>Their admission rate is 99.3% and their graduation rate is only 31% and they have the lowest average SAT in the state but none of these things say that the school is bad.
Uh, every single one of those things indicate the school is bad. It means everyone gets in, and no one gets out. I strongly suspect the outcomes for graduates show decidedly worse employment metrics than other VA schools as well.
The fact is: we’re lucky, because unlike many states, there are a lot of good schools in Virginia. Liberty is not one of them though.
To put these stats in perspective, Virginia Tech has an acceptance rate of a little over 50% and a graduation rate near 90%. That’s pretty normal for a legitimate state school.
High acceptance and low graduation rates mean they’ll take anyone because they want your money but they don’t do much to help you actually be successful once you’re there.
Tech has gotten more selective. The past few years, they have taken a huge amount of out of state students. Worse, if you really, really want in, you have to apply binding decision and cross your fingers.
They also seem to take less students from the NoVa area. Take a look at threads of folks on the wait list.
This, we found out the hard way. Seriously, my Eagle Scout, CBGS student with well over a 4.0 got waitlisted last year. GMU was his second choice.
I urge you to talk to your guidance counselor about these insider tips because we would have done things differently!
Also, Tech only takes transfers into engineering at the beginning of the academic year and you need to basically apply with essay to try.
If you are looking at engineering, I would get a degree from a state school with a good reputation for their degree. That is not Liberty.
Also, if you are looking to save costs, try a AA degree from certain community colleges that are guaranteed to transfer you in. That is not RCC (Germanna is).
Good luck!
they treat their professors terribly as well. i have a friend who worked as a literature (i think) professor for 15 years and was dropped one day randomly. like no "hey we think we have somebody better for the job, here's some notice" just walked into her office and told her to leave. after 15 fucking tears.
Those systems include online students, which likely are much worse than students attending in person.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find stats for just in-person students.
I don’t know how good or bad Liberty University actually is.
One thing is clear, for better or worse, the Liberty University has a reputation (that may not match reality) that you should consider before attending.
Let me maybe also come at this from the other angle: When I am hiring people, schools like Liberty and Regent on your resume automatically drop you from my consideration. I don't care that they are religious schools. I care that they are bad schools.
It would be a bad idea if you want to be employed after you graduate. If you can't get into Virginia Tech, UVa, or ODU right out of high school, go to community college for a couple of years and transfer. ANY school is better than Liberty.
By the way, all the items you listed about admissions and graduation rates do indeed say the school is bad.
I did mean ODU. I did not know that JMU had an engineering program (chalk that up to my sons being out of college for over ten years & neither studied engineering). Anywhere is better than Liberty, though!
Most people with a degree, regardless of school work jobs that don't require any college degree. Liberty isn't the best school but a degree doesn't mean as much as you make it sound. More than half of college graduates have $100,000+ of debt with high interest rates and if they didn't go to college, they would have the same job without the debt. Do trade school
I agree but It depends on job really. Engineering absolutely I would not go to a shit school like Liberty if I had a choice. Or any other job where they will care about where you went. I'm a social worker and no one cares AT ALL where the degree came from, but I still wouldn't go there because why would you want to deal with that shit if you weren't on the Christian fundamentalist train. Why?? There's like 6 colleges in Richmond alone. Just go online it's 2024. I go to U of Kentucky online for grad school and will never step foot in KY ever.
Again really depends on the career path. I make more than people I see in social work reddit that went massively in debt for a social work degree from an Ivy League school. People with grad degrees from fucking University of Phoenix will make more money than me just because no one gives a shit as long as you get a degree and licensed and can bill.
Bingo. And Virginia community colleges are great because I think most if not all of them have an agreement with lots of universities in the state where you basically get guaranteed transfer to a university after 2 years, so long as you end those 2 years with a certain GPA. Might be specific to some degree paths though, I can't remember. (Source: went to Tidewater Community College, got my Associates, transferred to ODU. Starting at TCC was the best decision I ever made.)
Here's a discussion about Liberty from a military POV. It's ranked near the bottom of Forbes 600 school list.
https://www.reddit.com/r/army/s/juBky5YYys
It is a joke school. For one thing, they were fined $14 million in March for violations to the Clery Act for their failure to report crimes on campus. Please look up the Liberty Way student handbook and make sure that you are ok with following all of the rules they have for students.
Source: I have a masters degree from Liberty in Education. I did my masters through them because they 1) accepted my grad credits from UVA 2) it's cheap 3) it's completely online 4) I needed it for a pay increase. My masters program was basically a copy from UVA with the bible sprinkled in where its not necessary. I am not religious but anyone can fake it.
Yeah, I was in Army Aviation (maintenance side) and a lot of my friends were trying to become pilots when they got out. A ton went to Liberty because they’re one of the only places that accepts the GI bill for flight programs, and they accept everybody. Only one of the half dozen or so I know went there did so was religious.
Liberty is not great. And I'm not just talking about the religion--if that's your thing, awesome! You do you! But you can STILL do better than Liberty.
They have such a high acceptance rate and low diploma rate because they want people's money. They're a private college so not bound to tuition constraints of public colleges in Virginia. They're more likely to want your money than care about your success. That's what those numbers mean.
Additionally, leadership at Liberty has been problematic, even since Falwell Jr. left. Tons of controversies will follow you whether you like it or not.
Plus, the school is incredibly rigid (the Liberty Way) in what you can and cannot do. While you shouldn't cut loose and do WHATEVER you want in college, college is a big time to establish your identity and experience the world outside of a bubble. You won't get that at Liberty.
If you're concerned with getting into a better school than your grades currently allow, check out community colleges. All the Virginia Community College System colleges have reciprocity agreements with a LOT of the major public colleges in the state, and many even have guaranteed transfer with a certain GPA.
You can do better than Liberty. Listen to your friends and family.
Agree with this. I worked at a law firm in DC (HR) and if I saw Liberty on a resume, it gave me pause and tbh didn't move forward unless they had a lot of experience or did very well in the interview.
Some additional info: it was plaintiff side employment law so we worked with some folks who were fired for gender/sex discrimination and Liberty is very public about their anti LGBTQ stance. I didn't want to put clients in an uncomfortable spot.
I know someone who got their undergrad from Liberty and master’s from Catholic U who spent months and months on a job hunt and always pointed the blame on the Liberty degree…
99.3% admissions rate means enrollment is open to anyone basically. No selectivity basically. And more than half wash out and don’t complete their program. So the student body is very poor and/or the college/program is poorly funded. None of that sounds like a good college.
Your grades can’t be that bad that Liberty is your only choice especially if you want to be an engineer.
I would say it's a bad idea.
Even if being in a conservative christian atmosphere is the main thing you want out of college, you should probably look elsewhere. There's been a ton of moral and ethical failings with the senior leadership and the way the school is run.
For a state school, CNU is relatively conservative and Christian leaning and way cheaper than a private Christian school. If OP wants that atmosphere, I'd definitely consider CNU.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to attend a religious university, but I do recommend doing your own research on the college outside of their own sources. There are many troubling stories and ongoing legal troubles with how students have been treated there. That aside, an accredited degree is a degree at the end of the day.
What is your major? Engineering?
Competition for jobs when you are fresh out of college is a real thing and hiring managers will be looking at your college experience when you are first applying for jobs and competing against people graduating from Virginia Tech, and other schools with more robust engineering programs and reputations.
Unless you have tons of internships at big name orgs, your resume is going to go to the bottom of the pile. And getting those internships with Liberty on your transcript will also be harder to do.
That is just the reality. 10 years of experience….no one is looking at your college, but getting that first 10 years is going to be tough.
Not that you have to go to a brand name college to get a good start, but choosing to go to a college that most people see as a joke academically….that is just putting yourself further behind.
If your religion is an important part of your life and you want it to be part of your college experience, then look for groups and churches at colleges that align better academically with your goals.
Every college has students who are religious and who also care about getting a good education….and I would argue they are better religious environments because the students are making their own choices rather than having “rules” set up for them. There are theology classes, chapels, and so on at most schools snd lots of clubs and prayer groups.
I have to look at engineering resumes sometimes and I don't know that I've ever received an engineering degree from Liberty. I'm usually looking at candidates from VT, VCU, ODU, UVA, and more recently GMU and CNU as far as in-state colleges go. That's not saying I'd rule out anyone just because they went to Liberty, but I kind of have an idea of what to expect with students from the other schools. Internships and projects would be pretty important to get considered imo.
In my 20 year professional career (engineering), I've never met anyone with a degree from Liberty. I \*do\* get the sense that it is not looked upon with any high regard. I understand student life to be very constrained (for people who are supposed to be adults).
Hey bud. I graduated from Liberty in 2011. No one took my education seriously even back then, it’s even worse now. I went to a different school to get my graduate degree and the difference was night/day. I absolutely DO NOT recommend liberty u for many reasons. But of course the most important one’s are that the education is garbage, the reputation is garbage.
