The enthusiasm for colleges that offer a moral education seems to be growing. Over half of the Coalition for Christian Colleges' 91 schools reported record enrollments in the fall of 1996. Those who attend church-affiliated schools often are asked to follow a strict code of conduct. While religion is important to many, size is a demographic issue of significance to many more. Almost 45 percent of freshmen considered size a key factor in their decision about where to go to college, according to the UCLA study.
Big schools make no secret of their less nurturing stance.
But greater size can mean greater opportunity. Small schools generally cannot compete with the wealth of resources at flagship state institutions, not to mention countless extracurricular activities. A midsize campus of 5,000 to 10,000 can offer students the best of both big and small schools. They want to feel like a person instead of a number. As a result of backlashes against affirmative action, California and Texas have had sharp drops in minority applications to their public universities, leading to reductions in minority enrollment.