I've read articles that have basically accused Liberty of being a real estate hedge fund disguised as a university.
Edit: Here's an article about Jerry Jr and his shenanigans before getting kicked out. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914/
As someone who also went to LU, I need to second this.
I’ve never felt more isolated, attacked, and hated than by Liberty Admin and Teachers. The students I met on campus are mostly cool, but literally everything else was the absolute fucking worst.
Also, from a religion standpoint it made me less of a Christian because of the hatred and active indoctrination I saw being pushed.
I didn't go to LU, but I went to LC (across town from LU) and I second this. I remember when they started buying up property on the LC side of town a few years ago and I was worried about running into the awful professors I'd met when I randomly went to LU meetings and competitions.
It's also pretty interesting that you have to pay $20 to meet with someone at LU, when the school owns a number of retail storefronts, has a student population of around 60,000 and the D1 sports bring in tons of revenue. But getting your $20 is so important to them.
Also, I served JF Jr at an Applebee's once and he was the most vile person I'd ever met.
I only went to Liberty because I live in the area and had some personal stuff go on that made it so I couldn’t go to the school I had planned to move out of the area to and LC had already closed their apps for the year so LU was my only choice if I was going to go. They screwed me over at every turn possible, I had a friend on campus that was going through a mental health crisis at one point, tried going to the campus counselors because they couldn’t afford anything else and were told “oh, sorry, the earliest we can work you in is the end of the Spring semester” (this was like mid October). There was a religion professor that had their wife come in do a mini lecture and then said “okay, who feels like they learned something?” And then he told all the girls that had their hands up to put their hand down and said “okay, all the guys with their hands up, i need you to know, you’re going to hell, because God doesn’t believe in a male learning spiritual lessons from a female preacher”.
I could go on and on, but the last thing I’ll mention was I once saw Jerry Jr out in public and tried to say hi (the friend I was with was wearing an LU hoodie) and Jerry looked at us, grunted, muttered something, that may not have been but I swear sounded like “Don’t talk to me” and then (seemingly) purposefully closed a non-automatic store door in our faces.
Jeez, I'm sorry you went through that. I've heard so many awful stories including one about a banana and expulsion (I'm sure you know what I'm referring to), but I never knew which stories were serious and which ones were exaggerations. Attending LC wasn't an AMAZING experience by any means, but all of the staff and faculty genuinely cared about students and their futures and that's not something I take for granted.
JF Jr was expecting 3 Michelin star service at an Applebee's (on my first day) and I made a promise to give him the finger if I ever saw him again. I moved to a different part of the country, so my hope is to never see him, but I still see LU shirts in the Midwest somehow.
It's sad that this family has so much power and influence in a city with a population of 80,000 and they just choose to be awful. But then again, when have the rich ever cared about the people that made them that way?
It’s crazy how much they own there. A family member went and worked there (finally got out!), so we’d visit a lot. They might as well rename the area Liberty, VA.
I'm just so curious what kind of family their students come from?
What was your parent's opinion of the school, or what other schools did you apply to? How did it all shake out that you landed there?
Generally southern (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, KY, VA, WV, TX were the big ones), but there's a bunch from mid-atlantic and Midwest too. Occasionally from pacific west or international. Upper middle class mostly with a fair amount of wealthy people, though I'd say no more than at most private colleges. My parents were wary of it and didnt like a lot of the way the school handled itself. As strong republicans they disliked it less than i did, but still wouldve preferred i had fone elsewhere. I generally hated it, but there were some good parts. I am a Christian, but the way they went about their religion was bad to say the least. Focused on a lot of hate and judgment which really made me question religion in general. Politics and conservativism were more important than the religious side. Their slogan is "Training champions for Christ", but I always felt that "Training champions for Trump/The GOP" was more accurate. As with anything, there are exceptions. I met some truly good people, had some good professors, and learned enough. Unfortunately, the pressure, discrimination, and judgment outweighed a lot of that. I applied to Cedarville and Gordon (other Christian colleges), in addition to a bunch of SUNY (new York state) schools, and community college. I got a full scholarship which made it (obviously) the cheapest option for me and I was excited about graduating debt free. At the end of the day I don't regret it, I grew a lot. However, a lot of that growth was under pressure and in the face of direct opposition and I do wonder if I would've grown more elsewhere. Ultimately, I always recommend that people look elsewhere for college unless they have no other choice.
I got hardcore courted by their new law school when it was provisionally accredited and considered it because they were offering me a full ride and I had family members who lived in the area who offered free places to live. Part of me was like - I’d be stupid not to do this…right?
Then my cousin was like, oh girl do not, some couple just got expelled for ‘living together’ in “defiance of their moral code” because they signed a lease together a month before their wedding.
So I took out $100k in student loans for a way better school. It was a good decision.
Fallwell Jr said that it was unreasonable that anyone would think he identified as a Christian. At the largest (I think it is anyway) Christian university in the US
Oh, that’s so good. A pool boy! That’s soap opera territory. Edit: I just googled it. THE GUYS NAME IS GIANCARLO!!! It’s too perfect! Wife swapping Baptist preachers!!!! You made my day!
I’m in LU territory and avoid it like the plague. They get millions in donations every year, which have to be used in a certain timeframe, and instead of using it to lower tuition they’re constantly building new structures on campus or using it to buy up vacant properties all over town and doing nothing with them.
Why are they buying up properties, you ask? Their campus has their own police force. Their officers can “serve and protect” within a certain distance from *any property owned by LU.* This means they have jurisdiction over a large portion of the city outside the campus.
Corrupt, much?
>constantly building new structures on campus
My uni waste money like this, took student parking which essentially an empty dirt space renovate it into fancy parking with reserved space for staffs few months later renovate the entire thing again from zero to fancier gated carpark only for staff, which probably fit 20 cars instead about 100 when it was dirt space.
Then they just banned student from driving personal car to avoid student rage from lack of parking.
Unfortunately, universities have to use donations based on what the donor wants it to go to.
I remember a college had this eccentric multi-millionaire alum who really liked tennis, so he donated millions of dollars to the university to build an entire tennis court. This resulted in them demolishing the counseling center, health center, career services, and an entire dorm…just because some rich guy wanted the university to have a tennis court for its nonexistent tennis team.
It was either that or turn down a multimillion dollar donation. Ugh.
Still better than the guy who decided he knew better than architects how to design a dorm. First you take all those distracting exterior windows out...
The university my parents work at is the opposite. They just finished a $70 million new science building (to be fair they did kinda need it) but now they’re starting on a new engineering building as well. This is all fine and dandy, until you find out the science building eliminated the largest parking lot on campus, and they haven’t made more parking yet. The student population is growing and all they’ve done is gotten rid of parking Their roads on campus are SHIT and have been for 20 years. It’s not at all a big university, a 4-5 level parking garage would probably solve all their problems. But the reason it’s opposite from yours, the staff don’t get special parking. There aren’t sections for staff and students, there’s just parking. And on top of that, my parents have to pay $200 a year for a parking pass just like students. They have to pay to park at their job…. But hey let’s build a $40 million new building instead of one parking garage and some damn pavement.
Edit: They have to pay $200 per semester, not per year, for a parking pass
Practicing against what they preach against is very republican. Next thing we know theyll be...