And you know what else?
That football team is wack.
I grew up in lynchburg at the hight of Falwell srs fame in the 80s when it was still liberty baptist college. they have all kinds of rules for the students and faculty. I live 2 hours away now and still have family there and just all the things they've done over the years is just horrible. It's been nice not hearing about them since Jr's ouster. That said I have a hard and fast rule, if I need a dr/dentist/therapist/ or other professional and I see they went there it's a hard no. I'm not against christian schools in general but I am that one.
If you want a religious school, it is that 100%. You spend a lot of $$ on required biblical classes. I went to LU as a sophomore- you can’t skip them.
You are bound by the Liberty Way (esp if you live on campus) so read that and decide if they are rules you want to live with. You also have to go to convo 3x a week.
Is it a joke tho?… depends on your values and what you want college to look like. Falwell Sr was a terrible guy. Jr is a huge hypocrite. LU’s title IX lawsuit.
I don’t think the education I received was a joke (based off my experience/my peers from LU) but I would tread carefully as having that school on your resume does come with people assuming things about you. I do think the hypocrisy of the school, its leadership and its rules are jokes.
I went there for undergrad (social work), graduated in 2018. I did my grad degree elsewhere. When I tell people I went to Liberty I have to give them caveats: I did a liberal program, I lived off campus, I am not super conservative.
I started online classes with them as a non-Christian, but the school seemed legit. Until I actually started the classes. I didn't mind that they were Christian-based as long as the education is good. It is not. And the idea that they tie every single thing back to God and Christ (Serious study question: What is law? A: God is law) made it extremely cringe. I wasn't learning about my career field. I was learning how to be indoctrinated. But if that's your thing 🤷
It is a tremendously bad idea. It is so bad I can't even describe just how bad it is. And while they claim to be a Christian organisation that is not displayed. Most of the people there will turn you in for minor code violations. They covered up rapes that happened on campus.
If you want an engineering degree go to CNU or any of the other great universities or colleges VA offers.
Liberty is a terrible school. And an expensive one. There are a lot of other, better options. The only reason you should consider going to school there is if it is 100% free. Even then I would pay to go somewhere else.
Years ago, I met a gal who once attended Liberty University. Apparently they treat students like they're at camp. Men and women are expected to walk on certain areas of the sidewalk. You supposedly can't have the opposite gender in your dorm room, can't have R-rated movies, curfew checks, etc.
If you want to pursue engineering in Virginia, I'd choose Virginia Tech or Virginia Commonwealth University.
It was founded by Jerry Falwell - one of the first ever scumbag television preachers that performed fake miracles and stole money from poor people to make himself more wealthy…and paved the way for the even more evil ones that exist nowadays.
That said, I know people that went there and graduated/said it wasn’t that bad. I know others that hated it, never been there myself but that’s what I know.
I have an engineering degree.
I would recommend using the excellent Virginia Community College system for your first two years.
A successful 2 year degree from one of these institutions has guaranteed admission to a 4 year Virginia institution.
The classes and equivalencies all line up nicely as well.
So many people transfer out and have (jokingly) PTSD from their college experience. If you meet a transfer in the dmv area & they are really weird they're from liberty. The curriculum is whack, the rules are toxic & asinine, & the people in charge of rule following are batshitter than the rules. Don't go
All of those things say it’s a bad school. Unless you want a theology degree, which will pay nothing, go to literally any other school. JMU is easy to get in and is an infinitely better school.
It is totally understandable that you think this is a very important decision and that it matters a lot.
In reality, it won’t and up mattering much over the course of your life. I have family that graduated from VA Tech and family that graduated from ODU. They are both doing very very well. I went to a college almost no one outside of Richard Nixon history buffs would recognize. I am also doing very well. And not one person has asked me where I went to college (or grad school) in a professional setting in almost 25 years.
Yeah I've had multiple jobs since graduating from Liberty and no one asked me about it except one guy because I brought up the Falwell Jr. pool boy scandal lol
Knew someone who went there. Asked the professor for feedback on how to improve her paper & was told to pray about it. She quickly found another school.
I live in Texas so I don't rub shoulders with many Liberty grads but the few I've worked with had online degrees from LU and have all been terrible and have literally made work more difficult for everyone else around them because they're generally incompetent. That's only been like 3 people though.
I know someone who got into medical school following Liberty U.
He said it was extremely hard and that they didn't take him seriously because, well, *Liberty U*.
I am not a fan of either school, but Virginia Tech is a much more viable option for engineering degrees in that general area. The internship and social networking options are better there. It's not a Christian school, but you can certainly find classes to replace the religious ideology content that Liberty provides.
I haven't looked at the costs in a few years, but Liberty was pretty expensive for on-campus students. Online pricing was more competitive but still rather high. As a VA native, I found cheaper out of state options for my Master's degree.
Another word of caution, Liberty's admission department is bad about responding to inquiries. I decided to apply to several other schools because they wouldn't answer a few basic questions about their accounting program and transfer credits.
There is a lot of reasons to not go to that school, one that I didn’t seem mentioned is the racism. The president of the university came on the podium and said that all Muslims are terrorists. Despite them being a Christian school, that guy is the closest thing to the devil. Very weird.
I've met alot of people in my STEM career, and none of them were from Liberty. What I heard about Liberty was they hate Catholics and preach that all Catholics are satanists. So yeah, I think you should try to go to a better place.
Wasn't Liberty the one where the University President was watching his wife cheat on him with the pool guy?
Listen to “Gangster Capitalism” podcast- Season 3. It’s all about the shady dealings of Jerry Falwell Jr, how he manipulated his power over students, staff. He used school money for personal reasons. His moral life is abhorrent. As a Christian I don’t know why anybody would associate themselves with that place.
Liberty U received the largest fine ever for its management and student affairs violations. The academic program is s__t. There are a lot of much better schools in Virginia - like Virginia Tech heck even VCU.
Oh my gosh, please don’t go there. My significant other grew up right near Liberty University, and it’s a joke.
They teach you things that aren’t true. They force you to live by standards that are pathetic. You can do so much better almost anywhere else in the country, and you’re going to get a better education.
I have run several businesses, and I own one now, and if I saw liberty University on a résumé for any position at all, no matter what it was, that résumé is going right in the trash. And I am not alone. You’re throwing your life in the trash by attending this brainwashing factory masquerading as a legitimate university.
My cat could get accepted. And probably get a degree. And she can’t even write.
No offense, but when we drive on the interstate that passes Liberty signage, we always think:
What a horrible, farce of a school.
Numerous cases of coverups, unreported, and inappropriate issues related to safety and sexual abuse.
Among other issues…
I agree with some other posters, If seen on a resume, the NAME ALONE makes many people pause (but not in a good way).
Please don't go to Liberty University.
Workplaces these days are all about diversity, equity, and inclusion- and Liberty on your resume shows that you are probably against those things. Go with any of the other good engineering schools in the state.
In my workplace, I only know exactly one person who went to Liberty U, and we're not exactly a top tier employer in a desirable area. This is the kind of place where people get a few years of experience and then move somewhere better (in fact, that's what I'm doing right now)
I work at a Christian high school. *Do not go to Liberty.* It is a terrible school academically with a long and brutal history (and present) of racism, abuse, corruption, and punishing victims of SA
I wince whenever a student says they're going there. They are a PR department with a financial aid department attached
If you are planning on looking for a "Christian" job it's great. If you are looking for a non "Christian" job, especially at a large corporation it will very much hurt.
That's not to say you won't run into a HR manager at a large corporation that is very religious and it could help you with them. Or if you are applying at a small firm that may rank having the same faith higher in their particular metric.
But virtually any other school will help you more with a large corporation, and unless you are applying for a small company basically run by fundamentalist it will be neither good nor bad.
And you won't have to deal with Liberty U's crazy as shit rules.
Since most people in here seem to just be agreeing it’s a joke school, I’ll offer the other perspective, which is that I have a number of friends who were engineering majors & went on to get excellent jobs out of college. I got a job at Liberty after graduating, so I can’t personally speak to how outside employers view Liberty grads, but no one I know has ever had an issue finding a good job unless they had no work ethic to begin with.
It is by no means a perfect school, but the majority of professors I have interacted with care very much about your success not only in class & your future career, but in life in general. The people here are genuinely some of the nicest people I’ve ever met & it’s why I wanted to continue working here.
Also, any employer who skips over a resume because it says Liberty on it is not worth working for to begin with. If the resume is poorly put together, fine. They don’t have enough experience? Understandable. But they went to a school you don’t like? Grow up. Maybe actually look into if the person knows what they’re doing & not what school they chose to go to.
If you don’t want to deal with the drama of the type of people responding to this post, don’t go to Liberty. But you will be able to find a job if you work hard in your degree & they often will also help you to find a job.
I hope this helps!
