Review of Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida

My son just began attending a very unique university that gets very little publicity in the South. The school is Trinity Baptist College, located on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida.

The college is very small, having between 500 and 600 students in any school year. About 350 of those live in campus, in the newly rebuilt dormitories. The campus is also home to the Trinity Christian K through 12 school. 1200 attend the K through 12 school there.

My son was late applying for financial aid, and after contacting two local Junior colleges, who refused to allow him to attend due to his late financial aid status, Trinity Baptist College was contacted and was more than willing to work with him, as long as the forms had been completed. There is one lady over the Financial Aid Department, with two others who help her. She kicked it into high gear, and had my son's package of aid completed within a week. In the meantime, they listed him as "paid in full." I don't know of any other school that would do that. After further research however, I have found that private schools are more prone to work with financial aid, often deferring payments, or allowing quarterly or even monthly payments. It all worked out in the long run, as this had been my son's first choice anyway. He sincerely wanted to try two years at a Christian college to see if this was the route for him.

Having been to two colleges myself, and my husband to three, I am familiar with the first week of school. It is usually very hectic, and the poor student is all but lost. Parents very rarely are even included in the orientation process. Parents and Freshman students at Trinity Baptist College are encouraged to attend an orientation meeting, where food is provided. I am not sure if their menu is the same every year, but we had barbecue and the trimmings. The Pastor, Deans of Students, Professors, Advisers, and all other staff were on hand for the
event, and available if parents or students wanted to talk to them.

The next day, we were asked to attend a mandatory meeting about campus rules. Heads of various departments were available to give basic information, and the head of financial aid offered her assistance, even staying late into the evening for any parents with financial aid concerns.

The next day our son attended his own orientation. Seems the campus is very strict, leaning more towards a primitive Baptist or old fashioned rules. My son was a bit concerned that mandatory dress for all males are button down shirts, a tie, dress pants with dress shoes and matching dress socks. However he was so happy to be attending, he was willing to accept their code. We explained that some work places have dress codes. If you don't like the dress code, get another job. In addition to the dress code having to do with primitive roots, I think it is a good practice for students studying for a career. Once they graduate from college, they will have to dress in ties every day. In addition, we explained that dressing up gives you more self confidence. Girls of course have to wear either dresses or skirts, however my son did notice that their codes are a bit more relaxed, allowing denim jackets, and skirts.

The only concern I had was that the classes are limited. Most classes only have one class, with English and a couple of others having two classes. If a student decided to skip a class that they are suppose to take their freshman year, and try to wait till a later semester, it will mess with their subsequent classes. Their first two years of classes are already set, however, they are allowed to chose electives, and are allowed to chose which math and science they take. They are required to take one of each. They do have a large amount of Bible classes, as it is a Bible college. These are mandatory of all students. Our only concern is whether or not these classes will transfer if our son chooses to finish his Junior and Senior years elsewhere. Some might transfer as religion or philosophy classes. We advised for him to take his 20 hours of electives for his two year degree, with classes that will transfer, such as foreign language, or social sciences. Also, the degrees are limited, but they do have a two year general degree, where you can just decide on your major or transfer to another four year college.

The college has a variety of activities, including sororities, and fraternities, college sports teams, and trips for each class to local events, such as bowling and dinner out. The freshman class was treated, courtesy of the college, to an evening on a local dinner cruise ship on the Saint Johns River in downtown Jacksonville. Not many colleges offer trips like that. However, they do frown on movies. Although I don't agree, it is a rule, and again, if you don't like the rules, go elsewhere.

So far, I am very pleased with Trinity Baptist College. For parents in the North Florida area or beyond that want their students to have a Christian College Experience, I would advise Trinity. While they may be a bit more expensive that most four year colleges, knowing your child is cared for by staff makes all the difference, in addition to the small teacher student ratio.