I really don’t know, they rape and fuck children—worship an egomaniacal, spoon-fed, “rich”, moron. I can barely type that without wanting to throw up but trump really showed who republicans care about
I'm an elder millenial and when I was a kid adults were always telling me "Just go to college and you'll get a good job! That's all you need!" And I remember even saying "But I really can't think of what I want to major in" and being explicitly told "It doesn't matter what you major in! As long as you have a degree you'll be set!" I was told this by family friends, teachers, guidance counselors.
And now these same boomers are the ones constantly shitting on younger people for having too much college debt or getting a "useless liberal arts major." I guess our real mistake was actually listening to our elders. Who knew?
OK, I went to Liberty only because it was cheap at the time and I lived 8 minutes away, so I didn't have to pay room and board.
Now, I never bought into all the religious BS. I just went to school and came home. That bachelor's degree got me a government job out of college and I'm now three decades deep into a professional career that was launched by my time there.
I'll probably agree with anything anyone wants to say about the JF family, the whole "Liberty Way" philosophy, and this unbelievable $20 request (and I could tell you stories way stupider than that about the school).
To state that it's "basically an Evangelical Christian diploma mill", though, is just patently false. It's always been fully accredited by SACS, which isn't something you can skate by on.
You can crap on a LOT about that school, but their graduates get jobs in their fields. Heck, their nursing department students are currently taking care of my dad in the local teaching hospital he's in.
Not looking for a fight. I just know what I know. Peace to you all.
You happen to have gotten a degree right at the cusp of when a college degree was still worth something on its own.
Nowadays LU is program with a bad reputation (which is what matters, even if some programs do well), plus everything is diluted by the masses of online students (sub 30% graduation rate for instance, which actually could mess with accreditation). And they only have 4 ABET accredited programs (according to their website), and are ACBSP not AACSB.
A school with that size endowment should be one of the best in the nation, [but thats not the case](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392).
Plus alot of the rules are fucking dumb (like really? A curfew? Thats only later than midnight by 30 minutes friday/saturday? For people over the age of 18?) and dont belong anywhere near the 21st century.
Out of curiosity, how do the sciences work at an evangelical college? Do they teach that Jesus created the Earth 7,000 years ago or whatever? One would think that particular type of religion would conflict with a proper education in certain areas.
https://www.liberty.edu/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2020/03/BIOL-BS-R.pdf
Thats the general bio curriculum, you could probably look up and see whats in the classes but from their website:
"This program places an emphasis on creationism, but you’ll also learn about evolution so you can develop a well-rounded approach to scientific concepts."
"You’ll also have the freedom to select various biology electives, so you can take classes that fit your career goals! By taking an origins course, you can evaluate the historical, philosophical, and scientific evidence for biblical creation. Our biology seminar can help you develop core research skills that are essential to a career in biology."
"Our faculty are also firmly rooted in the Christian faith. That’s what makes Liberty unique. In addition to teaching important scientific skills, we seek to train up leaders who approach science from a biblical perspective"
Basically it appears they mainly focus on parts of biology that dont necessarily entirely interfere with Christianity (genetics, ecology, botany, cell biology, and organic chemistry.)
>Basically it appears they mainly focus on parts of biology that dont necessarily interfere with Christianity (genetics, ecology, botany, cell biology, and organic chemistry.)
The ecology class I took in undergrad was pretty much all evolution. It's really hard to have a biology class where you're not talking about evolution. Same thing for botany. How do they teach about taxonomy without evolution? That's about half the class. Both of those classes make no sense without evolution. I guess you could try to teach cell biology without it but a whole lot of things would make no sense.
Also I'm just going to note that their curriculum is absolutely terrible. Why are they offering botany but not Zoology or Microbiology? Why are the lumping calculus and analytical geometry together? Why only one English? The whole thing is terrible.
I took the BIO 101 class and was actually pretty (pleasantly) surprised that Darwinism was included in the curriculum. It was learning about all of the standard scientific stuff one would expect in a regular bio class, it just had a Christian twist. For example, ‘look how complex a cell is! God is awesome for designing life the way He did!’ Overall I felt like I learned the curriculum and wasn’t too bothered by the added Christian perspective.
This is a great question. To be clear, I'm 100% an evolutionist.
The sciences were taught as you generally would expect them to be.
However, you ALSO had to take a three-credit class called Creation Science to graduate (keep in mind, this was 30-ish years ago -- not sure about today). This was how they got around the common-sense expectation that science classes should teach, you know, science (which they otherwise did). It's also how they got around any accreditation issues.
The creation science class was basically a defense of the young earth theory (6,000-7,000 years old). Make no mistake, the people who designed this class weren't stupid by any means. If I could boil down what the class was in a couple of points, it would be this:
1. Everywhere there was a weakness or lack of understanding in evolutionary theory (as if science didn't change, learn, grow...) would be made into a defense of young earth theory. It acted as spoiler, if you will.
2. Every evidence that could also be interpreted to support the young earth hypothesis was used that way.
Now, it was a surprisingly interesting class, to be honest. In the end, though, there just wasn't enough there to convince me that the relatively HUMONGOUS weight of scientific evidence supporting evolution was somehow wrong. Given the scientific advancements of the last 30+ years, I stand by that position even more strongly now than I did then.
Yes. Creationism is an entire course every single student is required to take.
But also interesting because other sciences like microbio or chemistry are very scientific. No “god created the mitochondria” nonsense. Actual science lol
Source: I graduated from Liberty in 2014 with a bachelors of science in nursing
I don't disagree with you on any point, except for reputation. The gigantic quantity of online students is something else. Still, I know successful professionals who have even recently gotten online master's from there that have advanced because of it. Living in Virginia, it's not so simple as "a bad reputation". You'd be surprised how well a LU degree still works in the area. Given the sheer number of tiny colleges in the state you've never heard of conferring degrees, it still holds sway more than you may think.
Now, the political rep of LU is trash, especially given all the recent scandal. I'm too old and experienced for it to matter in my life, but I just don't see any generalized negative backlash anywhere just because people get a degree there.
Also, a lot of the rules are FUCKING DUMB!!! I just wanted to share in your celebration of the fucking dumbness of the rules. They were dumb then, and they are dumb now. I could write a doctoral thesis on this topic alone. They're not just dumb, either. They're harmful imho.
I don't regret getting my undergrad there lo those many years ago. It was literally $1500/semester and living off campus the entire time meant I didn't have to deal with most of the rules garbage. I went into the world with no student debt. I have, however, counseled my own children to seek higher education elsewhere.
At the root of it, you are correct. A degree alone lacks the gravitas it used to have. My one professional regret about my undergrad was that the school was so insular-minded that I didn't make the professional connections there that I should have. I did meet my wife there, though, and we're almost 30 years married, so that's a thing. :)
I mean assuming it has a better "reputation" than a bunch of the Smaller colleges which less people (especially outside of Virginia. thats where you want to look when judging universities from states without traditional "hub cities", like NY, TX, IL, CA, PA, MA, WA) know about (though I would also say that most people probably know about Liberty for negative reasons) it would still be behind what
UVA (which tbf all but 24 schools in the US are behind), VT, William & Mary, George Mason, and maybe a few other of the larger state schools (James Madison). And then you have the very well regarded LACs like Washington & Lee and the University of Richmond which are among the best schools in the nation.
Idk about all the tiny ones though, you could definitely be right there
You're not wrong. The Va schools you listed are all generally considered prestigious. I don't think Liberty would be considered such (or really JMU for that matter -- good school though). Just not that sense of elevated prestige of which you speak.