Agree. The people saying it will hurt your chances at a job are butthurt. I went there and have had no issues getting jobs at Fortune 500 companies in finance.
Also…OP still don’t get there lol. It sucks.
I have both an undergrad (BS in project management) and graduate degree (MA in executive leadership) from them so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, but the company I work and have been with for 3 years doesn’t really care what school we went to but they did like that I had a PM concentration considering my job is project controls. I know that isn’t the same everywhere and LU has definitely had better days considering the whole Falwell Jr. thing. We also have a couple LU engineering grads at my job, and my boss also went to Liberty for finance.
Now here’s the part where I say you probably shouldn’t go there for engineering. VA has several *very* good engineering schools and LU wouldn’t be on my personal list. They genuinely do have several good programs and concentrations available but their engineering doesn’t have the same weight as VT or UVA. I had friends in engineering and it actually is pretty cool that you can use all their CNC labs, 3D printing labs, etc. but I imagine the other schools offer similar things.
In addition to all the reasons why people are saying it’s a bad idea here I’d just like to add that the most miserable teacher I ever had went there and would not shut up about how bad it was for an entire semester. I don’t know how old he was but he wasn’t 22 and fresh out of college.
When you say, “none of these things say the school is bad,” does that just mean you don’t care about those things? Because those absolutely do mean that the school is bad. Good schools are more selective about who they let in, and then they give those students the resources they need to graduate. Liberty is the opposite - it lets everyone in and then fails most of them.
If you’re that determined to go to a Christian college you could always go to Regent.
Their acceptance rate is 41% with an average graduation rate of 62%.
There are amazing colleges in VA and Liberty isn’t one of them. Everything you said is why it’s a bad school.
Listen to the people around you.
If you want to be a nurse, no. Their nursing program is legit.
For everything else... do you wanna pay more money than going to a state school to be treated like you're 12? Like do you wanna live like a puritan for 4 years with the threat of being kicked out if you act like a human for 2 seconds. God forbid if you want to spend time with the opposite sex. Also you got to do Convocation 3x a week and prayer groups. Unless Jesus is your whole personality, I wouldn't.
Don't get it twisted that just because it's a 'Christian' university that it is all cozy and safe.
[Liberty University fined record $14 million for violating campus safety law](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/05/liberty-university-clery-act-education-department-report/)
"The report found that top officials were familiar with credible reports that a senior administrator at Liberty had committed sex offenses involving subordinates. Sexual harassment claims in 2012 and 2013 were followed by an alleged incident in which the man “showed up at one of his employee’s houses and gave the woman what he referred to as ‘medicine,’ which caused her to fall asleep.” When she woke up, he was kissing her."
Liberty is starting to get a really bad reputation among other Christian schools. It's not an envy thing, it's a frustration thing. Liberty's admissions teams are known for being ruthlessly, cut throat and working to actively steer students from other Christian institutions. Yet they do so with this fake, passive aggressive brothers and sisters in Christ smile on their faces. Even if you want a job in a Christian community, that reputation is starting to take hold. It could be held against you.
Yes.
All they do is indoctrination to the extend that a degree from there actually looks *bad* on your resume. It's just an anti science school that literally only teaches religious stuff. As a result their graduates never know how to do their jobs and are the most inexperienced workers with a flat learning curve.
Even if you find a job from there, don't expect to keep it long. It *is* a joke school that uses religion as a defense for refusing to adhere to education standards.
They don't even dispute flat earth arguments.
I’m also from Fredericksburg. The only good thing I got from Liberty was meeting my amazing husband there… but other than that the education was terrible…
I definitely don't see this often. Most of the time, the students of liberty are sent there by their evangelical Christian parents. It's not often i see the child wants to actually go to liberty while their christian parents say it's a bad idea. My advice is you should never apply to just one university. Apply to multiple, and the great part of living in Virginia is you have a lot of good in state schools, and then pick the best one of the ones you get into.
Spent 5 years there in undergrad. While I wouldn't change a thing that happened, as that would change who I am as a result, I wouldn't wish 85% of my experiences as a student on anyone. Professors can literally lock you in their office and perform "exorcisms" on you with no repercussions. The faculty and student body in general are incredibly hostile to any non-conservative viewpoints on any subject, and good fucking luck if you're any flavor of queer. Save your money, time, and sanity and go literally anywhere else.
My niece went there a few years ago, was isolated during the Covid lockdowns,ended up disgusted at the pool boy scandal, and dropped out and immediately moved in with the first guy she met online. 23,000 dollars for that. Yeah, your mileage may vary.
I think the low graduation rate, is because for some reason, people do not realize this is a Christian college where Bible study is a part of the curriculum.
One friend I had pursuing a psychology degree, had to outline how certain studies affected the person, the society, and how it relates to Jesus.
Even though they don’t hide it, Liberty certainly has surprised many with the Christianity curriculum. I have a feeling that some people got the ick and quit.
I have a LEO degree (for shits and giggles)
Pro: it's stupid cheap, especially if you are a vet. Much cheaper than my instate public degrees.
Cons: The campus is full of insufferable zealots (I took classes online but had friends on campus)
EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT required biblical citations.
It really is a diploma mill. Most of my classmates were nutters or otherwise lacked the intellectual ability to be in a university.
Lynchburg local here. Liberty U is about politics more than religion, be careful. They’re not serious about academic inquiry and I do not believe they are all that serious about Jesus. They love money, power, land ownership and the GoP. I wish they would get out of my hometown, so my opinion is biased. But the idea of LU as a good school is utterly preposterous to me (I work at another college in town). I would think the low graduation rate has something to do without how many online non degree seeking students they bring in through their online money factory, but it’s just a statistic.
Liberty University Online is a joke. I've taken some classes through then and it's real bad. Even doctorate level classes requires no more critical thinking than an undergraduate class.
Now attending Liberty in person might be a better way to go. But stay away from Liberty Online. It's for working professionals who want to check a box.
I live 10 minutes from liberty and the one word I can use to describe it is overcrowded. They admit way too many students, traffic is AWFUL, and too many people bring their cars on their first year which leaves people who no longer live on campus no parking spots when they have to commute. I can’t say anything regarding the school itself, however, my best friend went and she says the atmosphere is very unaccepting of people who don’t LOOK Christian, basically if you have an alternative appearance you will be judged, I’ve been barked at once visiting her campus to support her art showing. They are just not a fun crowd.
3 of the 4 people I know who went left after 1 semester because people were so racist and transphobic. They didn’t leave from bad grades because they still graduated from somewhere else. The 4th who stayed is racist, transphobic and hasn’t graduated.
Youll have a 9pm curfew, can’t watch R rated movies. Can’t touch a girl hand. A sip of alcohol will get you expelled. They cover up Rape cases (Not very Christian). You do you, but I wouldn’t understand why anyone would choose liberty
In a word, no. A lot has changed at LU since i went there in 1990. Mostly due in part by the success of the athletic program. The campus has changed, and is more accommodating. If youre going to party, live off campus. The education is top notch. Youre not going to be insulted with the liberal agenda. The debate team is soldid, and doesnt shy away from the hot topics of the day. There are clubs, but no fraternities.
Liberty grad here. They are still credited in many fields, but I wouldn't bank on engineering there being good. Theres many aspects for their low graduation rate, including having stupid degrees like youth pastor or how to be a stay at home mom (yes, it's real and people buy into it). I was liberal arts degree which carried favorably, but if you're not overall a conservative person, you'll run into some grievances. I'm not, but theres "convocation" (church) 3x a week, mandatory for all on campus, a curfew, and a semi (got better) strict lu student law things, not really enforced for guys though. Very nice people, but many of my POC friends said they've felt like token POC by many others, like" WOAH my first African American friend! " there is an overwhelming holier than thou presence that's hard to avoid in many spots. Ton of recreational stuff to do, but it's definitely very conservative. I recommend UVA, Tech, or Villanova (if you don't mind the drive and $$).
Hoss I’d suggest a community college to start that offers a transition to a university to save yourself a bunch of money. Honestly I’d suggest taking the asvsb and seeing what’s available in the military, I know more than a few folks that turned 4 years navy into degrees with decent pay. Hell if engineering is your thing I’d highly recommended the navy’s nuclear power program if you have the scores to cut it, it’s a 6 year contract with the first 1.5 years or so in classroom and hands on training settings that will set you up nicely for a future in engineering or other related fields.
The only people liberty is genuinely good for is either conservative christian’s, or kids who want to go to college and have no other options, even then, they could go to a Virginia CC and still go somewhere better.
You would legitimately have to be stupid to think it’s a good idea to go here.
I am in Fairfax County and I wouldn't take it serious if I saw it on a resume. Maybe if I was a religious institution but they have just very sketch accreditation.
You mentioned engineering. The critical factor of an engineering degree is whether or not the program is accredited by ABET. I know Liberty's Civil Engineering program is ABET accredited this year (for the first time) but five minutes of cursory Googling couldn't tell me if any of their other engineering programs are accredited or not.
