Taylor University

I am the Mother of a student that attended this school. I couldn’t say enough great things about Taylor. My daughter did an extensive search for a school that she wanted to attend. Taylor met her needs and wants and then some. We’re from the west coast and she fell in love with the mid west, Taylor specifically. Taylor was the perfect size, high academics, the right courses/​degrees offered, small groups, churches in the area, fellowship, worship and awesome young adults that she’s made lifelong friends with. I never worried about her while she attended Taylor University.

When I first visited, I had a great experience… years later — it was undoubtedly 4 of the best years of my life. For me, the more I put in, the more I got out.
It’s a small school in rural Indiana, that competes quite well with big schools in big cities. The faculty truly cares about the success of students and being a student is a ton of fun and hard work. Enough about my feelings, what was I looking for when I was in high school?
Are my test scores good enough?
— Taylor’s competitive to get into. My scores weren’t as high as my peers’, but my admission letter contributed a lot of value.
What’s the job placement like?
— I keep up regularly with classmates. Some of the companies/​grad schools they are at include: Google, Microsoft, Ernst & Young, McKinsey Consulting, Amazon, Accenture, Edward Jones, Chase Bank, Pixar, Sentry Data Systems, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon, Red Hat, Intel, GE, Chic Fil A, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and Mayo Clinic.
— Elementary Ed is very strong
— Some classmates didn’t want to go into the industry and taught english overseas, joined the peace corps, went on for an Masters of Div, etc.
— Some classmates started their own companies in San Fran and are doing really well
No alcohol? Strict rules?
— We made our own fun.
— Sometimes having rules makes it more fun ;D
Why does everybody talk about ‘community’?
— I work in Chicago, so I experience the «headphones-​in avoid others mentality» every single day. Taylor is the opposite.
— Invert high school: in high school, differences result in being outcasted. While I was at Taylor, my differences seemed to make me more interesting to others.
Is Chapel mandatory?
— No, I missed chapel sometimes because I had committed to so many campus events, but when I went I found Chapel worship to be incredible.
How can I afford this?
— Use fafsa, student loans
— Apply for scholarships
— Pray (originally I said this jokingly, but seriously, pray about it)
How hard is it?
— Some majors are harder than others, its like taking 3 – 4 AP classes a semester
— Classmates I saw in study rooms more than others: Engineering, Physics, Math, Comp Sci, Comp Eng, Chem, Bio, Pre-​Med, Finance, Accounting, Elementary Ed
What are the semesters like?
— I think the max credit hour load is 17… that was when I was there though.
— Most classes are 3 – 4 credit hours.
— Classes with 5 credit hours typically involve a lab session.
— Classes 1 – 2 hours are typically seminar or capstone classes.
— Minimum is 12 hours to be on campus full time.
What are «gen-​eds»?
— Everybody has to take a core set of classes
— Some art, english, math/​foreign language depending on if you go BA or BS
— Religion classes — to this day I look back on my notes from Historic and Contemporary Christian Belief
Can I study abroad?
— Yes.
— You will need to pay for tickets to go there and back.
— A few I knew best were a semester in Ireland, j-​term in greece/​italy, j-​term in China
Where to go for fun?
— Lots of campus events: Nostalgia Night, My Gen Night, Airband, Taylathon, Ice Cream Socials, Holipalooza, SIlent Night, Outdoor movie fests
— Muncie or Marion (half hour)
— Indy (hour)
Greek life?
— Wings and Floors have deep rooted traditions and subcultures
— Some healthy loyalty and rivalry exists between these groups
— Examples include: foundation, SIIS, broho, penthouse, 2^nd west, 3^rd east, 3^rd center, Foso, bhone
Tips:
— Save all your work, I reference my old work from college often
— Try before you buy, go for an «overnight» stay. I did this and loved it.

I’m a little amazed (disappointed?) that I’m the first to review my alma mater on Unilocal.And just for good measure, it’s my 100^th review on here, too.
Taylor is a small, non-​denominational, protestant Christian liberal arts college in Indiana. This review is for their main campus in tiny-​town Upland, Indiana. I grew up on the West Coast, but chose to go to Taylor because I grew up in an even tinier town and wasn’t ready for anything resembling a Big City (of course now I live in downtown Chicago, so times have changed).
Taylor provided a warm, comforting environment, and an balanced emphasis on academics and Christian service. From the perspective of this alum, it has at times emphasized its Christian roots above academic rigor, but it seems to be resuming an emphasis on academic rigor in recent years. Loke most colleges, it also offers several «semesters away» programs in different parts of the world — domestically and internationally. I spent a semester in Chicago, for example.
Like most Christian colleges, it requires students to agree to fairly strict behavioral guidelines, what it calls its «Life Together Covenant.» It treats the LTC seriously, and faculty are held to it, too. It’s one of those things you just have to accept going in, whether you really believe it’s a good thing or not.
Taylor may be best known for molding teachers, but its other departments are reasonably solid, too. Many of the computer science graduates I know are doing quite well in their fields. In fact, most (though not all) Taylor grads seem to land on their feet. In my experience, outside of Indiana and a few small circles in Chicago, Taylor doesn’t have the resources to open doors or help with career networking. However for people scrappy enough to open their own doors, the education is solid enough to see you through.
Taylor does well in US News and World Report rankings — for 2009 US News ranks them #1 for Midwestern Regional baccalaureate colleges, partly through being good, and partly by being good at playing the numbers game. As comparison for what that might mean, the US Air Force Academy was #1 for the West region, Cooper Union was #1 for the North region, and Ouachita Baptist University (yeah, I’ve never heard of them either) was #1 for the South region.
In comparison, Wheaton College and Gordon College, two Christian schools that Taylor would like to consider competition, are ranked in the national category of Liberal Arts Colleges, with Wheaton listed at a respectable 56 and Gordon in the third tier for nationally-​ranked schools.
All in all, if you like small towns, value Christian faith far above all else, need a little more time to grow while in a protective environment, don’t expect to need to live outside of Indiana or, at furthest, Illinois, Ohio or Michigan, or just want to go to a small Christian college in a tiny town 30 minutes from a town of any real size (which would be Muncie, home of Ball State, David Letterman’s alma mater), Taylor’s a great choice.
If, however, you know you’ll need a college with more resources at the national and international level, or you prefer a college in a location where you have ready access to things of national or even international importance, or you don’t want to have to play by conservative Christian rules while you’re in college, you will be more comfortable choosing somewhere else.