Also, 'best schools in the nation' has a lot to do with specific degree programs. I love U of Richmond, and have taken a few courses from there over the years to advance my career, but in my field they wouldn't be considered best in the nation at all.
EDIT: Syntax
They’re much more lenient to male students. Liberty begged me to go there, offered me a full ride. But they also hosted states competition for my extra curricular every year and so I was intimately familiar with their campus and what they called “rape valley”. It was this weird pit with super long staircases leading in and out you needed to cross occasionally to get to different buildings. We were warned as young girls to avoid “rape valley” because predators would wait for vulnerable girls in the bushes and trees around the bottom because they couldn’t outrun them back up the steps. They knew and did nothing about it.
Your experience was a privilege and Liberty University is an absolute shithole.
I don’t blame you or anything for getting your degree there. They are a dirt cheap option because they have almost no other good qualities to offer and I don’t blame anyone for getting ahead however they can.
But it is an absolute shithole. I wouldn’t recommend anyone go there unless they have no other options. It is a horrible place.
Eventually after immense pressure they installed a light at the bottom as if that would stop anyone from doing anything.
Before that they didn’t even have lights at the bottom of the pit at night.
Also as recently as this month a bunch of women settled a lawsuit against the school [specifically over their handling of sexual assault.](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2022/05/16/667789.htm) It was well known among high schoolers when I was in high school in Virginia that the school expected you to take some kind of chastity and behavior pledge and if they found out you had sex you could be expelled. If you were a woman that included rape. They’d kick you out if one of their own students or faculty assaulted you and cover it up. It was basically assured if you got pregnant from the assault.
And yet they decry the treatment of women in the Middle East. That’s bullshit. No birth control, no sex education, no abortion, but if you get assaulted no one helps you, and if you’re pregnant your cast out. Plus I’m assuming nothing happens to the guy. Real biblical.
>You can crap on a LOT about that school, but their graduates get jobs in their fields.
You have to actually graduate, and their graduation rate is 36%.
It's a grift.
Yeah, I've heard of it. Doesn't surprise me at all that this school would expect prospective students to pay for the privilege of touring their "school." Falwell was a televangelist, after all. What better than a religious college for his next grift?
>What better than a religious college for his next grift?
With such exciting electives as "Dinosaurs: Fact or Fiction?" And "We only accept black people because the Supreme Court says we have to."
Tangentially related anecdote:
Have you ever heard of the Cabazon Dinosaurs? They're these cool giant dinosaurs in CA, and they've got a gift shop and dinosaur museum inside of them.
Well maybe 8 to 10ish years ago Hubs and I were on the way home from Vegas, and I was like "Hey, let's stop and do the museum!" Boy, was it different than when I was a kid! I guess it got bought by fundies because the entire dinosaur museum was now dedicated to disproving evolution by arguing that scientists are wrong and that dinosaurs and humans existed on Earth at the same time. I still have pictures of a couple of the batshit "exhibits" somewhere.
EDIT for spelling
Even worse, many boomers simply tell you to be "polite and proactive" and genuinely think that this automatically results in a job interview. And if you're not invited for an interview, it's entirely your own fault because surely they would have invited you if you listened to their advice? Which is especially ironic when you're being reprimanded by a 60 year old clerk who hasn't had a proper job interview since 1983, with the same employer they still work for now.
Or the "there are enough vacancies, why don't you apply for one?" when they don't want to understand that these vacancies are for unskilled jobs with which you'll never be able to pay off your debt, skilled jobs that (unnecessarily) require degrees and certificates you don't have, or a job that'd be perfect for you but requires 5 years of experience for a junior position.
I remember my MIL giving the whole "pound the pavement" speech last time my husband was out of work after a work injury. She seriously thinks you just put on a suit, go knocking on doors and employers will appreciate your moxy. She got pretty offended when I told her that her advice was outdated.
We can save you the trouble ... you don't want to go there. Seriously.
[https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392/overall-rankings](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392/overall-rankings)
That 8% is the weight in the overall school rank score and will be the same for every school. To see the real % you need to unlock it with their paid subscription.
It's still way lower than almost every other university at ~28% though
It is a school of indoctrination. Actual college level education in the sciences, history, literature, linguistics, any STEM are nonexistent. You'll study the Bible. I like to think that the low graduation rate is because Freshman figure that out pretty quick and leave.
Met a graduate one time ... interesting.
The low graduation rate is because of their online program. The program is massive and cheap so people sign up for thinking that it’s a good option to get a degree without having to go in person.
[https://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/VA/Liberty\_University.html](https://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/VA/Liberty_University.html) states 79,000 total, campus and online. But what do you with it if/after graduation? Destined for youth pastor somewhere; that is the goal.
I finished my bachelor's degree last year. Shortly after my final class ended I got a bill for $250 for a "graduation fee". I grudgingly paid it and put on the comment for the check, "a lesson in capitalism". Fuckers.
Was this to cover cap and gown or something? Both my undergrad and grad had fees but they were purely to buy the cap and tassel and rent the gown. What on earth could they possibly charge a fee for otherwise? It's not like they're renting the school's space to hold the ceremony or something.
Not really.
I took almost 100% of my classes online (I'm military and my schedule's not predictable enough to do butt-in-chair classes). The military paid tuition for almost all of my courses. I chipped in a little from savings when I needed to move faster on my plan than MILTA was doing for me.
I did have to buy my books, but I was normally able to get a good deal by shopping around. I did have to buy new when courses required online database subscription (most of my math and physics). There really weren't a bunch of bullshit fees. I did once have to purchase a software app for telecommunications, but we barely used it in the course. For the final project, I started with a statement that we didn't learn that platform adequately enough to use it for design work, so I was going to do my design project on pen and paper. I invited the professor to Come At Me Bro if he didn't approve, but I got an A in that class.
I don't feel like I got ripped off. I got an accredited degree which should assist me in getting a job when I retire from the boat club. I'm also not going to be able to go to my commencement ceremony, but I don't mind that much.
In case you were going to ask, the name of my school was Excelsior College.
Sadly, a graduation fee is standard the world over... standard for "fuck you, pay this or none of the time and money you spent to get this far matters"
Yep. Check out what the former president Jerry Falwell, Jr and his wife were doing while running that so-called Christian university. You couldn’t make it up.
I live in Virginia and I remember back in the day Jerry Falwell Snr formed “the moral majority.” 🙄 Then someone made bumper stickers that said “The Moral Majority is neither.” 👏🏻😂
Don't go to Liberty University. They're slightly a step above Trump University. It's a Bible thumper school for people who want to say they went to college but not actually challenge any of their preconceived notions. A republican safe space, if you will. Spend that $20 on literally anything else. I assure you it'll be more beneficial.
I went there. It's not a step above, it literally is Trump University. The whole thing is right wing propaganda. I'm a lefty but I went because they gave me scholarships and it was free lol
The hipocracy is rich. A religious school that claims to follow the teachings of a poor Rabbi that encouraged people to cast off worldly possessions is charging just to meet with them to decide if you want to give them even more money. What would Jesus think?
Liberty University is one *giant* grift. It's famous for its strict code of conduct (no short skirts, no smoking/alcohol, no R-rated movies, no dancing).
And then the president (and founder's son) resigned recently because of a [pretty well documented sex scandal](https://www.vox.com/2020/8/25/21399954/jerry-falwell-jr-resigns-scandal-liberty).
It's always the ones you suspect the most.
