Pensacola Christian College

If you are looking for a reasonably priced school in which you can graduate almost debt-free, then consider PCC. If you are looking for a school where you are accustomed to being placed on a rigid schedule, then consider PCC. If you are looking for a school that will test you and almost drive you crazy with legalism and hypocrisy, then you need to seriously consider PCC.

It is possible to spend 4 years under a dictatorial system and graduate, but it is not one that I recommend for everyone. I bucked the system all four years that I was there with music standards, testing the deans with their double standards, and having to seriously consider what my real purpose was in going. I needed a college education as chaeply as I could afford, as my source of financial support made less than $10,000 a year. Needless to say, I worked all four years, because there was no other way to attend. If you are not hard pressed for finances, look around at other schools.

PCC had a *very* difficult time retaining their Bible faculty; I went through 3 of them in 4 years - not a good track record! I had an excellent Bible Languages professor, so I was thankful that I could at least have kept him for 3 years. Their Bible foundation was weak back then, and I wouldn't recommend anyone to look at their "seminary" either.

The standards are high; there's no doubt about that. There are many unwritten rules that you will run the risk of breaking, and then have to give an answer for before the D.C., PCC's "Discipline Committee." I felt as though I was treated as a child who couldn't speak or think for himself, and that I needed to do right, simply because it was right to do right. I thought that a person did right because they loved Jesus and didn't want to be a disappointment to Him!

I received my share of demerits; in my third semester, I was almost expelled. Not good for a Bible major!

There was a *strong* no-touch policy; be careful also how you looked at a member of the opposite sex, because social campusing was common. Dating couples were watched carefully, and no hanky-panky whatsoever was tolerated. I remember too many students being "shipped" because they had violated rules by going "too far." Needless to say, I didn't date much! I was there to finish in four years, and I did. I met my wife many years later, and even she wonders how I made it at PCC.

There is a deep spirit of legalism present at PCC. Outward comformity is the rule, whether you like it or not. That is not Biblical. Please remember that I graduated with a Bible degree! If you are used to being told what to do with no mental reservations, then you will fit right in with the student body. You are not encouraged to think on your own; follow the administration, and you wuill be right every single time seemed to be the dictum.

I remember other students taping music from WPCS and submitting it for music check, only to find out that IT DIDN'T PASS MUSIC CHECK! The administration had no control over what the station played was their excuse! Oh, please spare me. I remember personally submitting a tape for approval (it had passed the year before with another student), and then getting word that it had been rejected. Needless to say, the Dean of Men and I went round and round; I made an offer he couldn't refuse - I had the tape in my hands 2 days later!

If you like Contemporary Christian Music, then you will not fit in at PCC. BTW, that's where I was first introduced to Petra. I consider myself a "rocker" at heart, and I do not believe that drums are of the devil. However, PCC may have other ideas for you if you want to bring in your CCM. Chances are very good that you will not be there for very long, if they find out. Headphones were out-of-bounds.

When I was a student, education was their strong area. Nursing was an up and rising star. I'm not sure if that's the way it is now. There are other schools well-known for their education programs, and you would be well-advised to check them out as well. Do not limit yourself to just one or two schools; check them all out. Yes, PCC does use their own A Beka Books in the Academy. In fact, they use all their books to teach from. I like the history texts; they are balanced, but the Math books are awful. As a professional educator, there are better books available elsewhere.

I feel that the faculty needs to get advanced degrees elsewhere. There's something to be said for a different perspective, and the faculty is lacking seriously in that area. PCC cannot afford to remain an island unto themselves.

If you are looking at graduate school, consider seriously what may hamper you with getting advanced degrees. I am studying towards a second Master's degree currently and there was no difficulty getting in, but non-accreditation may seriously hamper your future endeavors. PCC has made the voluntary decision to reject accreditation; it's not that they were turned down for accreditation (unaccredited); they don't want accreditation (non-accredited). There is a difference in being unaccredited and non-accreditated; PCC in non-accredited. Choose carefully and make an informed decision before you enroll at PCC if you are deciding to pursue graduate studies.

I feel as though I could have made a better decision in my choice of attending college. I do not recommend PCC because of their legalistic stands, multiplicity of unwritten rules, inconsistency in the application of the written rules they do have. I tell people who ask about my undergraduate school that I do not support PCC nor their standards. In fact, I go so far as to say that I do not recommend that they send anyone they know and love to that school.

Some have called it cultic; others have said communistic. They would not be exaggerating, nor stretching the truth one bit. If you plan to visit, do not go on a College Days activity because they will show you a side that you will not experience as a student; it's all a phony show, and many people fall for it. There are many parents who will say that God is in that place and happily fork over their hard-earned dollars for a system that is corrupt to its very core.

Talk with as many students as you can if you go for a visit and get their perspective. The more views you can get, the better you will be. But from one who attended four years at PCC, there are *better* schools where you can have more freedoms, a better education, and still be following the Bible and in love with the Lord. A school should have high standards and desire that you follow in God's ways, but PCC seems to have gone overboard with the legalism.

They have many nice buildings, to be sure, but please don't let that fool you at first glance. PCC and A Beka Books is a business, and ABB pays for the buildings that you see. Please don't let the low tuition fool you. There is more to choosing an excellent school than cheap tuition.

Life-long friends? I have no former roommates that keep in touch with me, nor do I desire to keep in touch with them. Many seemed to be fakes and hypocrites, bent on doing their own thing. Not a good testimony for a school that calls itself "Christian."

My recommendation regarding PCC: please spare yourself the heartaches and go somewhere else. Do not send your children there. Do not recommend that anyone you know who desires a good education go to that school. You will be doing yourself, and them, a big favor.Thank for reading.