This article is just for you! Yes, you. You probably began reading this because you have thought about coming to Herbert W. Armstrong College. My personal experience proves that there is no better place to attend college.
Pastor General Gerald Flurry gave a sermon about a year ago in which he said he was disappointed to hear that many young people do not want to attend Armstrong College because there are “too many rules.” He said there are many rules, but none of the rules take away from the enjoyment of being at Armstrong College; instead, they enhance the experience. As a four-year graduate of the college, I have to agree.
If you were to attend some college in the world, you would soon realize that there are no rules governing dress standards or enforcing a curfew. You might think this allows for more freedom. But do those institutions of higher learning encourage character development? Do they push students to reach their full God-given potential? Are their students unified in a family environment like AC? The guidelines at God’s college, when followed, keep people from making mistakes. They are a way of making sure that each student enjoys the abundant life.
Another excuse young people use for not applying to AC is that it is unaccredited. While this is true, in the grand scheme of things this fact means very little. Armstrong College students are able to put their practical job training to use in the real world immediately after graduation. Don’t let the accreditation factor keep you from applying to AC.
“[AC] is small and unaccredited in this world,” Mr. Flurry wrote in The Epistles of Peter—A Living Hope. “It takes faith for a young person to come here. But those who come recognize that this is the only college that will survive into the Millennium! They come here out of a desire to join us in fulfilling our commission to the world. That takes gigantic vision!
“If we see what God is doing, we recognize that His royal college is preparing people for world rulership! It is accredited by God!”
Accreditation by God is all that matters. Outside of the first and obvious reason—Armstrong College is God’s college—here are three more reasons why AC should be your college of choice.
1. The Work-Study Program
One of the greatest aspects of attending Armstrong College is the work-study program. I gained some of the most valuable work experience during my time at AC. I mowed lawns, installed piping, and completed other landscaping jobs around campus; researched, wrote, and posted online content for the editorial and publishing departments; answered phone calls in response to the Key of David program; given tours of the Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered archaeological exhibit; and served on concessions, as an usher, and as a balcony attendant for the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation concert series. The chances of receiving such a wide range of opportunities at any other college in the world are pretty slim. As we strive to make our warning message vastly different from anything this world has to offer, you can be sure that there is a great need for more help. In the eyes of future employers, the hands-on work experience you receive at Armstrong College matters more than the mere classroom instruction that you can find at any university.
2. Graduate Debt-Free
Another great benefit of Armstrong College is that you can graduate debt-free. The national average for student loan debt has soared to around $37,000 a year. Students at Armstrong College graduate free of financial burden. Some even earn some extra money by exceeding the minimum amount of work hours—approximately 4,000 for a four-year student. In many cases, attending a worldly educational institution means paying off student loan debts for the rest of your life.
Attending Armstrong College also has more subtle financial benefits. Students live on a scenic gated campus and have access to a plethora of great facilities: a gymnasium, a swimming pool, student lounges, public computers, a cafeteria that provides three nutritious meals each day, and plenty of spaces for peace and quiet that double as excellent study spots. Your work hours—20 per school week and 40 per week during breaks—also pay for all these additional benefits.
3. Achieve the Greatest Growth in Character
As I neared the completion of the four-year program here at Armstrong College, I began to analyze how this experience had changed me. I have learned more about myself in the past four years than I have in the rest of my life.
The AC environment positively impacts personal relationships and assists students in the pursuit of true education. It is true that AC is a lot of hard work, but it should never be blown out of proportion. It is designed to be as hard as you make it. This hard work pushes every student to achieve his or her highest potential. It is possible to sleep eight hours each night and still have time for eight hours of work and school during the day, plus study sessions and extracurricular activities like Spokesman Club, choir practice, intramural sporting contests and college shopping runs in the evening.
Other colleges may not require the same standards in work and participation in college-sponsored activities. However, look at the fruits: An abundance of free time causes students to fall prey to laziness, and they fail to grow because they settle for the easy life. Campuses are hotbeds for drug use and premarital sex because students have far too much free time. Such reckless pastimes lead to depression. The Bible says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” (Proverbs 16:27; Living Bible).
At Armstrong College, students push each other to achieve the greatest growth in character. They are constantly edified through likeminded fellowship. The hostile competition of worldly colleges is absent from Armstrong College. Most importantly, all classes are built on the right foundation for education. Using textbooks such as the Bible and books produced by Herbert W. Armstrong and Gerald Flurry helps each student to understand the right kind of knowledge. Classes show where to improve and how to grow into a godly man or woman.
Maybe you have mixed feelings about Herbert W. Armstrong College. Maybe you are 100 percent committed to attending if at all possible. Maybe you have written off the idea of coming to AC because of “all the rules.” Whatever your current situation, give some extra thought to what Mr. Flurry said in his sermon about AC and how it stacks up against the riotous academic institutions around us today. Meditate on Mr. Flurry’s quote in The Epistles of Peter—A Living Hope and see the vision it takes to come here. AC is not about rules. It is about preparing students for positions of rulership in the World Tomorrow.