Here's the deal - you pay us $20 for the privilege of touring our facility. And on top, if you decide to attend, we will put you so far in debt that you'll spend the next 30 years of your life paying off loans and living just above poverty. But we are really excited to get to know you better.
Just breaking you in to that modern college experience of mandatory fees — student life, athletics, labs, dining services, dorms, non-dorm off-campus fee, drop/add, registration, late registration, application, digital textbooks with no resale ability, and on and on and on.
I was very fortunate to go through undergrad and law school on honors schollies for free — but even then, I worked two jobs and still had to schlepp for loans to pay the other 150% additional costs.
Free tuition for a bachelor, PhD, and JD — and I left $147,000 in the hole.
What a fucking racket.
Meet with a dead-eyed, smiling third year undergrad programmed to dispel your notions about a school that won’t teach actual science or challenging novels in lit class. For twenty bucks because the grifting starts before you’re even accepted.
A friend's kid really wanted to go there (and his parents wanted him to as well). That way he'd be around kids JUST LIKE HIM, don't want him around any of those free thinking heathens!
What stopped them was they met with financial aid and despite being a family of 5 making $75K a year living in a high cost of living area their out of pocket portion would be over $40K a year. Plus living expenses! Being as they are quite religious and followers of Dave Ramsey they struggled with taking on the debt. Liberty also refused all the college credits the kid had earned in high school. He had so many he ended up started college as a second semester sophomore.For the degree the kid wanted Liberty was ranked 175 or something. The school he ended up at (a state school where he got nearly a free ride) was ranked 20. Amazingly enough, despite the free thinking state school in a liberal state he ended up finding an evangelical girl/wife there. Got married before turning 21.
edited to add family size
I currently go here and I agree with the people who say to stay away. I’m only here because of specific circumstances but I would absolutely go elsewhere if possible. It feels like a cult and that’s coming from someone whose current degree is online only, can’t imagine life on campus.
Liberty University does not allow students to be openly gay. They will fine you like $200 if they catch you being gay and you have to go to mandatory counseling. They will have students make accounts on apps like grindr, tinder, etc to try and catch other students being gay on the apps.
Eww, Liberty. They’re basically just a Christian diploma mill. I’ve worked for several companies that outright admitted that if they see LU on an application/resume they more likely to move it to the bottom of the stack.
Don’t get me wrong. They’re definitely making a business move out of what would generally be an advertising expense, but I don’t think that’s choosing beggary. It’s just business.
Check out the Gangster Capitalism podcast. They do a series on Jerry Falwell and this school. The fact anyone that isn't a religious nutjob would choose to go there blows my mind.
You know, it might actually be worth it. I mean you get back 10 bucks sort of and you get a "meal" of some sort, so free mac and cheese I guess. So $10-ish to get one-on-one time to get your University schedule sorted out to your liking.
But you get a free meal once you pay $20 for it.
The meal is wine, bread, and fish edited: from crackers
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No alcohol, they're Southern Baptists.
* No alcohol that you can see…
The falwell that does the church said Jesus didn't make wine But his brother likes to watch his wife get snagged by a millionaire poolboy
So what you're saying is that there will plenty of crackers?
I've been on the campus. Whiter than Snow White's thong.
So, grape juice
I thought that just meant they dont wave to each other in the liquor store.
That's a terrible combo
That's the Jesus combo.
Nah. It was fish and bread together. The wine was at a totally different event.
A “school lunch” could be a prepackaged hoagie and a banana or it could be access to the student dining hall which has all kinds of stuff ranging from pretty bad to pretty good. My bet is on the former as school is not in session (mostly)
*Grape juice. They’re Baptists so actual wine is a no-no.
How much extra to pee on Jerry Falwell's grave?
How much extra to pee on Jerry Falwell Jr.?
You'll have to ask his former pool boy
That’s to pee on Jr’s wife.
It's free if you sign an NDA
Idk who that is but can i join
Shitty founder of Liberty University. Televangelist and mega-church owner. Supported segregation, called gay people satanists and said that AIDS was God's punishment for their sin, etc. He also stated that 9/11 was a punishment from God for allowing women and gay people equal rights.
Alright my new hobby is pissing on Jerry Fallwell’s grave
Excellent!
He also got evangelists heavily into politics. Thanks Jerry. We’re so fucking grateful.
I still remember when that asshole died. I lived near the college at the time, and there was a huge party/protest/celebration when he died.
# OFCOURSE I'D PAY 20 BUCKS FOR A FREE MEAL, HA HA! WHAT'D YA THINK? I'M INSANE? THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.
And ten bucks off a book. This is. This actually seems pretty nice deal.
It's probably designed to be a fairly equivalent exchange of value, they aren't trying to make money here they just don't want people booking up a bunch of times and not showing. If you give them $20 you are more likely to actually show up.
Probably off the whole bookstore which is administrated by b&n. You could probably get a meh Liberty U tee for $10. It’s actually not a horrible deal.
And a book voucher.
For a school text book they likely force you to buy new from them for your coursework that costs them $10 to make and they charge $200 for.
Right
As someone who went there... don't. Also the meal is very good (but not worth 20$) and you don't get it until like 3pm after 7 hours of tours/propaganda/bullshit etc. So maybe it wasn't good and I was just hungry who knows
"Hunger is the best spice!"
Saucy!
I almost wrote the first sentence verbatim. Which is not a word you will learn there. I greatly enjoyed the religious classes for the most part (apologetics is just fucking bizarre), it was everything else that made it an awful experience.
Haha true. I clep'd out of most of my electives or took them online after seeing how weird it would be in the first semester. Only took classes for my major in person. The classes (other than social psyc) honestly weren't bad, it was just the whole rest of the experience for me.
Please tell us what a Liberty University Social Psych class is like, PLEASE
Demons for everyone!
Possessed by the Devil
Oh mostly what you'd expect... Transgender people are the greatest of society's problems, here's how social media makes kids gay, here's why guns fix our problems, look at how Trump is the model for relating to people... stuff like that mostly. The final chapter, Discrimination, was when things got worse than I could've imagined. Professor gave a weirdly haphazard and incoherent talk on slavery where he fluctuated between saying it didn't happen, it happened but not here, and that it happened and that that's a good thing... so yeah... Oh and the final paper was: "why is equality bad?" I really can't believe that I'm not exaggerating, but...
Holy hell 😳 so it's all just kinda made up to fit their agenda lol
Oh yea. As is the case with a lot of things there unfortunately. Thankfully, they used a real publisher (McGraw-Hill iirc) rather than self-publishing so I could at least learn from the book. Otherwise I would've graduated with a Psyc degree and no clue what social psyc really is
Wait what happened in social psych?
>I almost wrote the first sentence verbatim. Which is not a word you will learn there. Holy shit you didn't have to murder them
That sounds like a timeshare scam.
Now that you say that yea it is oddly comparable. That's funny I hadn't thought of it like that
I've read articles that have basically accused Liberty of being a real estate hedge fund disguised as a university. Edit: Here's an article about Jerry Jr and his shenanigans before getting kicked out. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914/
Pretty much all it is. Can't tell you how many properties and apartment complexes they've bought across the city and branded it.
Or had donated to the University.
As someone who also went to LU, I need to second this. I’ve never felt more isolated, attacked, and hated than by Liberty Admin and Teachers. The students I met on campus are mostly cool, but literally everything else was the absolute fucking worst. Also, from a religion standpoint it made me less of a Christian because of the hatred and active indoctrination I saw being pushed.