An engineering degree without ABET accreditation is worthless for finding an engineering job, or might just barely get you a job at half of what an engineer makes.
There are a lot of red flags around Liberty, as other people have mentioned. If it were me, I would not go to this "school."
If you’re not a religious fundamentalist, you’re going to have a bad time at Liberty. Their policies for students are incredibly restrictive, and after you graduate the only people who will want to hire you are also going to be religious extremists.
It’s not even small, it’s pretty big for a religious school. But there are many better options, it’s not that great or well regarded academically. People I know who worked there hated it and got out asap and all the bad stuff one hears is true. So many better state school options in Virginia, and there are engineering school options other than tech or uva. I went to ODU, great school.
Be sure you read the code of conduct before deciding to go there.
[https://www.liberty.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2022/10/The-Liberty-Way.pdf](https://www.liberty.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2022/10/The-Liberty-Way.pdf)
A lot of jobs/hiring managers throw applications away if the applicant is LU graduate.
I know because My dad was one of those hiring managers. And he’s was an engineer with undergrad and masters from VT. And he did this for years. Not a reputable or respected degree.
Pick a different school.
I've known many people who went to Liberty University and I've heard lots of mixed things in comparison to state schools like any of the University of MD schools or where I went which was Messiah University.
Liberty is a fairly large school for a private school and it is Christian in origin.
From what I've heard, it's definitely on the stricter side for schools when it comes to the opposite sex etc.
It's very "southern Christian" in style and belief system which results in a much more strict, ritualistic, monitored type of environment. The funny thing is that many very conservative families push for their kids to go there including pastors or other religious leaders because of this.
I've heard quite a bit that Liberty attracts a lot of socially awkward students who tend to go a bit wild once they get to a college campus away from their parents. I know for me, it was a common school for people I grew up with to go to and I've heard it's very ultra religious in some aspects which can encourage repressed teens to go crazy but work harder to be sneaky about it.
It also has a strong reputation for women going there purely to find a husband. That may be where some of the low graduation rates come from.
For me, I loved my time at Messiah. Christian origin and Christian in its execution but not at all controlling or ritualistic or narrow minded.
You really don't have any major constraints and it's a very relaxed atmosphere. Athletic programs like the soccer program are top notch for a small school. All the people I met there were solid. No craziness like some other schools out there but we definitely had fun. I think it attracts a much more mature demographic.
Personally, if your parents want you going to a Christian based school as a condition of you going, look into schools that are up north a bit if a school like Liberty turns you off.
There are much better Christian schools to go to. It’s also not a small school.
If you can get into VT/UVA, you would be insane to pick Liberty over those schools. If you want to go to Christian School, consider Cederville, Grove City, Calvin among others. There are C plenty of well regarded Christian Schools out there. Liberty is not one of them.
It's been said that Liberty is a real estate company with a college attached.
I took a graduate level course - Literary Criticism- in English last year which was the biggest joke of all the classes I've ever taken (and I've got 2 graduate degrees!).
I thought, Lit Crit, how bad can it be? On day one I discovered that everything, and I mean *everything*, had to square with a "Biblical worldview." Trying to mangle Freudian criticism, Marxist criticism, or feminist theory into a Biblical stance is a tough go. Basically you had to agree that those forms of criticism were invalid or incorrect in order to appease the professor. And if you attend the class, even for one day, you can't drop it and get your money back. A total scam.
Regarding the professor: the course was designed and set up by a professor who had left the school. All the videos were of her lectures, which urged students to contact her if you had questions. Guess what? You couldn't, because she had left! A dean had stepped in to teach the course, and his feedback on every assignment was essentially "good! You're on the right track!" Nothing like writing a 15 page paper with one line of feedback.
A garbage course from a garbage school.
It really depends on what program. For engineering, you should go to the best school you can get in to because pedigree can matter in that field if you’re applying for jobs in a competitive area.
For something basic like business or education it’s probably fine.
Try researching the profs and see what their reviews are in the field you want. Don’t just pick colleges, seek out mentors.
It's a real-estate development racket disguised as a school. Don't. Just don't. You will be miserable unless you've been raised super strict and can deal with the b.s.and most employers laugh a the degree.
Do you want to get hired after you graduate? Go to a reputable engineering university. No one will hire you or take you seriously with a diploma from that "university". Your poor choice now will create even more poor choices later.
I have to tell you that recruiters don’t consider degrees from Liberty as entirely legitimate. Liberty, Bob Jones, Oral Robert’s, etc., are all in the same not so attractive circular file. If you have other options definitely explore them. It’s kind of an unwritten rule in HR/with hiring managers that candidates from those schools are second tier due to general lack of worldview and experience, lack of critical and outside the box thinking, etc. It’s not that they WON’T hire, more that those candidates will have to most likely perform against their own nature to be an asset to a corporation/business/certain careers.
Everyone is telling you no. But as a person involved in hiring decisions, you should know that a degree from liberty would lead me to pass on a resume. I suspect that isn’t uncommon.
One of my Dad's Masters degrees is from Liberty. He didn't even put it as a suggestion for me and laughed when I asked if it was one I should put on my list. "I got my Theology degree via the mail from there." Was all I needed to hear. Man was a Battalion Commander, spent two of those years in Germany, and graduated top of his class, all while doing it exclusively via mail.
So your friends are right. It IS a joke school. It's the school you go to when the rest of your life will be spent in religious positions. Its so when you write a new Bible study book, you can slap Dr. on the Author portion.
The biggest mistake you can make in life is to go to a university, incur a ton of student debt, and then be unable to find a job in the field of study that will provide a salary to pay off those loans.
Be very careful because this decision can affect the rest of your life.
Actually, those things do say the school is bad. Lots of schools offer engineering degrees and many of them have a much better rating. Plus, if you dive a little bit their history? Not very Christian.
>Their admission rate is 99.3% and their graduation rate is only 31% and they have the lowest average SAT in the state but none of these things say that the school is bad. Uh, every single one of those things indicate the school is bad. It means everyone gets in, and no one gets out. I strongly suspect the outcomes for graduates show decidedly worse employment metrics than other VA schools as well. The fact is: we’re lucky, because unlike many states, there are a lot of good schools in Virginia. Liberty is not one of them though.
To put these stats in perspective, Virginia Tech has an acceptance rate of a little over 50% and a graduation rate near 90%. That’s pretty normal for a legitimate state school. High acceptance and low graduation rates mean they’ll take anyone because they want your money but they don’t do much to help you actually be successful once you’re there.
Tech has gotten more selective. The past few years, they have taken a huge amount of out of state students. Worse, if you really, really want in, you have to apply binding decision and cross your fingers. They also seem to take less students from the NoVa area. Take a look at threads of folks on the wait list. This, we found out the hard way. Seriously, my Eagle Scout, CBGS student with well over a 4.0 got waitlisted last year. GMU was his second choice. I urge you to talk to your guidance counselor about these insider tips because we would have done things differently! Also, Tech only takes transfers into engineering at the beginning of the academic year and you need to basically apply with essay to try. If you are looking at engineering, I would get a degree from a state school with a good reputation for their degree. That is not Liberty. Also, if you are looking to save costs, try a AA degree from certain community colleges that are guaranteed to transfer you in. That is not RCC (Germanna is). Good luck!
Yeah pretty well known as the worst school In Virginia. Also have horrible record of covering up rape
they treat their professors terribly as well. i have a friend who worked as a literature (i think) professor for 15 years and was dropped one day randomly. like no "hey we think we have somebody better for the job, here's some notice" just walked into her office and told her to leave. after 15 fucking tears.
Those systems include online students, which likely are much worse than students attending in person. Unfortunately, I was unable to find stats for just in-person students. I don’t know how good or bad Liberty University actually is. One thing is clear, for better or worse, the Liberty University has a reputation (that may not match reality) that you should consider before attending.
Lol. OP is literally the “this is fine” meme.
Fellow Virginian, here who was literally about to say the same exact sentiments!
Let me maybe also come at this from the other angle: When I am hiring people, schools like Liberty and Regent on your resume automatically drop you from my consideration. I don't care that they are religious schools. I care that they are bad schools.
I agree.
It would be a bad idea if you want to be employed after you graduate. If you can't get into Virginia Tech, UVa, or ODU right out of high school, go to community college for a couple of years and transfer. ANY school is better than Liberty. By the way, all the items you listed about admissions and graduation rates do indeed say the school is bad.
You mean JMU, not ODU, correct?
I did mean ODU. I did not know that JMU had an engineering program (chalk that up to my sons being out of college for over ten years & neither studied engineering). Anywhere is better than Liberty, though!
I mean JMU only has a general engineering degree, so if you want to do engineering ODU is a much better choice
I think that’s what they meant. Although even ODU gives you a better chance than liberty
Duuuukes
Most people with a degree, regardless of school work jobs that don't require any college degree. Liberty isn't the best school but a degree doesn't mean as much as you make it sound. More than half of college graduates have $100,000+ of debt with high interest rates and if they didn't go to college, they would have the same job without the debt. Do trade school
...Did you just group ODU with Vtech and UVA?
