12:13 am - Tue, May 14, 2013
1 note

Facebook Page!

Hello followers!

I have created a Biola University Class of 2017 Facebook page that I would love for you all to join! Tell your friends coming to Biola this Fall. This page is to help you connect to other freshmen and incoming students. Check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Biolaclassof2017/

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9:47 am - Tue, May 7, 2013
Q: Hi! I'm in highschool and I'll be in 10th grade next year but I'm really interested in studying Christian Ministries at Biola. I was wondering, are there any AP classes that you would recommend I take? AP World History, AP Lit or AP Lang, and AP Psych are available to me. I just don't want to take something for no reason, you know?
Anonymous

Hey! Honestly, the more AP classes you take in high school, regardless of major, will help you move through GEs faster, so that you could potentially graduate sooner, which, at Biola, would be a bittersweet blessing. If you’re only looking to take one of those, my recommendation would be taking AP Psych, so that you can take the CM Psych of Learning and Development class spring semester of your freshman year and understand it a bit more. But if you can take them all and not lose your mind, go for it! Like I said, it will help with your General Education classes a lot. =]

God bless,

AJ

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6:13 pm - Tue, Apr 30, 2013
Q: Kind of a big question... But, I am a freshman in college now and considered Biola last year and am considering transferring next year, but I really can't figure out if its Gods will or not. I've prayed about it and genuinely sought God's will but I can't figure it out. I'm so stressed as the deadline is this Wednesday. Hope do I decipher Gods will about this? How did you?
Anonymous

I know it can be hard to hear the “still small voice of God” at times and trying to decipher what He wants for your life is sometimes a very stressful process. If God wants you here at Biola He will confirm it in various ways, just keep an eye out and look to what He is telling you. I know this is vague advice, but if I knew how God was going to speak to you about this I would totally tell you haha. Also, on a side note (I work in Admissions) and the deadline isn’t too strict and there is no penalty for turning in your enrollment deposit late so if you aren’t able to figure this out just yet you still have some time. Just decided as soon as possible so that you have good chances to get housing and sufficient time to process your financial aid. I hope you read this soon and that it encourages you in this time in your life where decisions are harder to make and more confusing than ever! :)

-Jess

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6:09 pm
Q: Q: I've grown up in a christian home all of my life but this year my relationship has just started to deepen. I've been seeing God's hands on every aspect in my life and it amazes me. I'm going to join a small group, etc. I would love to be encouraged and dive into my relationship with God, just I feel at public school I feel there isn't much encouragement. In your opinion would choosing Biola be a smart idea to help me grow, even if I am really just starting?
Anonymous

Sorry we took forever in answering your question!

This is what I think. God works everywhere and with anyone, you just have to want to change and grow. Maybe Biola will be a great fit for you where you learn and grow extremely fast, or maybe the way you need to be molded and grown is by being tested at a secular school. You really need to decide where God wants you to be, because even if I told you that Biola was the best school for you, you could still come here and not grow if you so chose. So listen closely to what God wants in your life and follow that voice. That is the place where you will grow and learn the way God wants you to! hope this helps! Ask more questions if you need to :)

-Jess

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6:05 pm
Q: (okay so obviously this is a very opinionated question that could have multiple answers but) where's the best place to live (as in which building) for incoming freshman?/guidance, please?
Anonymous

This is a tough question to answer because I rarely meet someone who is not happy with their dorm. But if you want to be around big crowds and lots of fun then bigger dorms like Hope and Horton are where it’s at! If you want a more tight knit community that any of the other dorms will do! Pray about it and just pick a few and see which one you get, I’m sure you will love it :)

-Jess

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5:50 pm
Q: This is going to sound pretty ridiculous, but if you have community bathrooms, doesn't it get kind of awkward if you're...going and someone else is in there as well?
Anonymous

Community bathrooms actually aren’t as bad as you think! From what I’ve experienced there usually isn’t more than one other person in there when you are. Plus once you get to know people on your floor the awkwardness totally dies down!

-Jess

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2:38 pm
Q: do you have to pay for the Biola Health Insurance?
Anonymous

not if you already have health insurance

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3:36 pm - Sat, Apr 27, 2013
Q: is stewart hall in really high demand? i REALLY want to stay there, it's my top choice. i haven't committed yet due to some financial figurings, but i'm going to either today or tomorrow
Anonymous

There are always open rooms in Stewart. Its a great place to be! (I have lived there every year and finally moving out as a senior) Once a Stewartan, always a Stewartan. 