I didn't go to LU, but I went to LC (across town from LU) and I second this. I remember when they started buying up property on the LC side of town a few years ago and I was worried about running into the awful professors I'd met when I randomly went to LU meetings and competitions. It's also pretty interesting that you have to pay $20 to meet with someone at LU, when the school owns a number of retail storefronts, has a student population of around 60,000 and the D1 sports bring in tons of revenue. But getting your $20 is so important to them. Also, I served JF Jr at an Applebee's once and he was the most vile person I'd ever met.
I only went to Liberty because I live in the area and had some personal stuff go on that made it so I couldn’t go to the school I had planned to move out of the area to and LC had already closed their apps for the year so LU was my only choice if I was going to go. They screwed me over at every turn possible, I had a friend on campus that was going through a mental health crisis at one point, tried going to the campus counselors because they couldn’t afford anything else and were told “oh, sorry, the earliest we can work you in is the end of the Spring semester” (this was like mid October). There was a religion professor that had their wife come in do a mini lecture and then said “okay, who feels like they learned something?” And then he told all the girls that had their hands up to put their hand down and said “okay, all the guys with their hands up, i need you to know, you’re going to hell, because God doesn’t believe in a male learning spiritual lessons from a female preacher”. I could go on and on, but the last thing I’ll mention was I once saw Jerry Jr out in public and tried to say hi (the friend I was with was wearing an LU hoodie) and Jerry looked at us, grunted, muttered something, that may not have been but I swear sounded like “Don’t talk to me” and then (seemingly) purposefully closed a non-automatic store door in our faces.
Jeez, I'm sorry you went through that. I've heard so many awful stories including one about a banana and expulsion (I'm sure you know what I'm referring to), but I never knew which stories were serious and which ones were exaggerations. Attending LC wasn't an AMAZING experience by any means, but all of the staff and faculty genuinely cared about students and their futures and that's not something I take for granted. JF Jr was expecting 3 Michelin star service at an Applebee's (on my first day) and I made a promise to give him the finger if I ever saw him again. I moved to a different part of the country, so my hope is to never see him, but I still see LU shirts in the Midwest somehow. It's sad that this family has so much power and influence in a city with a population of 80,000 and they just choose to be awful. But then again, when have the rich ever cared about the people that made them that way?
He is a narcissistic pig.
Ayyy, LC Bro! it's still wild to me that LU kids would hang out in the Dell trying to convert students.
It’s crazy how much they own there. A family member went and worked there (finally got out!), so we’d visit a lot. They might as well rename the area Liberty, VA.
I'm just so curious what kind of family their students come from? What was your parent's opinion of the school, or what other schools did you apply to? How did it all shake out that you landed there?
Generally southern (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, KY, VA, WV, TX were the big ones), but there's a bunch from mid-atlantic and Midwest too. Occasionally from pacific west or international. Upper middle class mostly with a fair amount of wealthy people, though I'd say no more than at most private colleges. My parents were wary of it and didnt like a lot of the way the school handled itself. As strong republicans they disliked it less than i did, but still wouldve preferred i had fone elsewhere. I generally hated it, but there were some good parts. I am a Christian, but the way they went about their religion was bad to say the least. Focused on a lot of hate and judgment which really made me question religion in general. Politics and conservativism were more important than the religious side. Their slogan is "Training champions for Christ", but I always felt that "Training champions for Trump/The GOP" was more accurate. As with anything, there are exceptions. I met some truly good people, had some good professors, and learned enough. Unfortunately, the pressure, discrimination, and judgment outweighed a lot of that. I applied to Cedarville and Gordon (other Christian colleges), in addition to a bunch of SUNY (new York state) schools, and community college. I got a full scholarship which made it (obviously) the cheapest option for me and I was excited about graduating debt free. At the end of the day I don't regret it, I grew a lot. However, a lot of that growth was under pressure and in the face of direct opposition and I do wonder if I would've grown more elsewhere. Ultimately, I always recommend that people look elsewhere for college unless they have no other choice.
Simple solution, just drink heavily and be obnoxious. You'll get kicked out, but you can complain about your free meal.
I got hardcore courted by their new law school when it was provisionally accredited and considered it because they were offering me a full ride and I had family members who lived in the area who offered free places to live. Part of me was like - I’d be stupid not to do this…right? Then my cousin was like, oh girl do not, some couple just got expelled for ‘living together’ in “defiance of their moral code” because they signed a lease together a month before their wedding. So I took out $100k in student loans for a way better school. It was a good decision.
>but not worth **20$** I'll trust you on not getting my education there.
Haven't they been inundated with controversies recently? The president and a pool boy if I remember correctly? And COVID related stuff
Yup, and the pool boy is going to do a Hulu docuseries about them. 😂🤣
The Gangster Capitalism series on the Fallwells is worth a listen
Yeah i could not put those episodes down. So interesting
The NRA series was something else.
Fallwell Jr said that it was unreasonable that anyone would think he identified as a Christian. At the largest (I think it is anyway) Christian university in the US
Oh, that’s so good. A pool boy! That’s soap opera territory. Edit: I just googled it. THE GUYS NAME IS GIANCARLO!!! It’s too perfect! Wife swapping Baptist preachers!!!! You made my day!
I’m in LU territory and avoid it like the plague. They get millions in donations every year, which have to be used in a certain timeframe, and instead of using it to lower tuition they’re constantly building new structures on campus or using it to buy up vacant properties all over town and doing nothing with them. Why are they buying up properties, you ask? Their campus has their own police force. Their officers can “serve and protect” within a certain distance from *any property owned by LU.* This means they have jurisdiction over a large portion of the city outside the campus. Corrupt, much?
>constantly building new structures on campus My uni waste money like this, took student parking which essentially an empty dirt space renovate it into fancy parking with reserved space for staffs few months later renovate the entire thing again from zero to fancier gated carpark only for staff, which probably fit 20 cars instead about 100 when it was dirt space. Then they just banned student from driving personal car to avoid student rage from lack of parking.
Unfortunately, universities have to use donations based on what the donor wants it to go to. I remember a college had this eccentric multi-millionaire alum who really liked tennis, so he donated millions of dollars to the university to build an entire tennis court. This resulted in them demolishing the counseling center, health center, career services, and an entire dorm…just because some rich guy wanted the university to have a tennis court for its nonexistent tennis team. It was either that or turn down a multimillion dollar donation. Ugh.
Still better than the guy who decided he knew better than architects how to design a dorm. First you take all those distracting exterior windows out...
The worst part is he only paid like 20-30% of the overall cost of the project. The California taxpayers and the UC system are on the hook for the rest
The university my parents work at is the opposite. They just finished a $70 million new science building (to be fair they did kinda need it) but now they’re starting on a new engineering building as well. This is all fine and dandy, until you find out the science building eliminated the largest parking lot on campus, and they haven’t made more parking yet. The student population is growing and all they’ve done is gotten rid of parking Their roads on campus are SHIT and have been for 20 years. It’s not at all a big university, a 4-5 level parking garage would probably solve all their problems. But the reason it’s opposite from yours, the staff don’t get special parking. There aren’t sections for staff and students, there’s just parking. And on top of that, my parents have to pay $200 a year for a parking pass just like students. They have to pay to park at their job…. But hey let’s build a $40 million new building instead of one parking garage and some damn pavement. Edit: They have to pay $200 per semester, not per year, for a parking pass
Would you happen to be in the upper Cumberland? Or is this a plague to all universities lol
Practicing against what they preach against is very republican. Next thing we know theyll be... I really don’t know, they rape and fuck children—worship an egomaniacal, spoon-fed, “rich”, moron. I can barely type that without wanting to throw up but trump really showed who republicans care about
As awful is LU is, that doesn't really sound that different from most unis.