CNU is a pretty good school too
Agree about employability. I won’t hire them.
One of those schools is not like the others
I agree but It depends on job really. Engineering absolutely I would not go to a shit school like Liberty if I had a choice. Or any other job where they will care about where you went. I'm a social worker and no one cares AT ALL where the degree came from, but I still wouldn't go there because why would you want to deal with that shit if you weren't on the Christian fundamentalist train. Why?? There's like 6 colleges in Richmond alone. Just go online it's 2024. I go to U of Kentucky online for grad school and will never step foot in KY ever. Again really depends on the career path. I make more than people I see in social work reddit that went massively in debt for a social work degree from an Ivy League school. People with grad degrees from fucking University of Phoenix will make more money than me just because no one gives a shit as long as you get a degree and licensed and can bill.
Bingo. And Virginia community colleges are great because I think most if not all of them have an agreement with lots of universities in the state where you basically get guaranteed transfer to a university after 2 years, so long as you end those 2 years with a certain GPA. Might be specific to some degree paths though, I can't remember. (Source: went to Tidewater Community College, got my Associates, transferred to ODU. Starting at TCC was the best decision I ever made.)
Here's a discussion about Liberty from a military POV. It's ranked near the bottom of Forbes 600 school list. https://www.reddit.com/r/army/s/juBky5YYys
1 thing I'll say is that the vet discount is stupid cheap. It is easily the cheapest 4 year college in VA if you are a vet.
It is a joke school. For one thing, they were fined $14 million in March for violations to the Clery Act for their failure to report crimes on campus. Please look up the Liberty Way student handbook and make sure that you are ok with following all of the rules they have for students. Source: I have a masters degree from Liberty in Education. I did my masters through them because they 1) accepted my grad credits from UVA 2) it's cheap 3) it's completely online 4) I needed it for a pay increase. My masters program was basically a copy from UVA with the bible sprinkled in where its not necessary. I am not religious but anyone can fake it.
"....anyone can fake it." I feel this one.
Tbh, i feel like most of the people who fake it are more in line with what Jesus actually preaches than say, Jerry falwell (both jr and sr)
Yeah, I was in Army Aviation (maintenance side) and a lot of my friends were trying to become pilots when they got out. A ton went to Liberty because they’re one of the only places that accepts the GI bill for flight programs, and they accept everybody. Only one of the half dozen or so I know went there did so was religious.
If you are trying to be an engineer you should seriously consider Virginia Tech
Or VCU, ODU, JMU, or UVA. Tech is good but not the only option for solid engineering.
Liberty is not great. And I'm not just talking about the religion--if that's your thing, awesome! You do you! But you can STILL do better than Liberty. They have such a high acceptance rate and low diploma rate because they want people's money. They're a private college so not bound to tuition constraints of public colleges in Virginia. They're more likely to want your money than care about your success. That's what those numbers mean. Additionally, leadership at Liberty has been problematic, even since Falwell Jr. left. Tons of controversies will follow you whether you like it or not. Plus, the school is incredibly rigid (the Liberty Way) in what you can and cannot do. While you shouldn't cut loose and do WHATEVER you want in college, college is a big time to establish your identity and experience the world outside of a bubble. You won't get that at Liberty. If you're concerned with getting into a better school than your grades currently allow, check out community colleges. All the Virginia Community College System colleges have reciprocity agreements with a LOT of the major public colleges in the state, and many even have guaranteed transfer with a certain GPA. You can do better than Liberty. Listen to your friends and family.
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Agree with this. I worked at a law firm in DC (HR) and if I saw Liberty on a resume, it gave me pause and tbh didn't move forward unless they had a lot of experience or did very well in the interview. Some additional info: it was plaintiff side employment law so we worked with some folks who were fired for gender/sex discrimination and Liberty is very public about their anti LGBTQ stance. I didn't want to put clients in an uncomfortable spot.
Hi I'm graduating law school next month (DC area) and would like to go into employment law, can I PM you?
I know someone who got their undergrad from Liberty and master’s from Catholic U who spent months and months on a job hunt and always pointed the blame on the Liberty degree…
Idk about Catholic U specifically, but there are definitely highly regarded Catholic colleges as compared to Liberty.
No for sure. She herself identified Liberty as the problem.
I would hire someone with a Catholic degree. I would not hire someone with a Liberty degree.
Someone I worked with had a Masters from Liberty, and the company told him it was going to affect his promotion potential.
99.3% admissions rate means enrollment is open to anyone basically. No selectivity basically. And more than half wash out and don’t complete their program. So the student body is very poor and/or the college/program is poorly funded. None of that sounds like a good college. Your grades can’t be that bad that Liberty is your only choice especially if you want to be an engineer.
I would say it's a bad idea. Even if being in a conservative christian atmosphere is the main thing you want out of college, you should probably look elsewhere. There's been a ton of moral and ethical failings with the senior leadership and the way the school is run.
For a state school, CNU is relatively conservative and Christian leaning and way cheaper than a private Christian school. If OP wants that atmosphere, I'd definitely consider CNU.
CNU is also a *much* better school overall.
+1 for CNU
At this rate, is rampant sexual abuse a bug or a feature?
Patrick Henry college would be a better choice depending on your major.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to attend a religious university, but I do recommend doing your own research on the college outside of their own sources. There are many troubling stories and ongoing legal troubles with how students have been treated there. That aside, an accredited degree is a degree at the end of the day.
If you have the opportunity to go to college you should make a better investment for your future then going to Liberty University. Seriously.
What is your major? Engineering? Competition for jobs when you are fresh out of college is a real thing and hiring managers will be looking at your college experience when you are first applying for jobs and competing against people graduating from Virginia Tech, and other schools with more robust engineering programs and reputations. Unless you have tons of internships at big name orgs, your resume is going to go to the bottom of the pile. And getting those internships with Liberty on your transcript will also be harder to do. That is just the reality. 10 years of experience….no one is looking at your college, but getting that first 10 years is going to be tough. Not that you have to go to a brand name college to get a good start, but choosing to go to a college that most people see as a joke academically….that is just putting yourself further behind. If your religion is an important part of your life and you want it to be part of your college experience, then look for groups and churches at colleges that align better academically with your goals. Every college has students who are religious and who also care about getting a good education….and I would argue they are better religious environments because the students are making their own choices rather than having “rules” set up for them. There are theology classes, chapels, and so on at most schools snd lots of clubs and prayer groups.
I have to look at engineering resumes sometimes and I don't know that I've ever received an engineering degree from Liberty. I'm usually looking at candidates from VT, VCU, ODU, UVA, and more recently GMU and CNU as far as in-state colleges go. That's not saying I'd rule out anyone just because they went to Liberty, but I kind of have an idea of what to expect with students from the other schools. Internships and projects would be pretty important to get considered imo.
In my 20 year professional career (engineering), I've never met anyone with a degree from Liberty. I \*do\* get the sense that it is not looked upon with any high regard. I understand student life to be very constrained (for people who are supposed to be adults).
Yes, it’s an evangelical nuthouse pretending to be a college. Do not go there.
They're a joke outside of Virginia, too.
Hey bud. I graduated from Liberty in 2011. No one took my education seriously even back then, it’s even worse now. I went to a different school to get my graduate degree and the difference was night/day. I absolutely DO NOT recommend liberty u for many reasons. But of course the most important one’s are that the education is garbage, the reputation is garbage. And you know what else? That football team is wack.
You will have a serious problem getting hired anywhere
I grew up in lynchburg at the hight of Falwell srs fame in the 80s when it was still liberty baptist college. they have all kinds of rules for the students and faculty. I live 2 hours away now and still have family there and just all the things they've done over the years is just horrible. It's been nice not hearing about them since Jr's ouster. That said I have a hard and fast rule, if I need a dr/dentist/therapist/ or other professional and I see they went there it's a hard no. I'm not against christian schools in general but I am that one.
If you want a religious school, it is that 100%. You spend a lot of $$ on required biblical classes. I went to LU as a sophomore- you can’t skip them. You are bound by the Liberty Way (esp if you live on campus) so read that and decide if they are rules you want to live with. You also have to go to convo 3x a week. Is it a joke tho?… depends on your values and what you want college to look like. Falwell Sr was a terrible guy. Jr is a huge hypocrite. LU’s title IX lawsuit. I don’t think the education I received was a joke (based off my experience/my peers from LU) but I would tread carefully as having that school on your resume does come with people assuming things about you. I do think the hypocrisy of the school, its leadership and its rules are jokes. I went there for undergrad (social work), graduated in 2018. I did my grad degree elsewhere. When I tell people I went to Liberty I have to give them caveats: I did a liberal program, I lived off campus, I am not super conservative.