Comments

3:35 pm
Q: Do you think it's a bad reason in considering Biola 1) because I want to be surrounded by good quality people to help myself grow strong and be on the right path And 2) (of course) because I want to be encouraged in my faith and learn how God works in my life? I just feel like everyone's incentives at my school all revolve around sex and getting hammered and I just don't feel like I fit in with that, never have. I want to be with people who think like I do and have good morals... Your opinion?
Anonymous

Hey! We answered a similar question here, take a look!

Comments

11:26 pm - Fri, Apr 26, 2013
2 notes

Community and Growth: Response to anon’s question

Hi friend, Shaunna here. 

Just wanted to preface this by saying that this is a great question - one that doesn’t get asked nearly enough, and one that I will be intimately honest with you about. That being said, I would appreciate your respect as I share a little of my life with you. Also, please know that I am not assuming anything personal about the asker, but strictly speaking in general terms. 

The community: 

Biola is known for its great community. Whether that community is found in your dorm, in your classes, or in your run ins with people in the caf, it is important that you know this community is owned and operated by YOU. Each one of us has a responsibility to uphold the standards of the Biola community, and because we have a Christ centered standard, it makes it generally easy to do. While Biola is no replacement for church, it can be considered a sort of loose para-church because it does have the necessary qualifications. Because of this, one thing to remember is, just as Paul says in 1 Cor. 12, when one part of the body suffers, the whole suffers. There are HUGE implications for this. Our responsibility to the community - to the church - is to keep it as pure and holy as we can. Placing your burdens on the community is straight up unbiblical. Christ does not call us to place our burdens on the community, he calls us to place our burdens on him and him alone. Please understand that does not mean that you cannot share your troubles and seek council from your peers, but that intentionally (or even unintentionally) skipping the prayer/Christ step will be a serious detriment to you and the community. Considering entering the community with intentions to use it to better yourself is, in my opinion, not right. The community you enter, whether that be Biola or elsewhere, should nurture your faith, grow you, and challenge you, but it should not be your crutch. Your community should act as an accountability partner, but should not take the place of earnestly seeking after growth. At the end of the day, the only thing that is going to change your heart is Christ calling you to do so and you says yes. Considering entering the community with an attitude of humility and responsibility is how I would suggest going about it. It is not a bad thing to want a great community, but place your trust in it that it will help and not hinder you, but do not put your faith in it. Place your faith in Christ and ask him to grow you and keep you accountable. 

Lets be honest: 

Before I transferred to Biola, I had expectations that going to Biola and being in a community that fostered Christ-like behavior and had daily Bible readings as homework would make me a better Christian; I would learn to depend on God because I was surrounded by it. (I have also since found out that many of my friends had the same sort of expectation that being in a good community would “make them better christians” (whatever that means really). What I found was, in retrospect, heartbreaking. I found that because I had set goals to better myself, I came in with an understanding that everyone had the same sort of expectation. Out of this (mis)understanding, I assumed myself to be at the same place spiritually as my friends. They were reading their Bibles consistently, depending on God faithfully, and growing. I saw them growing and immediately assumed I was growing alongside them. In hindsight, I realized that I was stuck in that place I had begun at and that I was fully misusing the power of community. It gave me a false understanding of myself because I had expected it to take the lead. I had expected it to be the driving force behind my change and because of that, I was severely disappointed. Because I was not wholly leaning on God, but leaning on my friends and the Biola community, I was not growing spiritually or being challenged in the ways that I am now. 

I want to end by saying this:

The Biola community is a wonderful place to be during your college years. It is a place of love, safety, and refuge for all who enter. It is not a bad place to want to be. It is your responsibility to uphold its integrity. 

My advice to you is this: 

Take advantage of it, but don’t expect it to do the work for you. Do not choose a school just because you think that the community will help you grow. Prayerfully consider your options and earnestly seek after the Lord’s will for your future. He will make it clear where he wants you, and if you faithfully continue to seek after the Lord, he will send a community over to you to encourage and grow you. 

As always, praying for you all!

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