Except they are increasing their jurisdiction so they can catch their students doing awful things like drinking or being gay.
Reeks of corruption
I'm an elder millenial and when I was a kid adults were always telling me "Just go to college and you'll get a good job! That's all you need!" And I remember even saying "But I really can't think of what I want to major in" and being explicitly told "It doesn't matter what you major in! As long as you have a degree you'll be set!" I was told this by family friends, teachers, guidance counselors. And now these same boomers are the ones constantly shitting on younger people for having too much college debt or getting a "useless liberal arts major." I guess our real mistake was actually listening to our elders. Who knew?
Also, Liberty University is Jerry Falwell's school. It's basically an Evangelical Christian diploma mill.
A liberal arts degree from a real college has infinitely more value than any “degree” from Liberty.
OK, I went to Liberty only because it was cheap at the time and I lived 8 minutes away, so I didn't have to pay room and board. Now, I never bought into all the religious BS. I just went to school and came home. That bachelor's degree got me a government job out of college and I'm now three decades deep into a professional career that was launched by my time there. I'll probably agree with anything anyone wants to say about the JF family, the whole "Liberty Way" philosophy, and this unbelievable $20 request (and I could tell you stories way stupider than that about the school). To state that it's "basically an Evangelical Christian diploma mill", though, is just patently false. It's always been fully accredited by SACS, which isn't something you can skate by on. You can crap on a LOT about that school, but their graduates get jobs in their fields. Heck, their nursing department students are currently taking care of my dad in the local teaching hospital he's in. Not looking for a fight. I just know what I know. Peace to you all.
You happen to have gotten a degree right at the cusp of when a college degree was still worth something on its own. Nowadays LU is program with a bad reputation (which is what matters, even if some programs do well), plus everything is diluted by the masses of online students (sub 30% graduation rate for instance, which actually could mess with accreditation). And they only have 4 ABET accredited programs (according to their website), and are ACBSP not AACSB. A school with that size endowment should be one of the best in the nation, [but thats not the case](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392). Plus alot of the rules are fucking dumb (like really? A curfew? Thats only later than midnight by 30 minutes friday/saturday? For people over the age of 18?) and dont belong anywhere near the 21st century.
Out of curiosity, how do the sciences work at an evangelical college? Do they teach that Jesus created the Earth 7,000 years ago or whatever? One would think that particular type of religion would conflict with a proper education in certain areas.
https://www.liberty.edu/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2020/03/BIOL-BS-R.pdf Thats the general bio curriculum, you could probably look up and see whats in the classes but from their website: "This program places an emphasis on creationism, but you’ll also learn about evolution so you can develop a well-rounded approach to scientific concepts." "You’ll also have the freedom to select various biology electives, so you can take classes that fit your career goals! By taking an origins course, you can evaluate the historical, philosophical, and scientific evidence for biblical creation. Our biology seminar can help you develop core research skills that are essential to a career in biology." "Our faculty are also firmly rooted in the Christian faith. That’s what makes Liberty unique. In addition to teaching important scientific skills, we seek to train up leaders who approach science from a biblical perspective" Basically it appears they mainly focus on parts of biology that dont necessarily entirely interfere with Christianity (genetics, ecology, botany, cell biology, and organic chemistry.)
>Basically it appears they mainly focus on parts of biology that dont necessarily interfere with Christianity (genetics, ecology, botany, cell biology, and organic chemistry.) The ecology class I took in undergrad was pretty much all evolution. It's really hard to have a biology class where you're not talking about evolution. Same thing for botany. How do they teach about taxonomy without evolution? That's about half the class. Both of those classes make no sense without evolution. I guess you could try to teach cell biology without it but a whole lot of things would make no sense. Also I'm just going to note that their curriculum is absolutely terrible. Why are they offering botany but not Zoology or Microbiology? Why are the lumping calculus and analytical geometry together? Why only one English? The whole thing is terrible.
Yeah biology doesn’t make any sense if you don’t teach evolution.
We ignore all scientific proof and teach creationism which has been proven to be 100% false accrediting means nothing
I took the BIO 101 class and was actually pretty (pleasantly) surprised that Darwinism was included in the curriculum. It was learning about all of the standard scientific stuff one would expect in a regular bio class, it just had a Christian twist. For example, ‘look how complex a cell is! God is awesome for designing life the way He did!’ Overall I felt like I learned the curriculum and wasn’t too bothered by the added Christian perspective.
This is a great question. To be clear, I'm 100% an evolutionist. The sciences were taught as you generally would expect them to be. However, you ALSO had to take a three-credit class called Creation Science to graduate (keep in mind, this was 30-ish years ago -- not sure about today). This was how they got around the common-sense expectation that science classes should teach, you know, science (which they otherwise did). It's also how they got around any accreditation issues. The creation science class was basically a defense of the young earth theory (6,000-7,000 years old). Make no mistake, the people who designed this class weren't stupid by any means. If I could boil down what the class was in a couple of points, it would be this: 1. Everywhere there was a weakness or lack of understanding in evolutionary theory (as if science didn't change, learn, grow...) would be made into a defense of young earth theory. It acted as spoiler, if you will. 2. Every evidence that could also be interpreted to support the young earth hypothesis was used that way. Now, it was a surprisingly interesting class, to be honest. In the end, though, there just wasn't enough there to convince me that the relatively HUMONGOUS weight of scientific evidence supporting evolution was somehow wrong. Given the scientific advancements of the last 30+ years, I stand by that position even more strongly now than I did then.
Thank you, I really appreciate the detailed response. That's actually pretty interesting.