I started online classes with them as a non-Christian, but the school seemed legit. Until I actually started the classes. I didn't mind that they were Christian-based as long as the education is good. It is not. And the idea that they tie every single thing back to God and Christ (Serious study question: What is law? A: God is law) made it extremely cringe. I wasn't learning about my career field. I was learning how to be indoctrinated. But if that's your thing 🤷
It is a tremendously bad idea. It is so bad I can't even describe just how bad it is. And while they claim to be a Christian organisation that is not displayed. Most of the people there will turn you in for minor code violations. They covered up rapes that happened on campus. If you want an engineering degree go to CNU or any of the other great universities or colleges VA offers.
Liberty is a terrible school. And an expensive one. There are a lot of other, better options. The only reason you should consider going to school there is if it is 100% free. Even then I would pay to go somewhere else.
Years ago, I met a gal who once attended Liberty University. Apparently they treat students like they're at camp. Men and women are expected to walk on certain areas of the sidewalk. You supposedly can't have the opposite gender in your dorm room, can't have R-rated movies, curfew checks, etc. If you want to pursue engineering in Virginia, I'd choose Virginia Tech or Virginia Commonwealth University.
Go to community college for two years then transfer to any other school in the state.
It was founded by Jerry Falwell - one of the first ever scumbag television preachers that performed fake miracles and stole money from poor people to make himself more wealthy…and paved the way for the even more evil ones that exist nowadays. That said, I know people that went there and graduated/said it wasn’t that bad. I know others that hated it, never been there myself but that’s what I know.
It was started to avoid segregation…plain and simple
Look up Biberty and the Dept Of Ed filing and then you’ll have your answer
Customize and save with Liberty Biberty.
Job prospects aside graduating from there will mark you as a particular type of Christian unless proven otherwise at $390 a credit for undergrad.
Save your money and go to a trade school. Jobs are in high demand and you have a better chance working for yourself one day, if you’re into that.
Plenty of other conservative Christian colleges and universities that are not an absolute trash heap.
Sounds like you are making a double mistake here. Both on Liberty and the Engineering degree.
Show a little self esteem and apply to some real colleges too.
I have an engineering degree. I would recommend using the excellent Virginia Community College system for your first two years. A successful 2 year degree from one of these institutions has guaranteed admission to a 4 year Virginia institution. The classes and equivalencies all line up nicely as well.
Liberty is a "university" like Walmart is "luxury goods". You would 110% be better off going to a community college
A lot of liberty credits don’t transfer out so if you wanted to get out, you have to start over
They have a ‘Center for Creation Studies,’ so I might question any science degrees from there.
Yes
Trump university. The definition of hypocrisy. I wouldn’t
Lmao fuck that school. Go somewhere else.
Biberty
So many people transfer out and have (jokingly) PTSD from their college experience. If you meet a transfer in the dmv area & they are really weird they're from liberty. The curriculum is whack, the rules are toxic & asinine, & the people in charge of rule following are batshitter than the rules. Don't go
All of those things say it’s a bad school. Unless you want a theology degree, which will pay nothing, go to literally any other school. JMU is easy to get in and is an infinitely better school.
if you want to go to school in VA and don’t care about the quality of education just go to VCU
It is totally understandable that you think this is a very important decision and that it matters a lot. In reality, it won’t and up mattering much over the course of your life. I have family that graduated from VA Tech and family that graduated from ODU. They are both doing very very well. I went to a college almost no one outside of Richard Nixon history buffs would recognize. I am also doing very well. And not one person has asked me where I went to college (or grad school) in a professional setting in almost 25 years.
Yeah I've had multiple jobs since graduating from Liberty and no one asked me about it except one guy because I brought up the Falwell Jr. pool boy scandal lol
There are many schools in VA. Expand your horizons.
It is a shit school.
Knew someone who went there. Asked the professor for feedback on how to improve her paper & was told to pray about it. She quickly found another school.
By "small Christian university", you mean the single largest college in the Commonwealth.
I live in Texas so I don't rub shoulders with many Liberty grads but the few I've worked with had online degrees from LU and have all been terrible and have literally made work more difficult for everyone else around them because they're generally incompetent. That's only been like 3 people though.
I know someone who got into medical school following Liberty U. He said it was extremely hard and that they didn't take him seriously because, well, *Liberty U*.
I am not a fan of either school, but Virginia Tech is a much more viable option for engineering degrees in that general area. The internship and social networking options are better there. It's not a Christian school, but you can certainly find classes to replace the religious ideology content that Liberty provides. I haven't looked at the costs in a few years, but Liberty was pretty expensive for on-campus students. Online pricing was more competitive but still rather high. As a VA native, I found cheaper out of state options for my Master's degree. Another word of caution, Liberty's admission department is bad about responding to inquiries. I decided to apply to several other schools because they wouldn't answer a few basic questions about their accounting program and transfer credits.
There is a lot of reasons to not go to that school, one that I didn’t seem mentioned is the racism. The president of the university came on the podium and said that all Muslims are terrorists. Despite them being a Christian school, that guy is the closest thing to the devil. Very weird.
I've met alot of people in my STEM career, and none of them were from Liberty. What I heard about Liberty was they hate Catholics and preach that all Catholics are satanists. So yeah, I think you should try to go to a better place. Wasn't Liberty the one where the University President was watching his wife cheat on him with the pool guy?
Listen to “Gangster Capitalism” podcast- Season 3. It’s all about the shady dealings of Jerry Falwell Jr, how he manipulated his power over students, staff. He used school money for personal reasons. His moral life is abhorrent. As a Christian I don’t know why anybody would associate themselves with that place.
Liberty U received the largest fine ever for its management and student affairs violations. The academic program is s__t. There are a lot of much better schools in Virginia - like Virginia Tech heck even VCU.
There’s way better schools in Va. please don’t waste your time there
Liberty University is a laughing stock of a college. It's degrees aren't worth the paper they're written on.
If I’m in charge of hiring at my company, any resume that lists a liberty degree is going straight in the trash. Not worth the potential drama.
Not a serious school. I would not hire someone with this on their resume.
Oh my gosh, please don’t go there. My significant other grew up right near Liberty University, and it’s a joke. They teach you things that aren’t true. They force you to live by standards that are pathetic. You can do so much better almost anywhere else in the country, and you’re going to get a better education. I have run several businesses, and I own one now, and if I saw liberty University on a résumé for any position at all, no matter what it was, that résumé is going right in the trash. And I am not alone. You’re throwing your life in the trash by attending this brainwashing factory masquerading as a legitimate university. My cat could get accepted. And probably get a degree. And she can’t even write.
Liberty is an indoctrination camp. You are free to attend, but do not ever think that you came out okay.
Your friends....are correct.
No offense, but when we drive on the interstate that passes Liberty signage, we always think: What a horrible, farce of a school. Numerous cases of coverups, unreported, and inappropriate issues related to safety and sexual abuse. Among other issues… I agree with some other posters, If seen on a resume, the NAME ALONE makes many people pause (but not in a good way).
Please don't go to Liberty University. Workplaces these days are all about diversity, equity, and inclusion- and Liberty on your resume shows that you are probably against those things. Go with any of the other good engineering schools in the state. In my workplace, I only know exactly one person who went to Liberty U, and we're not exactly a top tier employer in a desirable area. This is the kind of place where people get a few years of experience and then move somewhere better (in fact, that's what I'm doing right now)
It is a joke school. Do not go there.
Yes. Don't go there.
If you do take classes there, Just know they will not transfer anywhere , well maybe other shitty bible colleges.
I work at a Christian high school. *Do not go to Liberty.* It is a terrible school academically with a long and brutal history (and present) of racism, abuse, corruption, and punishing victims of SA I wince whenever a student says they're going there. They are a PR department with a financial aid department attached
If you are planning on looking for a "Christian" job it's great. If you are looking for a non "Christian" job, especially at a large corporation it will very much hurt. That's not to say you won't run into a HR manager at a large corporation that is very religious and it could help you with them. Or if you are applying at a small firm that may rank having the same faith higher in their particular metric. But virtually any other school will help you more with a large corporation, and unless you are applying for a small company basically run by fundamentalist it will be neither good nor bad. And you won't have to deal with Liberty U's crazy as shit rules.
Since most people in here seem to just be agreeing it’s a joke school, I’ll offer the other perspective, which is that I have a number of friends who were engineering majors & went on to get excellent jobs out of college. I got a job at Liberty after graduating, so I can’t personally speak to how outside employers view Liberty grads, but no one I know has ever had an issue finding a good job unless they had no work ethic to begin with. It is by no means a perfect school, but the majority of professors I have interacted with care very much about your success not only in class & your future career, but in life in general. The people here are genuinely some of the nicest people I’ve ever met & it’s why I wanted to continue working here. Also, any employer who skips over a resume because it says Liberty on it is not worth working for to begin with. If the resume is poorly put together, fine. They don’t have enough experience? Understandable. But they went to a school you don’t like? Grow up. Maybe actually look into if the person knows what they’re doing & not what school they chose to go to. If you don’t want to deal with the drama of the type of people responding to this post, don’t go to Liberty. But you will be able to find a job if you work hard in your degree & they often will also help you to find a job. I hope this helps!
