Pros and cons of PBU: Philadelphia Biblical University?

Question

I am looking at it for college.(I'm a senior in high school)So far out of Houghton and Liberty it's the one that interests me the most. Pros and Cons of the place?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Hey, I am a current student at PBU!

You've got some really in depth and good answers from alums but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give you a real-time perspective.

First off I would say a PRO would be that it has biblical in the name of the school. A lot of schools say that they focus primarily on Scripture and equipping students to apply it to life but PBU really does it. Every student graduates with a degree in Bible so there is no question the classes are available to help you grow spiritually and in your knowledge as well but the Bible doesn't stay in the Bible classes. Every course I have taken at PBU (even the business classes!) have put biblical principles at the forefront and been all about seeking to apply it to all of life.

Another serious pro would be the size of the school as a well. I love being able to have a personal relationship with professors and being able to interact beyond class. It sounds really cliche I guess, but I am not just a number or a face in a class I am a person that they care about (going to a super-bowl party at one of my coolest profs house last February really attests to that!)

There are definitely things to consider for cons to, not going to lie about that but I am serious that my experience here has been really great too.

One thing to consider (and I think James mentioned it too) is this whole dual degree thing. Most students also, in addition to Bible, get a degree in Business Administration or Music or Social Work or Education or Counseling (you can even get your masters in one more year!) as well. So the work load is pretty substantial. You want to be committed to your academic development too, not just experiencing college life. Not saying that YOU aren't but a lot of people don't really have in mind the kind of environment that is here isn't one that lets you just coast and regurgitate what you learned in highschool. You learn a LOT! This is NOT a con but just thought I'd give you my take.

Hope it helps some. I'll post again if I think of anything else...

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

hey wow thanks! I really take those things into consideration. :) gracias, amigo! If I have more questions I'll ask you

Answer 2

A con is the fact that it has "Biblical" in it's title!!!

Answer 3

Good question...there are many answers. I write to you as an alum of the school...and I very much enjoyed and benefited from the experience at PBU. I came from a small public in NY and coming to the Philly Area was a big shock...in a good way. While I missed the woods of Upstate NY, PBU location outside of Philly gave me the best of both worlds (PBU is on a wonderful, wooded suburban campus...but is only 20 minutes from downtown Philly).
Academically, PBU's program provided me with a top-notch experience. I was in the camping ministry program (I earned a B.S. in Bible) but did extensive work with camping admin, programming, and leadership studies. I have since then been a camp director for a number of years, and have since moved to two different administrative positions.
Lastly, I want to talk about PBU's community. The environment there allowed me the opportunity to grow, converse, experience, and develop through a series of relationships with other students, faculty and staff, and others. I have not seen another campus that even compares to the integration that PBU provides when it comes to breathing God's word into daily life, education, and the like.

If you are wondering whether or not this is a place for you...you should visit. You will notice the difference right away.

Answer 4

Well, I'm also an Alumni, a recent one (I graduated last August) - off the top of my head here are some Pros and cons: I'll give you the cons first.

Cons:
Holidays - You don't get the same holiday's as everyone else, which can be kind of a bummer at first. Labor day for example. But you do get Fall Break to make up for it.

Finances: Like any college, it costs money. PBU is at about 26,000 a year for full-time freshman I think. Luckily they have a scholarship/grant program that can dwindle that down to a much lower figure depending on your highschool GPA and test scores. (you can get up to about 9,000 that way.)

Mandatory Chapel attendance: They still have a chapel service every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that you have to attend. They do try to do different things to reach everyone in the audience, and they get some cool speakers sometimes, but over-all not my favorite part of the college experience.

Heavy work load: Most people at PBU take anywhere from 15 to 18 credits a semester, so you keep busy with classes and homework.

Not a lot of on-campus jobs: Unless you fit requirements and such exactly the only place to really work "on-campus" is the cafeteria. There are some nice places to work that aren't too far off-campus though.

Pros:
Small student body = good student to professor ratio with some amazing professors.

Non-denominational stance - although some of the professors are a little more old-school most will encourage you to wrestle with philosophical, theological, and personal concepts and come to a sound and supported conclusion rather than just have you repeat their conclusion. In other words, at PBU education means being able to thinking and reason on your own, not just repeat what you've heard. I can't express how useful this has been in witnessing and in other aspects of Christian life it really makes a difference when your beliefs are your own, and not just what you've been told.

Really active student body - there's a ton of events on campus for students to participate in. Optional of course, but a lot of fun.

To go along with the really awesome professors, really awesome classes and projects with professors that can give a lot of lee-way for creative projects. I once ended up doing a video project where I rigged the school's anatomical skeleton model up as a giant marionette so that I could interview Sir Issac Newton.

This one doesn't really seem that important to you until you're about to graduate, but trust me - it's vital. At PBU each student has a ministry and that is an awesome source of experience and potential areas of growth. Any ministry you can think of doing, you'll have the opportunity to do. This also provides really good experience for resume and personal benefit if you want to go into the ministry full-time.

Location. Like the other guy mentioned. A really good location. Sub-urban, in a nice little area where you can take nature walks (PBU has a trail in a patch of woods on campus) or hop on a train to the city.

If you want to get a good feel for what the students think regarding the school, I'd suggest a visit. You can schedule one at the PBU website. http://www.pbu.edu/visit

While there I suggest that you ask this question to a series of random students that you meet on campus so that you can get a well-rounded answer from a student's perspective.

I hope that helped.

- James