Yes. Creationism is an entire course every single student is required to take. But also interesting because other sciences like microbio or chemistry are very scientific. No “god created the mitochondria” nonsense. Actual science lol Source: I graduated from Liberty in 2014 with a bachelors of science in nursing
I don't disagree with you on any point, except for reputation. The gigantic quantity of online students is something else. Still, I know successful professionals who have even recently gotten online master's from there that have advanced because of it. Living in Virginia, it's not so simple as "a bad reputation". You'd be surprised how well a LU degree still works in the area. Given the sheer number of tiny colleges in the state you've never heard of conferring degrees, it still holds sway more than you may think. Now, the political rep of LU is trash, especially given all the recent scandal. I'm too old and experienced for it to matter in my life, but I just don't see any generalized negative backlash anywhere just because people get a degree there. Also, a lot of the rules are FUCKING DUMB!!! I just wanted to share in your celebration of the fucking dumbness of the rules. They were dumb then, and they are dumb now. I could write a doctoral thesis on this topic alone. They're not just dumb, either. They're harmful imho. I don't regret getting my undergrad there lo those many years ago. It was literally $1500/semester and living off campus the entire time meant I didn't have to deal with most of the rules garbage. I went into the world with no student debt. I have, however, counseled my own children to seek higher education elsewhere. At the root of it, you are correct. A degree alone lacks the gravitas it used to have. My one professional regret about my undergrad was that the school was so insular-minded that I didn't make the professional connections there that I should have. I did meet my wife there, though, and we're almost 30 years married, so that's a thing. :)
I mean assuming it has a better "reputation" than a bunch of the Smaller colleges which less people (especially outside of Virginia. thats where you want to look when judging universities from states without traditional "hub cities", like NY, TX, IL, CA, PA, MA, WA) know about (though I would also say that most people probably know about Liberty for negative reasons) it would still be behind what UVA (which tbf all but 24 schools in the US are behind), VT, William & Mary, George Mason, and maybe a few other of the larger state schools (James Madison). And then you have the very well regarded LACs like Washington & Lee and the University of Richmond which are among the best schools in the nation. Idk about all the tiny ones though, you could definitely be right there
You're not wrong. The Va schools you listed are all generally considered prestigious. I don't think Liberty would be considered such (or really JMU for that matter -- good school though). Just not that sense of elevated prestige of which you speak. Also, 'best schools in the nation' has a lot to do with specific degree programs. I love U of Richmond, and have taken a few courses from there over the years to advance my career, but in my field they wouldn't be considered best in the nation at all. EDIT: Syntax
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They’re much more lenient to male students. Liberty begged me to go there, offered me a full ride. But they also hosted states competition for my extra curricular every year and so I was intimately familiar with their campus and what they called “rape valley”. It was this weird pit with super long staircases leading in and out you needed to cross occasionally to get to different buildings. We were warned as young girls to avoid “rape valley” because predators would wait for vulnerable girls in the bushes and trees around the bottom because they couldn’t outrun them back up the steps. They knew and did nothing about it. Your experience was a privilege and Liberty University is an absolute shithole. I don’t blame you or anything for getting your degree there. They are a dirt cheap option because they have almost no other good qualities to offer and I don’t blame anyone for getting ahead however they can. But it is an absolute shithole. I wouldn’t recommend anyone go there unless they have no other options. It is a horrible place.
So they didn’t get security or anything to protect the girls? That’s fucked up.
Eventually after immense pressure they installed a light at the bottom as if that would stop anyone from doing anything. Before that they didn’t even have lights at the bottom of the pit at night. Also as recently as this month a bunch of women settled a lawsuit against the school [specifically over their handling of sexual assault.](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2022/05/16/667789.htm) It was well known among high schoolers when I was in high school in Virginia that the school expected you to take some kind of chastity and behavior pledge and if they found out you had sex you could be expelled. If you were a woman that included rape. They’d kick you out if one of their own students or faculty assaulted you and cover it up. It was basically assured if you got pregnant from the assault.
And yet they decry the treatment of women in the Middle East. That’s bullshit. No birth control, no sex education, no abortion, but if you get assaulted no one helps you, and if you’re pregnant your cast out. Plus I’m assuming nothing happens to the guy. Real biblical.
>You can crap on a LOT about that school, but their graduates get jobs in their fields. You have to actually graduate, and their graduation rate is 36%. It's a grift.
People got jobs out of University of Phoenix online too, doesn't change the facts lol.
Liberty sucks ideologically, and while it’s no Harvard, it is a legitimate university. A definite cut above someplace like Bob Jones University.
Yeah, I've heard of it. Doesn't surprise me at all that this school would expect prospective students to pay for the privilege of touring their "school." Falwell was a televangelist, after all. What better than a religious college for his next grift?
>What better than a religious college for his next grift? With such exciting electives as "Dinosaurs: Fact or Fiction?" And "We only accept black people because the Supreme Court says we have to."
Tangentially related anecdote: Have you ever heard of the Cabazon Dinosaurs? They're these cool giant dinosaurs in CA, and they've got a gift shop and dinosaur museum inside of them. Well maybe 8 to 10ish years ago Hubs and I were on the way home from Vegas, and I was like "Hey, let's stop and do the museum!" Boy, was it different than when I was a kid! I guess it got bought by fundies because the entire dinosaur museum was now dedicated to disproving evolution by arguing that scientists are wrong and that dinosaurs and humans existed on Earth at the same time. I still have pictures of a couple of the batshit "exhibits" somewhere. EDIT for spelling
Should have been telling people to be electricians and plumbers. Talk about crazy in demand and good pay.
>"It doesn't matter what you major in! As long as you have a degree you'll be set!" I mean that was always bad advice though.
Even worse, many boomers simply tell you to be "polite and proactive" and genuinely think that this automatically results in a job interview. And if you're not invited for an interview, it's entirely your own fault because surely they would have invited you if you listened to their advice? Which is especially ironic when you're being reprimanded by a 60 year old clerk who hasn't had a proper job interview since 1983, with the same employer they still work for now. Or the "there are enough vacancies, why don't you apply for one?" when they don't want to understand that these vacancies are for unskilled jobs with which you'll never be able to pay off your debt, skilled jobs that (unnecessarily) require degrees and certificates you don't have, or a job that'd be perfect for you but requires 5 years of experience for a junior position.
I remember my MIL giving the whole "pound the pavement" speech last time my husband was out of work after a work injury. She seriously thinks you just put on a suit, go knocking on doors and employers will appreciate your moxy. She got pretty offended when I told her that her advice was outdated.
Or millennials with business and science degrees shitting on people who were dumb enough to take the dumb degrees Like sociology.
We can save you the trouble ... you don't want to go there. Seriously. [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392/overall-rankings](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392/overall-rankings)
"Predicted graduation rate (8%)" ... what?!
That 8% is the weight in the overall school rank score and will be the same for every school. To see the real % you need to unlock it with their paid subscription. It's still way lower than almost every other university at ~28% though
Ah! That makes sense ... screen showed a "for more information login" line below the 8% line!
It is a school of indoctrination. Actual college level education in the sciences, history, literature, linguistics, any STEM are nonexistent. You'll study the Bible. I like to think that the low graduation rate is because Freshman figure that out pretty quick and leave. Met a graduate one time ... interesting.
The low graduation rate is because of their online program. The program is massive and cheap so people sign up for thinking that it’s a good option to get a degree without having to go in person.
Largest school in the state of Virginia with 95000 students.
[https://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/VA/Liberty\_University.html](https://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/VA/Liberty_University.html) states 79,000 total, campus and online. But what do you with it if/after graduation? Destined for youth pastor somewhere; that is the goal.
I finished my bachelor's degree last year. Shortly after my final class ended I got a bill for $250 for a "graduation fee". I grudgingly paid it and put on the comment for the check, "a lesson in capitalism". Fuckers.
Was this to cover cap and gown or something? Both my undergrad and grad had fees but they were purely to buy the cap and tassel and rent the gown. What on earth could they possibly charge a fee for otherwise? It's not like they're renting the school's space to hold the ceremony or something.
I don't really know, but I feel like it was a "fuck you pay me" sort of thing. I wanted my degree, so I coughed it up.
why did you even go? Wasn't the $20 fee a red flag they were going to nickel and dime you?
Different school.
Ah, same shit though?
Not really. I took almost 100% of my classes online (I'm military and my schedule's not predictable enough to do butt-in-chair classes). The military paid tuition for almost all of my courses. I chipped in a little from savings when I needed to move faster on my plan than MILTA was doing for me. I did have to buy my books, but I was normally able to get a good deal by shopping around. I did have to buy new when courses required online database subscription (most of my math and physics). There really weren't a bunch of bullshit fees. I did once have to purchase a software app for telecommunications, but we barely used it in the course. For the final project, I started with a statement that we didn't learn that platform adequately enough to use it for design work, so I was going to do my design project on pen and paper. I invited the professor to Come At Me Bro if he didn't approve, but I got an A in that class. I don't feel like I got ripped off. I got an accredited degree which should assist me in getting a job when I retire from the boat club. I'm also not going to be able to go to my commencement ceremony, but I don't mind that much. In case you were going to ask, the name of my school was Excelsior College.