Agree. The people saying it will hurt your chances at a job are butthurt. I went there and have had no issues getting jobs at Fortune 500 companies in finance. Also…OP still don’t get there lol. It sucks.
I have both an undergrad (BS in project management) and graduate degree (MA in executive leadership) from them so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, but the company I work and have been with for 3 years doesn’t really care what school we went to but they did like that I had a PM concentration considering my job is project controls. I know that isn’t the same everywhere and LU has definitely had better days considering the whole Falwell Jr. thing. We also have a couple LU engineering grads at my job, and my boss also went to Liberty for finance. Now here’s the part where I say you probably shouldn’t go there for engineering. VA has several *very* good engineering schools and LU wouldn’t be on my personal list. They genuinely do have several good programs and concentrations available but their engineering doesn’t have the same weight as VT or UVA. I had friends in engineering and it actually is pretty cool that you can use all their CNC labs, 3D printing labs, etc. but I imagine the other schools offer similar things.
Here is a discussion from an advanced diploma applicant. https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/s/9o3KucUSqo
If you want to be a professional conservative, it’s a great decision. If you want to be taken seriously by non MAGA types, it’d say no
In addition to all the reasons why people are saying it’s a bad idea here I’d just like to add that the most miserable teacher I ever had went there and would not shut up about how bad it was for an entire semester. I don’t know how old he was but he wasn’t 22 and fresh out of college.
Honestly, even if you wanted to go to a Christian school, I think there’s a better argument for Regent. At least you get to live in Virginia Beach.
Yes, go elsewhere.
When you say, “none of these things say the school is bad,” does that just mean you don’t care about those things? Because those absolutely do mean that the school is bad. Good schools are more selective about who they let in, and then they give those students the resources they need to graduate. Liberty is the opposite - it lets everyone in and then fails most of them.
Yes, Liberty is a joke school.
If you’re that determined to go to a Christian college you could always go to Regent. Their acceptance rate is 41% with an average graduation rate of 62%. There are amazing colleges in VA and Liberty isn’t one of them. Everything you said is why it’s a bad school. Listen to the people around you.
My roommate went. The diploma is essentially useless unless you plan to become a teacher at a Christian school
My DIL is a graduate. She doesn't seem to think it was a good education.
Yes, it’s a bad idea. You should go literally anywhere else. The school is a joke.
Thoughts on Liberty's online high school?
Dear god dude it’s a scam school founded and run by a scammer family
If you want to be a nurse, no. Their nursing program is legit. For everything else... do you wanna pay more money than going to a state school to be treated like you're 12? Like do you wanna live like a puritan for 4 years with the threat of being kicked out if you act like a human for 2 seconds. God forbid if you want to spend time with the opposite sex. Also you got to do Convocation 3x a week and prayer groups. Unless Jesus is your whole personality, I wouldn't.
Don't get it twisted that just because it's a 'Christian' university that it is all cozy and safe. [Liberty University fined record $14 million for violating campus safety law](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/05/liberty-university-clery-act-education-department-report/) "The report found that top officials were familiar with credible reports that a senior administrator at Liberty had committed sex offenses involving subordinates. Sexual harassment claims in 2012 and 2013 were followed by an alleged incident in which the man “showed up at one of his employee’s houses and gave the woman what he referred to as ‘medicine,’ which caused her to fall asleep.” When she woke up, he was kissing her."
Liberty is starting to get a really bad reputation among other Christian schools. It's not an envy thing, it's a frustration thing. Liberty's admissions teams are known for being ruthlessly, cut throat and working to actively steer students from other Christian institutions. Yet they do so with this fake, passive aggressive brothers and sisters in Christ smile on their faces. Even if you want a job in a Christian community, that reputation is starting to take hold. It could be held against you.
Yes. All they do is indoctrination to the extend that a degree from there actually looks *bad* on your resume. It's just an anti science school that literally only teaches religious stuff. As a result their graduates never know how to do their jobs and are the most inexperienced workers with a flat learning curve. Even if you find a job from there, don't expect to keep it long. It *is* a joke school that uses religion as a defense for refusing to adhere to education standards. They don't even dispute flat earth arguments.
If you're thinking about majoring in engineering, Virginia Tech would be a great choice. I would also recommend UVA.
lmao
I went to Liberty… don’t go there…go to a real school!!!
I’m also from Fredericksburg. The only good thing I got from Liberty was meeting my amazing husband there… but other than that the education was terrible…
Plenty of schools in Virginia that offer Engineering and are state schools. Skip over Biberty.
I definitely don't see this often. Most of the time, the students of liberty are sent there by their evangelical Christian parents. It's not often i see the child wants to actually go to liberty while their christian parents say it's a bad idea. My advice is you should never apply to just one university. Apply to multiple, and the great part of living in Virginia is you have a lot of good in state schools, and then pick the best one of the ones you get into.
Spent 5 years there in undergrad. While I wouldn't change a thing that happened, as that would change who I am as a result, I wouldn't wish 85% of my experiences as a student on anyone. Professors can literally lock you in their office and perform "exorcisms" on you with no repercussions. The faculty and student body in general are incredibly hostile to any non-conservative viewpoints on any subject, and good fucking luck if you're any flavor of queer. Save your money, time, and sanity and go literally anywhere else.
Do. NOT. go. to. LU!!!!!
My niece went there a few years ago, was isolated during the Covid lockdowns,ended up disgusted at the pool boy scandal, and dropped out and immediately moved in with the first guy she met online. 23,000 dollars for that. Yeah, your mileage may vary.
Yes. That’s all you need to hear
I think the low graduation rate, is because for some reason, people do not realize this is a Christian college where Bible study is a part of the curriculum. One friend I had pursuing a psychology degree, had to outline how certain studies affected the person, the society, and how it relates to Jesus. Even though they don’t hide it, Liberty certainly has surprised many with the Christianity curriculum. I have a feeling that some people got the ick and quit.
I have a LEO degree (for shits and giggles) Pro: it's stupid cheap, especially if you are a vet. Much cheaper than my instate public degrees. Cons: The campus is full of insufferable zealots (I took classes online but had friends on campus) EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT required biblical citations. It really is a diploma mill. Most of my classmates were nutters or otherwise lacked the intellectual ability to be in a university.
Lynchburg local here. Liberty U is about politics more than religion, be careful. They’re not serious about academic inquiry and I do not believe they are all that serious about Jesus. They love money, power, land ownership and the GoP. I wish they would get out of my hometown, so my opinion is biased. But the idea of LU as a good school is utterly preposterous to me (I work at another college in town). I would think the low graduation rate has something to do without how many online non degree seeking students they bring in through their online money factory, but it’s just a statistic.
Liberty University Online is a joke. I've taken some classes through then and it's real bad. Even doctorate level classes requires no more critical thinking than an undergraduate class. Now attending Liberty in person might be a better way to go. But stay away from Liberty Online. It's for working professionals who want to check a box.
Why on earth do you want to go there in the first place?
Yes, it’s a bad idea.
Maybe u can hook up with Becki, Jerry Falwell Jr wife. She liked to get it in with students while Jerry watched.
Great school
I live 10 minutes from liberty and the one word I can use to describe it is overcrowded. They admit way too many students, traffic is AWFUL, and too many people bring their cars on their first year which leaves people who no longer live on campus no parking spots when they have to commute. I can’t say anything regarding the school itself, however, my best friend went and she says the atmosphere is very unaccepting of people who don’t LOOK Christian, basically if you have an alternative appearance you will be judged, I’ve been barked at once visiting her campus to support her art showing. They are just not a fun crowd.
In short, ABSOLUTELY
UVA has a 94% graduation rate. And you can actually date there. Liberty is a joke.
3 of the 4 people I know who went left after 1 semester because people were so racist and transphobic. They didn’t leave from bad grades because they still graduated from somewhere else. The 4th who stayed is racist, transphobic and hasn’t graduated.
Youll have a 9pm curfew, can’t watch R rated movies. Can’t touch a girl hand. A sip of alcohol will get you expelled. They cover up Rape cases (Not very Christian). You do you, but I wouldn’t understand why anyone would choose liberty
In a word, no. A lot has changed at LU since i went there in 1990. Mostly due in part by the success of the athletic program. The campus has changed, and is more accommodating. If youre going to party, live off campus. The education is top notch. Youre not going to be insulted with the liberal agenda. The debate team is soldid, and doesnt shy away from the hot topics of the day. There are clubs, but no fraternities.
It’s run by creeps. Avoid it like the plague. There are many fine alternatives
LMAO. Imagine even considering going to a college where they don't believe in evolution.