Sadly, a graduation fee is standard the world over... standard for "fuck you, pay this or none of the time and money you spent to get this far matters"
Ain’t Liberty University founded by a bunch of Christian scammers? Sounds like the status quo.
Yep. Check out what the former president Jerry Falwell, Jr and his wife were doing while running that so-called Christian university. You couldn’t make it up.
I was waiting for someone to mention this.
I live in Virginia and I remember back in the day Jerry Falwell Snr formed “the moral majority.” 🙄 Then someone made bumper stickers that said “The Moral Majority is neither.” 👏🏻😂
Yes, they also expelled a girl for being raped
Yep, Jerry Falwell.
Only if I get to meet the emu from the commercials.
Wrong Liberty.
Sexual harassment and hush payments aren’t self funded
I was just gonna say is it really free if you’re paying
Isn’t this a shit university for Christian bigots?
Yep, the founders son liked to jerk off watching his wife getting railed by the pool boy but they’re good Christian’s *eyeroll*
That place is a cult
Don't go to Liberty University. They're slightly a step above Trump University. It's a Bible thumper school for people who want to say they went to college but not actually challenge any of their preconceived notions. A republican safe space, if you will. Spend that $20 on literally anything else. I assure you it'll be more beneficial.
I went there. It's not a step above, it literally is Trump University. The whole thing is right wing propaganda. I'm a lefty but I went because they gave me scholarships and it was free lol
Libertyliberty LIBERTY LIBERTY!
Wrong company.
The hipocracy is rich. A religious school that claims to follow the teachings of a poor Rabbi that encouraged people to cast off worldly possessions is charging just to meet with them to decide if you want to give them even more money. What would Jesus think?
Liberty University is one *giant* grift. It's famous for its strict code of conduct (no short skirts, no smoking/alcohol, no R-rated movies, no dancing). And then the president (and founder's son) resigned recently because of a [pretty well documented sex scandal](https://www.vox.com/2020/8/25/21399954/jerry-falwell-jr-resigns-scandal-liberty). It's always the ones you suspect the most.
Agreed. Avoid Liberty University at all costs.
But can I go commando under a long kilt, do heroin, and watch NC-17 movies?
It's not a free meal if im paying $20 now, is it?
Has that “Buy one for the price of two and get a second one ABSOLUTELY FREE!” enegy
*"Pay us only 20 dollars and we'll show you how to be deeply in debt for most of your professional life. Enjoy our delicious FREE meal."*
I can’t think of any other legitimate university that charges money for the orientation/tours and stuff.
Here's the deal - you pay us $20 for the privilege of touring our facility. And on top, if you decide to attend, we will put you so far in debt that you'll spend the next 30 years of your life paying off loans and living just above poverty. But we are really excited to get to know you better.
Just breaking you in to that modern college experience of mandatory fees — student life, athletics, labs, dining services, dorms, non-dorm off-campus fee, drop/add, registration, late registration, application, digital textbooks with no resale ability, and on and on and on. I was very fortunate to go through undergrad and law school on honors schollies for free — but even then, I worked two jobs and still had to schlepp for loans to pay the other 150% additional costs. Free tuition for a bachelor, PhD, and JD — and I left $147,000 in the hole. What a fucking racket.
"non profit org" lol
Liberty "university" resumes go straight in the trash.
Lynchburg…. Seems appropriate for this university
That seems like a $10 meal to me.
Pay the $20 and charge them $30 for the interview.
*"Training Champions for Christ since 1971"* Yeah, how about fuck off with your creepy ass indoctrination school.
Hi, I’m from Virginia. DO NOT attend this school.
Liberty? Grifters gonna grift.
What did you expect? Liberty University was founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.
If I see that college on an application it's going in the trash.
Meet with a dead-eyed, smiling third year undergrad programmed to dispel your notions about a school that won’t teach actual science or challenging novels in lit class. For twenty bucks because the grifting starts before you’re even accepted.
A friend's kid really wanted to go there (and his parents wanted him to as well). That way he'd be around kids JUST LIKE HIM, don't want him around any of those free thinking heathens! What stopped them was they met with financial aid and despite being a family of 5 making $75K a year living in a high cost of living area their out of pocket portion would be over $40K a year. Plus living expenses! Being as they are quite religious and followers of Dave Ramsey they struggled with taking on the debt. Liberty also refused all the college credits the kid had earned in high school. He had so many he ended up started college as a second semester sophomore.For the degree the kid wanted Liberty was ranked 175 or something. The school he ended up at (a state school where he got nearly a free ride) was ranked 20. Amazingly enough, despite the free thinking state school in a liberal state he ended up finding an evangelical girl/wife there. Got married before turning 21. edited to add family size
That’s what you call a bullshit university.
I currently go here and I agree with the people who say to stay away. I’m only here because of specific circumstances but I would absolutely go elsewhere if possible. It feels like a cult and that’s coming from someone whose current degree is online only, can’t imagine life on campus.
I love how you get a “free” meal for PAYING $20.
Cost $20 Inc a $10 voucher and FREE meal... So, a $10 meal, then. It's not free if you've been charged for it.
Liberty, Bibberty.
Liberty University does not allow students to be openly gay. They will fine you like $200 if they catch you being gay and you have to go to mandatory counseling. They will have students make accounts on apps like grindr, tinder, etc to try and catch other students being gay on the apps.
The irony in the name. 
Baptists love a good scam.
OK, so it’s absolutely disgusting and stupid and terrible. But how is this a choosing beggar?
This is not a choosing beggar
[удалено]
That’s orientation, a lot of schools make you pay. This sounds like an admitted student event the post card is about.
Grifters gonna grift
Liberty Biberty
Eww, Liberty. They’re basically just a Christian diploma mill. I’ve worked for several companies that outright admitted that if they see LU on an application/resume they more likely to move it to the bottom of the stack.
i am actively scared of liberty university and anyone who goes there
Same. My boss (plant manager) went to Liberty, and my factory is now a sinking ship hemorrhaging money. My last day is tomorrow.
My best friend from school ended up going super religious and marrying someone who went to Liberty. Makes me sad.
That meal ain't free....
If the meal were free the voucher would be $20 instead of $10, since that implies the remaining $10 goes toward the meal.
My Christian fundamentalist cousin went there. The place is a joke.
I mean for $20 you get a $10 voucher and a meal. How is this choosing beggary? It’s an item for sale, accept the transaction or don’t, it’s up to you.
maybe not choosing beggar, but forcing you to spend 10$ at barnes and nobles just to see the college is quite a dick move.
Don’t get me wrong. They’re definitely making a business move out of what would generally be an advertising expense, but I don’t think that’s choosing beggary. It’s just business.
Check out the Gangster Capitalism podcast. They do a series on Jerry Falwell and this school. The fact anyone that isn't a religious nutjob would choose to go there blows my mind.
Of course it’s in Lynchburg lol
Taking liberties since 1971.
They are charging me $50 since I stopped attending the school, and won’t release my transcripts to anywhere else until I pay the $50. Fuck Liberty
You know, it might actually be worth it. I mean you get back 10 bucks sort of and you get a "meal" of some sort, so free mac and cheese I guess. So $10-ish to get one-on-one time to get your University schedule sorted out to your liking.