Only if you want to learn stuff
Liberty grad here. They are still credited in many fields, but I wouldn't bank on engineering there being good. Theres many aspects for their low graduation rate, including having stupid degrees like youth pastor or how to be a stay at home mom (yes, it's real and people buy into it). I was liberal arts degree which carried favorably, but if you're not overall a conservative person, you'll run into some grievances. I'm not, but theres "convocation" (church) 3x a week, mandatory for all on campus, a curfew, and a semi (got better) strict lu student law things, not really enforced for guys though. Very nice people, but many of my POC friends said they've felt like token POC by many others, like" WOAH my first African American friend! " there is an overwhelming holier than thou presence that's hard to avoid in many spots. Ton of recreational stuff to do, but it's definitely very conservative. I recommend UVA, Tech, or Villanova (if you don't mind the drive and $$).
Hoss I’d suggest a community college to start that offers a transition to a university to save yourself a bunch of money. Honestly I’d suggest taking the asvsb and seeing what’s available in the military, I know more than a few folks that turned 4 years navy into degrees with decent pay. Hell if engineering is your thing I’d highly recommended the navy’s nuclear power program if you have the scores to cut it, it’s a 6 year contract with the first 1.5 years or so in classroom and hands on training settings that will set you up nicely for a future in engineering or other related fields.
The only people liberty is genuinely good for is either conservative christian’s, or kids who want to go to college and have no other options, even then, they could go to a Virginia CC and still go somewhere better. You would legitimately have to be stupid to think it’s a good idea to go here.
Liberty is a very evangelical Christian school. It’s like BYU but for Christians. It’s not a good school and Liberty degrees are laughed at
As a hiring manager I'd never seriously consider anyone with Liberty U on their resume.
Unless you work in a conservative city, in a conservative industry a Liberty degree will make it difficult to find jobs.
Yes.
I am in Fairfax County and I wouldn't take it serious if I saw it on a resume. Maybe if I was a religious institution but they have just very sketch accreditation.
You mentioned engineering. The critical factor of an engineering degree is whether or not the program is accredited by ABET. I know Liberty's Civil Engineering program is ABET accredited this year (for the first time) but five minutes of cursory Googling couldn't tell me if any of their other engineering programs are accredited or not. An engineering degree without ABET accreditation is worthless for finding an engineering job, or might just barely get you a job at half of what an engineer makes. There are a lot of red flags around Liberty, as other people have mentioned. If it were me, I would not go to this "school."
It’s a joke school. Freaky right wing Jerry Falwell made up school.
They have/had a dinosaur fossil on display that is labeled as only a few thousand years old... total non-bias... great place for education...
If you’re not a religious fundamentalist, you’re going to have a bad time at Liberty. Their policies for students are incredibly restrictive, and after you graduate the only people who will want to hire you are also going to be religious extremists.
This school is dogshit with ridiculous rules for students. SAVE YOURSELF
You'd be better off skipping college than going to LU.
Yes.
It’s not even small, it’s pretty big for a religious school. But there are many better options, it’s not that great or well regarded academically. People I know who worked there hated it and got out asap and all the bad stuff one hears is true. So many better state school options in Virginia, and there are engineering school options other than tech or uva. I went to ODU, great school.
Be sure you read the code of conduct before deciding to go there. [https://www.liberty.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2022/10/The-Liberty-Way.pdf](https://www.liberty.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2022/10/The-Liberty-Way.pdf)
It's a joke school.
Yes, very bad
Go to community college and transfer to a legit Virginia school (there are many).
A lot of jobs/hiring managers throw applications away if the applicant is LU graduate. I know because My dad was one of those hiring managers. And he’s was an engineer with undergrad and masters from VT. And he did this for years. Not a reputable or respected degree. Pick a different school.
I've known many people who went to Liberty University and I've heard lots of mixed things in comparison to state schools like any of the University of MD schools or where I went which was Messiah University. Liberty is a fairly large school for a private school and it is Christian in origin. From what I've heard, it's definitely on the stricter side for schools when it comes to the opposite sex etc. It's very "southern Christian" in style and belief system which results in a much more strict, ritualistic, monitored type of environment. The funny thing is that many very conservative families push for their kids to go there including pastors or other religious leaders because of this. I've heard quite a bit that Liberty attracts a lot of socially awkward students who tend to go a bit wild once they get to a college campus away from their parents. I know for me, it was a common school for people I grew up with to go to and I've heard it's very ultra religious in some aspects which can encourage repressed teens to go crazy but work harder to be sneaky about it. It also has a strong reputation for women going there purely to find a husband. That may be where some of the low graduation rates come from. For me, I loved my time at Messiah. Christian origin and Christian in its execution but not at all controlling or ritualistic or narrow minded. You really don't have any major constraints and it's a very relaxed atmosphere. Athletic programs like the soccer program are top notch for a small school. All the people I met there were solid. No craziness like some other schools out there but we definitely had fun. I think it attracts a much more mature demographic. Personally, if your parents want you going to a Christian based school as a condition of you going, look into schools that are up north a bit if a school like Liberty turns you off.
Yes! It has no respect academically. You don't want to meet the people who go there.
There are much better Christian schools to go to. It’s also not a small school. If you can get into VT/UVA, you would be insane to pick Liberty over those schools. If you want to go to Christian School, consider Cederville, Grove City, Calvin among others. There are C plenty of well regarded Christian Schools out there. Liberty is not one of them.
Short answer yes, it is a bad idea. Long answer yes, it is a really bad idea
It's been said that Liberty is a real estate company with a college attached. I took a graduate level course - Literary Criticism- in English last year which was the biggest joke of all the classes I've ever taken (and I've got 2 graduate degrees!). I thought, Lit Crit, how bad can it be? On day one I discovered that everything, and I mean *everything*, had to square with a "Biblical worldview." Trying to mangle Freudian criticism, Marxist criticism, or feminist theory into a Biblical stance is a tough go. Basically you had to agree that those forms of criticism were invalid or incorrect in order to appease the professor. And if you attend the class, even for one day, you can't drop it and get your money back. A total scam. Regarding the professor: the course was designed and set up by a professor who had left the school. All the videos were of her lectures, which urged students to contact her if you had questions. Guess what? You couldn't, because she had left! A dean had stepped in to teach the course, and his feedback on every assignment was essentially "good! You're on the right track!" Nothing like writing a 15 page paper with one line of feedback. A garbage course from a garbage school.
It’s very strict!
I say go for it. You can always transfer out if it isn’t for you. I know a few Liberty grads and they are solid people.
It really depends on what program. For engineering, you should go to the best school you can get in to because pedigree can matter in that field if you’re applying for jobs in a competitive area. For something basic like business or education it’s probably fine. Try researching the profs and see what their reviews are in the field you want. Don’t just pick colleges, seek out mentors.
It's a real-estate development racket disguised as a school. Don't. Just don't. You will be miserable unless you've been raised super strict and can deal with the b.s.and most employers laugh a the degree.
Asking about LU on reddit is like asking a Vegetarian for a steakhouse recommendation lol
Do you want to get hired after you graduate? Go to a reputable engineering university. No one will hire you or take you seriously with a diploma from that "university". Your poor choice now will create even more poor choices later.
I have to tell you that recruiters don’t consider degrees from Liberty as entirely legitimate. Liberty, Bob Jones, Oral Robert’s, etc., are all in the same not so attractive circular file. If you have other options definitely explore them. It’s kind of an unwritten rule in HR/with hiring managers that candidates from those schools are second tier due to general lack of worldview and experience, lack of critical and outside the box thinking, etc. It’s not that they WON’T hire, more that those candidates will have to most likely perform against their own nature to be an asset to a corporation/business/certain careers.
Everyone is telling you no. But as a person involved in hiring decisions, you should know that a degree from liberty would lead me to pass on a resume. I suspect that isn’t uncommon.
One of my Dad's Masters degrees is from Liberty. He didn't even put it as a suggestion for me and laughed when I asked if it was one I should put on my list. "I got my Theology degree via the mail from there." Was all I needed to hear. Man was a Battalion Commander, spent two of those years in Germany, and graduated top of his class, all while doing it exclusively via mail. So your friends are right. It IS a joke school. It's the school you go to when the rest of your life will be spent in religious positions. Its so when you write a new Bible study book, you can slap Dr. on the Author portion.
It’s cool if you wanna live in a cult at a mediocre school.
The fact that your paying all that money for a piece of paper is a joke if you really think about it.
The biggest mistake you can make in life is to go to a university, incur a ton of student debt, and then be unable to find a job in the field of study that will provide a salary to pay off those loans. Be very careful because this decision can affect the rest of your life.
Seeing Liberty on your resume will only close doors.
Actually, those things do say the school is bad. Lots of schools offer engineering degrees and many of them have a much better rating. Plus, if you dive a little bit their history? Not very Christian.